Meet the Writer: Tim Coffman

From working towards a degree in Electronic Media to shredding on the guitar, Tim Coffman is a music jack of all trades and master of stringed instruments.

Coffman’s love affair with music first began when he fell in love with Disney tunes at a young age.

“My earliest memory of music was hearing something beyond the Disney tunes that I loved from when I was little. The first thing that comes to mind is probably like the Toy Story soundtrack or Aladdin.” (As someone who performed “A Whole New World” at her third grade talent show, I firmly support Tim’s love of the Aladdin soundtrack.)

Coffman’s music taste grew from soundtracks to classic rock when he first discovered the Big Kahuna of all rock bands, The Beatles.

“I became a classic rock lover because I started learning about rock through The Beatles first. I became a diehard fan of them and realized how much good music was from other generations,” Coffman says, as he explains why his favorite album is Abbey Road by The Beatles.

From there came excursions into the work of Radiohead and Tom Petty and then into modern rock, where Coffman discovered Green Day, the poster children of teenage rebellion and guy liner, and then Weezer.

Always having “one foot in the classic rock realm and one foot in the modern rock scene,” his taste in music is current and thoughtful, yet with an old soul.

Coffman’s hunger for playing and listening to music eventually lead to his addiction to music magazines, like Rolling Stone and New Musical Express (NME), basically the British version of Rolling Stone. In fact, his dream job is to be a writer for one of those magazines.

“While Rolling Stone is what got me into music journalism, I have always found NME’s perspectives intriguing, along with all British music in general.”

Currently pursuing a degree in Electronic Media and a minor in music industry at Towson University in Baltimore, Md., Coffman also plays music, A LOT of music.

“I’ve been playing guitar for about 11 years and singing for about four to five years. I also play bass and dabble a little bit in piano,” he says. He certainly has his hands full with, well, all those instruments he plays.

Prior to taking the CMN course, Timothy had begun creating a portfolio as a contributing writer at his college newspaper, and still submits music reviews and think pieces every now and again. While being a knowledgeable writer and avid musician, Coffman still challenges himself in his writing.

“The most challenging aspect behind music journalism is to find my voice without having anything come off as unprofessional in my writing. While I do have opinions on most of the stuff I listen to, I sometimes find it difficult to transmit those emotions onto the page.” 

All of Tim’s writing for CMN can be found here.