KENT HOFMEISTER
Guitar & Vocals
Kent first realized a musical change was in the air when in seventh grade he showed up at a gathering of his buddies - who were intent on starting a "band" - with his clarinet. Noting that "Stranger on the Shore" was not on the set list, and that everyone else was equipped with the likes of guitars and amplifiers, he got the message. That summer he ordered his first guitar, an $18 Silvertone from Sears that he picked up at the shipping counter, sans case, in a cardboard box.
The year was 1964, the Beatles only months before had imported delirium to the continent, and the draw, like the music, was irresistable to a junior high school kid. Equipped with only a chord book from the neighboring Mel Bay music store, Kent taught himself to play the guitar and as many Beatles songs as possible, which led to the formation of, first, the Impacts, and in high school, the Realm (featuring a then-improbable mix of Beatles and Ike Turner tunes).
Kent worked his way through college and law school playing restaurants and clubs in Dallas and St. Louis, and years later revived his avocation by taking to the stage to perform with Bar None, a legal follies sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association and performed every June on the SMU campus. barnoneshow.com
In February 2001, Kent joined The Catdaddies, where he sings and plays guitar (the Silvertone now replaced by a Gretsch) and, when no one is paying particular attention, keyboards.
A trial lawyer by day, Kent's most embarrassing musical moment came when he attended his first rock concert at age 15 and, after working his way to a seat next to a garishly clad, bespectled young man at the back of the Washington University Field House, engaged him in brief conversation, including the question whether he played in a band. The man smiled, politely nodded, and Kent had confirmation when John Sebastian took the stage with the Lovin' Spoonful.