By: Robert Cavuoto
Joel Hoekstra, guitarist for Night Ranger and Whitesnake, released a tremendous solo CD entitled Joel Hoekstra’s 13 Dying to Live on October 16th via Frontiers Music SRL.
It features an all-star cast of rockers including Jeff Scott Soto [vocals], Russell Allen [vocals], Tony Franklin [bass], Vinny Appice [drums], and Derek Sherinian [keyboards]. The stellar musicians on this debut CD are some of the absolute best the rock world has to offer.
The CD rips with raw emotion, powerful guitar riffs and incredible melodies from the first song to the last. Jeff Scott Soto and Russell Allen trade off on vocals creating a diverse and dynamic CD.
Joel, Tony, and Vinny play with vigor and lust giving the CD its searing power. Eleven melodic hard rock tunes that will appeal to any music fan.
I caught up with Joel in New York to talk about creating this rocking masterpiece, what lies on the horizon for Whitesnake, and what he would be doing if he never picked up the guitar!
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Robert: Congrats on creating the perfect hard rock CD with one of the best line-ups to date!
Joel Hoekstra: Thanks, It was a lot of work and a true labor of love [Laughing]. I’m usually the guy in the show who just goes in a does the guitars, like with Night Ranger and Whitesnake, so this was a real eye opening experience.
I put out three solo instrumental CDs years ago and as fans got to know me from Night Ranger, Whitesnake, and Rock of Ages they started asking me about making an all rock solo CD. This is that CD.
When people listen to it I know they’ll really like it. The trick is getting them to listen to it. It’s not like the new Iron Maiden or Queensryche where people know what to expect.
It’s a little harder when you say Joel Hoekstra’s 13 and people go “What?” [Laughing]. I think people really love melodic hard rock, it’s Dio at its heaviest and Foreigner at its lightest.
Robert: What was the most challenging aspect of putting this CD together?
Joel Hoekstra: Just that it never ends [Laughing].
I’m still working on things. I’m happy with the CD for sure, regardless of the amount of work that goes into it. I thought the end was when I turned in the final recording, the EPK [electronic press kit] and the promo photos.
Robert: How long did it take you from beginning to end?
Joel Hoekstra: From the time I wrote the first riff until it was release was probably two years.
Robert: The production quality was outstanding, was the CD recorded as a live as band?
Joel Hoekstra: I should mention that I worked with Chris Collier and he is a tremendous engineer. I owe a great deal of the sound on the CD to him.
Outside of me working with Russell, everyone did their own thing. They all worked on their own, which I personally like. I’ve worked with a lot of bands and can speak from experience that you get the best results from people when they can work on their own at their own pace.
Sometimes people can feel self-conscious when doing a bunch of takes or can be a bit apprehensive about experimenting. When you have a lot of people in the room they tend to play it safe because they know what’s going to work. I sent them scratch guitar to a click track and a vocal melody. Vinny recorded the drums to the click track, then Tony recorded the bass.
After that it was pretty varied, but in general the vocal went down, then the background vocals, and then my final guitar parts. Derek came in at the end with the keyboard. He did a great job of using the right sound at the right parts to sound polished and cohesive.
Robert: It really has a band vibe to it.
Joel Hoekstra: I really wanted to avoid making it sound like a guitar player’s album, I didn’t want to be too self-indulgent and have three minute solos or write songs that were progressive. I just wanted a good, solid, hard rock CD that was melodic. It was really about the songs, not trying to prove anything to anybody.
Robert: I thought the songs all have great vocal phrasing allowing the guitar to breathe and let the melody shine through.
Joel Hoekstra: I have to tip my hat to these great players who helped me out on it. Everybody did a great job serving the song. I don’t hear anybody cramming parts in just to get them in to what they can do. It’s all very tasteful.
I think there are some flashy solos, but they are kept to a minimum. I’m a guitar player and even I get bored listening to a guitarist go on for more than a few minutes. It doesn’t do it for me. I’m a fan of this music and make sure there was a focal point for the listener, which are the hooks.
Robert: Russell and Jeff have very similar voices which make the CD flow.
Joel Hoekstra: I wanted a diverse album, but didn’t want it to sound scattered. So, I tried to stay within the frame work of each singer. I didn’t try and reinvent the wheel, just write great songs with a great lineup.
Jeff and Russell are two of the best rock singers of the day, the rhythm section of Vinny and Tony is like Dio on steroids. Derek rounded off the CD on keyboards.
Robert: My favorite track is “Until I Left You.” What can you tell me about its history?
Joel Hoekstra: That one actually goes back a ways. The melody was an idea I’ve had for over 10 years [Laughing]. When it came time to do the album I wasn’t sure if it would be right for the CD, thinking it was too commercial. Initially I was thinking of giving it a Black Sabbath vibe.
Jeff sang on it, he is the master of delivering a great rock melody. At that point I had to move forward with it.
Robert: Do you have a favorite track?
Joel Hoekstra: It depends what I’m in the mood for. There are heavy tracks like “Say Goodbye to the Sun” or “Dying to Live”, all the way to commercial tracks like “Until I Left You” or “Start Again”. A lot of people are telling me their favorite track is “What We Believe”, the duet with Jeff and Chloe Lowery.
If people don’t know her they should check her out.
Robert: Its might be a bit premature to ask considering the CD was just released, but do you see future CDs with the same line-up because of the chemistry.
Joel Hoekstra: Anything can happen moving forward, I can make another Joel Hoekstra’s 13 with different or the same people. We can also collaborate together on the writing of a CD and call it 13. I think the first step is getting this CD out and seeing the reception it gets.
Robert: Can we see yourself taking this band out on tour?
Joel Hoekstra: I’m interested in supporting the CD any way possible. It’s all about finding a scenario that makes sense. It all depends how well the album is received. I don’t want to do a live performance that would cheapen the album in any way.
Robert: What lies on the horizon for Whitesnake, any details of another studio CD?
Joel Hoekstra: I’m just getting ready to head on the second leg of the Purple Tour in Japan and Europe. Then we wrap up with a big co-headlining run with Def Leppard in Ireland and the U.K. That takes us all the way through the rest of the years. I can’t tell you beyond that, but I can tell you that David is super enthused about the band with this line-up. I did go out by him for 10 days this month, so everyone can look forward to a very active 2016 from us.
Robert: Did David hear your CD and say, “You should have saved one of the songs for Whitesnake?”
Joel Hoekstra: [Laughing] I didn’t get a lot of feedback from him on the CD, as he is always busy. It’s a lot to ask him to sit still and listen to my album for an hour. I think he checked it out and he seemed to be positive about it.
Robert: What would you have done if you never pickup the guitar?
Joel Hoekstra: Oh, man, can I say play the drums? [Laughing] I think for a minute that drums are what I wanted to play, as I was always air drumming to Iron Maiden. Ultimately it was Angus Young of AC/DC that was the most powerful influence on me, that made me want to play guitar.
He has fantastic feel and tone. I would say he’s the greatest showman to ever be on the stage!
