JoEllen Cabot and Stephan Hoff now perform under the name G.I. and Jo.
JoEllen Cabot and Stephan Hoff now perform under the name G.I. and Jo. (Special to the Reporter-Herald)
Nine years together and a shared love for music have given local music duo G.I. and Jo another chance, together.
JoEllen Cabot and Stephan Hoff, both in their 50s and recently engaged, perform under the name G.I. and Jo.
The two learned of each other through a mutual friend three years before meeting, while Cabot was living in South Carolina, still married. Cabot's friend would call her to tell her about a "hot tile guy," and how he would be a match for her, Cabot said.
"I said: 'Well, if you like him, why don't you date him?'" Cabot said.
Three years later, Cabot met that "hot tile guy," Stephan Hoff, in person at the former White Buffalo in Loveland, Cabot said. Both newly single, the two began dating and making music together, and have since been dating for nine years.
"There's no surprises. You know, after nine years you can't say: 'I didn't know what I was getting,' because we do and we love each other a lot," said Cabot.
With that familiarity, Hoff proposed to Cabot on Christmas Day.
"I waited nine years. I don't like to rush anything," said Hoff.
"We're going to treat it like a gig. and we're playing all the songs and telling our story throughout the songs," Hoff said of the wedding. "We're even writing two songs to sing our vows to each other."
They each have their own process for writing songs.
"He just sits down at the piano and it just starts pouring out of him and he'll come up with a really, really beautiful piano line and we'll lay that down," Cabot said.
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The subject matter in their songs differs from typical, current music, Hoff said.
"We write about things that we've experienced in life, so it's not typical drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll. It's about experiences we've had, relationships we've had, things we've done, getting older," said Hoff.
They said that creating music they both relate to, is an important component to their relationship
"If you don't have anything in common other than just the sake of being with somebody, I don't think those relationships are very strong. But ours is, because we do share that musical passion," said Hoff.