{"id":69146,"date":"2021-01-23T17:07:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T22:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69146"},"modified":"2022-02-20T10:44:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T15:44:57","slug":"interview-with-joel-hoekstra-of-whitesnake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-joel-hoekstra-of-whitesnake\/","title":{"rendered":"Joel Hoekstra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ask the music fans about their definition of a \u201cguitar hero\u201d, and you\u2019ll 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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then you have guitarists like Joel Hoekstra, who simply seem to have it all \u2013 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\u2019t 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\u2019s 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<\/em>, Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 strikes back. And as the project\u2019s second album Running Games<\/em> is planned to be released on February the 12th<\/sup> via Frontiers Music SRL, we caught up with its perpetually busy mastermind to discuss it as well as his other endeavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: After two albums released under the moniker of Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13, is this how you envision your solo career in the long run?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: Well, I look at this [Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13] like it\u2019s under a project name, not a solo album. I\u2019d say it\u2019s rather my side project, so anything with Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 is going to be this Melodic Hard Rock style. With solo albums, all bets are off \u2013 nobody knows. I don\u2019t have any plans to make one right now, but I do have three instrumental guitar albums that are out from the past years [Undefined<\/em>, released in 2000, The Moon Is Falling<\/em>, 2003, and 13 Acoustic Songs<\/em>, 2007].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: The core line-up for the upcoming Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13\u2019s album Running Games<\/em> is still the same as before, and the only difference is that this time it\u2019s 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 <\/em>too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: Yes, I think it\u2019s just to give it some consistency from album to album, so people can know what to expect from the name and the project it\u2019s under. I thought everybody did a great job on Dying To Live<\/em>, 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\u2019m not sure everybody got it on Dying To Live<\/em>, and a part of the reason that Dying To Live<\/em> had two lead singers was Russell\u2019s schedule. So just to move things along, Jeff did that as a favor to me. Not that I regret it, \u2018cause 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 \u2013 with the addition of Sons Of Apollo he didn\u2019t have back then \u2013 and now also a solo album [Wide Awake In My Dreamland<\/em>]out right at the same time that this is out… so an exhibit A in terms of how busy he is, right? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. There were a lot of things to talk about as he checked in with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Sure. Why\u2019s the album titled Running Games<\/em> and how does the title correspond with the songs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: I think it\u2019s [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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Whenever something new from you comes out and especially since the release of two singles off Running Games<\/em>, 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: It\u2019s great to have a daily support from people who are interested in what I\u2019m  doing. It\u2019s awesome. I think people like both singles, which I\u2019m really excited about \u2013 I mean, it seems like everybody really liked \u201cHard To Say Goodbye\u201d and everybody really seems to like \u201cFinish Line\u201d… And I think the animation video [for \u201cFinish Line\u201d] was something fun. I\u2019ve always wanted to have an animated video and I think Wayne Joyner did a great job with it, so in general, I\u2019m really excited to have those two out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: The video you\u2019ve just mentioned touches upon many issues \u2013 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s nothing ever [that\u2019s] totally specific. In terms of personal experiences, I would say so \u2013 to a certain degree. I mean, I\u2019d say it\u2019s based on a true story, like these in Hollywood (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In 2015, we talked about possibilities of bringing Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 to the live stage. Do you think it\u2019s still possible once the situation worldwide goes back to normal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: It\u2019s really hard to say right now. We need to get the world open and we\u2019ll take it from there. I would certainly love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Back to 2021 now \u2013 an Inglorious single \u201cMedusa\u201d that you co-wrote with the band\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 [\u201cYou\u2019re Mine\u201d off their 2016 self-titled debut]. Now it\u2019s two songs on their new album. I look at it like we\u2019re helping each other. He\u2019s helping me out by getting my name out there as a songwriter and I\u2019m certainly excited to be watching a younger band grow. And in general, it\u2019s amazing to feel like you\u2019ve been a positive influence in any way \u2013 that\u2019s a great feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: Just life \u2013 just living life and just playing naturally. I think it helps just to be busy enough that you don\u2019t have time to think about it (laughs). So if you\u2019re just always working, you\u2019re gonna develop your own style and approach to things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: I\u2019m more into working on music than I am into listening to other people\u2019s music and trying to find the meaning in it, these days. I\u2019d say I\u2019m working on music and things related to my music career eight to ten hours a day, so it\u2019s very rare that I\u2019m putting another people\u2019s stuff and, like, daydreaming and trying to find the meaning in it. As a kid, sure. But I\u2019ve always been a melody guy (laughs), more about what the melody and the riff are. Lyrics are cool \u2013 you just find something that\u2019s your own personal thing when you\u2019re writing \u2013 but I\u2019m not as interested in reading lyrics to albums and things like a lot of people do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Obviously we can\u2019t omit the topic of Whitesnake and I\u2019d like to ask you about your contributions to the Red, White and Blues Trilogy<\/em> that saw the light of day throughout 2020…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: The only tracks I\u2019m on there are \u201cAlways The Same\u201d, which was a track on The Rock Album<\/em> that hadn\u2019t been released on Flesh & Blood <\/em>(2019). So, a new track \u2013 which was cool, as it\u2019s 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\u2019m the part of are the tracks from the Restless Heart <\/em>album (1997), where I enhanced what Adrian Vandenberg had played on \u2013 I just reinforced his tracks. So these are the ones; I\u2019m not on ones from, say, Slip Of The Tongue <\/em>and stuff like that. I\u2019d say it\u2019s like a two or three tracks from each (album) of the trilogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Having mentioned writing \u201cAlways The Same\u201d 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\u2019s?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: That\u2019s a hard one to answer. I mean, I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And what\u2019s the status of the other projects you\u2019ve been a part of \u2013 like Echobats [with Tony Harnell, Matt Starr, James Lomenzo and Eric Levy] or the VHF [with Tony Franklin and Todd \u201cVinny\u201d Vinciguerra]?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: With Echobats, I don\u2019t think much is happening there right now. And with the other one, I think there\u2019s couple of ideas that Todd Vinciguerra has \u2013 I think I gave him an idea and so did Tony. But as Todd is really the one who runs that project, we\u2019re just waiting for him, I guess, to move somewhere with it and say what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: It was also announced that you\u2019re 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: I was asked to do the project with Michael and Nathan and I like both of them \u2013 they both are talented guys \u2013 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\u2019s 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\u2019ll see how it all comes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: As it\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: Right now, [it\u2019s] teaching privately on Skype and doing masterclasses for Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. I\u2019ve been doing Cameos and personalized messages too. I do sessions for people, playing on their stuff \u2013 lots of that… I\u2019ve got another quarantine video coming out and a shred compilation I\u2019ve just played on that\u2019s coming out… And like we talked, I\u2019m 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\u2019s producing. And obviously now, I\u2019m also doing lots of press for Running Games<\/em>… So I\u2019m constantly going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And is there anything you\u2019d like to say in addition to what we\u2019ve already discussed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Hoekstra: I hope everybody gets Running Games<\/em> when it comes out on February the 12th<\/sup> and I hope people will really enjoy the album. I\u2019m definitely excited to have it see the light of day \u2013 so please, enjoy and rock out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credits: Mike Polito<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014 Ask the music fans about their definition of a \u201cguitar hero\u201d, and you\u2019ll be surprised at how diverse the answers may be. Some would hail the virtuosity of neo-classical […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":69149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[203,11180,15146,346],"class_list":{"0":"post-69146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews-recent","8":"tag-interview","9":"tag-joel-hoekstra","10":"tag-trans-siberian-orchestra-2","11":"tag-whitesnake"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}