DJ Hoff remixes and makes original tracks in his home studio in Venice.
Photo: Christine Fessenden/Chic Photography for BizBash
Back in Beantown: After conquering the Boston club scene and spinning there for corporate clients, Chris Hoffberger, a.k.a. DJ Hoff, still felt the pull to try another city. Boston had provided Hoffberger with a lot of breaks over the years: At Boston College, he serendipitously met a dorm-mate who was willing to share his top-of-the-line turntables, and his nightlife-savvy pals hooked him up with his first few gigs at local bars, and later with one of the city’s major promotional companies, 6one7 Productions, which booked him to spin for 500 clubgoers on his first assignment. Pretty soon, Hoffberger held residencies at top spots Felt, Aria, Mantra, and Il Panino and had attracted the attention of a representative for Scratch Events, a company that helps corporate planners find DJs for events. “I had a lot of nice opportunities, a lot of private events, and I think I was getting a lot of recognition,” Hoffberger says. “But I felt like there was a step up from the Boston music scene.” His solution? Head west.Signature Sound: Hoffberger chose Los Angeles in part for its diverse nightlife, which suits his style of experimenting with different genres. Between residencies at Venice’s Circle Bar (known for its party-hardy young crowd) and Julian Lennon’s Sunset Strip sushi restaurant and bar Blowfish (known for its Japanimation videos and celebrity clientele), Hoffberger dabbles in everything from the futuristic robo-beats and frenetic pace of electro to overlaying more predictable club standards like Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” with the unexpected saucy lyrics of Khia’s “My Neck, My Back.” “I’m into a wide variety of music, and I can mix it all up pretty well,” Hoffberger says. His eclectic experience serves him well in creating original remixes for corporate events. Colin Stark, merchandising manager at GQ, has hired Hoffberger multiple times, most recently for a party at Stoli’s pop-up venue in Hollywood. “Hoffberger took his set to the next level by putting a unique spin to songs everyone knows,” Stark said. “He added old-school beats to modern lyrics, giving songs a sexy new edge that was exactly what I was looking for.”
Looking Ahead: For clients who want a totally new sound, Hoffberger has also started producing his own tracks, which he eventually plans to drop at events. Working from his home studio in Venice, he’s constantly experimenting with instrumentals, drum loops, and synthesizers to create original pieces in an effort to set himself apart from other DJs. “Right now, my goal is to play tracks that no one else plays, to play my own stuff, which is pretty key for any DJ who wants to stand out from average DJs,” Hoffberger says. “It’s hard—there’s a lot of work, and a lot of knowledge you have to acquire to be a producer, but I’m really going for it this year.”
Looking Ahead: For clients who want a totally new sound, Hoffberger has also started producing his own tracks, which he eventually plans to drop at events. Working from his home studio in Venice, he’s constantly experimenting with instrumentals, drum loops, and synthesizers to create original pieces in an effort to set himself apart from other DJs. “Right now, my goal is to play tracks that no one else plays, to play my own stuff, which is pretty key for any DJ who wants to stand out from average DJs,” Hoffberger says. “It’s hard—there’s a lot of work, and a lot of knowledge you have to acquire to be a producer, but I’m really going for it this year.”
