JOEL HOEKSTRA On Playing With STEPHEN PEARCY On 2026 'Undercover' Tour: 'It's Been Great Fun'

During a June 24 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", renowned guitarist Joel Hoekstra, who has worked with WHITESNAKE, NIGHT RANGER, Cher and the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, spoke about what it has been like performing with RATT frontman Stephen Pearcy as part of the singer's "Undercover" 2026 tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been great fun getting started with that. Obviously, [there's some] great guitar stuff [in those classic RATT songs], man. And great guys. Stephen's always been great to me over the years, and [he] reached out about, I guess, at least for starters this year. [And the schedule is] fairly light — I think something like eight shows or something that we're doing together this year — but it's going great. He's a great guy, man. I really, really enjoy him."

Regarding how he has approached performing material originally recorded by RATT guitarist Warren DeMartini, Joel said: "I guess, quite frankly, a lot of my year was kind of laid out by the time the gigs came along, so I was just doing... As far as going into it, I was kind of looking at, 'Okay, how am I gonna get this all learned when I'm playing?' I think leading in the three weeks prior to the first gig, I had 75 other songs that I was playing or something insane. So I just kind of went about initially coming in knowing the main solos and, of course, the songs and then some improv and kind of doing my own thing with some of the other solos. And now as it's going, just trying to really dial in and do all the DeMartini stuff justice. Warren's obviously one of the great guitar players of that era, so if I'm a fan, I wanna hear the solos too. So as I go, I'm just more and more getting that dialed in, is the way I look at it."

After "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk noted that Hoekstra is likely "nailing" the RATT classics, as he did when he played with NIGHT RANGER and WHITESNAKE, Joel said:  "Yeah, I think that that realistically is the gig, so to speak, in my view. If I'm a fan, I like hearing the stuff faithfully duplicated. And then it's fun to see somebody step in there and see how they do with that. And, yeah, there's definitely a side of me, especially at this phase in my career, that really enjoys playing like myself more and more. So obviously things like having this [JOEL HOEKSTRA'S 13] album out, and over the years I've done four of those, and also three instrumental albums before any of that stuff, so seven records of my own, I feel like I definitely have my own approach to guitar. And I would like to think that that's been an important part of my, I guess, body of work you'd call it, over the course of my career, not just being like a side man. But I do enjoy getting out and, I guess, being that side man or playing in that role with others. I enjoy being part of a band. And whether that's a short-lived thing, like obviously, I did this with ACCEPT as well, hopping in with them for a bit, and that was a lot of material. And there's been a lot of playing situations like that, and it's fun to wear those different hats. I think it helps make you a better player. I saw Tracii Guns made a post recently about 'don't sleep on shedding other people's styles as part of upping your game,' and he's right. I think that, look, you can do your own thing, but you can also get a little too comfortable in your own thing. So sometimes things like this, I think, are good for you as a player, to get out and try to have to get after somebody else's playing style a bit. And certainly, I love Warren DeMartini's playing style. He's a great guitar player, man."

Pearcy is currently commemorating the 40th anniversary of RATT's third album, "Dancing Undercover", released in 1986, by hitting stages across America with a blistering set of 1980s knockout hits.

Joining Stephen and Joel in Pearcy's current touring lineup are Blas Elias (SLAUGHTER, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) on drums, Matt Thorne (ROUGH CUTT, RATT) on bass, and Erik Ferentinos on guitar.

New York-based Hoekstra currently plays for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. Joel is also well known for his work with WHITESNAKE, Cher, NIGHT RANGER, the Broadway show "Rock Of Ages", his fill-in work with FOREIGNER, ACCEPT, his annual sets on the Monsters Of Rock cruise, recording projects like REVOLUTION SAINTS, ICONIC, viral collaboration videos with the likes of Dino Jelusick, Arnel Pineda, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and his acoustic shows with Brandon Gibbs.

Exhibiting a knack for music education, he has also been a frequent columnist for Guitar World magazine, taught at Musician's Institute, Rockstars Of Tomorrow, Guitar Workshop Plus, and has often been a counselor at Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp.

Over the years, Joel has released three instrumental solo albums and four critically acclaimed albums with JOEL HOEKSTRA'S 13. Most recently, he was the guest guitarist on "Dancing With The Stars" ("hair metal" episode) and played with Cher at her Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction and the "SNL 50" homecoming concert.

Video courtesy of Erik Ferentinos Unleashed