A subject I've written about many times is how great it is to connect with others on social media out of the blue. This particular connection I find even more interesting because I can trace back to where it all began. Growing up in Seaside / Monterey California, I was a fan of Psychosomatic. I got to know them and became friends. The mighty algorithm at some point suggested I become friends with Infirmities. I saw they, like Psycho were from Salinas so I followed them as well. Got to support our locals. I remember when Infirmities played the Berkeley beach show. I saw the videos posted and that's around the time, Elegant Trash was suggested by Instagram.
As I began to follow Elegant Trash aka Lee Austin Hoffman. I couldn't help but notice that he has his hands in a few projects. My curiosity grew and I decided, why not reach out and ask him some questions. So, let's get to it…
CCC - You're a part of a couple of monthly events (i.e. Bang The Bay Solar Van Saturday's, 1st Wednesday at the Ivy Room, Live on KALX 99.7 FM). How did these come about.
LAH - Solar Van Saturdays was started to be a covid safe way of having shows but turned into a twice a month community service lasting more than two years. The Ivy room is my favorite east bay venue, and I asked them to have a residency to help support them and more of the community, I got asked by DJ Liz to be featured on Kalx and could not turn down the opportunity. It is my favorite Bay area radio station.
We have included a single by Elegant Trash for your immediate introduction. I went through their Spotify and old school punk along the lines of Crass was what their music reminded me of. I am someone who is very into melodic stuff and found a bit of that flavor in their Elegant Trash Remix EP. On that release, their single ‘Touching The Ceiling’ with its double time drums and melodic hooks is my cup of tea. Since Elegant Trash consists of a revolving door of musicians and contributors over the years, each album is unique.
