By: Robert Cavuoto
It’s easy to define Night Ranger guitarist, Joel Hoekstra.
Hard work, perseverance, and simultaneously having one’s hands in multiple projects at the same time, gives you an idea, even before you check out his fiery cauldron of guitar talent.
When he is not out touring on the weekends with Night Ranger he can be found on Broadway’s Great White Way, turning heads with his blazing eight-finger solo in the play Rock of Ages.
When not there in the winter months, he can be seen playing arenas with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!
Since joining Night Ranger seven years ago, he has played on two of the band’s studio CDs, Somewhere in California [2011] and High Road [2014], as well as their live acoustic CD; 24 Strings & a Drummer [2012].
Night Ranger is Jack Blades [bass guitar, vocals], Kelly Keagy [drums, vocals], Brad Gillis [lead & rhythm guitars], and Eric Levy [keyboards], who are currently out touring the US with their brand of American rock.
I was able to catch up one of the hardest working musicians I’ve ever met, Joel Hoekstra, to chat about Night Ranger’s newest CD, racking up frequent flyer miles and performing on Broadway.
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Robert Cavuoto: As I told Brad Gillis on an earlier interview; I love the new CD. It’s the perfect upbeat summertime album.
Joel Hoekstra: Thanks so much. In general, that’s been Night Ranger’s history over the years; to provide some feel-good, hard American rock and roll. Just straight ahead and not trying to trick anybody.
Robert: Tell me a little about how you joined the band after Jeff Watson had left.
Joel Hoekstra: Almost every year I would play guitar at an event at World Stage in Chicago. It was run by Jim Peterik of the band, Survivor. He would hold these events and a lot of his friends would come out and sing their hits.
I was in the house band, so I got to play with a lot of very cool people year after year like Rick Emmett, Don Barne, Alan Parsons, and Kip Winger. Kelly Keagy, our drummer, would also come out to sing a few Night Ranger hits.
So, Kelly and I would see each other once a year for a good six or seven years. One year I learned that Jeff was no longer with the band, so that evening I got in Kelly’s face a little bit and said, “Hey, man, you should have called me” because Reb Beach was their interim guitar player.
As it turns out, Kelly took me seriously that night and ended up calling me a few days later and said, “Hey, Reb needs to miss a show. We can either cancel the show, or we can give you a shot, if you want to come in and do this. We’re going to be coming straight from Japan, so there won’t be any time to rehearse.”
I said, “Let’s do it.” I’m not going to miss the opportunity, so it was really pretty exciting. It was like jumping out of a plane, and not knowing if you had a parachute on. When the parachute opened, it was a really good feeling. That show went really well, and the rest is history. I’m now in my seventh year with the band.
Robert: Great story, what do you think you brought to the band where they didn’t need to audition other guitarists?
Joel Hoekstra: I would say that my preparation had a lot to do with making the transition easy. That really sealed the deal. It’s much easier to hire a guy who knows all your material, than one who doesn’t.
I think just a lot of other coincidences too, like I’m a Les Paul style player, and that fits in nicely with the legacy of the band. Also our tastes are very similar. A lot of it was being a good fit, not only musically, but personality-wise.
Robert: Did you have to alter your playing style in any way when you joined Night Ranger?
Joel Hoekstra: Not really. What I do is try to focus my style to sound cohesive with them. For instance, if you come to see me in Rock of Ages, I’m doing all kinds of whammy bar stuff, because that’s really a signature and a cliché of the ’80s era. However, I would never dream of playing the whammy bar stuff in Night Ranger, because that’s Brad Gillis’s signature and he’s really the best at it. So, I just let him cover that ground.
Robert: How do you think the new CD, High Road, differs from Somewhere in California?
Joel Hoekstra: I think that High Road is a little bit more diverse. We weren’t as concerned about making something sound like old Night Ranger. I think it’s better sonically, than Somewhere in California. It’s mixed and mastered better too.
I pretty much like every song on Somewhere in California, as with High Road there are more peaks and valleys for me. There are some songs I like less than some on Somewhere in California, but there are also some that I like much more.
It’s always tough to tell when you’ve make an album, because you’re very close to it. You almost never know what to think until you release it. Every band, by the time they get done with it, have heard the songs a billion times and nit-picked them to death. It’s like standing really close to a painting. You really have no idea what the picture looks like from where most people are going to be looking at it.
Robert: I was watching the DVD that came with the deluxe CD about the making of the High Road. I never realized all the nuances that went into vocal parts or bridges. It’s always impressive to see that amount of passion and dedication going into a song’s development.
Joel Hoekstra: I should give a shout-out to Anthony Fox whose mixed those last two albums and has become a real member of the team. He’s willing to take all these little notes from everybody and looks for ways to improve things. A lot of mixers would say, “Well, I mixed it and that’s that; take it or leave it.” Anthony has just really been great about working with the band and getting everything so that our vision is totally there. I think that’s had a lot to do with the reason that people have really liked the last two albums.
Robert: Does Night Ranger still write for radio, or are they just concerned with putting out a great rock CD?
Joel Hoekstra: I don’t think we concern ourselves with radio play or delusional about having a top-selling CD like Lady Gaga. We don’t concern ourselves with that, but I think we all enjoy making melodic hard rock.
So that’s what we continue to do, because we like it, as well as our fans. So why not keep rocking as long as we can?
Robert: When I prepare for these interviews, I really immerse myself in the CD and truly get hooked on all the songs. When I go to the live show, I’m always a bit disappointed that I can’t hear the entire album live. I know it’s not realistic and I’m probably in the minority but, I was surprised that only two new songs made it into the New York City set list; “High Road” and “St Bartholomew.”
Joel Hoekstra: It gets hard, but there are also people who complained that we didn’t play, “The Secret of My Success.” There are people who want to hear all the older songs, the hits. There are people who want to hear the new material.
We do our best to balance that for everybody, but there ultimately is a limit to the time we can play. If we played everything, Jack and Kelly wouldn’t be able to sing anything they’d have such raw throats.
Robert: Jack Blade was pretty funny after playing the two new songs. He said, “We snuck in two songs in. You might not have noticed.”
Joel Hoekstra: There are those people who want to hear the Damn Yankees hits like “High Enough,” and “Coming of Age,” You’d be surprised at how many people would complain at this point, if we pulled them. We’re very interested in making all our fans happy who come to the show. That’s really why we’re at it at this stage of the game, because we really enjoy what we do, and we love to make the fans happy and give them a quality show.
Robert: One thing I couldn’t help but notice onstage is the camaraderie within the band and your friendship with Brad. How important is that chemistry?
Joel Hoekstra: Brad and I really hit it off right out of the gate when we met. We have many similar interests and really dig playing guitar. I have to say that these guys have taught me more about the music business and being a professional than anybody else. They’re all my big brothers, so when we step onstage there is such an appreciation for where we’re at.
Robert: It’s apparent. What amps were you and Brad using on stage?
Joel Hoekstra: With Night Ranger for quite some time, I’ve been using the EVH III amps and cabinets. They deliver a great punchy, high-gain rhythm that’s just perfect for the classic Night Ranger sound. It has searing high-gain on the leads. They’re good friends to me, over the years.
Brad has been using Mesa Boogie for years. He has a longstanding relationship with them. I think that’s been a big part of his sustain sound.
Brad and I have a philosophy of keeping it simple. We don’t use a lot of pedals. I only have a Line 6 DL4 delay pedal and a loop for when I play a solo. Everything else is just the guitar and the amp.
I have AKG Wireless Guitar Systems that are built into my main guitars for Night Ranger, by Atomic Guitar Works. You notice while we we’re playing that I did have a wireless pack and nothing was plugged into the guitar jack.
Robert: Is that what the red light on Brad’s guitar was?
Joel Hoekstra: Yeah, Brad has had that for years. That’s one of the little signature Night Ranger things. I love that stuff, man. I love just making the machine work and keeping the band moving the way it’s supposed to move.
Robert: Are you a gear head?
Joel Hoekstra: Somewhat less than you would think, because, honestly, I’m pretty always onstage. For the last five years, I’ve probably averaged about 400 shows. I do eight a week at Rock of Ages and eight a week with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in November and December, so it’s been active, to say the least.
People will ask me, “What albums are you checking out these days?” I can’t, I get done with my day of gigging, and I can’t wait to not listen to music.” I’m not bragging about that, but it’s just an observation.
Gear is kind of the same way. I do know that I enjoy the gear that I use very much. I’m clued into certain gear by people that I’ll go check out, but I don’t have as much time to dive into that world as you would think.
Robert: That’s an insane amount of shows. How does that lend itself to Night Ranger?
Joel Hoekstra: It fits really well. Night Ranger is primarily playing on weekends this year. I’ll probably do about 75 shows this year and most of them will be on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. I’ll go play with Night Ranger for two or three shows then fly back to New York City for on Broadway during the week.
And you know what? Everybody in the band is doing the same thing – they’re flying home. Brad is doing session work for ESPN. Everybody keeps themselves occupied in that downtime in their own way. With me, it just happens to be a successful Broadway show.
Robert: I speak with a lot of musicians like yourself; they always have their fingers in multiple projects. Is that the nature of the music business nowadays?
Joel Hoekstra: I think it’s the new model. I don’t really know anybody who’s doing just one thing anymore. Maybe a couple of guys, but it takes an awful lot to put together a successful musical career at this point. I think you just have to have a philosophy of treating it like a job, if it’s your job, and that means working at it every day.
If you’re in the business world, you’re not going to say, “Well. I’ll work two days a week.” You have to work five, six or sometimes seven days a week. It’s just about having that kind of diligence with music. Even though it’s art, if you want to make a living at it, it’s considered work.
Robert: I assume to also be working with understanding and like-minded musicians helps. There are people who feel like you’re in the band, and you’re not going to do anything else.
Joel Hoekstra: Yeah, I mean the guys have been really great about supporting me doing other projects. I think as long as it doesn’t interfere with doing a quality job for Night Ranger, and being the best it can be, then it’s not a problem.
Robert: I’ve never seen the play, Rock of Ages. Are you onstage playing and acting.
Joel Hoekstra: Yeah, I’m onstage the entire show. I begin the show out front, but playing an eight-finger solo, which, is something you’ll never see on Broadway.
Then we go back to the band platform, which is behind the story the actors tell. I think one thing that people don’t know about the show is that it’s really funny. That was something that got lost in the movie.
I think, the movie played it a little safe. They wanted to make it PG, and I think it lost some of its dirtiness. The live show also pokes fun at itself quite a bit more, which was a lost element in the movie.
I had a cameo in the movie, so I’ve seen it and went to the opening night party. I had a lot of great life experiences from being in the movie, but I would say that the live show is definitely the better by a mile. You can have a drink in your seat. It’s just like a fun night out. You hear all the tunes that you like, and the band plays them well. We don’t make fun of the music. The show pokes fun at a lot of the ’80s clichés and stereotypes but not at the music itself. The music is performed with integrity.
Robert: How did you get involved with Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
Joel Hoekstra: I had a couple of friends in the band. Alex Skolnick was going to initially take a year off to go tour with his trio and open for Rodrigo y Gabriela. I basically had my name thrown into the hat by those friends in the band. I had to audition like everybody else, one in New York, and another in Florida. The tricky part was figuring out how it was going to fit in, because I was so excited at having the opportunity to play in something like that.
For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a completely unique, over-the-top production show.
Paul O’Neill really throws it all out there. [Laughter] He gives people their money’s worth.
I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Thankfully, they made it work for my schedule and I’m now going into my fifth winter tour with them. I’m very honored to be a part of it every year.
Robert: I read that you have a new project, VHF. Tell me about that.
Joel Hoekstra: Todd Vinciguerra is a drummer, who I was roommates with many moons ago back in Hollywood.
He said, “Hey, man, I’ve got these drum tracks and Tony Franklin on bass” [Blue Murder, The Firm, Kenny Wayne Shepherd]. “I think I want to make an album.”
I said, “Well, send me a song and I’ll play on it.”
He just told me to do whatever I wanted on the track and so I did. I thought, well, this is really unique. It’s like a song built backwards with drums first, then bass and then everything else on top – the guitar is the voice and the melody. After doing one track, I thought, “Man, this is pretty cool. Why don’t we do an EP?”
So we ended up doing four or five more songs like that, and Tony and Todd did a drum-bass song. I have one song that’s just like a guitar solo. We came up with something really unique. Most things that fall in an instrumental guitar genre are a little bit more like “check me out, or look what I can do.” These songs come across like Pink Floyd, kind of psychedelic and trippyfied. So, we’re real proud of it. It’s a unique CD that everybody should check out.
Night Ranger guitarists, Brad Gillis and Joel Hoekstra
Robert: Where do you find yourself gravitating when you sit down to write?
Joel Hoekstra: I don’t know, it depends on whatever I’m doing at the time, whatever people I’m working with. Just kind of understanding how to play for situations. So, if that’s the direction we’re going with that album, I’m not going to have one song on there going a completely different path.
My history is learning to do sessions, play for people, and producers. That has allowed me to have a pretty personal spin on music. I don’t know that I necessarily prefer any one style. Definitely rock. There are other styles of music, but I pretty much like anything in there from A to Z.
Robert: I know you were in Michael Sweet’s video “I’m Not Your Suicide”. He is another hard working guy that I speak to quite frequently.
Joel Hoekstra: I think Michael is really underrated as a guitar player and as a musician in general. He’s a superstar in my opinion.
He wanted to include me in his last solo album, but the scheduling was just tricky. He was doing most of the guitars when I was out with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I didn’t end up playing on his solo album, but he was kind enough to include me in the band, for the videos. It was a great life experience.
I got to fly out to L.A. for a day and hang with him. I have the utmost respect for him. I think he wanted a player in the video, and not just himself. I was more than honored to get that call and to hang with him, regardless of whether or not I played on the album.
