He's listed as "lead guitar player" on the band's MySpace page. Anyone ever heard of him?
Why don't they just call Jeff?!! Good Grief!

I saw that too. If you check out Reb Beach's myspace, it shows him playing with Night Ranger in Feb. So why did they take his picture off if he is still going to be playing with him.

Joel was the "rhythm" that held Scrap metal together at MelodicRockFest. Top bloke and total class player. Grew up a Night Ranger fan.

Hey

Joel Hoekstra is a brilliant very versatile player, go have a listen to him:

http://www.joelhoekstra.com/
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102728319

PS: he has two highly recommendable solo cds out, check 'em out.

Hey there,
This is Brett Garsed replying to this thread. I'm not sure if anyone knows who I am but I've worked with quite a few people over the years as a guitarist. (John Farnham, Nelson, Paul Stanley). I've known Joel Hoekstra for about 15 years now and whenever people ask me who I think the great "unknowns" are out there I mention his name every time. Joel's one of the few players that has most traditional styles down but also has absolute command of modern two hand tapping technique (ala TJ Helmerich) so if you haven't seen/heard him play you are really missing out on something. He is absolutely worthy to stand alongside all the great players you are currently fans of so check him out and I'm sure you'll be ready to add another one to your list.
Cheers,
Brett.

bretto212 wrote:

Hey there,
This is Brett Garsed replying to this thread. I'm not sure if anyone knows who I am but I've worked with quite a few people over the years as a guitarist. (John Farnham, Nelson, Paul Stanley). I've known Joel Hoekstra for about 15 years now and whenever people ask me who I think the great "unknowns" are out there I mention his name every time. Joel's one of the few players that has most traditional styles down but also has absolute command of modern two hand tapping technique (ala TJ Helmerich) so if you haven't seen/heard him play you are really missing out on something. He is absolutely worthy to stand alongside all the great players you are currently fans of so check him out and I'm sure you'll be ready to add another one to your list.
Cheers,
Brett.

Brett! Lovely to see you posting here - been a while since we e-mailed. Anything in the pipeline mate? I just spent a while with the Nelson Brothers at MelodicRockFest, they both said to say howdy.

Who is Hoekstra?? An original, inventive, and exceptional musician and guitarist. I had the privilege of studying guitar with Joel a few years back, giving me an upfront and personal glimpse into his awesome talent. He never ceased to amaze me in terms of his skill and versatility in various genres and his depth of knowledge regarding music. I have seen him play numerous styles, including pop-rock / blues and more with the Cathy Richardson Band, jazz / fusion with Liquid Soul, and others, or just playing jam-dropping, smoking rock licks informally during a lesson. He is the caliber of player who periodically gigs at North Hollywood's "Baked Potato," a place where the HEAVYweights like Holdsworth, Landau, Henderson, Gambale, and too many others to name play. As the earlier poster said, his solo albums are well worth a listen as well. Check him out!

CF

This is your life.......Joel Hoekstra.


http://www.bbhc.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10003/joel_hoekstra.jpg

Taken from Reb Beach's website (below). Looks like Reb is out.

I am with you Ladelock. I am tired of bands thinking that they can just replace other members and make us deal with it. Night Ranger is more than three guys. I am not sure I could even see them as they are now....it really makes me sad. I have been a big Night Ranger fan for years. The first time when it was Kelly and Brad I was ok with it because certain members did not want to be a part of Night Ranger...and there was a break. This time it just bothers me. "No Fitz fine...let's replace him....no one will care." "It's three against one...fine lets replace Jeff." Who knows what will happen? One could die and than we will never see the original band again.....it happens.

--------------------------------

Night Ranger Tour Dates (with Reb)

May 5 2007 7:30P
Casino Aztar Caruthersville, Missouri
May 27 2007 8:00P
Rib America Food & Music Fest St Louis, Missouri
Jun 10 2007 8:00P
Shibuya Kokaido Tokyo
Jun 11 2007 8:00P
Club Quattro Nagoya
Jun 13 2007 8:00P
IMP Hall Osaka
Jun 15 2007 8:00P
Shibuya Kokaido Tokyo
Jun 30 2007 8:30P
Kewadin Shores Casino St.Ignace, Michigan
Jul 21 2007 8:00P
BagelFest Mattoon, Illinois
Jul 27 2007 7:00P
Halfway Jam 2007 Royalton, Minnesota, Minnesota
Jul 28 2007 9:30P
Budlight Downtown Live Raleigh, North Carolina
Aug 8 2007 8:00P
Napa Town & Country Fair Napa, California
Aug 10 2007 9:00P
Umatilla County Fair Hermiston, Oregon
Aug 11 2007 8:00P
Riverfront Park The Dalles, Oregon
Aug 15 2007 7:30P
San Mateo County Fair San Mateo, California
Aug 17 2007 7:30P
Monterey Cnty Fair Monterey, California
Aug 18 2007 8:00P
Boulder Station Hotel/Casino Las Vegas, Nevada
Sep 10 2007 8:00P
TN Vly Fair/Homer-Hamilton Amp Knoxville, Tennessee

Joel sounds like a very good guitarist. Some of the stuff reminds me a bit of Steve Vai's early work with talking in the music. My question is...

Is he officially now a Band Member? or just a replacement for Reb Beach, meaning...were Night Ranger to record
a new album would he be included.

Sad as it may be that Jeff Watson most likely is permanently out of the band, I'm kinda happy to get an "unknown" guitarist for Night Ranger so long as he can perform. which some on the forums here say he can =).

With that said, a new album with this line up might be the refresher Night Ranger needs. However, I think Alan 'Fitz' Fitzgerald should be included if he can make the recording/writing sessions.

Reading a Brett Garsed post here makes me honoured to be a part of the MR forums family.
And reading Brett recommend Joel Hoekstra makes me conscious he's a phenomenal guitar player though I never heard him.
Thanx Brett and cheers to everyone

seen night ranger twice in the last 3 weeks, and have been a huge fan since the begenning.
we all wish jeff was there, but since he dosent , joel is an excellent replacement
and much better than reb at jeffs parts.
just really realized that these guys were really only together for about 7 years in the heyday.
catchj them if you can, and scrap metal will miss joel.

Saw them this week. Let me preface this by saying to most people it will not matter as even the guy in front of me was asking if the original drummer was playing. LOL. I consider myself a diehard fan. So I am a little more critical as I have seen Night Ranger so many times I can not count the times.

Honestly I had a hard time looking at Joel and Christian. While I am happy for them that they are playing in Night Ranger...both looked like kids in a candy store. I focused my eyes most of the time on the right hand stage of the show. Maybe it is the because the originals are all on one side of the stage and the subs on the left There was not the chemistry between Brad and Joel that was there with Brad and Jeff. The trading of riffs wasn't the same. It was understandable as Brad and Jeff played together for 20+years. I admire Joel (and Christian) as they did not suck. The concert was still very good....but to me there seemed to be a big hole on the stage. Again I stress Night Ranger was still very good....so if you get the chance to see them still do.

Sometimes I hear people say (on rockline July 9th) Night Ranger is Jack, Brad and Kelly. It kinda bothers me as NO...Night Ranger is Jack, Brad, Kelly, Jeff and Fitz. When you lose one something will not be the same. I really don't know the problems that happened in the band. Probably a good reason why Jeff (and Fitz) are not in the band....it is just a shame these things happen. But to come on Rockline and say Night Ranger is Jack, Brad and Kelly is an insult. I was bothered when I heard that and it almost seemed like a plant because no way a true Night Ranger fan would say that.

I debated whether to even post this because I enjoyed the concert. The guys when on stage give it 110%. They are entertainers. Great music and great effort out there on stage. Great sounding also. Just saying from a diehard point of view it is NOT the same...still great but not the same.

Setlist (order may not be correct but close). Night Ranger was forced to play a shorter set as it was a festival show. The Tubes and some local bands opened up. After watching NR and the Tubes you see how great NR is in concert as they blew the Tubes out. NR skipped the accoustic set as they had little over an hour to play. I missed Goodbye but other than that great set. They included all the other essentials. I liked the inclusion of Coming of Age over High Enough. And the set did not have Touch of Madness first time ever for me...but I am glad they played This Boy Need to Rock and Eddie instead.

This Boy Needs Rock
Sing Me Away
Coming of Age
You’re Gonna Hear From Me
Secret of My Success
Sentimental Street
Rumours in the Air
Eddie's Comin Out Tonight
Four In the Morning
When You Close Your Eyes
Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
Sister Christian
Rock In America

RockInDetroit wrote:

Saw them this week. Let me preface this by saying to most people it will not matter as even the guy in front of me was asking if the original drummer was playing. LOL. I consider myself a diehard fan. So I am a little more critical as I have seen Night Ranger so many times I can not count the times.

Honestly I had a hard time looking at Joel and Christian. While I am happy for them that they are playing in Night Ranger...both looked like kids in a candy store. I focused my eyes most of the time on the right hand stage of the show. Maybe it is the because the originals are all on one side of the stage and the subs on the left There was not the chemistry between Brad and Joel that was there with Brad and Jeff. The trading of riffs wasn't the same. It was understandable as Brad and Jeff played together for 20+years. I admire Joel (and Christian) as they did not suck. The concert was still very good....but to me there seemed to be a big hole on the stage. Again I stress Night Ranger was still very good....so if you get the chance to see them still do.

Sometimes I hear people say (on rockline July 9th) Night Ranger is Jack, Brad and Kelly. It kinda bothers me as NO...Night Ranger is Jack, Brad, Kelly, Jeff and Fitz. When you lose one something will not be the same. I really don't know the problems that happened in the band. Probably a good reason why Jeff (and Fitz) are not in the band....it is just a shame these things happen. But to come on Rockline and say Night Ranger is Jack, Brad and Kelly is an insult. I was bothered when I heard that and it almost seemed like a plant because no way a true Night Ranger fan would say that.

I debated whether to even post this because I enjoyed the concert. The guys when on stage give it 110%. They are entertainers. Great music and great effort out there on stage. Great sounding also. Just saying from a diehard point of view it is NOT the same...still great but not the same.

Setlist (order may not be correct but close). Night Ranger was forced to play a shorter set as it was a festival show. The Tubes and some local bands opened up. After watching NR and the Tubes you see how great NR is in concert as they blew the Tubes out. NR skipped the accoustic set as they had little over an hour to play. I missed Goodbye but other than that great set. They included all the other essentials. I liked the inclusion of Coming of Age over High Enough. And the set did not have Touch of Madness first time ever for me...but I am glad they played This Boy Need to Rock and Eddie instead.

This Boy Needs Rock
Sing Me Away
Coming of Age
You’re Gonna Hear From Me
Secret of My Success
Sentimental Street
Rumours in the Air
Eddie's Comin Out Tonight
Four In the Morning
When You Close Your Eyes
Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
Sister Christian
Rock In America

agreed and thanx for the review


_________________
The bitch bends over and i forget my name!

no one can really replace jeff, and your right the chemestry that created the band was all five members,
but i thought joel fit much better than reb beech did last year, and i always miss fitz , but sans those guys coming back this still might be the best band to see from that era(great white, tesla being the others) out there

sniper16 wrote:

no one can really replace jeff, and your right the chemestry that created the band was all five members,
but i thought joel fit much better than reb beech did last year, and i always miss fitz , but sans those guys coming back this still might be the best band to see from that era(great white, tesla being the others) out there

They are one of the best. Never disappointed in seeing Night Ranger.

The sad thing is before Jeff's departure i would say Night Ranger was performing better than ever. They took a few steps backward, but are still like we said very good. I had to express my feelings because I think sometimes people lose track. Joel is not bad, but the band lost something when Jeff left. They are definitely not better.



Last edited by RockInDetroit on Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

Rock, I can't believe YOU finally decided to see the new (not improved) NR! Seriously though, I'm glad you got to see them.

I think you are dead on with your analysis of the current line-up. When I saw them last year, I had a great time and the music was so good to hear. BUT I was on Jeff's side of the stage, and all I could think of was...Jeff SHOULD BE HERE!

I, too, heard the "gushing" caller to rockline who said Jack, Brad, and Kelly are NR. Who are they kidding? Only themselves!






JEFF & FITZ ARE GREATLY MISSED

Another year goes by and NightRanger avoids playing Los Angeles. I cannot understand what the deal is????!!!!!!!!! We still are one of the capitals of rock and roll!!!!

John

Andrew wrote:

bretto212 wrote:

Hey there,
This is Brett Garsed replying to this thread. I'm not sure if anyone knows who I am but I've worked with quite a few people over the years as a guitarist. (John Farnham, Nelson, Paul Stanley). I've known Joel Hoekstra for about 15 years now and whenever people ask me who I think the great "unknowns" are out there I mention his name every time. Joel's one of the few players that has most traditional styles down but also has absolute command of modern two hand tapping technique (ala TJ Helmerich) so if you haven't seen/heard him play you are really missing out on something. He is absolutely worthy to stand alongside all the great players you are currently fans of so check him out and I'm sure you'll be ready to add another one to your list.
Cheers,
Brett.

Brett! Lovely to see you posting here - been a while since we e-mailed. Anything in the pipeline mate? I just spent a while with the Nelson Brothers at MelodicRockFest, they both said to say howdy.

And before that he played with alot of people.....I was fortunate enough to work with Joel for about 4 years with Jim Peterik's World Stage....he absolutely stole the show every night....he is one of the finest players on the planet.....and Night Ranger are lucky to have him.....and an amzing human being as well.....bonus.....

JV


_________________
The World was flat once....what happened??

bretto212 wrote:

Hey there,
This is Brett Garsed replying to this thread. I'm not sure if anyone knows who I am but I've worked with quite a few people over the years as a guitarist. (John Farnham, Nelson, Paul Stanley). I've known Joel Hoekstra for about 15 years now and whenever people ask me who I think the great "unknowns" are out there I mention his name every time. Joel's one of the few players that has most traditional styles down but also has absolute command of modern two hand tapping technique (ala TJ Helmerich) so if you haven't seen/heard him play you are really missing out on something. He is absolutely worthy to stand alongside all the great players you are currently fans of so check him out and I'm sure you'll be ready to add another one to your list.
Cheers,
Brett.

Thanks, Brett....Joel is AWESOME!!! He does NR proud!!!


_________________
"If you want it missionary style, go hang out at Journeymusic or Plokkerville. If you want to hang here,
then lube all your holes and prepare for entry. Simple..." (G~boy 09/05/09)

Michigan Girl wrote:

bretto212 wrote:

Hey there,
This is Brett Garsed replying to this thread. I'm not sure if anyone knows who I am but I've worked with quite a few people over the years as a guitarist. (John Farnham, Nelson, Paul Stanley). I've known Joel Hoekstra for about 15 years now and whenever people ask me who I think the great "unknowns" are out there I mention his name every time. Joel's one of the few players that has most traditional styles down but also has absolute command of modern two hand tapping technique (ala TJ Helmerich) so if you haven't seen/heard him play you are really missing out on something. He is absolutely worthy to stand alongside all the great players you are currently fans of so check him out and I'm sure you'll be ready to add another one to your list.
Cheers,
Brett.

Thanks, Brett....Joel is AWESOME!!! He does NR proud!!!

Didn't know you were a fan. Do those guys know how to rock or what?


_________________


"Don't Stop Believin'...Steve Perry's classic American narrative about finding hope in the streetlights"
UK Guardian - 5 Nov 2009

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel for my college radio show (after seeing him in Rock Of Ages) in April.

He made it very clear (in a rather humble way) that one of his primary concerns is that he plays all of the songs as people want to hear them. He agreed that there was a certain, unique chemistry between Brad & Jeff. But he did say how him and Brad have REALLY hit it off, to the extent that they would even hang out together and stuff like that. This leads me to believe that, while it may be different, there is a new, genuine chemistry between Joel & Brad. He made it like it was a father/son or master/student relationship of sorts. (Know too, he genuinely said that when he first heard that Jeff left the band, he, just like everyone else, thought, "How can you have Night Ranger without Brad & Jeff?")

While I have not seen him live with them yet, I have seen him in Rock Of Ages and MANY Youtube videos. He seems like he is totally up to this challenge. Plus, told me that he can pull off the tapping techniques that Jeff did, because he teacher years ago was all about teaching him that kind of playing. Therefore, in many ways, he has been playing Jeff Watson-esque for years!

Sounds like a good replacement choice to me. However, I will give a definitive opinion after I see them in NYC on Monday.


_________________
"Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you...ROCK!"

-Brian May, Queen

RumTumJM wrote:

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel for my college radio show (after seeing him in Rock Of Ages) in April.

He made it very clear (in a rather humble way) that one of his primary concerns is that he plays all of the songs as people want to hear them. He agreed that there was a certain, unique chemistry between Brad & Jeff. But he did say how him and Brad have REALLY hit it off, to the extent that they would even hang out together and stuff like that. This leads me to believe that, while it may be different, there is a new, genuine chemistry between Joel & Brad. He made it like it was a father/son or master/student relationship of sorts. (Know too, he genuinely said that when he first heard that Jeff left the band, he, just like everyone else, thought, "How can you have Night Ranger without Brad & Jeff?")

While I have not seen him live with them yet, I have seen him in Rock Of Ages and MANY Youtube videos. He seems like he is totally up to this challenge. Plus, told me that he can pull off the tapping techniques that Jeff did, because he teacher years ago was all about teaching him that kind of playing. Therefore, in many ways, he has been playing Jeff Watson-esque for years!

Sounds like a good replacement choice to me. However, I will give a definitive opinion after I see them in NYC on Monday.

WELL?!?!?



_________________
"If you want it missionary style, go hang out at Journeymusic or Plokkerville. If you want to hang here,
then lube all your holes and prepare for entry. Simple..." (G~boy 09/05/09)

I forgot I added that line at the end. LOL!

Night Ranger was incredible at BB King's. I cannot believe how well Joel pulled off Jeff's parts. Songs like (You Can Still) Rock In America sounded oh so close to exact. Also, it seems he has his own chemistry with Brad for sure. (They played a new guitar jam that they came up with, when they met up to rock out on off time.)

Blades sounded incredible (like he was in his 20s again), and Keagy was great, but may have started showing signs of wear.

GO SEE THEM!


_________________
"Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you...ROCK!"

-Brian May, Queen

Just saw them in Pensacola from the front row, and LOVED them! Hoekstra is an incredible talent! And I just realized this morning they are having a FREE show only a couple of hours from me soon. Looking forward to it!


_________________

I haven't seen NR since 1999 and am itching to see them again...I really hope they come around again soon...


_________________
LINE OF FIRE
http://www.myspace.com/LoF
http://www.reverbnation.com/LoF

Haven't had a chance to get into Joel- but from reading about him I'm sure he kicks ass. However, what is pathetic is Guitar World's column ask the guitar hero recently had Brad and Joel- and too many of the qs were for Joel- who last time I checked hasn't recorded a note with the band. It should have been mostly Brad answering the qs. Stupid.