Blending Melodies Across Generations: The EyeAM and Joel Hoffman Story

This episode of Curious Goldfish explores the unlikely musical partnership between EyeAM, a young African American hip-hop and R&B artist, and Joel Hoffman, a 60-something Jewish surgeon with a passion for music. Originating from entirely different backgrounds and hailing from different parts of the United States, EyeAM and Joel have formed a bond through their shared love for music, creating a unique blend they describe as alternative R&B. The duo's collaboration showcases EyeAM's remarkable freestyling and vocal abilities alongside Joel's talent for crafting catchy hooks and melodies. Their story highlights the power of music to transcend age, background, and life experiences, emphasizing music's role in connecting people. The podcast features interviews with both artists, sharing insights into their creative process, the formation of their partnership, and their aspirations. It culminates in a performance of two songs, demonstrating their collaborative magic and the blend of genres that characterize their music.

00:00 The Magic of Collaboration: EyeAM and Joel Hoffman's Creative Process

00:57 Introducing Curious Goldfish: Where Music Meets Curiosity

01:36 The Unlikely Duo: A Surgeon and a Hip-Hop Artist's Musical Journey

03:18 Inside the Creative Space: Making Music in Alpharetta

04:03 From Moving Furniture to Making Music: EyeAM and Joel's Origin Story

04:51 Crafting a Unique Sound: The Blend of Genres and Creative Dynamics

06:37 Breaking Barriers: The Impact of Music Across Generations and Genres

12:21 Personal Journeys: EyeAM and Joel's Musical Backgrounds

17:29 The Vision Behind Ari Collective: Building a Record Label with Purpose

23:51 Music and Mentorship: Joel's Newfound Purpose

26:29 Looking Ahead: Goals, Dreams, and Upcoming Projects

28:31 A Musical Outro: EyeAM and Joel Perform Live

Ari Collective Interview

Joel Hoffman: so the way it works, the way we collaborate, it's also a, a match made in heaven is that I'm unlimited ideas. I mean, I'm writing 3, 4, 5 ideas a day and then I'll take one of the better ideas and the idea based off a often I have the hook, I'm really good at the hooks, the chorus

mm-Hmm, . And then I'll just. play an idea on my, on my phone that I wrote the night before. And EyeAM his amazing freestyler and melody lines and his cadence is interesting. So he brings this really interesting verse that I never would be able to think of. And then we match it with some, a really catchy hook of mine.

And that's where the magic happens

Curious goldfish. com.

Joel Hoffman is a 60 something Jewish surgeon from the Midwest. They've struck a bond through their mutual passion for music. And they're hoping that this polarity of personalities and backgrounds can come together to create something special. Joel writes and plays the music while I am mostly brings the vocals.

You can hear the combination for yourself as the duo plays two songs at the end of our conversation in the living room of Joel's townhome in downtown Alpharetta. A Northern suburb of at the end of our conversation in the living room of Joel's townhome in downtown Alpharetta, a Northern suburb of Atlanta, they're trying to get their unique blend, what Joel calls alternative R and B out to the masses in any way possible through Joel's record label are a collective.

Joel Hoffman. EyeAM nice to meet you guys.

EyeAm: Gang! sir! Yeah,

Jason English (Host): this is, this is how it's going to be. Okay. This is how it's going to be.

Joel Hoffman: Little personality EyeAm likes to joke around a lot I do, I play

Jason English (Host): All right. No, it's good. So thanks for your time. We're here in Alpharetta, Alpharetta, Georgia at Joel's place. Part townhome, part recording studio, part bachelor pad, part whatever.

EyeAm: Don't forget the bachelor pad part.

Joel Hoffman: walk into the main door and there's drums hitting you Right

away. all about the

Jason English (Host): So the obvious question, uh, that I'm sure you guys get asked a lot. And I'll, so I'll lead with the obvious is, you know, Joel, your, 60 early sixties, white Jewish surgeon, uh, paired up with what I would imagine.

EyeAm: His favorite story to tell him, tell it.

Joel Hoffman: I tell this story all the time. So I was, I got divorced. I was moving in this townhouse about Four or five years ago and EyeAM was one of the movers moving my bed and shut us off one movie services.

Y'all go tapping with them um, I had a guitar sitting on a chair in the, in the side room there. And he's like, do you play? So I started playing a song and he, um, he had a bed frame and he just starts wailing and doing these runs. And I'm like, I'm like, dude, we're going to work together. And he was there with his producer.

EyeAm: really dope. It's really dope. I think, the first song we wrote was Money. It was like, kind of like a pop alternative when it like clashed together. It was really dope. Like the verse is really like R& B ish, but then you get to that hook, it's like, BOOM! You know what I mean? raw.

Joel Hoffman: It's a rock hook. Yeah,

Jason English (Host): Okay. Yeah. So Joel, do you, you, you're the instrument guy, right?

Is that

Joel Hoffman: Yeah. So the way it works, the way we collaborate, it's also a, a match made in heaven is that I'm unlimited ideas. I mean, I'm writing 3, 4, 5 ideas a day and then I'll take one of the better ideas and the idea based off a often I have the hook, I'm really good at the hooks, the chorus

And that's where the magic

happens

Jason English (Host): And

then do you, do you both contribute to the songwriting? I mean, I think what you just described probably answers that, but like who, who writes, who writes more of the lyrics?

EyeAm: Sometimes it varies, sometimes I'll have a good hook. and he'll knock out the verses more of the we kind of like tell each other it that's a good bar like, no i don't like that line, let's re-write it let's make something stronger so we just piggy back off each other

Jason English (Host): So does it matter? Like what's crazy is again, not that age matters. Right. But, uh, it's cool that music has brought you guys together because it's completely, it's like opposites attract kind of thing. Right. But yeah, I was just going to say, does it, you know, uh, lyrics. From other people that I've talked to are, it's very personal and like perspective is everything.

Joel Hoffman: I think it depends on the song. There's a lot of the songs that he's writing, the verse. He'll relate it to his life like a song finer things. It's about him breaking it and having nice things in life But the songs like I wrote a song the hook called the song we're gonna release the next month That's gonna that we're featuring no cap a rapper on called loves the sweetest thing I wrote the music and the hook is really catchy.

So he wrote the verse but The idea is there, because love is the sweetest thing, so write about love. So it just, it really varies, we don't have an exact formula, every song is different. There's a song I wrote, Cup of Sugar, that I wrote the whole thing, and he just sings it. So, you know, um, then he does his own R& B stuff too, so.

It really was just a crazy ass blend, bro. We just kind of just ran with it. saying? it felt natural, you know what I'm saying, in a way. And usually when I write my songs, I usually have a beat. Like my homeboy would like send me beats and stuff like that. And I'll just be like, Oh, I know what I want.

I know what I hear instantly when I hear the beat. So when he brought the guitar out, I'm like. Like I said, the melodies that just come to me, man, and like the freestyling just comes to me. I just know what I want to do exactly once I hear

Jason English (Host): Can I ask an honest question, EyeAm? I do Do your homeboys look at it you it's and like what the hell are you doing with this guy? Like sometimes, you know,

EyeAm: it's so funny like sometimes, you know, sometimes but then once they hear the music like damn, okay, I get it.

This

Jason English (Host): like ok cool

EyeAm: Yeah. Like, nah, like, 'cause it is, you know, this writer from all ages are still even in the game, you know saying? So, um, nah, I don't get any crazy listening like that. Nah,

And then we brought in 10 of our songs and we all voted. And the interesting thing is they picked nine out of 10 songs, what we wrote together because it's different. There's a lot of great R& B artists out there. And EyeAM is amazing. But to distinguish yourself in R and B because it's sort of just like some chords and then you're just sort of free flowing with it.

This is more really hooks really courses that catch you. Plus again, this, this mix of genres makes it, it's interesting. That's the whole point. And I shouldn't mention work where color side, it's not even a project because he's really the artist, but what we did do together, we're calling six, two, two, six.

Joel Hoffman: Alternative R and B? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's

Jason English (Host): ok is there anything out there that people that are listening can compare it to? who's out there that's alternative R&B right now think

EyeAm: Oh yeah, that's a really good question.

I would probably say, like, Frank Ocean. I think Frank Ocean kind of makes, like, just alternative R& B in a way. And maybe, like, Lucky Day. They got some pretty loud music going on. I'm trying to think who else. I don't

really know, but I think our stuff is pretty different. A lot of times people try to compare me to Justin Bieber, and I feel like, That's a cool, um, relation there, but at the same time, I think, in the weekend, so yeah.

Jason English (Host): it. nice

Joel Hoffman: he calls it country, which I don't hear in it.

EyeAm: There's some songs we have that's country as hell. It is. I'm from Tennessee. Like, there's some songs in it that's mad country. Like, we got a song called On the Run. It's country. It's a hard song. It's one of our best songs. It's dope. It's dope,

Jason English (Host): I mean, Beyonce's doing country now, so,

Joel Hoffman: no, we're, yeah. And then the other thing I should mention, so, um, is Well, I don't know if we should mention this now, but we also, we like blending genres and I have another artist as part of Ari collective label named Dreambeard and he's metal

Jason English (Host): Mm.

That's different. People relate to you.

Jason English (Host): Joel you are the least R&B looking and metal looking

Joel Hoffman: I look like an older doctor, little bald ish, in good shape. Before you guys

Jason English (Host): Before you guys met, can you briefly kind of tell everybody your personal, sort of like backgrounds, like, you know, you, you mentioned Tennessee. EyeAM, you know, d did you grow up there? How long have you been in

EyeAm: have I'm from Jackson, Tennessee.

And, um, but I, I was, they branched out to OutKast. Um, the label was called 762, so I got to meet them and everything. Got to meet Big Boi, got to hang out, live that little lifestyle for a minute. And, um, Really my music background, my family, they always done music. Like I have an uncle. Um, he, he always like had us in the studio in and out, but I didn't take it serious.

And just, you know, like I said, just to join Atlanta lifestyle and the music scene is really dope out here. It's like a lot of creatives out here and a lot of connections out here.

And.

Jason English (Host): Well, like if you grew up in the Memphis area, obviously there's worse places to grow up that, uh, you know, in terms of musical influences.

Joel Hoffman: Yeah,

Jason English (Host): you, did you know that growing up in

Cause you know, Nashville's that country scene for real. Stuff I'm doing now, if I would've, you know, Doing it then in Nashville, I would've blew. I would've blown up. Like, yeah, cause I was in the streets out there heavy, but Memphis, nah, like, it was like a lot more rappers. Like, I'm like, dude, I literally sound like Justin Bieber.

You pull up my old music, uh, Cornelius Hobson, whatever. Like, my voice is like really high. You know what I'm saying? So it was hard to promote that. And like those, even when I first came out here, it was hard to find the places to promote it. Cause like I was singing at strip clubs and shit. Yeah. Like, you know what I'm saying?

So I think around that time, I was definitely supposed to be in like schools and colleges and stuff like that. But, but, um, yeah, the music scene in Memphis, I really wouldn't know about it. I was always aiming for Atlanta or New York,

Jason English (Host): Okay.

like those were the places I wanted to go because I knew those are like the biggest cities that can really get you on.

Yeah. Yeah. No, that's good. And then Joel, you're from the Midwest?

Joel Hoffman: Yeah. I'm from Indianapolis

Jason English (Host): Okay.

Joel Hoffman: And so I started playing guitar in seventh grade. So I've been playing guitar 50 years, which is

Jason English (Host): Wow. Right.

Joel Hoffman: And I've been in bands. I was in cover bands for a long time. Um, I was in a band in med school called the Cleaver Busey band, and it's a syndrome in monkeys. If you take out the amygdala nucleus, they become hypersexual.

So everyone thought it was two guys, last names, Cleaver and Busey. So we were called the Cleaver Busey band. And then. Probably my biggest success band doing covers and some original was I did my residency. I'm an ears, nose, throat physician in Cleveland, Ohio. And I put a band together and I came up with a name.

Jason English (Host): Oh, okay.

That was the hardest part about me moving to Atlanta in 93 to give up that band. We weren't, we were interviewed by the newspaper. So I moved here. I was doing some cover bands and cover bands. You're playing three, four hours and splitting 300. It's just, you know, as a doctor, it wasn't. Doing much for me and my knack is songwriting.

He sounds like a mix between Bob Dylan and Adam Levine, literally. And we had a fallout around COVID and then I just decided, um, to try it on my own. And I wrote 120 songs, lyrics, music, hired the top musicians in Atlanta in a studio in Marietta called The Vault. Then as COVID was dying, I decided I wanted to play the music live.

So we did a show at vinyl. And after that, I'm like, I really want to do something more long term. So I started, I called some of the best musicians I've ever worked with in Atlanta, and that's how I formed Ari Collective. So I called EyeAm, a drummer named Killa, who's toured all over the world.

producer named Corbin who plays every instrument and does all the production.

So he's, he signed with Ari, he signed with me. And then Dreambeard is my other artist. We talked about the metal guy. So they're my two guys I'm focused on

Jason English (Host): on, yeah, no, that's cool. So the, all the doctors that I know are typically like type a very, you know, by the book, how is it that, uh, You know, music, creativity, things like that. How does that, do you think relate to what you do like in the, in the, you know, with, with patients and things like that?

And, and where does that sort of conflict, you know, in terms of how your brain works or how you're, you know, obviously you're passionate about the music.

The music, even though it's, it's more of a. You know, creativity, but there's still something about how the brain works and it's different parts of the brain. Um, analytical side of the brain is the left side of the brain. The creative sides are right side. So I think those people that are professional, they're successful, that are great musicians.

They're using both sides of the brain. Most people are more 95 percent focused on the just the analytical. So I feel I feel blessed that I can do both. And often with the amount of music I'm writing, it just feels like it's coming from a higher, I think EyeAM feels the same thing. This stuff just flows to you.

It's

Jason English (Host): Yeah. Well, that's interesting.

Uh, so a lot of the people I've talked to, they, um, Their, their inspiration, whether to become a musician or a lot of their songs are born out of trauma, you know, or like crazy,

Jason English (Host): crazy circumstances. So like where you were on the spectrum, does that sit for you guys? And you know, is there, is there something you can share with us?

EyeAm: the way like that, that's all the way true. It's kind of like with comedians, they say that like some of the best jokes come from the worst shit they've been through.

yeah, I'll definitely say, um, lot of my best songs come from my heartbreak, but I'm tired of write breakup songs, man. I say Fuck that. But, uh, yeah, like me personally as a writer, like I write. Just about life, like, you could tell me a story about your life right now, like, if I'm, like, inspired by a week from now, I have a song, like, named exactly like that, but it's definitely life, bro, like, the struggle in life and just what inspires you in a good or the bad ways for me,

Jason English (Host): Yeah, yeah.

Joel Hoffman: for me, because I write so much music.

A lot of the songs are based on something, but often I have to just, what I, the way I write is I'll write, I'll play some chords, come up with a melody,

I still have to tweak the pre chorus, but, um, Colorado came out now. Okay, I'll just write about Colorado because, you know, you're writing. I probably have 200 songs. At some point, they're not all about your life. You have to, you have to create them a little

Jason English (Host): little bit. Yeah, is it easier to create those diary songs that are more personal?

Joel Hoffman: Oh yeah, they, they come out. A lot quicker. Like I wrote a song about suicide that again, I'm a guitarist and a real, I think a good songwriter, but very, very, very average vocalist. I've never focused on it. And I just sang it at Eddie's attic and the lyrics meant so much to me and it came out so easy that those songs really, I like doing better.

Jason English (Host): Yeah

Or his writers. And like, I feel like that was the trickiest thing for me and I had to learn like, okay. I really should just write from my perspective and see if they like it, not like, try to get in their bag. 'cause obviously they're, you know, inviting me to come write. So I should definitely just stay in my perspective and see what they like from it.

And, um, but like I said, yeah, as a writer, if it's not personal, I don't think like, what are you really writing about? You know what

Jason English (Host): don't think they wouldn't be writing about it. He's called, we are all fossils. Like that's the name of his project, which is, which is cool. He did a thing a few years ago where he, uh, he calls it songs for strangers. Kind of like what you just said, uh, he'd asked his listeners to email him either a word, three words, or, you know, paragraph, but it didn't have to be like a whole thing.

And he would write a song based on it, you know, and then it ended up being an album, but it's kind of like he had to put, not without going on much, he had

Assume and kind of put himself in that, in that situation. And it's like, it's like beautiful stuff, you know? And it's, but it's someone else's story, you know?

Joel Hoffman: Well, there's, there's services that actually do that. I thought about doing that as a, as a idea to make some money for us. It's just have somebody send us, they want to write about their wife and their, you know, love story. Tell us about your story and we'll write the song. Cause with our, just to give you an example with Corbin here, we're sitting in front of all this nice equipment.

We have a Neumann 87, really nice

Jason English (Host): Right.

Joel Hoffman: Like I can. I can give Corbin a voice memo with the song idea and the lyrics, and he plays drums, bass, guitar, keys, produces a whole song within 6 8 hours, so we can throw songs out really quick.

Jason English (Host): No, That's awesome.

Yeah. Is there, is there a formula? Like, do you, do you have a formula for the, for the music?

EyeAm: Smoke weed.

Jason English (Host): do. Hey, we're going to

Joel Hoffman: Hey, we're going to play you that song called Joint

I think it's

Well, I think it's different who writes it and what we bring. Like right now I'm bringing songs of my own. We're Corbin singing them for me, but the songs we do together, EyeAM about to lay down some vocals on a song Corbin sang to, but I want EyeAM vocals on.

It's all EyeAM vocals.

EyeAm: Just get in there. and kill that shit. Honestly, yeah. It's aEyeAM am, bro. so it's just like What's the E E is for everything.

You know what I'm saying? All it says is EyeAM, so Like the great. So, feel like Like I said, they say EyeAM is like the most powerful words we can ever use in this universe. So I just tried to, the name was actually given to me too, but yeah, like he is for everything. tapped in.

Jason English (Host): okay. Okay. So this will be interesting answers. Hopefully. So, uh, you know, you mentioned, you know, you're 62 ish. EyeAM, EyeAM is 26 ish. Right. Um, so what, what, what are you all most curious about at the stage in your life in terms of music, life in general? Like what, what are you curious about?

So, and I'd like helping patients. I'm going to, you know, my ears and their throat, so I operate and fix people, but the passion for music, um, and being able to write something artistic and other people relate to it. And, and then the other thing I'm realizing, so that's what I'm focused on now with this record label, but I'm also realizing the second part of my life, hopefully I lived to a hundred something, but, um, is really.

This is besides having this record label, I'm like a mentor to these guys, everyone I'm interacting with, they're in their twenties or thirties. And I didn't even think I like that. One of my friends pointed that out. Like Joel, you're this is your purpose right now is to lead by example and help these guys fulfill their dreams.

Jason English (Host): Yeah, that's neat.

EyeAm: Yeah, I was just gonna include that, like, that was dope, like, you brought that up. Um, cause I had a couple mentors, but not a mentor like this one.

Like Joel, and I will say, like, even how you just said that, um, at this time in your life, you've been successful for a while. So, like, that's not Like it's important to you because that's what you carry, but it's like, it's not your purpose or your mission right now. But for me being at 26 is like, yeah, I'm trying to get that bag and get my family out of poverty and everything like that.

But like, it just made me think right now, like, damn, once I do do that, what am I going to be focusing on? You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, I mean, of course the label making it bigger and bringing more artists like me. If they're out here, you know what I'm saying? Nah, but I know that I was there. But definitely, uh, damn, that was a really good question.

What's on? We got so many. Oh, your little sweet son, yeah. He's so funny. Nah, yeah, for sure. But yeah, I mean, that would probably be the most important thing to me right now, is just like, get my family up in a better situation, so that way they can see the life, see the world. Like, I wanna, dude, I wanna travel like every bit of the world as much can.

I got a passport and I haven't even used it yet. You know what I'm saying, so. But yeah, other than that, like, that's just the main goal right now, yeah.

EyeAm: yeah, so, um, we, we got a pretty well schedules actually removed. I know we got a show in May, June, April. You know what I'm saying? On some of my festivals, summer are, um, gigs in other states. Um, I think right now we're, we, we focused on putting on a album, but at [00:27:00] the state of my career right now, I think the, a bunch of singles probably be really good.

And until we get that buzz we want, then we're gonna drop like a master ep, nice little album.

Joel Hoffman: So we, we just dropped a song called breaking down. You can find on Spotify, Apple music, and then we did a song. We talked about a few times now loves the sweetest thing with a rapper named no cap. So we're looking at a release date in May and that's the song.

That's a song we think could really do something for us and get us noticed. Um, I'm working on a show at Vinyl next to Center Stage here in Atlanta. And then we just got a date offer in August for Matilda's, which is a really cool outdoor venue here,

Jason English (Host): yeah, that's cool.

Joel Hoffman: uh, near our house. And we might be doing a show in May in New York at a venue called SOB.

Um, yeah, with an artist named Neem. Is it Neem or something? I don't know. I don't know the name.

EyeAm: We didn't forget your name like that. You're a great artist, but yeah, she's really dope. She's signed to RCA though. That's really good.

in Atlanta in the fall. And there's a sister festival in Dallas. That would be huge because that would be on big stages. And we think, we think we have the product. Everyone in the industry who sees us and hears us says, you guys are gonna be huge. We just need to get in front of eyeballs. So we think the festival route, it's going to help because we'll see, we'd 10, 000 people, you know, do that a few times.

And we think we can grow this.

Jason English (Host): Well there are no eyeballs on the podcast but we do have ears would you mind playing us a couple of songs?.

EyeAm: I hope you're ready, baby