Tell us a little bit about yourself [age, what you do, what you do for fun, etc.]!

My name is Bryan Hoffman, I’m 30 years old, and I grew up in Franklin Square on Long Island. I have been collecting records since 2003.  I have amassed roughly 2,000 records since I began, with most of my collection being inherited from a number of super awesome people. I’ve collected albums and singles from just about every genre, with most of collection being Rock and Jazz. I work for a company called Audiam, where we deal with the administration and collection of songwriter royalties from services such as YouTube and Spotify. Most of my free time is spent going to shows around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island. I also enjoy watching sports (Islanders/Mets/Jets) and spending time outdoors with friends.

Favorite album:

This has always been a loaded question to me, and constantly changes based on where my life is at the moment. I’m choosing the first “new”/non hand-me-down album that I ever bought which was Thrice’s “The Illusion Of Safety”. Thrice has remained an important band to me over the years, and this is the album where it all started for me.

First album:

My collection started when my grandparents gave me a milk crate of records that belonged to my mother and two uncles. My late uncle John was heavily into progressive rock. So as an homage to Uncle John, I chose a live Doors bootleg called “Weird Triangle”, and Pink Floyd’s “Animals”.

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release:

My favorite ETR release hands down is the “Bridge & Tunnel” Movie Soundtrack. I was fortunate enough to receive a copy with the exploded label which looks absolutely incredible in person. On top of that, the track listing is stacked with a who’s who of Long Island musicians that I admire like John Nolan, Bayside, Ryan Hunter, etc. The die-cut album cover is also very sharp.

Favorite album artwork:

For album artwork, I chose Into It. Over It’s “52 Weeks”. This quadruple LP box set is presented like a book. It includes the 52 tracks that Evan Weiss recorded over the course of a year (one per week) from September 2008 to September 2009. Though aesthetically it’s black and white, everything about the packaging is clean and precise.

Which album do you wish you had on vinyl?

My dream album (that Epitaph will hopefully press in the near future) is The Sound Of Animals Fighting’s “The Ocean And The Sun”. As far as records that do exist, a clean copy of Brian Eno’s “Ambient 1: Music For Airports” is at the top of my wish list.

Want to be featured as a Record Collector of the Month? Shoot an email to enjoythetoonsrecords@gmail.com