7/23/08
The Night Ranger '08 tour has been going great! Too much to remember or list everything, but here are a few fun memories...
- 5/11 played with REO Speedwagon and Brad and I went up and sang backgrounds on Roll with the Changes.
- 6/9 taped an acoustic set for Sirius radio and did an interview with Martha Quinn for her show 'The Big 80's'.
- 6/11 we did the 'Elliot in the Morning' show in DC and then went over to XM Radio and taped an episode of Artist Confidential.
- 6/14 we played an insane show in San Juan, Puerto Rico...a great crowd!
- 6/22 a huge show with Boston and Styx and Tommy Shaw joined us onstage for High Enough.
- 7/2 we got to play for my family/friends in Arlington Heights, IL and on the WGN Morning News.
- 7/11 Rocklahoma!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks everyone for all the pictures, fun memories and support!
Oh, speaking of pictures, you can get a look at my new Gibson V in a couple of them...Check it out!
Brad Gillis and I were featured in the July issue of Japan's 'Young Guitar' magazine.
I want to make special mention of a product I am endorsing called Big Bends Nut Sauce. Brad turned me onto it and it's just awesome. I haven't had to tune my guitar in the last 10 or so Night Ranger shows thanks to this product!
Also, I recently played on a track for singer/songwriter Leslie Hunt.
Before I sign off, I want to thank people for purchasing my cd '13 acoustic songs' and making it a best seller at both CD Baby and Guitar9.
5/19/08
OK, lots of people wanted to hear about the Night Ranger tour of Japan, so I'm gonna get wordy on y'all.
The guys wanted to add 12 songs to the set to choose from, so first I went to Brad's for a couple of days where we played guitar 'til our fingers bled. It was great fun. We'd work on songs for a couple hours and then jam for a bit and work on chops, etc...Then back to songs, blah, blah, blah..Really cool to get to woodshed with Brad.
Then the band rehearsed for 2 days at Jack's, where it was more of the same. This was the first chance I got to rehearse with the band, so it was great for me and also was cool to see the guys in their element, where it all began in a sense.
Then, it was off to Tokyo where we had 2 great shows at Akasaka Blitz and a third show at CC Lemon Hall. Then, we took the bullet train to Nagoya for a show at Aichi Kinro Kaikan (that's easy for you to say) and the next day the train again to Osaka where we played IMP Hall. The Japanese audiences were amazing. All of the shows we played different sets. One night, Jack surprised me by asking me to play an acoustic solo. I never knew what to expect. Also, every night we played a different encore song with the guys from Firehouse.
I want to give a big shout out to Rich Bandoni and Anthony Woo (MacGyver) at Nady Wireless for building a transmitter into my Les Paul. Now I don't even have to wear transmitter pack. I just have a tiny on/off switch on the back plate and no alterations were done to the body of the guitar!! It worked great the whole tour.
Once I was home I had 4 days to "pull it together" for the Soundstage taping of Jim Peterik's World Stage. Another 28 songs. We had one rehearsal in Chicago and then let it rip. The guest artists on the show were Jimi Jamison (Survivor), Martha Davis (The Motels), Ray Parker Jr, The Ides of March, Johnny & Donny VanZant (Van Zant), Don Barnes (38 Special), Mickey Thomas (Starship), Dave Bickler (Survivor) and Night Ranger. A great experience.
Recently, I also played on a track for Chicago based singer-songwriter Jeff Boyle and licensed some of my music to Mendocino Coast films for a dvd.
4/2/08
The gigs have been going great with Night Ranger! I really want to thank all of the fans for being so cool! It's a little unnerving stepping into such an established band and being the guy who nobody recognizes or knows, etc. But I plan on leaving everything I've got on that stage every time out and hopefully that comes across.
Since I last wrote I've also had gigs with The Turtles, Big Brother & the Holding Company, World Stage and Todd Alsup.
I also had the privilege of playing on 4 tracks on Jimi Jamison's upcoming cd, which is being produced by Jim Peterik.
I want to thank Kevin Scoles at Ernie Ball strings for welcoming me on as an endorsee. Kevin, if you're reading this....Yes, I want my name on the string package!!!! :)
In the seemingly endless cycle of shameless self-promotion and pointless networking, I also put up a Facebook profile. Stop on by! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=787094542
Right now, it's practice, practice, practice, but in a couple of weeks it's off to Japan!!!!
1/1/08
Happy New Year everyone!!!!!
I finally finished my acoustic cd, simply titled '13 acoustic songs'.
Over the last couple of years, I found myself (in couch noodling time) writing these short chord-melody songs on my acoustic guitar (simple lines intertwining, if you will). Anyway, since it all happened so naturally, I felt compelled to lay them down. I recorded all of the acoustic guitars in a day and then had a some fun arranging around them. I know all of the fans of 'undefined' and 'The Moon is Falling' will think I've lost my edge (I haven't dammit!!!!!). But, hopefully everyone can enjoy these songs and an honest insight into my writing/acoustic guitar playing.
In other big news, I'll be touring this year with Night Ranger!!! I'm very excited to get the opportunity to rock out with these guys and hope to see everyone out at the shows. Check the live page for details! You Can Still Rock in America!!!!!!
Oh, I'd like to especially thank Suhr amps and guitars for getting me ready to rock out with them and also Rich Bandoni at Nady Wireless.
Since I last wrote I've had some insanely fun shows with Scrap Metal and some great gigs in NYC with both Shaun Barker and Todd Alsup.
In the recording world, I played on a track for Todd Alsup's upcoming EP, contributed a guest solo to guitarist Kenny Serane's upcoming cd and another guest solo to guitarist Javier Vinas' upcoming cd.
Also, a couple of songs that I co-wrote have been selected for the soon to be released film, 'May the Best Man Win'.
Until next time.....
10/4/07
I just back from LA, where TJ Helmerich mixed my upcoming cd. I need to do some reviewing, tweaking, etc. But, it will be available soon.
Since I last wrote I went on the Hippiefest tour with The Turtles. Good times! I've also had some great gigs in NYC with Shaun Barker, a fun stretch with Big Brother & the Holding Company and a twilight zone (in a good way) gig in New Port Richie, Florida with Sophia Ramos.
I've got some gigs coming up this fall with a project called Scrap Metal featuring:. Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (Nelson), Jack Blades & Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), Eric Martin (Mr Big), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter), Jim Peterik & Jimi Jamison (Survivor). You can see more at http://www.myspace.com/scrapmetalband.
I've added the Hemishpheres (Ric Fierabracci, Joel Rosenblatt, Phil Turcio) record to my discography. http://www.myspace.com/hemispheres2006
Until next time........
7/25/07
After wrapping up the Arizona run of Love, Janis, I got the opportunity to play a gig with 80's supergroup Night Ranger. What a blast! I also played a few gigs in Switzerland with Botanica on their Magnetic Waltz tour. Other gigs since I last wrote include: Jim Peterik's World Stage, The Turtles, Shaun Barker, CRB and Lauren Echo. Now, it's off for the Hippiefest tour....
In addition to the live playing, I had the opportunity to record some solos for Hurtlocker's cd Embrace the Fall on Napalm Records. I also recorded on a couple tracks for Sandra Bazzarelli.
My cd is coming along well and I hope to mix in Sept.
My guitar addiction continued with the purchase of a Fender Jazzmaster that you can check out on the Photos page.
5/10/07
I'm in Phoenix right now, playing in the Arizona run of Love, Janis. The shows in Tucson all went well and Phoenix has been great to this point as well. In addition to the shows, I was able to do promos on NBC's Arizona Midday, KXCI's Live at Five, and KUAZ as well. I'll even throw in one blip of shameless self-promotion.
"The whole group was tight and together, but Joel Hoekstra on lead guitar was especially electrifying..."
-Kathleen Allen, Arizona Daily Star
Before I left for Arizona, I was able to record a couple of solos for Sophia Ramos' upcoming cd.
During the week off, I had gigs with Shaun Barker, Lauren Echo and the Turtles.
May 18 I'll be participating in Jim Peterik's World Stage show....always a great experience.
I have a busy summer ahead. First off, I'll be filling in for my friend John Andrews on some European dates with his band Botanica. Really cool stuff! Then, I'll be playing with the Turtles on the Hippiefest tour.
I've added Jeff Jacobson's self-titled cd to my discography. Everyone should check Jeff out at www.jeffjacobson.net!
3/1/07
I've been enjoying working on my next cd. I'd hoped to have it finished early this year, but things like this have a way of taking longer than expected. Anyway, it will be a very different album than the previous two. It's a collection of chord-melody songs that I wrote on acoustic. There are no drums this time, but Nir Z (Chris Cornell, Genesis), Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra, Michel Camilo), Daniel Adair (Nickelback, 3 Doors Down) and Rich Stitzel (Cathy Richardson Band, Miranda Lambert) all were kind enough to contribute percussion. Tim Lefebvre (Rudder, SNL Band) is in the process of laying down the bass. More soon....
Since I last wrote, I've played with The Turtles, CRB, Shaun Barker, Lauren Echo and done some shows at Tarzan. There's a nice review of one CRB gig in the Chico Enterprise Record (chicoer.com). CRB's Delusions of Grandeur has also been voted 2007 DIY album of the year. You can get more details at diyconvention.com.
I'll be playing a run of Love, Janis in Arizona from March 22 - May 27. Check out aztheatreco.org for the performance schedule.
Also, I added a 1966 Silvertone to my guitar collection that you can check out on the photos page. Groovy.
