Steve Hofstetter

Infobox Comedian


name = Steve Hofstetter
birth_name = Steven Israel Hofstetter
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|9|11
birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S.
medium = Stand-up
nationality = American
active = 2002-Present
genre = Observational comedy, Satire/Political satire, Social commentary
subject = American culture, American politics, current events, pop culture, religion, foreign policy, ignorance
influences = Bill Hicks, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Dave Barry, Jackie Robinson
website = [http://www.stevehofstetter.com/ stevehofstetter.com]

Steve Hofstetter (born September 11 1979) is an author, columnist and comedian, who started with material particularly pertaining to college life, and has since become a social commentator. He also hosted "Four Quotas", which aired twice per week on Sirius Satellite Radio [http://www.stevehofstetter.com/quotas/] and is the current host of The National Lampoon Radio Sports Minute (Or So) which airs in over 180 different markets. A print version of the Sports Minute runs in many papers, including the Rocky Mountain News [http://www.minuteorso.com/] .

Named one of "Two Drink Minimum" magazine's best new faces of 2004 and a nominee for the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities Comedian of the Year, Hofstetter tours over 100 college campuses and dozens of clubs each year.

Hofstetter has written for outfits like "Maxim", "ESPN" and "Sports Illustrated for Kids". He was a weekly columnist for Sports Illustrated, [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/steve_hofstetter/archive/index.html] where his "Stand Up Guy" ran every Monday morning in Scorecard.

Hofstetter has made a number of television appearances, including ESPN's Quite Frankly [http://us.dd.imdb.com/name/nm2322257/] , Showtime's White Boyz in the Hood [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907079/] , VH1's Countdown, ABC's Barbara Walters Special [http://www.comixny.com/event.aspx?eid=181] and, most notably, CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson [http://www.montclairtimes.com/NC/0/543.html] . He's also been featured by local news programs in Boston, Atlanta, Louisville, Tulsa, Miami, and many other markets [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEwGg9S-Uug] . He's a frequent guest on radio stations all over the country, especially sports stations [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1016912015] .

Hofstetter is known for his online popularity, with over half a million friends on community websites like MySpace [http://www.myspace.com/comedy] and Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=101808&hiq=hofstetter%2Csteve] .

Personal

Hofstetter grew up in the New York City borough of Queens, living at various times in Briarwood , Forest Hills and Rego Park. [Silverberg, Alex. [http://www.stevehofstetter.com/reviewstemplate.cfm?ID=239 "Comic Thanks His Queens Upbringing"] , copy of article from "The Queens Tribune", July 6, 2007. Accessed October 18, 2007. "Hofstetter has been all around Queens.. He spent his younger years in Briarwood before moving on to Forest Hills, and finally settling down in Rego Park for the duration of his teen years."]

Hofstetter graduated from the School of General Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree [http://www.alumni.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-any/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=OWLNT&record=239&htmlfile=newspages3_AdFeature.htm] . At Columbia, he wrote for the Columbia Spectator [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2002/05/01/Opinion/Parting.Shots-2039092.shtml] , and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity [http://www.nyphi.com] .

Sports and Comedy

Though a comedian by trade, Hofstetter is also a sports writer. At Sports Illustrated since January 2006, Hofstetter is also the co-creator of "Hofstetter's Jerk of the Week," a satirical sports website that chronicled the misdeeds of athletes. Now defunct, the site earned much publicity, including from Sports Illustrated, CNN, USA Today, and dozens of local newspapers [http://www.alumni.gs.columbia.edu/cgi-any/newspages.dll/pages?record=51&bid=&nfid=&htmlfile=newspages3_Alumni.htm] .

Hofstetter has also written for Maxim, [http://maximmagazine.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=5242] and ESPN Magazine's "The Jump," [http://espn.go.com/magazine/jump_020816_strike.html] , and NHL.com. The New York Times featured Hofstetter in a half page article about how he infuses sports into his comedy, and he is now a frequent guest of many sports radio stations, especially ESPN affiliates [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1016912015] .

Hofstetter's latest foray into sports is "National Lampoon's Balls," a book Hofstetter wrote in the summer of 2007.

Pay-What-You-Want

In December 2007, Hofstetter announced his new album, "Dark Side of the Room." While the album has a shelf date of March, 2008, listeners are allowed to download it directly from his website with "Pay-What-You-Want" a la Radiohead. [http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=ENTERTAINMENT&ID=60999]

Hofstetter is believed to be the first comedian to try the new model, and early returns reaffirm Radiohead's success. [http://www.last100.com/2007/12/14/comedian-hofstetter-experiments-with-pay-what-you-want-and-provides-numbers/] .

Hofstetter vs. The Cable Guy

In March, 2006, Hofstetter and Razor & Tie announced the April 4 release of "Cure for the Cable Guy," a 45-minute CD/DVD that featured a cover with a Larry the Cable Guy Doll hanging by a coax cable. The disc earned Stuff Magazine's "Album cover of the month." Later that week, Larry the Cable Guy's new movie debuted, and was universally panned. Several movie reviewers discussed Hofstetter's album, including the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore [http://deseretnews.com/movies/view/1,1257,425000817,00.html] . Moore's review was picked up by dozens of papers across the country, including the Chicago Tribune [http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-060324-movies-review-larry,0,648696.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds] , Denver Post [http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_3639437] , and Columbus Dispatch [http://www.mix971.net/events/calendar.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/25/20060325-B4-02.html] . Hofstetter did countless radio interviews about the album, including one with Philadelphia's popular Kidd Chris show, where Hofstetter spoke with Larry the Cable Guys' alter ego, Dan Whitney. Whitney ended the interview with his popular catch phrase, "Git-R-Done."

The album's cover was compared to the Sex Pistols' "Pink Floyd Sucks" t-shirts. All Music Guide's Bret Love wrote, "Hofstetter effectively rebels against the mainstream by positioning himself as the antithesis of the world's most popular comedian. What could be more punk rock than that?" [http://shop.vh1.com/Cure-for-the-Cable-Guy-Standup-Comedy_stcVVproductId4269323VVcatId424044VVviewprod.htm]

In July, an article in the New Yorker quoted Whitney as saying Hofstetter had been hurtful, and Whitney's manager criticizing Hofstetter for "trying to make a buck." In response, Hofstetter posted a video on YouTube explaining his stance on the Cable Guy and his comedy. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzeT6KofYM] .

Books

*"Student Body Shots: A Sarcastic Look at the Best 4-6 Years of Your Life"

*"Student Body Shots - Another Round: More Sarcasm On The Best Four To Six Years Of Your Life"

*"National Lampoon's Balls! An In Your Face Look at Sports" (2007, National Lampoon)

CD releases

*"The Dark Side of the Room" (2008, Next Round)
*"Cure for the Cable Guy" (2006, Razor & Tie)
*"Tastes Like Bliss" (2004, unofficial release)

References

External links

* [http://www.stevehofstetter.com Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/comedy Official MySpace Page]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/steve_hofstetter/archive/index.html Sports Illustrated Archive]
* [http://www.collegehumor.com/user:225 Writer Page on CollegeHumor.com]
* [http://www.razorandtiemedia.com/artistpage.php?artist=160 Razor & Tie Artist Page]
* [http://onetrickpony.ws/steve_hofstetter Interview from November 2005]