Jeff Hollywood is a multi-talented, multi-genre's musician, singer, songwriter, producer and composer born in a small farm town in Upstate NY. Music was a magnet to him at a very young age, starting with his father's vinyl records. “It was the early 80s…I used to sit in my living room with headphones on listening to everything from Men at Work, Hall and Oats and Fleetwood Mac to Iron Butterfly, Bowie and Zeppelin. I would imagine myself playing all of the instruments on stage, air drumming and guitaring the whole way. In the 4th grade I wanted to play drums so bad but when I signed up for the band there were already too many drummers. Instead, they handed me a trombone, as I was a tall and skinny kid with long arms. I was a bit bummed at first, but the Trombone looked and sounded cool so I agreed. I wanted to be a part of music and the band in any way I could.” From his first lesson, he excelled beyond the other trombone students and by 5th grade he was moved to the High School Band as 2nd Trombone. “I used to have to ride the high school bus in the morning for band practice and then get a bus back to my middle school for class”. A year later, he was moved to 1st Trombone and also joined the jazz band, growing as a musician and earning awards.
At age 11 his grandmother bought him his first drum kit. Without any direction, he was able to hold a steady beat and play to songs on the radio. “I remember getting behind the kit and just somehow knowing what to do. It felt natural to me”. One day, his cousin brought over VCR footage of “Guns n Roses” live at the Ritz in NYC. From that point on, he wanted nothing more but to pursue a music lifestyle. He taught himself how to play guitar, bass, piano and excelled on the drums. Jeff would bounce between guitar and drums in different rock and metal bands, but drums would eventually become his main instrument.
Getting his hands on his first 4 track cassette recorder, he quickly fell in love with the process and began recording his own songs and recording everyone he knew along the way. A few bands and years later, he would record a demo at a small studio called “Red House” where he met engineer John Valenti, who took him under his wing and taught him the ins and outs of the studio life. He has met and played with some great people, many now friends. Jeff continues to expand his knowledge and skill and is now the head engineer at Area 434 Studio in CT. He is one of five main writers in the group “Millbrook Session Players” who write original songs for Sync and release. He also produces and writes for his own projects, composes music for Sync and video games and has Mixed songs for various clients. When not doing music, Jeff also enjoys photography, drawing, painting and spending time with his family.
