Okay, so “breaking” is not the proper word since the news hit my frequency last night while I was covering the NYC appearance of Biohazard and could not hammer out a post for you right away. I felt that it was also best to wait a little while and do some confirmation because in these days of Internet hoaxes and fake news you just never know, so after a quick note to the man himself I can safely say that “yes Metal Legions, guitarist Joel Hoekstra has indeed joined the legendary Whitesnake”.
Joel will be filling in the shoes left behind by Doug Aldritch and join as a great compliment to Reb Beach as they help propel Whitesnake music into the future. Now for the bad news and I hope you are sitting down for this one because as result of this news, Joel will be leaving the ranks of Night Ranger. Having been a fan of this band for the past twenty five years I can say that this bums me out just a little bit because Joel was a fantastic addition to their ranks and make the role his own in every way and entertained the masses night after night after night. The band has not yet announced who will replace Joel but keep tuned to this page where I will share that information upon disclosure.
My plan is to get some interview time with Joel once he settled into this massive news and from there we can find out what his future in Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the “Rock Of Ages” play might be. At the time of this writing I am not sure where those other two roles in the guitarists life stand. As I said before please stay tuned.
These photos in the post were snapped at the recent Night Ranger performance in NYC at B.B. King Blues Club. I hope some of you fans caught one of Joel’s guitar picks for your collection since they say his name and Night Ranger because now they are going to be a bit of a collector’s item. Get ready to crave some Whitesnake ones if these are your sort of thing. I know that I love them 🙂
Closing up I want to wish Joel the very best on this new musical move and thank him for entertaining me for the past eight years as a member of the great Night Ranger. He will be missed quite a bit by the fans but it sure will be cool to hear him doing these Whitesnake tunes as well. Good luck man.
Official Website: http://www.joelhoekstra.com/