Through his work in such bands as Weekend Nachos, SPINE, and Harm's Way, John Hoffman has built up quite and eclectic and impressive discography. His body of work also reveals the Illinois native's restless artistic spirit through the plethora of musical projects he's launched since the early 2000s.
With a forthcoming release via his Sifting Press imprint, Oil Spill marks Hoffman's entry into the horror fiction realm. Comprised of six short stories, Oil Spill should appeal to fans of Stephen King and Alex North as well as the films of David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve.
I spoke with Hoffman via text (hey, you do what you gotta do) about his short stories collection, the influences that helped fuel them, and the road to finally releasing it all in book form.
Since you got into horror at a young age, I was curious how your parents/family took to that? I pretty much could watch, read, and listen to whatever I wanted as a kid, but I know that’s not the case with most kids.
So, I was exposed to the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books as a kid, if you remember those. Nothing too crazy in my opinion but those books were actually screwed up enough to get banned from several schools (laughs). They were totally marketed to children, though, so my parents didn’t care.
But from there, Mortal Kombat came out and I started drawing these insanely gory pictures, and my parents became a little concerned after that. Still, though, I don’t ever remember them restricting what I could watch or read. They were weirded out but also totally let me do my thing.
I also asked since one of the stories in Oil Spill, "Behind Scott’s House," could have been interpreted as coming from some kind of deep-rooted family issues, etc.
Oh, for sure. That story was actually inspired by a real-life situation of me going to a new friend’s house after school and discovering that he had these fucked-up parents, really unsettling compared to my upbringing which was actually very wholesome.
Got it. Yeah, I would consider myself pretty "normal" but I definitely consumed media most parents wouldn't have allowed at a young age.
I don’t know if I’d consider myself normal but yeah, I agree! You look at me and my family and there’s nothing morbid whatsoever. I try to bring about a light and pleasant personality, most people could attest to that, but my interests and fascinations are all within the realm of dark and unsettling type of shit.
As someone who grew up in NYC, I’ve always found stories set in suburbia or rural America intriguing. Whether they were comedies, dramas, or straight-up horror. You do a great job of setting the scenes in your stories. The atmospherics of it all.
I’m thrilled to hear you say that because to me, setting is more important than characters are. I don’t know how many people would agree with that, but I’d rather get a strong sense of where I am in a story prior to understanding who is there.
My goal when writing is to always provide setting to the reader, first and foremost. 5 out of 6 of the stories in the book take place in either a small town or a suburb. I threw a curveball with the 6th story and actually had it take place in Los Angeles.
I agree, but I know people who see it the other way around. “I have to care about these characters before anything!” Not me. If the setting/atmosphere in a horror/darker thriller isn’t right, I lose interest.
100% with you on that. Characters are important but they aren’t my first priority.
There’s also a lot of “don’t go in there,” or "not sure if that’s a good idea" kind of stuff threaded throughout. The uncertainty is the creepiest aspect to me.
Yeah, I think when it comes to that…this is sort of my attempt at showing instead of telling. I’m still growing as a writer obviously but my main goal is to try and show the reader a vibe or a feeling instead of telling them verbatim how this is going to happen. I like for readers to hopefully get a sense of that creepiness without having to say “oh ___ happened and that’s scary."
You already mentioned its setting of Los Angeles, but the last story in Oil Spill, "Anita," reads like it could be a standalone streaming series. Its diary-like, inner-monologue approach is really cool. The ending? Bleak. That said, I could see those characters moving onto the next story, or season, if it were a scripted cable series.
Again, really stoked to hear that kind of response to this. "Anita" is a lot different than the others and definitely has a True Detective/The X-Files vibe in my opinion. If they ever created a series out of it, I’d be in a dreamlike state, I think.
I imagine you’ve never really had any stylistic/artistic constraints with your music throughout the years with the labels you’ve worked with. Do you think there would be a hard adjustment period for you if you dove deeper into fiction writing, and possibly getting into film/TV writing?
It’s nice not having to get anything approved by any other parties, but that’s not realistic when you want to make a go for it on any wider level of commerciality, etc. That’s a really good question.
To be honest, I think that might be a tough adjustment for me. To have an “assignment” for writing. Sometimes even when I tell myself I want to write a particular type of story…it doesn’t come out that way. Something always shifts. That being said, I’d be up to the challenge, it’d be tough but I think I could manage.
How much harder/different was getting this book to market via Sifting Press as compared to any of your musical projects?
So, just releasing my writing in general has been a nearly 35-year long process. I’ve been writing off and on since I was about 6, and it’s been a dream. I truly think getting into music and being in bands was a decades-long distraction from releasing my writing. I think settling down and starting a family is actually what made room for the other creative outlet for me.
To more directly answer your question, it’s been a major challenge and all it took was putting the music aside a little bit. I still love making music but I was never going to focus on writing while Weekend Nachos was regularly touring back in the day.
I frequently use the FFO approach with No Echo to make my life, and the reader’s, easier. What would be your FFO as a writer?
Definitely Stephen King, first and foremost. He’s been my main inspiration all my life, a true hero of mine. I wish I could reference Chuck Palahniuk or Kurt Vonnegut or even John Green, something slightly less mainstream, but that would be dishonest. I’ve been obsessed with King’s writing since junior high and I think folks who like him will also enjoy my writing style. To me it’s very similar.
Cinematically, I feel that slasher movies like Friday the 13th, psychological thrillers like Seven and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and sci-fi shows like The X Files and The Twilight Zone have also influenced my writing. Anyone who enjoys that stuff will probably really dig what I put out there.
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The pre-order for Oil Spill will launch on October 1st at the Sifting Press IG page. Anyone who pre-orders the book will receive a limited edition hardcover version that will also be hand-numbered and signed by John.
Tagged: book, weekend nachos
