Joel Hoekstra

by Alexandra Mrozowska
— Senior Columnist —

Ask the music fans about their definition of a “guitar hero”, and you’ll be surprised at how diverse the answers may be. Some would hail the virtuosity of neo-classical shredders and Progressive Rock and Metal players. Others would rather appreciate those who avoid self-indulgence in favor of tasteful, song-oriented playing that became a cornerstone of many a Rock anthem.  

But then you have guitarists like Joel Hoekstra, who simply seem to have it all – and more. A team player when it comes to Whitesnake and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (as well as Night Ranger in the past), Hoekstra also wasn’t shy about showcasing his guitar skills on three instrumental solo albums. In addition to that, in 2015 he opened up a brand new chapter of his career with the side project Joel Hoekstra’s 13. Not only did the ensemble feature a particularly strong line-up of Jeff Scott Soto, Russell Allen, Vinny Appice, Tony Franklin and Derek Sherinian. Also, it was way more about the songs than it was about the shredding. Now, five years after the first album Dying To Live, Joel Hoekstra’s 13 strikes back. And as the project’s second album Running Games is planned to be released on February the 12^th via Frontiers Music SRL, we caught up with its perpetually busy mastermind to discuss it as well as his other endeavors.

Hardrock Haven: After two albums released under the moniker of Joel Hoekstra’s 13, is this how you envision your solo career in the long run?

Joel Hoekstra: Well, I look at this [Joel Hoekstra’s 13] like it’s under a project name, not a solo album. I’d say it’s rather my side project, so anything with Joel Hoekstra’s 13 is going to be this Melodic Hard Rock style. With solo albums, all bets are off – nobody knows. I don’t have any plans to make one right now, but I do have three instrumental guitar albums that are out from the past years [Undefined, released in 2000, The Moon Is Falling, 2003, and 13 Acoustic Songs, 2007].

Hardrock Haven: The core line-up for the upcoming Joel Hoekstra’s 13’s album Running Games is still the same as before, and the only difference is that this time it’s Russell Allen on all lead vocals and Jeff Scott Soto on background vocals. Why did you get back to what was actually the initial idea for Dying To Live too?

Joel Hoekstra: Yes, I think it’s just to give it some consistency from album to album, so people can know what to expect from the name and the project it’s under. I thought everybody did a great job on Dying To Live, so I was excited to have everybody back and to have it all just a little bit more focused this time in terms of the style. With the two lead singers, I’m not sure everybody got it on Dying To Live, and a part of the reason that Dying To Live had two lead singers was Russell’s schedule. So just to move things along, Jeff did that as a favor to me. Not that I regret it, ‘cause it awesome and I loved having two singers there. But I thought this time around it might make more sense to try with one lead singer and see what happens. I mean, Jeff has so many projects going on right now and so many bands – with the addition of Sons Of Apollo he didn’t have back then – and now also a solo album [Wide Awake In My Dreamland]out right at the same time that this is out… so an exhibit A in terms of how busy he is, right? (laughs)

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. There were a lot of things to talk about as he checked in with us.

Joel Hoekstra: So, I thought it made more sense to just have Russell do the lead vocals, while Jeff helped me out with the background vocals, and throughout to have both of them.

Hardrock Haven: Sure. Why’s the album titled Running Games and how does the title correspond with the songs?

Joel Hoekstra: I think it’s [because] I was doing a lot of touring at the time I wrote it, so these are songs of that era (laughs) back when we were actually still touring and being on the road. So I think a lot of it just has to do it with that. It seemed to be the general theme that tied all the songs together in the end.

Hardrock Haven: Whenever something new from you comes out and especially since the release of two singles off Running Games, I see a lot of excitement coming from your core fanbase on social media. How important this kind of interaction with the fans is for you?

Joel Hoekstra: It’s great to have a daily support from people who are interested in what I’m  doing. It’s awesome. I think people like both singles, which I’m really excited about – I mean, it seems like everybody really liked “Hard To Say Goodbye” and everybody really seems to like “Finish Line”… And I think the animation video [for “Finish Line”] was something fun. I’ve always wanted to have an animated video and I think Wayne Joyner did a great job with it, so in general, I’m really excited to have those two out.

Hardrock Haven: The video you’ve just mentioned touches upon many issues – from dealing with fear and failure to pursuing dreams and therapy through music. Who came up with the storyline and how well do you think it reflects the song lyrics and your personal experiences?

Joel Hoekstra: I would say I gave Wayne a rough idea of a storyline and he just basically hit it out of the park and did a great job with it. In terms of what the song is about, I like people to be able to find their own meaning in it too, so things are always a little bit vague and people can always interpret the lyrics the way they want to. So there’s nothing ever [that’s] totally specific. In terms of personal experiences, I would say so – to a certain degree. I mean, I’d say it’s based on a true story, like these in Hollywood (laughs).

Hardrock Haven: In 2015, we talked about possibilities of bringing Joel Hoekstra’s 13 to the live stage. Do you think it’s still possible once the situation worldwide goes back to normal?

Joel Hoekstra: It’s really hard to say right now. We need to get the world open and we’ll take it from there. I would certainly love that.

Hardrock Haven: Back to 2021 now – an Inglorious single “Medusa” that you co-wrote with the band’s lead singer Nathan James has been released quite recently. In general, how important to you is to support younger acts and what does it feel like to be an inspiration for a younger generation?

Joel Hoekstra: Nathan has been a friend of mine since he was in TSO West, so we know each other from Trans-Siberian Orchestra and it was our friend Derek Shulman who originally put us together to write for their first album and I think I co-wrote one song with them on that [“You’re Mine” off their 2016 self-titled debut]. Now it’s two songs on their new album. I look at it like we’re helping each other. He’s helping me out by getting my name out there as a songwriter and I’m certainly excited to be watching a younger band grow. And in general, it’s amazing to feel like you’ve been a positive influence in any way – that’s a great feeling.

Hardrock Haven: Everyone emulates their heroes when starting out, so what do you think it was that helped you eventually create your own sound and shape your own style of playing?

Joel Hoekstra: Just life – just living life and just playing naturally. I think it helps just to be busy enough that you don’t have time to think about it (laughs). So if you’re just always working, you’re gonna develop your own style and approach to things.

Hardrock Haven: You’ve always spoken about the importance of your songs being relatable to people. Has it been important for you as a listener to relate to the music you listened to?

Joel Hoekstra: I’m more into working on music than I am into listening to other people’s music and trying to find the meaning in it, these days. I’d say I’m working on music and things related to my music career eight to ten hours a day, so it’s very rare that I’m putting another people’s stuff and, like, daydreaming and trying to find the meaning in it. As a kid, sure. But I’ve always been a melody guy (laughs), more about what the melody and the riff are. Lyrics are cool – you just find something that’s your own personal thing when you’re writing – but I’m not as interested in reading lyrics to albums and things like a lot of people do.

Hardrock Haven: Obviously we can’t omit the topic of Whitesnake and I’d like to ask you about your contributions to the Red, White and Blues Trilogy that saw the light of day throughout 2020…

Joel Hoekstra: The only tracks I’m on there are “Always The Same”, which was a track on The Rock Album that hadn’t been released on Flesh & Blood (2019). So, a new track – which was cool, as it’s something that I co-wrote with David [Coverdale], and it was fun to have that out there and heard. And then, all the other songs that I’m the part of are the tracks from the Restless Heart album (1997), where I enhanced what Adrian Vandenberg had played on – I just reinforced his tracks. So these are the ones; I’m not on ones from, say, Slip Of The Tongue and stuff like that. I’d say it’s like a two or three tracks from each (album) of the trilogy.

Hardrock Haven: Having mentioned writing “Always The Same” with David and also the songwriting process with him being one of the topics of our previous interview, what do you think your particular strengths are when it comes to songwriting and how do you think they complement David’s?

Joel Hoekstra: That’s a hard one to answer. I mean, I’m pretty quick and I can write harmony and melody quickly, so chord progressions and riffs and melodies… I understand how they work off each other and I can move pretty quickly, which David likes to do. So that’s one [example], and that we both like to work quickly and not over-write songs or think too long and hard about how to make them too complicated.

Hardrock Haven: And what’s the status of the other projects you’ve been a part of – like Echobats [with Tony Harnell, Matt Starr, James Lomenzo and Eric Levy] or the VHF [with Tony Franklin and Todd “Vinny” Vinciguerra]?

Joel Hoekstra: With Echobats, I don’t think much is happening there right now. And with the other one, I think there’s couple of ideas that Todd Vinciguerra has – I think I gave him an idea and so did Tony. But as Todd is really the one who runs that project, we’re just waiting for him, I guess, to move somewhere with it and say what’s happening.

Hardrock Haven: It was also announced that you’re gonna release an album with the mentioned Nathan James, Michael Sweet, Marco Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge further this year. Is it too early to ask you to actually reveal anything about this collaboration?

Joel Hoekstra: I was asked to do the project with Michael and Nathan and I like both of them – they both are talented guys – so it should be exciting. I came up with the guitar riffs for the project and I sent them on to Michael. I think he’s in the process of arranging and writing melodies and lyrics etc. which I think is going to be a collaborative effort. We have a few people that like to write, so we’ll see how it all comes out.

Hardrock Haven: As it’s not even a month into the new year, what are your plans for 2021 regarding anything from music to guitar teaching to Guitar World contributions?

Joel Hoekstra: Right now, [it’s] teaching privately on Skype and doing masterclasses for Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. I’ve been doing Cameos and personalized messages too. I do sessions for people, playing on their stuff – lots of that… I’ve got another quarantine video coming out and a shred compilation I’ve just played on that’s coming out… And like we talked, I’m busy writing for that project with Michael Sweet and also, co-writing a little bit with my friend Jim Peterik right now for an album he’s producing. And obviously now, I’m also doing lots of press for Running Games… So I’m constantly going.

Hardrock Haven: And is there anything you’d like to say in addition to what we’ve already discussed?

Joel Hoekstra: I hope everybody gets Running Games when it comes out on February the 12^th and I hope people will really enjoy the album. I’m definitely excited to have it see the light of day – so please, enjoy and rock out!

Photo credits: Mike Polito