Empirical Jam is a musical duo made up of Mak Hofmann and Evan Brown. Inspired by the works of Joe Satriani and other rock guitarists, Mak and Evan formulated their group to jam over original music as well as Satriani cover songs. Their different approaches and techniques on guitar allow Empirical Jam to create a unique texture of melodies and improvisation and still posses that undeniable rock and roll sound. E-Jam represents rock and roll in its finest and simplest form, and its non-vocal music is made to inspire and titillate.
 | NAME: Mak T. Hofmann AKA "Mak Boogie, Banana Mak-o, The Mystical Potato Head Mak Thing" AGE: 15 HEIGHT: 5' 11" INSTRUMENTS: JS100BK, Peavey Raptor I, Yamaha Clavinova CVP-59S Keyboard/drum machine AMPLIFIERS: Fender Princeton 112 Plus (65W), Squier Champ 15G (45W) EFFECTS: Boss DS-1 Distortion, Jim Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah, Fender Footswitch with Overdrive Channel and Reverb |
 | NAME: Evan M. Brown AKA "Evantide - H3000 Harmonizer" AGE: 16 HEIGHT: 5' 5" INSTRUMENTS: Customized '69 Fender Mustang reissue, Epiphone Accu-Bass, Washburn Lyon Strat Copy, Hohner Blues Harp, Penco banjo AMPLIFIER: Fender Hot Rod American Deluxe 1 12", 4 12" Peavey half stack cab (total 180W), Peavey Blazer 158, Laney AOR Series Pro-Tube Lead amp head, Marshall mini half-stack EFFECTS: Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion, Dunlop Crybaby 535 multi-wah, DOD FX75-B Stereo Flanger |
Empirical Jam formed in the spring of 1999, when fellow Satrian fanatics Mak Hofmann and Evan Brown decided to write some songs and jam with each other. Though they were both in other bands, they wanted a more free escape through their music with room to improvise. They formed their duo and began jamming together, mak playing his JS100BK through his Squire amp, and Evan playing Mak's Peavey Raptor I through his Fender amp. Soon after they used Mak's high quality keyboard as a drum machine. However, being a duo restricted the possibilities of their sound, so Evan bought an Epiphone Accu-Bass with his $200 birthday money, and used that to fill in the voids of their music. They were still without a name however, and they wanted a cool sounding title that would illustrate the type of music they played. When Mak and Evan were younger they had formed a two-person club called the "E & M" club, which later turned into the "EMpire." Using this play on words and mixing in the "jam band" factor, they came up with Empirical Jam, and the name stuck.
