Whitesnake Guitarist Recalls How He Ended Up in Cher’s Band, Explains Why It’s Important to Play Different Styles

Joel Hoekstra, guitar maestro known for his work with Whitesnake, reflected on how he started playing for the legendary pop singer Cher and discussed the importance of being a versatile musician.

In many ways, Joel may seem like your usual 1980s shredder. After all, that’s not unusual for someone playing in Whitesnake, isn’t it? But he’s more than just that. During his career, he also played for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a musical collective where one really needs to be skilled and versatile.

But as far as the Cher thing goes, Hoekstra revealed recently during the Denim and Leather Podcast that this gig kind of came in last minute. Asked about it, he replied (transcribed by Killer Guitar Rigs):

“I was the touring guitarist for about three years because David Coverdale was having knee surgery in 2017. So we basically got the word that he wasn’t going to tour. And so I just reached out to a lot of friends in the business and just said, ‘Hey, I’m not really looking for a new gig because Whitesnake is still a thing, but if anybody needs anybody to fill in, I’m available’. [Laughs]”

“And so my friend Justin Derrico — who plays guitar for P!nk, and he plays on the show ‘The Voice’ — ended up recommending me to Cher’s guitarist, who also played on ‘The Voice’ with him. So they were the guitar duo in ‘The Voice,’ and he said, ‘Man, I need somebody to fill in on Cher while I’m busy with this.’

“And so Justin ended up recommending me to him and said, ‘I know it’s gonna sound weird, but how about Joel Hoekstra from Whitesnake? Because he can play a lot of different styles, and he’ll go in and play it down just like you.'”

Discussing the matter more, Hoekstra also explained his approach to filling in for someone in a band. He added:

“So yeah, that’s the thing when you go in to fill in with somebody — I try not to interrupt the flow. Like when I’m going to go with Accept. I’m not going to change the chemistry. I want the fans to feel like it’s exceptional. I’m just gonna go in and rock out like Phil [Shouse] has been doing it.”

“That’s the way I did it with Cher — I filled in, played pretty much just like David Barry played it, and then found my spots. The longer you play with people, the more you learn to make it your own and find little ways to put your own spin on things here and there.”

And speaking of which, being able to perform a variety of styles is far from a simple task. As he explains, this came after he realized that just playing your usual “shredder” metal stuff wasn’t worth it. As the music was changing, Joel realized that he should be able to do a lot more.

“A lot of us learned to play different styles,” he said. “If you want to be a great guitarist, it’s not just about learning how to shred. It’s about learning how to play all the different styles, all the different genres.”

And, obviously, he realized this when the 1990s came in with all the grunge and alternative rock bands, essentially putting an end to the classic metal era. He continued:

“For me, that’s something that happened because when I set out to be a pro, all the shredding died immediately. It was right when the ’90s hit. If you were playing any fast solos people were like, ‘Nope!’, and you weren’t going to get the gig, right?”

“So to be able to stand out and play with bands, you had to learn all these different styles, play all the different kinds of music. That was really good for me. It taught me a lot about being a good musician — not just falling back on playing chops all the time, showing off on guitar, and stuff like that. That’s a lot about being a pro.”

“So yeah, I think there’s a lot of that  — you got Nuno [Bettencourt] playing with Rihanna, that’s a great example as well. So a lot of us can do more than you necessarily see in the bands that you know us in. We actually understand how to play the different styles of music.”

Photo: Kerrin Key (15.07.2019 – Whitesnake, Saint-Petersburg (48302045091))