Einstein's Monkey

In 1988 Jeff Hofmann began playing in the band "Deep Blue Dream" with B Bagby. As with most bands of the time, their aspirations were fame, fortune, and great hair. Unfortunately, they only got one of the three! Well, as with so many pursuits, this too fell by the wayside. Eventually, B left to go into business in Richmond. Jeff stayed in the Roanoke Valley and set upon becoming the bass player for every single band in the area.

Well, as with so many pursuits, this too fell by the wayside. Eventually, B left to go into business in Richmond. Jeff stayed in the Roanoke Valley and set upon becoming the bass player for every single band in the area.

Ten years later, Jeff had all but completed his goal. Soon, B returned to the valley and began focusing on writing show music for a small theater on a community college campus. When Jeff found out that B had returned and was writing for children, he approached B and suggested they work together on a project to go to libraries and schools and teach music theory to children.

Two years later, the "band" was formalized and the name "Einstein's Monkey" came out of a brain storming session. Armed with a new name and a desire to expand beyond teaching theory B and Jeff set about to start writing original music, with the hope that eventually a CD would be recorded.

This new music proved to be a catalyst for growth. EM began to turn slowly away from "education" and towards sounding like the sort of music that "grown-ups" would listen to. Influences such as Stray Cats, Johnny Cash and The Ramones didn't seem like typical kids music, but it was fun to play and Anna and Luna (B and Jeff's daughters) thought it was great! That was all the encouragement EM needed.

In 2008 the first CD from Einstein's Monkey was released. This recording "banana yellow" marks what is expected to be the first of many family friendly recordings to come!

In 2009 EM added Dave McDonald to the line up. Dave brings his amazing talent on pretty much any instrument he picks up. The addition of Dave has pushed EM even further. Full concerts are more like Rock & Roll concerts for the family. You may hear "The Who", "Talking Heads", and who knows what else?