Power ballads are often the biggest hits for heavier bands, opening up their catalog to the love song-loving masses. But what makes a song a power ballad? It's typically characterized by quiet verse sections and epic, heavy-hitting choruses, both with intense emotional lyrics and tons of drama.

Best of all, though, power ballads are often very easy to play on guitar, with simple-to-follow chord progressions laying the foundation for the soaring, heartfelt vocal lines over the top.

Here are 10 power ballads that are super-simple to play on guitar.

1. Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn

This song is the very definition of power ballad. Drama to the max. Every Rose Has Its Thorn was released in October 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh! 

It is the band's only Number One hit in the US, reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve 1988 for three weeks (carrying over into 1989), and it also charted at Number 11 on the Mainstream Rock chart. 

The verse starts in G and moves to Cadd9 for each phrase, ending with D to C. The chorus echoes this chord pattern with G to C for two lines, then G D C with the final line G to C. Easy and rocking!

2. Whitesnake – Is This Love

Another power ballad about love that rocks it. Is This Love is taken from Whitesnake’s self-titled album, which was released in 1987. It was long rumored that the song had originally been written for Tina Turner. 

David Coverdale confirmed these rumors in the booklet of Whitesnake's 20th anniversary edition: "Before I'd left [for the south of France] a friend at EMI had asked me for any ideas that would work for Tina Turner. So that was where the original idea for Is This Love came from.” 

Is This Love became one of Whitesnake's most popular songs. The verse chords are Em7, Bm7, Cadd9. The verse uses C9, D/C, Bm7, C, Bm7, Am7, G7.

3. Skid Row – I Remember You

I Remember You is the third and final single from Skid Row's 1989 eponymous debut album. This power ballad was released in November 1989 and written by bandmates Rachel Bolan and Dave “the Snake” Sabo. 

In a 2007 interview, vocalist Sebastian Bach said, “I Remember You was the Number One prom song in the U.S. in the year 1990....You talk about making memories! Literally the whole country did their prom dance to I Remember You one year, and that's a real heavy memory to beat.” This song is literally the easiest one to play of all the songs listed here. The verse uses G to C. The chorus is G, D, Em, C, D, G.

4. Warrant – Heaven

This song was released in 1989 as the second single from Warrant's debut album, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. It was Warrant's most commercially successful single, reaching Number One in Rolling Stone, Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number Three on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. 

Heaven took Warrant's record company by surprise. Once the widespread appeal of the song became apparent, the band were instructed to re-record the track to lend it a “bigger radio sound.” 

The first 250,000 copies of the record featured the original version, while later pressings featured a new version. This song uses G, D, Dsus2 and Cadd9 throughout.

5. Cinderella – Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)

This song is from Cinderella’s second album, Long Cold Winter. Released in August 1988, it was their most successful single, peaking at Number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1988. 

A 254-show tour to support the album lasted more than 14 months and included dates on the Moscow Music Peace Festival alongside other metal acts, including as Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi and Skid Row. 

The tour's stage show included Tom Keifer being lowered to the stage while playing a white piano during the performance of Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone). This song uses these chords: E, F#m, E, D, A. The chorus is Bm, F#m, Bm, F#m, E, D, A.

6. Night Ranger – Sister Christian

This track was released in June 1984 as the second single from Night Ranger’s Midnight Madness album. It was written and sung by the band's drummer, Kelly Keagy, for his sister when he was surprised by how fast she was growing up. It was the band's biggest hit, peaking at Number Five on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying on the charts for 24 weeks. 

It also reached Number One in Canada. The song has been featured in films including Friday the 13th, Boogie Nights and Superstar, and video games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Saints Row 2. Another super-easy one, it uses these chords in the verse: C, F, G, E, D, C, and these in the chorus: C, F, C, F, Bb, F, Bb, Bb-A-G.

7. Foreigner – I Want to Know What Love Is

This song hit Number One in the UK and the US and is the group's biggest hit to date. I Want to Know What Love Is was the first single released from Foreigner's 1984 album, Agent Provocateur. 

Featuring backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir, the track was written and composed mostly by Mick Jones, and an uncredited portion by Lou Gramm. The exact contribution attributed to Gramm is disputed, with Jones saying he wrote 5 percent of the track, and Gramm saying he wrote up to 40 percent. 

Verse chords: C, F, Bb, Dm. Prechorus: Gm, C, Bb, F, Gm, Bb, C. Chorus: F, Dm, C, G, C, F.

8. Aerosmith – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing

This Aerosmith hit was written by a true songwriting master, Diane Warren. It was recorded for the 1998 film Armageddon, which coincidentally featured Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv Tyler. 

The song debuted at Number One on the US Billboard Hot 100, the first Number One for the band after 28 years together. Take the time to learn this crowd pleaser. Who doesn’t like an Aerosmith ballad? Verse chords: D, A, Bm, G, D, Em, A. Chorus: D, A, Em, Bm, G, D.

9. Heart – What About Love

What About Love was originally recorded by Canadian rock group Toronto, but is best known for the 1985 release by Heart. It was Heart's “comeback” single and the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years. 

It was released as the first single from the band's self-titled 1985 album as well as their first hit single on their new record label, Capitol Records. Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas, co-lead vocalists of Starship at the time, provide additional background vocals. Check out these chords and then give it a try! Verse chords: Em, C, G, D Chorus: G, C, D.

10. Mötley Crüe – Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home is a power ballad by Mötley Crüe. It was originally released in 1985 on Theatre of Pain and again in 1991 for the Decade of Decadence compilation. It has been recorded as a cover version by several artists and was released as a single by Carrie Underwood in 2009. 

Along with Wild Side, Home Sweet Home is one of the rare Mötley Crüe hits to have Vince Neil credited with the songwriting, although he did play a part in writing many of their non-hit songs. Chords: Em, G, C, D. Chorus: G, C, D.

Night Ranger electric guitar star Brad Gillis has teamed up with Mr. Big bass guitar virtuoso Billy Sheehan for an all-new project, named Skills.

The pair will also be joined by Giant drummer David Huff and Electric Mob vocalist Renan Zonta, with the four-piece announcing their debut studio album Different Worlds. 

Set to arrive via Frontiers Music Srl on May 13, the quartet have previewed their upcoming offering with Different Worlds’ lead single, Stop the World.

It’s everything you’d expect from a project describing itself as a vehicle that “brings together the worlds of old and new in hard rock” – the guitar immediately dominates proceedings, introducing an upper-fret melody that tinkers away under some oversized, genre-appropriate power chords.

There’s also a classically Gillis – albeit fairly brief – guitar solo that crops up at around the 3:10 mark, with some whammy-tinged bends and gain-drenched descending scale lines that throw you back into the chorus’s deep-end.

The project itself is the brainchild of Frontiers president and A&R director Serafino Perugino, who had been “blown away” by Zonta’s vocal abilities upon first hearing him. Knowing him to be a fan of ‘80s classic rock, Perugino endeavored to pair Zonta with “monster players” from that era.

Gillis, Sheehan and Huff, as well as keyboardist/backing vocalist Alessandro Del Vecchio, joined the fray after Perugino presented them with clips of Zonta performing. Del Vecchio was also enlisted for production duties.

Of course, with a statement band name like “Skills”, you’d expect the group’s musical chops to live up to such lofty expectations. On paper – and, indeed, from the first single – the musical pedigree of the members certainly delivers on the premise.

Gillis, as previously mentioned, is currently part of Night Ranger – who last year announced their first album in four years, ATBPO – though also has a prolific history performing with Ozzy Osbourne and Rubicon.

Sheehan, meanwhile, is currently playing with Mr. Big alongside Paul Gilbert, as well as The Winery Dogs and Sons of Apollo with Mike Portnoy. His resume also boasts stints with Talas, UFO and David Lee Roth.

The tracklist for Different Worlds can be found below.

1. Escape Machine
2. Blame It On The Night
3. Different Worlds
4. Losing The Track
5. Writings On The Wall
6. Show Me The Way
7. Just When I Needed You
8. Need To Fall
9. Stop The World
10. Hearts Of Stone
11. Don't Break My Heart

• Different Worlds is available to preorder now via Frontiers Music Srl.

It truly is one of the guitar world's most hotly debated enigmas: who put a Floyd Rose on a Gibson Les Paul first?

The most likely candidate is Journey man Neal Schon – synonymous with the pioneering gear pairing thanks to his 1977 Don't Stop Believin' Gibson Les Paul Deluxe – who claims to have had his innovative idea of equipping his LP with the tremolo system cruelly taken away from him.

Schon has previously alleged that Gibson were quick to take his ideas and give them to Alex Lifeson – the Rush guitarist who is equally known for rocking an LP/Floyd Rose duo due to his Gibson Axcess Standard – and that he is the rightful heir to the title.

But, as it turns out, a third contender has just thrown their hat in the ring for the mantle of “first guitarist to fit a Floyd Rose onto a Les Paul” – none other than Night Ranger’s Brad Gillis.

Gillis, who is no stranger to a Floyd Rose-equipped Fernandes electric guitar, made the revelation while in conversation with Jeremy White, who brought up Neal Schon’s insistence that he came up with the idea of fitting an LP with the tremolo system first.

“I was the first,” Gillis rebutted. “Floyd just came out with them and I wanted to put one on my Les Paul, and no-one had ever done it before. When I took it to Stars Guitars, they said, 'Hey Brad, we’ve never seen or done this before.’”

The Night Ranger guitarist – who obtained the third Floyd ever produced (the first and second went to Eddie Van Halen and Schon respectively) – then went on to recall a lengthy design process that occurred when the original tremolo system came out, circa 1976.

“I had to get hold of Floyd and he had to send me the right size nut. Floyd had to send me a newly finished schematic for installing in a Les Paul. I got it back and it was great, and then everybody else did it.”

The guitar Gillis claims to be the first-ever Floyd Rose-fitted Les Paul – an early ‘70s Les Paul Custom that he used while touring with Ozzy Osbourne – can be seen in action in the videos above and below.

Of course, Schon may well argue the contrary. On multiple occasions, the Journey guitarist has voiced his disapproval of Gibson supposedly giving his ideas to Lifeson and the Axcess line.

Speaking to MusicRadar in 2011, Schon said, “[Gibson] rubbed me wrong, man. I worked very hard with them on my signature model that we did several years ago, and we got Les's blessing and everything. 

"We changed the heel on the guitar, changed the angle of the neck, showed them how you put a Floyd Rose in a Les Paul without the thing sticking five miles out," he continued. "We did a lot. And they ended up telling me that my guitars wouldn't sell because they were too expensive.

"So they took my ideas and stuck them on the Axcess model, which is a cheaper edition of what was my guitar.”

More recently, a number of tweets maintain his standpoint: One, a video of him playing his ‘77 LP, reads, “It’s the first Les Paul to ever have a Floyd Rose installed on!”, while a follow up clip carries the caption, “More from the first original Floyd Rose Les Paul Pro.”

Such claims have been supported by Floyd Rose himself who, in 2010, told MusicRadar that Schon showed interest in the tremolo around the time Eddie Van Halen started championing it in 1977.

“Neal saw it and wanted one put on his Les Paul, and he gave me one that he said he'd never liked the sound of," he said. "I brought it back to him and it became one of his favorites as I'd taken so much wood out of it the sound had changed.”

As such, the debate rages on, though it will be intriguing to see how things continue to unfold now there’s a new player in town making waves. It seems as though it’s a toss-up between Gillis and Schon, though, right now, we’re unable to say for certain who was the first.

Perhaps the pair should sit down and discuss it between themselves. Heck, they could even have a guitar-off between each of their Floyd Rose-equipped LPs. That would make for one interesting discussion…

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke took to the stage with Night Ranger on Monday night (August 9) for the band’s concert at Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota.

The electric guitar guru was filling in for Night Ranger member Keri Kelli, who was forced to pull out of the event due to a knee injury.

After the gig, Night Ranger’s official Facebook page shared a short clip from the concert, along with the message, “Huge thank you tonight to Sturgis and to Gilby Clarke for playing with us!

“Keri was out tonight due to a knee injury (feel better brother!) but it was awesome to have you up there with us, Gilby!”

A separate clip shared to social media sees Clarke in action alongside the Night Ranger cohort, with the former Guns N’ Roses man proving to be a worthy and successful stand-in while the group reeled off a rendition of Don’t Tell Me You Love Me, a track from the band’s 1982 debut effort, Dawn Patrol.

Wielding his Gibson Les Paul, Clarke was also on backing vocal duties – a responsibility he shared with fellow guitarist Brad Gillis, who can be seen wielding his modded ‘62 Red Strat.

Gillis recently sat down with Guitar World to talk about Night Rangers latest studio effort, ATBPO – the San Francisco rockers’ 12th studio album and their first in four years, since 2017’s Don’t Let Up. 

As well as being a no-holds-barred addition to the band’s discography, ATBPO certainly didn’t pull its punches in the vintage guitar department, either, with Gillis revealing he used a ‘57 Strat and ‘52 Goldtop, among others, throughout the record.

“As a vintage guitar and amp collector,” he told Guitar World, “I’ve got quite a lot to choose from.  I used a few of my staple guitars – my ’62 red Strat, my 1971 Gibson LP Custom with Floyd Rose, and my 1957 Strat on the ballads.”

Night Ranger are next scheduled to play on August 21 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Depending on how Kelli’s recovery goes, those attending the gig may see him return to the lineup for the evening.

For a full list of tour dates, head over to Night Ranger's official website.

It’s never easy replacing a recently deceased guitar legend. But for a spell, Brad Gillis did just that after Randy Rhoads passed away in 1982 – lending a hand and helping Ozzy finish his tour commitments and get back on track, as well as being featured on the all-Sabbath Speak of the Devil live release.

However, instead of carrying on with Ozzy, Gillis opted to return to his main band, Night Ranger. And almost immediately, the band hit the big-time – scoring such massive MTV/radio hits as Don’t Tell Me You Love Me, (You Can Still) Rock in America, and Sister Christian.

And Gillis still provides scintillating six-string work for Night Ranger, who released their thirteenth studio effort overall, ATBPO (short for “And the Band Played On”) on August 6 – as well preparing a third solo record (featuring Gary Moon on vocals and Derek Sherinian on keys) and another project (featuring Renan Zonta, Billy Sheehan, Alessandro Del Vecchio and Dann Huff) for release later this year.

Which guitars, amps, and effects did you use on ATBPO?

“As a vintage guitar and amp collector, I’ve got quite a lot to choose from. I used a few of my staple guitars – my ’62 red Strat, my 1971 Gibson LP Custom with Floyd Rose, and my 1957 Strat on the ballads. 

“I used my Taylor 12 fret proto acoustic on the record, too. I’m low-key with guitar effects, maybe a little chorus. Other effects were added later in the mix. 

“As far as amps, I used my Mesa/Boogie Mark V through Marshall bottoms, Guitar Rig, and a great little box – the Boss GS-10. And going through the Radial Injector, that gives me one input and six outputs – I can combine many guitar sounds at once.”

Which new Night Ranger songs are you most proud of guitar-wise?

“Breakout, which showcases the harmony guitars, and Jack’s slamming voice. And a few other rockers, like Monkey, Cold as December and the ballad, Can’t Afford a Hero, is one of my absolute favorites.”

How did you come up with “the Floyd Rose flutter”?

“That was a total accident back in the day. Standing in front of my mirror with my guitar, I was trying to come up with some cool stage moves, and when I started banging on my guitar, I noticed a fluttering sound. 

“After getting more into the source, I found out that the Floyd Rose was shaking. Now, all my guitars are set up floating, so you can raise the bridge up or down. So, that motion made it shake. I figured out by flicking the end of the whammy bar was an easy way to bring out that ‘cricket noise’.”

What do you recall about the solo in Sister Christian?

“I remember at Image Recording in Los Angeles doing the first couple of records, when we were a young band and excited to get into the studio and cut records. I had always worked off of natural sustain – mainly through a cranked amplifier. 

“When I went in and cut the Sister Christian solo, I couldn’t seem to get that sustain without using some type of pedal. So, our producer, Pat Glasser, suggested we max the crap out of the amp, and pumped the speakers in the control room creating a loop effect, where I could stand right in front of the playback speakers, and get massive sustain. 

“So, I incorporated that into the solo – and in a lot of other songs in Night Ranger’s history.”

What was it like recording Ozzy’s Speak of the Devil live album?

“I remember going into SIR Studios in New York with Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge, and me. Because we didn’t use keyboards, Don Airey was not involved in the process. 

“We rehearsed for a few days, going over all the Sabbath material, and went right into The Ritz in New York, to record both nights. They took the best performances from both shows, creating the record.

“My guitar tech Mark Newman and I ended up getting a great guitar tone – running two [Mesa/]Boogie Mark IIC amps stereo with a 10-millisecond delay, a slight chorus panned left and right. That’s how we created that sound.”

What are some other memories of your time with Ozzy?

“You have to realize that after the sad death of Randy Rhoads, the band was going through a lot of emotional stress throughout the rest of the tour. So, when I joined the band, it was quite a heavy situation.

“Bernie Tormé was playing guitar at that time in the interim, before a permanent replacement was added. And when I flew to New York for the audition, I basically found out it was just me. So, I did the best I could practicing in my hotel room every day, with a small amp, a boombox and a live board cassette with Randy that had been recorded a few months earlier.

“At night, I would go to the shows to watch the live performance from the soundboard. I was amazed at the large castle, fire, explosives, and the hanging of the dwarf – realizing that in a few days, I was going to be up on stage. I’ll never forget the sound man looking over at me and laughing, saying, ‘You’re next buddy!’ 

“My first night was quite a horrendous experience – because not only was I scared to death, at soundcheck, we only played seven out of the 18-song set, and Ozzy didn’t even show up. My first gig was sold out in Binghamton, New York for 8,000 people. That was basically my entrance into Ozzy’s world. 

“I ended up botching Revelation (Mother Earth), as I ended up coming into the fast section too early, and the whole band looked at me like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I stopped playing, regained my composure, and finished out the song and the set – with no other major mistakes.

“The next night before we went on stage, Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife] came up to me, saying, ‘Bradley, you’re doing a great job. But tonight… don’t fuck up.’”

Did you ever meet Randy Rhoads? 

“I never had that chance. But I did see Ozzy and Randy in 1981 at the Day on the Green in Oakland, California. And at that time, Randy was being touted as ‘the next Eddie Van Halen’. And when I saw that show, I was totally blown away by his performance. 

“Around that time, I had a club band called the Alameda All Stars, that I had thrown together in 1980 to keep my chops up, playing locally in the San Francisco Bay area – and we threw in a few Ozzy songs [Crazy Train and Flying High Again]. 

“I first met Ozzy in the master suite at the Helmsley Palace Hotel in New York. I had my red Strat, no amp, and played him Flying High Again. 

“How surreal to be sitting at the edge of his bed, with him cross-legged on the floor singing up to me while I played the song! Once I got through the solo he jumped up, gave me a big hug, and said, ‘Brad, I love you. Pull me through.’”

Night Ranger opened for Kiss on their Creatures of the Night tour – that must have been something special.

“That was a great experience for us. I had just finished up seven months with Ozzy, so stepping into opening for Kiss was comfortable to me getting right back into large venues. 

“The guys in Kiss – especially Gene and Paul – were very gracious and gave us good stage room and loved to hang out. At one point, I actually tried on Gene’s 30-pound stage boots!”

Chart-wise, Night Ranger was doing better than Kiss in the US at the time – Dawn Patrol peaked at Number 38 on the Billboard 200, while Creatures peaked at Number 45. 

“We were lucky enough to jump out of the gate with the up-tempo song, Don’t Tell Me You Love Me, which featured Jack’s haunting vocal and twin-guitar harmonies.

“MTV had just come out with a 24/7 format, and they didn’t have enough videos to run all day/every day. So, when we gave them our new video, they were rotating us 25 to 30 times a day – which didn’t hurt us at all, because MTV was the latest/greatest, and it gave the audience a face to put with the music.”

How is it playing with Keri Kelli?

“I love playing with Keri Kelli. He is one of those guys that has pretty much does it all. He’s been in so many bands and has really put 100% in Night Ranger these past 7 or 8 years. He kicks ass on this new record, and we really had a lot of fun doing harmony solos and making this new album shine.”

• ATBPO is out on August 6 via Frontiers Music.

While it’s not quite the weekend just yet, we can always rely on guitar-wielding wizards and six-string slingers around the world to unite and offer up a fresh batch of weekly wonders to drag us moving-and-grooving through Thursday evening and over the Friday finishing line.

As has been the case throughout these past Covid-riddled months (or is it years?) of uncertainty and inconsistency, we’ve been blessed with what seems like a never-ending abundance of mood-brightening, spirit-lifting and soul-cleansing sonic offerings that remind us that, in reality, the world isn’t all that bleak. This week is certainly no exception.

In no particular order, today’s feature-packed installment serves up a spell-binding shred-meets-acoustic anthem from Mike Dawes, Jack Gardiner and Plini, a riff-heavy pop romp from Olivia Rodrigo, some mind-boggling guitar lines from Bobby Keller, delicious dual-guitar interplay from Night Ranger and an awe-inspiring acoustic reimagining from Ariel Posen, plus much more.

Sounds good, right?! Well, let’s not waste any more time and get started...

Mike Dawes - Push ft Jack Gardiner & Plini

Given his propensity for playing percussion, rhythm and lead all at once, Mike Dawes doesn’t really need any other guitar players to help him work his particular brand of fingerstyle magic. Yet he sought to break the mould this week by recruiting two of contemporary electric guitar playing’s brightest talents.

The resultant track, Push, is a masterclass in arranging intricate guitar parts that don’t step on each others’ sonic toes. Dawes knows his way around a catchy two-hand tapped riff, but Gardiner’s ability to play all the right notes in all the right places – with modal runs and bends to die for – elevate this particular composition to a celestial plain.

Add in a Plini solo packed with wild slides and colorful dynamic contrast, and you have a recipe for one of, not only this week’s, but this year’s essential guitar tracks. (MAB)

Olivia Rodrigo - brutal 

That the Disney-to-the-top-of-the-charts pipeline that’s produced the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Selena Gomez, to name but a few, is still robust shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone. What is surprising, though, is just how 18-year-old Californian Olivia Rodrigo has gone about using her flourishing TV career as a launchpad for conquering the pop charts. 

With its liberal F-bombs, stylistic unpredictability and a buffet of ever-so-quotable lyrics that capture the epic highs and lows of being a teenager in a way few pop albums in recent memory have, Rodrigo’s debut LP, Sour, has a fierce independence and attitude that has caught the world’s attention in record-breaking fashion.

Propelled by a sledgehammer of a riff played by the album’s producer, Daniel Nigro, brutal – the album’s leadoff track – could’ve come straight from the bowels of London in 1976. “Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” Rodrigo sneers before the song’s distorto-bubblegum chorus kicks in, with the second chorus even capped off with some mild six-string dissonance.

One can still listen to this and bemoan the lack of overall guitar in the pop charts – it’s allowed. We can’t imagine, however, that brutal won’t inspire scores of listeners to pick up a guitar for the first time and air their own grievances with the help of some big, brash power chords. 

And if we can’t celebrate that, what can we celebrate, really? (JM)

Ariel Posen – Heart By Heart (acoustic) 

We’ve marveled over the album, we’ve listened to all the licks, and we all thought there was no way we could fall even more in love with Ariel Posen’s latest album Headway, right? Right?!

Well, we thought wrong. Luckily for us, the blues-rock master and slide virtuoso isn’t done with Headway just yet, and has treated us to another trick he’s been hiding up his sleeve – an all-acoustic EP that transforms the album’s high-gain blues ballads into sensational stripped-back numbers.

The acoustic version of Heart By Heart – introduced initially by Posen as a fuzzy, swamp-infused strut that layers on the swaggering slides and slinky progressions – is reimagined as a totally different beast altogether. Stripping away the overdrive, bite-y tube amp tones and venue-filling instrumentation, Posen puts his acoustic through its paces, offering up a smartly succinct but equally enveloping six-string demonstration of his unrivaled chops.

The solo sounds as good on the acoustic as it does on the Mule Resophonic Posencaster, with Posen letting loose on an intimately dynamic lead, spanning a stunning sonic range that lets you hear both the tones of the fretboard as he snaps away and his fingers as they glide over the strings.

We shouldn’t be surprised, really. It’s no secret that Posen possesses some of the tastiest licks around right now. This latest acoustic offering is just another friendly reminder that, if he wasn't already on your list of go-to guitarists, he should be. (MO)

The Dead Deads – Murder Ballad II (ft. Corey Taylor)

Corey Taylor is something of a modern day Renaissance man. Beyond his ferocious vocal work in Slipknot and Stone Sour, and his recent and rather eclectic debut solo effort CMFT, the metal frontman is often partial to the odd guest appearance.

In 2021 alone, Taylor has appeared on tracks by country rap outfit Moonshine Bandits and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, and with this new feature on a single by Nashville rockers The Dead Deads, he makes it a hat trick.

Following Murder Ballad – taken from the trio’s 2016 album For Your Obliteration – Murder Ballad II's Taylor-infused vocals are underpinned by a subdued tempo, and a theatrical backdrop of acoustic guitars and overdriven octave electric guitar lines. This one’s really moody, and impeccably put together. (SR)

Chelsea Wolfe - Diana

While last album, 2019’s Birth of Violence, saw Wolfe return to her acoustic folk roots, Diana plugs back into the industrial doom that fueled Abyss and Hiss Spun.

With longtime collaborator and guitarist Ben Chisolm on production duty, the track is anchored by a menacing ascending bassline that gives both guitar players the chance to ramp up the distortion, adding eerie fuzz wails and discordant pitch-shifted lines to bolster the sense of unease.

Of course, tempering the acerbic nature of the guitar playing is Wolfe’s otherworldly voice – that seems wholly appropriate, given Diana is inspired by Wonder Woman, and forms part of the awe-inspiring artist roster for the forthcoming Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack, alongside the likes of Mastodon, Manchester Orchestra and Soccer Mommy. We can’t wait to hear more. (MAB)

Wye Oak - TNT

Having already released one of 2021’s most spellbinding guitar-based albums, Head of Roses, under the Flock of Dimes moniker, Jenn Wasner has teamed up with Wye Oak bandmate Andy Stack once again to release TNT, the first of what the duo says will be two standalone singles, with another arriving next month.

Wasner says that TNT is about “joyfully acknowledging all of the ways in which you’ve grown while trying to accept the parts of yourself that are still stuck in patterns of repetition,” and the beautiful fingerpicked riff around which it revolves reflects this perfectly, both calming the listener with its repetition and stretching out dynamically whenever it pleases. 

Between this beauty and Head Of Roses, Jenn Wasner is having one hell of a year. Sleep on her work at your peril. (JM)

Night Ranger – Breakout

Arriving ahead of recently announced 12th studio album ATBPO – Breakout sees Night Ranger guitarists Brad Gillis and Keri Kelli serve up an impressively diverse range of classic rock-fueled riffs, in addition to a jaw-dropping supply of lead lines.

The track kicks off with a killer ascending dual guitar line, before evolving into a straight-talking hard rocker with its palm-muted riff taking center stage. But perhaps the standout moment of Breakout is the mind-bending guitar solo, which comes across as a furious guitar battle between both Gillis and Kelli.

ATBPO was recorded during the pandemic, meaning each member of Night Ranger had to track their parts separately. As Gillis explains: "It’s been a crazy but fun task trying to write and finish this new record in a Covid situation. A few Zoom video gatherings got us started, [and] with everybody in the band having their own home studios, we were all able to elaborate and add our own textures to each song." (SR)

Bobby Keller – Perpetual Dreams 

If you’re on the hunt for a healthy dose of high-octane riffage, fretboard-melting soloing and dizzying technical prowess, you can call off the search party, because Bobby Keller has you covered.

With a shred-heavy sonic arrangement, complemented by a serenely picturesque music video that sees him rip through his single while waltzing through the wilderness, Keller’s latest track Perpetual Dreams delivers all of the above, and then some.

No stranger to mind-boggling guitar instrumentals – see Reign In Fire and Light Bearer – the Orlando native’s latest lead-heavy escapade certainly ups the ante, eloquently combining blinding two-hand tapping sequences, oh-so melodic single-string slides and tasty bend-infused passages. Not one to be missed. (MO)

The L.I.F.E. Project – Ignite

The second offering from Josh Rand’s new side project The L.I.F.E. Project, Ignite features the same heavy-riffing formula heard on the duo’s debut single The Nothingness, though this time with more emphasis on melody from vocalist Casandra Carson.

If you thought the solo on The Nothingness was a one-off, wait until you hear what Rand has in store for Ignite. It’s a lead passage wrought with tasteful metal-flavored melodic runs, soaring pinch harmonics and the occasional alternate-picking flurry.

Rand says that The L.I.F.E. Project is a chance for him to experiment with a heavier sound than he uses in Stone Sour.

He explains: “The gear itself really didn’t change – we just added more gain – but the real secret to the sound is the amps being turned up to eight and nine to make them scream. It was so loud when we were tracking guitars that it kept setting off the glass break alarm in my house.” (SR)

Jim Ward - Foreign Currency

Jim Ward is something of an unsung hero in the world of post-hardcore, lending jagged rhythms and angular riffs to the likes of At the Drive-In and Sparta. Now, he’s branching out on his own with forthcoming solo effort, Daggers.

The album features the formidable rhythm section of Incubus bassist Ben Kenney and Thursday drummer Tucker Rule, who provide a muscular backing to Ward’s dotted-eighth delay lines on just-dropped track, Foreign Currency.

Teaming characteristically urgent playing with big ’90s alt-rock chorus hooks, Foreign Currency is forthright and contemplative in equal measure, and showcases Ward’s knack for guitar tones that bridge the raw and the ethereal. (MAB)

Night Ranger have announced their 12th studio album – and first in four years – ATBPO. Kicking off proceedings, the San Francisco hard-rockers have unleashed the record's lead single, Breakout. 

Busting out the gate with an ascending dual electric guitar line, guitarists Brad Gillis and Keri Kelli offer up a dizzying – and rather diverse – array of classic rock-inspired riffs, as well as a face-melting supply of lead lines to boot. Listen to the track below.

The band began writing the album in early 2020 – before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic – however due to the restrictions that followed, the group recorded each of their parts separately.

Explains Gillis: “It’s been a crazy but fun task trying to write and finish this new record in a Covid situation. A few zoom video gatherings got us started. With everybody in the band having their own home studios, we were all able to elaborate and add our own textures to each song.

“As a vintage guitar collector, I was able to add some great classic sounds to rhythm and solos using my '57 Strat and '52 Goldtop!”

Adds bassist/vocalist Jack Blades: “The process was strange but the outcome rocks.”

ATBPO – which stands for ‘And The Band Played On’ – follows the band's previous studio album, Don't Let Up. It is the second Night Ranger album to feature Keri Kelli, after previous guitarist Joel Hoekstra left to join Whitesnake in 2014.

The new album arrives in various formats on August 6 via Frontiers Music Srl. Preorder is available now.

Check out the tracklisting for ATBPO below:

1. Coming For You
2. Bring It All Home To Me
3. Breakout
4. Hard To Make It Easy
5. Can't Afford A Hero
6. Cold As December
7. Dance
8. The Hardest Road
9. Monkey
10. A Lucky Man
11. Tomorrow
12. Savior (Bonus Track – CD and LP Versions only)

You know that joke that goes, “What’s the last thing a drummer says before getting kicked out of the band? ‘Hey, I’ve written a song!’?”

Judging by the example of Night Ranger’s Sister Christian, maybe it’s better to listen to the drummer’s ideas first before delivering walking papers. 

Written and sung by drummer Kelly Keagy, Sister Christian became Night Ranger’s all-time biggest hit, and thanks to its success – peaking at Number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1984 – it inspired a landslide of hair metal power ballads throughout the rest of the Eighties. 

One of Night Ranger’s most distinctive characteristics was its initial lineup featuring two phenomenal lead guitarists – Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson – but Sister Christian is one of only a handful of songs that the band recorded where only one of the two guitarists participates. Gillis did the honors in this instance, delivering a soaring, melodic solo where he gives his whammy bar a good workout. 

One of the earliest adopters of the Floyd Rose double-locking vibrato, Gillis raised the bar (literally) on the device’s creative potential by using it for a dazzling portamento effect to glide between notes with precision.

Gillis’ whammy bar techniques require a lot of gain, compression and volume output from the amp to provide the sustain needed to allow the notes to sing at a consistent level while the bar is manipulated.

To enhance pick harmonics, Gillis cranked the treble and presence knobs all the way up to 10. Using the graphic EQ, which is located in the signal chain after the amp’s tone stack, on his Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB head, he dialed in a midrange boost to add body to his tone and tame harsh treble overtones.

A short slapback delay is subtly mixed underneath the dry guitar signal to add a hint of reverb-like ambience to the long, sustained notes, and a touch of studio reverb was added during mixing to further embellish the guitar’s sustain.

Original Gear

GUITAR: Customized 1962 Fender Stratocaster with 22-fret rosewood neck and custom Seymour Duncan bridge humbucker (bridge pickup), Volume: 10.

AMP: Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB Coliseum (Lead channel) (Volume: 8/Pull Bright, Treble: 10/Pull Shift, Bass: 4, Middle: 6, Master 1: 6/Pull Gain Boost, Lead Drive: 3.5/Pull Lead, Lead Master: 8/Pull Bright, Presence: 10, graphic EQ 80Hz: +3dB, 240Hz: +9dB, 750Hz: +5dB, 2200Hz: +1dB, 6600Hz: -3dB, EQ: In, Full Power) with ARC 2x12 cabinet with 1965 Celestion G12M speakers.

EFFECTS: Roland SDE-3000 (Time: 252ms, Feedback: 17, Output: 99, Rate: Depth: 00, Delay Time: X1).

STRINGS/TUNING: GHS Boomers .009-.042/Standard.

PICK: Dunlop .020-inch triangular stainless steel.

Get the sound, cheap!

Adrian Smith's signature Jackson is a player's guitar offering great value and a feel and tone that's ideally suited to 80s hard-rock exertions. To get closer to Gillis' tone circa-Midnight Madness, swap its bridge humbucker out with a Seymour Duncan TB-4 JB [below]. 

Line 6 Spider V 120 MkII – tone tip:

Use the Spider V’s “1985 Cali Crunch” amp model and “Tread 4x2” cab model, along with the “Digital Delay” and “Medium Hall” effects mixed just slightly in the background.

Night Ranger have shared the official video for the song “Truth.” The song hails from the band’s most recent studio album, Don't Let Up.

In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, singer and bassist Jack Blades called “Truth” a “straight from the heart and soul” kind of song.

“When I wrote the lyrics and we came up with the song, it was like, ‘Just give me truth,’ ” he said. “That’s kind of what this world needs right now. How about a little truth? I mean, with everything. I’m not just talking about what’s going on currently in politics. I’m talking about in the world as a whole. If people were really true to themselves, if everything was just truth, think how it would be. Maybe it’s a fantasy dream and everything like that, and I’m not saying that we’re pie-in-the-sky dudes, because that’s the last thing that Night Ranger is. But I’m saying that we came up with the song ‘Truth’ for that very reason of what this world needs right now is some truth.”

Night Ranger will be celebrating the 35th anniversaries of its first two studio albums, Dawn Patrol and Midnight Madness, with a special performance of both records in full at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois, on October 18 and at the Paramount Theatre in Denver on November 29. According to Blades, the shows will feature “a lot of songs that we’ve never played live.”

For tickets and other information, check out NightRanger.com.

Last year, Night Ranger celebrated the 35th anniversary of their debut album, Dawn Patrol by releasing an all new record, Don’t Let Up! The album's title is fairly appropriate, once you consider that the band, whose beginnings go back to the early days of MTV, is still going strong in the 21st century.

Proving that they have no intention of slowing down, Night Ranger—which consists of Jack Blades, Brad Gillis, Kelly Keagy, Eric Levy and Keri Kelli—will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band’s monster 1983 album, Midnight Madness and songs like “(You Can Still) Rock in America,” “When You Close Your Eyes” and “Touch of Madness,” with a tour.

Guitar World recently spoke with guitarist Brad Gillis about all things Night Ranger, his current rig, and his memories of touring with Ozzy Osbourne.

This year is marks the 35th anniversary of Midnight Madness. What do you remember most about that whole era?

In the mid-Eighties, we were we were probably on the road nine months out of the year. Then for the remainder of the year, we’d be in the studio recording another record. It was a yearlong job but we had a blast. I’ll never forget pulling into the Coliseum in La Crosse, Wisconsin in late ’83 or ’84 and seeing the marquee that read, 'Night Ranger—Sold Out.' That was very pivotal moment in our career.

People may not know this, but back in 1982, you had two albums come out in the same week, Night Ranger’s Dawn Patrol and Ozzy Osbourne's double-live album, Speak of the Devil. What made you decide to leave Ozzy and go full-time with Night Ranger?

Although we’d done a lot of shows and recorded Speak of the Devil, toward the end of 1982 Rudy [Sarzo] had already decided to leave Ozzy to go join Quiet Riot. I decided to roll the dice and go with Night Ranger because we also had a deal pending. Radio was changing back then and playing heavier stuff, but I remember, even after “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” had been released, we weren’t sure if it would do well. Fortunately, MTV had just come out and needed content. They ended up playing our video about 25 times a day.

Our record company really did us a favor back then by holding off on the release of “Sister Christian” on the Dawn Patrol album. They knew that it would become a hit and wanted us to come out heavy with our “sophomore” release [Midnight Madness]. That ended up being our biggest record and took us to headliner status.

How did “Sister Christian” originate?

When we first got the band together around 1980 and started rehearsing in Jack’s living room, we threw all of these songs together and Kelly brought in that song. I remember we did a rough demo of it with Gary Pihl [guitarist for Boston] and it wound up getting a lot a of interest from producers and record labels. So, we went in and cut the record but then decided to hold off on it.

Let’s discuss a few more tracks that ended up on Midnight Madness, starting with “(You Can Still) Rock in America."

Jack was noticing that a lot of people had been saying that rock and roll was dead. He was the one who came up with the phrase. He brought it to me and we finished it off together.

Does Glenn Hughes really provide backing vocals on that track?

Oh, yeah. We had a lot of friends hanging out with us back then. I sing the high harmony part in falsetto when we perform it live, but back then we wanted someone to come in and sing it in full voice. He knocked it out of the park.

What about “When You Close Your Eyes”?

We always knew the record company would want a ballad or two. That was one that started out as a ballad and really did well on the charts. It’s a great song and is still a lot of fun to play live.

What are Night Ranger’s tour plans like for this year?

We’ve been touring a lot lately and it’s only getting bigger and better. We’ll be hitting a lot of festivals as well as heading over to Europe before coming back to the States and playing all over. We’ll be doing all the staple songs people know as well as a few songs by Damn Yankees and Ozzy. Our other guitarist, Keri, did a stint with Alice Cooper, so we’ll be throwing in a Cooper tune as well. We’ve also brought back the songs “Passion Play” from Midnight Madness and “Night Ranger” from Dawn Patrol. It’s going to be another fun year.

What’s your current setup like?

I’m still using Boogie amps and cabinets, and [I] bring my ‘62 Strat with me along with my Fernandes BG models that I’ve hot rodded to play live. I’ve added original Floyd Roses on them with modified tuners and PJ Marx pickups from the 80’s.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of your performance with Rubicon at Cal Jam II. What do you remember about that day?

March 18, 1978. The biggest day of my life. I was a young kid heading down in my pickup truck to be with artists like Aerosmith, Heart, Dave Mason and Ted Nugent. It was overwhelming meeting all of the bands and every band’s van had their latest album cover painted on the side. I remember the van taking us to a heliport where a helicopter flew us backstage and a limo drove us to the dressing room. They put us on after Aerosmith and we probably played in front of 250,000 pope. It was a crazy day!

Do you have a good Ozzy story that you can share?

It was summer time in 1982 and I was in Dallas, Texas with Ozzy. We had a few days off and Ozzy just went missing. Everyone was worried because no one could find him. Then when he finally did show up the morning of the show, he had shaved his head [laughs]! Sharon had our wardrobe assistant go out and buy him a wig and I remember Rudy taking a pair of scissors and cutting the wig to the length of Ozzy’s real hair at the time.

Whenever Ozzy came out on stage, he’d always do this thing where he would shake and then rip his shirt off. So, he did that and afterwards, he started tugging on the back of his head and pulling back on the wig really slow, like he was ripping it off his head. I remember we even stuck some red liquid on to make it look like there was blood dripping down his face. To see 80,000 people with their jaws dropped watching Ozzy rip off his scalp was one of the most memorable moments of my career.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

It’s been 35 years since Night Ranger released their guitar-driven debut, Dawn Patrol. The album ushered in the band’s hook-laden, twin-guitar sound—a sound heard on songs like “Don’t Tell Me You Love” and “(You Can Still) Rock in America.”

The band also helped define the Eighties with songs like “When You Close Your Eyes,” “Sentimental Street” and, of course, “Sister Christian."

Today (March 24), the band released a new album, Don’t Let Up, and it's an obvious next step for a crew that’s been rocking for more than three decades. Songs like “Somehow Someway” and “Nothing Left of Yesterday” conjure that blistering, dual-guitar attack—now featuring trade-offs by Brad Gillis and new guitarist Keri Kelli—while “Comfort Me” and “Truth” offer hope in uncertain times.

In the end, Don’t Let Up reflects exactly what Night Ranger continues to be: a kick-ass American rock band. Night Ranger is Jack Blades (lead vocals/bass), Kelly Keagy (lead vocals/drums), Brad Gillis (guitar), Eric Levy (keyboards) and Keri Kelli (guitar).

I recently spoke with Blades and Gillis about Don’t Let Up, gear and a lot more.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Dawn Patrol. What goes through your mind when you look back to that era?
BLADES: A sea of emotions. It’s interesting to think that it’s been 35 years because sometimes it feels like 35 days. When you start out, you figure you’re going to be in a rock band for a while and then hope for the best. Who would have thought we’d be here now, 35 years later, talking about a new Night Ranger album? We’re one of the survivors.

GILLIS: What goes through my mind was how exciting the Eighties were and the Cinderella story of how I got the gig with Ozzy Osbourne and toured the world. Then taking everything I learned from that experience and carrying it into Night Ranger. I think about how Ozzy’s Speak of the Devil and our Dawn Patrol were released on the same week in October 1982 and then jumping right into a major Night Ranger tour. It was a great era, and to still be doing it 35 years later is pretty amazing.

What’s it like having guitarist Keri Kelli in the band?
BLADES: Kerri’s great and is a perfect addition. He brings in a unique groove and Stones-ish feel to the band. He’s the guy who pulls everything all together and fits in perfectly with Brad. They get along great, and he and Eric Levy are very in tune to the history of Night Ranger and the music we’ve created. They bring ideas and an attitude that’s really worked out well.

What was the writing process like for Don’t Let Up?
GILLIS: Basically, we started out by going to Kelly’s home in Nashville with the nucleus of the band [which consists of myself, Jack and Kelly] and wrote about six songs in a few days. Then we came back to my place and wrote a few more, and then flew to Jack’s to do a few more. Then we brought in Keri and Eric to put the icing on the cake and round out the record. We stuck with our format of big choruses and the dual-guitar assault with different styles of soloing.

BLADES: The process was laid out like we’ve always done: Let’s get in there and jam. That’s exactly what we did.

Let’s discuss a few tracks from the album, beginning with “Somehow Someway.”
GILLIS: That was a barn burner where we wanted to kind of get back to the “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” feel with a great hook, twin guitars and harmonies. It has that fire to it.

BLADES: It’s a song about getting back to the love. A situation about someone who comes into your life. For a while, everything is great but then everyone loses their way and splits off and goes their own way. The idea is that somehow, someway, we’ll get back to it.

"Comfort Me"
GILLIS: That was an idea I had written and then Keri and Jack came over and we honed it in and got it to the next level. Then Kelly and Eric came in to finish it off.

"Truth"
BLADES: Keri and I were jamming around when we started that song. The verses tell of the sadness of being alone. It’s about not wanting to hear about things that aren’t real. I just want to hear the truth, and I think the truth is not being alone and being there for someone.

Is there a certain amp setup you prefer when you perform?
GILLIS: I’ve always played [Mesa] Boogies pretty much throughout my career. I have a few Mach V amps that sound great. I usually play through a low-wattage Marshall 4x12 or a Boogie 4x12. I’m pretty straight up as far as my wired sound goes because I don’t use too many effects. I do have a delay for songs like “Rumors in the Air” and for soloing as well as an occasional compressor or slight chorus. I go for a raw, direct sound.

BLADES: I’ve used Mesa Boogie 400 Plusses for years and absolutely love them. I pair them with 2x15 cabinets and a few 4x10 cabinets.

Brad, what can you tell me about your main guitar?
GILLIS: The guitar I’ve played throughout my career is a 1962 Fender Stratocaster that I got in 1978. A friend of my brother's came over to the house one day and told me he had a sanded-down Strat and asked me if I wanted it. So I took it and had the neck painted black and took the body to a shop where they sprayed gray primer on it, along with some leftover orange-red paint.

That was also right around the time the Floyd Rose came out. I was infatuated with Eddie Van Halen and how he did his dive-bombs on it. I had to find one and eventually did at a music store in San Francisco. They had the Number 3 one that Floyd had built; Eddie had the first, Neal Schon had the second and I traded a Les Paul Custom for mine, along with a fret job for my Strat. Everyone thought I was crazy at the time, but I have the same bridge on my same ‘62 Strat for 39 years, and it’s still a workhorse.

What excites you the most about the new album and this next phase of the band’s career?
Blades: The title Don’t Let Up is the Night Ranger creed. You just keep going. It’s what you have to do in life. I think when you write a song, it’s about as deep into your soul as a person can get a glimpse. So I’m looking forward to people listening to the entire record from top to bottom. That’s the easy part. The hard part is going to be figuring out which two or three of the new songs we’re going to play live.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

Night Ranger have released "Comfort Me," a track from their upcoming studio album, Don't Let Up, and you can check it out below. The disc will be released March 24 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Night Ranger—Kelly Keagy, Brad Gillis, Jack Blades, Eric Levy and Keri Kelli—truly epitomize the sound of the Eighties while completely transcending it. Since their 1996 reunion, they've brought their guitar-heavy, melodic rock roaring into the 21st century.

"Don't Let Up is the result of five musicians living and breathing rock and roll 24 hours a day," Blades says. "Thirty-five years on, and Night Ranger is once again ready to let the fans know 'It's Only Rock and Roll, But I Like It'!"

The album is available for preorder here. For more information, visit nightranger.com.

Don't Let Up Track List:
1. Somehow Someway
2. Running Out of Time
3. Truth
4. Day and Night*
5. Don't Let Up
6. Won't Be Your Fool Again
7. Say What You Want
8. We Can Work It Out
9. Comfort Me
10. Jamie
11. Nothing Left of Yesterday*Bonus audio track on Deluxe Edition
*Bonus DVD: Band interviews; "Running Out of Time" (video), "Day and Night" (video)

Considering their resumes, which read like a who’s who of hard rock and metal, calling Revolution Saints a supergroup is something of an understatement.

The creative trifecta of Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English), Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees) and Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Burning Rain) has put together an inspired collection of songs packed with monster vocals, driving rhythms and (of course) a blistering guitar attack.

Their debut self-titled album, which will be released February 24, also features appearances by Castronovo’s fellow Journey bandmates, Neal Schon and Arnel Pineda.

I recently caught up with bassist Jack Blade to talk about Revolution Saints, Night Ranger and more.

GUITAR WORLD: How did the Revolution Saints project come together?

It was actually the brainchild of the head of Frontiers Records. He really wanted to give Deen a platform where he could be the lead singer. He talked to Deen about it, and then Deen called me up and asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I was immediately on board. Then someone mentioned Doug Aldrich. I’ve always been a big fan of Doug’s. He’s such a great guitar player. Boom! There it was!

The new album has elements from all of your other bands, yet has its own unique freshness. How would describe the new album?

It’s pretty hard rocking. Good, classic hard rock with balls is basically what the whole thing is about. I think when you have individuals like us, you can’t help but be who you are. It is who we are in all of those bands we’ve been a part of. But Deen’s voice is so pure and clean on this album. It’s just wonderful.

Let’s talk about a few tracks from the album. What can you tell me about “Turn Back Time”?

Alessandro Del Vecchio had written the music for the song and I contributed the lyrics. Deen and I decided it would be a great song for us to do a co-lead vocal on it.

"Way to the Sun"

That’s a made for Neal Schon-type of song. The way Neal seamlessly blends his guitar into the track is just amazing. It’s classic Neal Schon!

What was the recording process like for this album?

It was really a combination of two things. First, Deen would lay down drum tracks and send them to me, and then I would put down the bass and send it off to Doug. Then the three of us all went into a studio in Portland and pulled it all together.

Do the three of you have plans to tour as Revolution Saints?

We’re having meetings right now to figure that out. We’ve been getting offers to play from all parts of the globe. I know Journey has a very busy schedule and Night Ranger also has a lot of shows this year. Doug’s also busy with all of the projects he’s involved with. We’ll see. It would definitely be fun band to play in and for people to see.

Let’s talk a little Night Ranger. Joel Hoekstra departed recently to join Whitesnake and was replaced by Keri Kelli. Does Keri’s arrival change the dynamic of the band?

Keri was a seamless transition. There wasn’t even a moment of getting used to. Keri was with Alice Cooper and Slash for years and brings a real good swagger into the band. He’s played with us before and did a whole tour of Canada with us some years ago. Keri and Brad get along so well, and the way he swings on his rhythms is really refreshing. It’s been great.

You mentioned touring. What are Night Ranger’s tour plans for this year?

There are a lot of shows coming in. We’ll be doing our own thing as well as playing with some other bands. Needless to say, it’s going to be another busy year for Night Ranger. We’re still working behind our new album, High Road. What’s so refreshing is when people hear songs from the record in our set and come up to us and say, “That third song from the set. Was that a huge hit from Midnight Madness or Seven Wishes?” And I’d say, “No, that was from our new album, High Road!” That’s about the best compliment we could ever get!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Seven Wishes. What comes to mind when you think about that album?

It was great album to make. We had such huge success with Midnight Madness and after touring behind it non-stop went right into the studio. It was a real growth record for us with songs like “Seven Wishes," “Four in the Morning," “Sentimental Street” and “Goodbye." There’s a lot of great stuff on that record.

A lot of rockers have written books about their lives and careers. Have you ever given thought to writing one at some point?

Right now, I just love to work, create, play and travel. I’m also excited about Revolution Saints. There’s a lot of buzz about the record. But I think that a book might be a pretty cool thing to do at some point. Maybe put it in a perspective of life’s lessons. You know, “What have you learned from '(You Can Still) Rock in America?' That’s kind of what it would be about. That will be another project I’ll have to wrap my head around! [laughs].

For more about Revolution Saints, follow them on Facebook.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

It's no secret that Joel Hoekstra is one the hardest-working musicians you're ever likely to meet. The Night Ranger guitarist, who just celebrated the release of the band's new album, High Road, also performs regularly as part of Broadway's Rock of Ages and tours every fall with Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Hoekstra also has unveiled a brand new project, VHF, which stands for the initials of band mates Todd "Vinny" Vinciguerra (drums), Joel Hoekstra (guitars) and bassist Tony Franklin (the Firm, Kenny Wayne Shepherd).

Co-produced by Joe Floyd and Tommy Kessler (Blondie, Rock of Ages), VHF's debut release, Very High Frequency, which was released June 20, isn't a shred record by any means. It's full of trippy, groove-inspired rock that's been built from the ground up.

I recently caught up with Hoekstra and got an update on Night Ranger, VHF and the secret to mastering his two-handed technique.

GUITAR WORLD: High Road reminds me a lot of the classic Night Ranger sound. Was the intent going into this album to pay homage to those early records?

We just wanted to be ourselves and were able to find a nice balance of sounding like the classic Night Ranger while giving ourselves the leeway to express some our influences. We’re still a rock and roll band who likes to create new music and give our fans something they’ll appreciate. It’s an honor for me to be a part of it.

What else can you tell me about the new album?

There’s really something for everyone on this record, and a lot of it starts with Jack [Blades], Brad [Gillis] and Kelly [Keagy] together. "Knock Knock Never Stop" is really a good example of that. It's got that signature Brad Gillis riff in it. "Rollin On" is another song that started out with a bluesy-sounding riff. I think you can hear a little bit of Brad’s Hendrix influence on that one. Eric Levy and I are involved as well. Eric came in with the ballad “Only For You Only” and I came up with the riffs for “I’m Coming Home."

What's your live setup going to be like for this summer’s Night Ranger tour?

I’ve been using EVH III amps for quite some time. I also have a built in AKG Wireless system into my guitars that were installed by Atomic Guitar Works. They did a phenomenal job. They literally build the transmitters right into my guitars. All I need to do is press it on or off. It goes directly into the receiver and straight into the amp. From there, I just use a Line 6 DL4 for delay on the loop when I go to solo.

How did the VHF project come about?

I've known Todd since the two of us were roommates in Hollywood back in the Nineties. He recently hit me up and told me he had some drum tracks Tony Franklin had played on and wanted to know if I’d be interested in playing on it as well. He sent them over to me and basically said to do whatever I wanted on it. The cool thing about it was that we built the song from the drums up, which is a pretty backwards songwriting concept. But the results that came from it were really unique. We ended up with a hybrid mix of cool playing along with some really trippy stuff. For instrumental music, it focuses more on the vibe of the song instead of just the chops.

That first song went so well that I asked Todd about doing an EP. We ended up doing five more songs like that. Then Todd and Tony did a bass and drum song called "All Is Within” and I did a conceptual guitar piece ("Conception to Death") where I improvised on a track and then wrote seven more to it. It’s basically all of the stages of life condensed within a minute and a half. Everyone can check out the video for the song “Whispers of the Soul” online right now. It’s a very cool, unique project and we're happy to have it out there.

Do the three of you have plans to do any live shows?

Right now there's a lot going on with our other projects, so we’re not sure what’s going to happen next. But you never know. When you enjoy what you do and work hard at it, sometimes things can surprise you. I never thought I would be in Night Ranger or in a Broadway show that features Eighties hard rock. There are all kinds of things that can happen over the course of your career. You just have to ride the wave.

Can you tell me how you developed your two-handed technique?

I was really lucky that another one of my first guitar teachers taught theory and soloing and was really into the eight-fingered technique. His name is T.J. Helmerich. He’s an amazing player who has a lot of rock/fusion albums out with that style of playing. I remember I was 14 when he first taught me the eight-finger part for "Rock in America." I used to sit up in my bedroom practicing it over and over and even tried to do it with my eyes closed. So it’s kind of an ironic thing for me to now be in the band. Some of the things that I was working on at that time just seemed to have come full circle.

Do you have a piece of advice for someone who wants to learn it?

It’s a unique solo technique and I always liked having that as something I could spend time on. But it’s just like anything else - it’s about finding where your passion lies and then putting in the time. My advice is to find what you dig and then go after it as hard as possible. You'll always get back what you put in. It’s all about hard work.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

While several Eighties rock bands have gone the "human jukebox" route — touring behind their catalog of hits without releasing new material — Night Ranger continue to buck the trend.

For the band’s new album, High Road, which will be released June 10, Night Ranger take us back to their roots — a time when inspired songwriting, huge guitar riffs and harmony solos and vocals ruled the airwaves. It's a formula that never gets old.

High Road will be available in two formats — standard CD and a deluxe version, which includes a bonus instrumental track and a DVD featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album, plus video clips.

Night Ranger is Jack Blades (bass guitar, vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals), Brad Gillis (lead and rhythm guitars), Joel Hoekstra (lead and rhythm guitars) and Eric Levy (keyboards).

I recently spoke with Gillis about High Road, his early years and his biggest career highlight. I also got an update on his upcoming solo project.

GUITAR WORLD: How does a Night Ranger album project begin?

There are three factors we look for whenever we make a new record: big vocals, the sound/song structure and the harmony guitars and vocals. I think it's great for a band to stick to their roots and what made them famous instead of always trying to delve off into too many new territories and confusing their core audience.

What can you tell me about the writing process for this album?

It's pretty much the same structure we've used throughout our entire career. I'll bring in some riffs, or maybe Jack will have a song idea or Kelly will have a lyric/vocal idea for a chorus. The three of us will usually get together to hammer down some basic ideas. Then we'll bring in Joel and Eric to throw in their input and build it up from there. It was a bit of a process, but we really wanted to make sure the record sounded huge.

Let's discuss a few tracks from the new album, starting with "High Road."

That song actually came last in the songwriting process. Jack's son, Colin Blades, had written the original verse lines for it and was playing it one day in front of Jack and Kelly. They both thought it sounded great so they took the core idea and brought it into the band and we finished it off. It ended up sounding so fresh and new that we decided to release it as our first single. It's the perfect "driving around in your car/summer" song. It has a good feeling to it.

"Knock Knock Never Stop"

"Knock Knock" was something we threw together as a band. We wanted something that was hard rock but had a little more of an edge to it. It really brings back the heaviness of Night Ranger.

"L.A. No Name," which is a bonus track ...

We took a bit of a break to write songs a few years back. Kelly flew in to town to work with Jack and Joel came over to my house. One night, the two of us started fiddling around and decided to write an acoustic instrumental. We started writing down ideas, honed it the next day and finished it off.

What's your method for choosing and recording dual guitars?

We use the same guitars that we usually play live. Joel plays his Goldtop Les Paul, and I have my old '62 Strat that I played with Ozzy and Night Ranger and do a lot of stuff on. We use different amplifiers to get the best sound we can that will fit the particular song.

Can you tell me a little about your musical upbringing?

It was right around my 8th birthday that I really wanted to start learning how to play. My dad told me that it cost a lot of money for a guitar and amp, but he said he'd buy it for me if I promised to take lessons. So I took lessons, but my real advantage back then was having an older brother who was getting hip on music and buying a lot of records from bands from the British Invasion, Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Santana. I remember I'd always sit in his room listening to the records and learning how to play the songs by ear.

Do you have an update on your solo album project?

I’ve been busy working on the new Night Ranger record, and I also write a lot of music for ESPN and Fox Sports. Now that the album's finished, I've got a few singers lined up and a record deal locked in, so I'm excited to get back to work on it. I've been taking a lot of extra time on the production end with guitar tones and drum sounds to make it sound huge. It's going to be a good one and will be out sometime early next year.

What would you say has been the biggest highlight of your musical career?

I was with the band Rubicon back in 1978 (along with Jack Blades) and we played Cal Jam 2. It was in Ontario, California, in front of 250,000 people playing along with Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Heart, Dave Mason and all of these other big bands. It was flying in a helicopter and taking limos around. I remember every band on the bill had a brand-new van that had their album cover painted on the side.

There have been some shows with Night Ranger and my first few shows with Ozzy that were just as memorable, but March 18, 1978 — It's still the biggest day of my life!

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

For Joel Hoekstra and Tommy Kessler, it might be like being inside of a time warp.

Not only do the guitarists for Broadway’s Rock of Ages musical get to perform in the fictional Eighties band Arsenal night after night, but separately, they play music from that same era, even when not performing on the Broadway stage.

Kessler’s other “day job” includes working alongside Debbie Harry in Blondie, while Hoekstra continues to record and tour with Night Ranger and is about to start his fourth winter tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I spoke to Hoekstra and Kessler about Rock of Ages and some of their other projects.

GUITAR WORLD: What are some of the differences between performing as part of Night Ranger and Blondie, as compared to Rock of Ages?

JOEL HOEKSTRA: With Night Ranger, it's all about playing the classic songs/solos and entertaining the audience with an energetic performance. With Rock of Ages, people are there for a humorous, entertainment experience, not a serious rock show. My approach to that is campier because it's more in the spirit of the show. People are just there to have a good time. In Night Ranger, I use EVH iii amps. With RoA, I play through a Fractal Axe-FX Ultra.

TOMMY KESSLER: The main difference performing-wise is that when Blondie plays a show, it's six of us doing a rock show and it's song after song. We're all featured at any given moment. With Rock of Ages, there's a story going on in front of the band. We are on stage the entire time because Arsenal is the house band of the Bourbon Room, but the story goes in and out of the Bourbon Room so there is a lot of time we are in the dark and not playing music.

The music is also mixed quite differently in the two shows. One is a rock mix and one is a theater mix. Gear-wise, In Blondie I have the typical amp/pedal board setup, but in Rock of Ages I play direct through Fractal Audio Axe FX Ultra.

Tell me a little about the performance itself and the monitor setups you use.

KESSLER: I use Ultimate (UE7) in ear monitors for both shows. The shows are pretty similar in the monitoring respect. We have a monitor board and we all have our own separate mixes. In Rock of Ages, we have talkback mics in case we need to adjust a mix during the show. With Blondie, we don't because for the most part we have a set mix and very little changes and it's a band so there are always the same people playing. In Rock of Ages, everyone has a handful of subs that come in on any given show so little things are tweaked on the fly according to who is in the show.

HOEKSTRA: Obviously the show is based on hits of the Eighties, but there's much more to playing it than just playing cover songs. Many of the songs are in different keys, or are part of medleys. There are lots of vamps as well. The keyboard player/conductor is always counting us in and out of sections in our in-ears. We also have a talkback system up there, so we can communicate with each other if there are problems. For in-ears, we all use Ultimate UE7's.

How many shows do you think you’ve done?

HOEKSTRA: Including the off-Broadway run, we must be approaching 2,000 shows. I miss probably 30 percent of them due to my commitments with Night Ranger and Trans Siberian Orchestra, so I've probably played 1,300 to 1,400 of them.

KESSLER: Joel and I always roughly try to figure this out, but I think there has been about 1,800 or 1,900 off-Broadway/Broadway shows,and I guess I’ve probably done around 1,200, give or take a hundred [laughs].

Can you give us an update on what you're doing with TSO, Night Ranger and Blondie?

HOEKSTRA: I'm about to head out on my fourth winter tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra (which runs now through December 31. That's 58 arena shows in just over six weeks! Night Ranger had a great year of gigs, and our new record is slated for release in spring 2014. We still totally enjoy writing/recording new music and we're really excited about it.

KESSLER: Touring with Blondie has ended for the year, so I'm back every night at Rock of Ages. There are a few award shows that I'll be music directing for Debbie, but I spend most of my days in the studio producing and writing music with my team for artists/bands. My “Tommy Toy Room” as I like to call it [laughs].

What do you think makes the music from that decade so timeless?

HOEKSTRA: Many of the songs have catchy melodies, great hooks, and generally speaking, the songs from that period are fun and uplifting.

KESSLER: I think the biggest thing with Eighties music is that the people who were growing up listening to it have now become the demographic that goes and sees shows, and they also have kids they will bring along. Plus, the show gives people who grew up with the music a reason to get together again and relive their teenage years.

For more about Joel Hoekstra, visit joelhoekstra.com. For more about Tommy Kessler, visit tommykessler.com. Check out Rock of Ages on Facebook.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

Whether he's performing as part of the hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages or jetting around the country for Night Ranger recording sessions and shows, Joel Hoekstra is easily one the hardest-working guitarists you're likely to meet.

In addition to his aforementioned commitments, Hoekstra finds time to tour every fall with Trans Siberian Orchestra.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Night Ranger's monster 1983 album, Midnight Madness, and Hoekstra and the rest of the band — Jack Blades, Brad Gillis, Kelly Keagy and Eric Levy — are excited to celebrate it by recording a new album and performing more headlining shows.

I recently caught up with Hoekstra, who told me how Night Ranger's new album is coming along and his other musical projects. To keep up with Night Ranger, check out their official website and Facebook page.

GUITAR WORLD: Can you give us an update on the new Night Ranger album?

We have around 10 songs going right now, and we're all psyched about it. We're in a place where we can do the album we want to do, which is a classic "Night Ranger sounding" album. All of the music is really rocking. There's a lot of variety on this one. This one will still have all the signature sounds with harmony solos and melodic pop-rock songs.

Are you doing anything different this time around?

Normally we'd do most of the recording at Jack's studio, but we're doing the guitars at Brad's this time. We're also handling things a little bit differently. We layered a lot of the rhythms on our last studio album, Somewhere In California. For this one, we're going back to more of a vintage Night Ranger sound where instead of having multiple rhythm tracks, there's one rhythm guitar on each side. It's not only a nice throw back having one on each side, but it also makes the sound nice and clear, the way you'd hear it if you saw the band live.

What's the songwriting process like?

The bulk of it starts with Jack, Brad and Kelly. Sometimes Brad will come in with a riff, or Jack will come in with chords and a melody or Kelly will have a song idea. Their ideas often come from a progression/melody standpoint. Brad writes a good amount of the riffs, and there's a few on this one that Brad and I wrote together. One of them we're really excited about. Eric Levy [keyboards] also has been working on a ballad idea that might make the album as well.

What other projects are you involved in?

I'm still doing Rock of Ages and hopefully the TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra) tour in the winter. I'm also doing quite a bit of session work and co-writing these days. I think it's important to have many musical expansions. It makes you a better player. Every time you do something, you're learning and getting better, so it's important to keep those experiences flowing.

Joel Hoekstra's Guitar World "Lick of the Day" Lesson Videos

"Growing Up In California"

"Lay It On Me"

"Rock of Ages"

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

Thirty years ago, Night Ranger were transformed from an opening act to a headliner with the release of their album Midnight Madness. The 1983 record became a smash hit within months of its October release, thanks to tracks like “Sister Christian,” “(You Can Still) Rock in America” and “When You Close Your Eyes.”

For Night Ranger guitarist and founding member Brad Gillis, the time between then and now seems like a lifetime. Over the years, in addition to recording and touring with Night Ranger, Gillis has released solo albums and written hundreds of songs for the ESPN network.

Although his greatest fame came with Night Ranger, Gillis is also remembered for replacing Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne’s band immediately after Rhoads’ death while on tour with Ozzy in 1982. At the time, Night Ranger were still unknowns, whereas Osbourne was a star. Eventually, Gillis would be forced to choose between staying with Ozzy or continuing with Night Ranger.

Guitar World recently caught up with Gillis to talk with him about Midnight Madness, his tenure with Ozzy and his and Night Ranger’s forthcoming albums.

GUITAR WORLD: What do you remember most about the Midnight Madness period?

I remember being out on tour opening for bands like ZZ Top, 38 Special and Cheap Trick and then suddenly finding ourselves headlining. What was really exciting about that period for me was when we headlined in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in late ’83, ’84. I remember pulling into their coliseum and the marquee said “Night Ranger / Sold Out.” It was our first sold-out coliseum. The best thing of all is that I’m still with the same band and we’re still writing music and touring.

The band is also working on a new album. What can you tell us about it?

I brought in a lot of heavier guitar riffs for this album. It will be a much heavier album than our last one [2011’s Somewhere in California]. We’re getting back to the basic groove from our first album [1982’s Dawn Patrol] and songs like “Can’t Find Me a Thrill,” which was more straight-ahead rock.

It’s also been 30 years since you took over guitar duties with Ozzy Osbourne after Randy Rhoads died in a small-airplane crash. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news of his death?

I had just seen Ozzy at Day on the Green a few months before Randy died. People were touting Randy as the next Eddie Van Halen, so I went to see the show, and he just blew me away. I was driving down the road when I heard the news that there was a plane crash and Randy was killed. I remember pulling over in my truck and just thinking how easily things could be lost.

How did you get the gig with Ozzy?

When Night Ranger got together in 1980, we didn’t want to go out and play much until we had a major release and could come out with a bang. So in the interim, I started a band called the Alameda All Stars. We would play local clubs in the area and always included a few Ozzy tunes in our set.

Shortly after Randy died, someone came to the club and saw me play and told me that he would try to get me an audition with Ozzy. I remember thinking “Yeah, right!” but the man turned out to be Preston Thrall, who was Pat Thrall’s brother. [Pat Thrall had played with drummer Tommy Aldridge in the Pat Travers band, and Aldridge was on tour with Osbourne when Rhoads died, hence the connection.] Preston told Pat, Pat told Tommy, and Tommy told Sharon [Osbourne, née Arden]. Sure enough, a few days later, I got a phone call at eight in the morning, and the woman on the other end said, “Hello, Bradley? This is Sharon Arden. I’m Ozzy Osbourne’s manager, and we’d like to fly you to New York for an audition.”

At first, I thought it was a joke, but then she put Ozzy on the phone and he asked me to write down 18 songs that he wanted me to learn. They wanted to fly me out on Tuesday, so I basically had two days to learn all of those songs. I told him that I’d need some time, but I really wanted to do it. Ozzy was working with Bernie Tormé as an interim player and he told me to come out and he’d take me on the road with them. So I watched a few of their shows and then spent four 12-hour days learning all that I could.

I remember we were in Binghamton, New York, when I told Sharon that I was ready. I was nervous, because I had never played with the band before. In fact, all I did was play seven songs during the soundcheck that night, and Ozzy never even showed up for it! [laughs] But I went out there and played that night and did well, except for when we got to “Revelation (Mother Earth).” I came into the fast part a little too early and Ozzy shot me the look of death. I was able to regain my composure and spot in the song and was fine for the rest of the set. But the one thing I’ll never forget happened the next night: Sharon took me aside and said, “Bradley, you’re doing a great job. But tonight…don’t fuck up!” [laughs]

What influenced your decision to stay with Night Ranger instead of going with Ozzy?

Although we had done a lot of shows and recorded Speak of the Devil [Osbourne’s double-live album from the tour, featuring Gillis on guitar], I didn’t feel like it was the best fit for me. [Osbourne bassist] Rudy Sarzo’s band, Quiet Riot, had recently gotten a record deal, and he left at around that same time. Night Ranger landed a record deal too. So I rolled the dice and decided to go with Night Ranger. What’s interesting, though, is that we released Dawn Patrol in ’82 and during that same week Ozzy released Speak of the Devil.

What can you tell us about your upcoming solo record?

I’m 14 songs deep right now. I’ve been taking my time on it, but I’m to the point now where I’m going to have some guest singers come in and hopefully have it finished sometime later this year or early next. It seems that I release a solo record every 10 to 12 years, so I think it’s about time.

Follow Night Ranger on Facebook.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

It’s not often that a guitarist grows up listening to one of his favorite bands, and then has the opportunity to become part of that band’s legacy.

But Joel Hoekstra is no ordinary guitarist. His guitar wizardry has allowed him to live out his dream and become a driving force with Night Ranger.

It’s the same dedication to his craft that makes Hoekstra one of the hardest-working rock guitarists today. But don’t take my word for it. Just take a look at his resume. Not only does he share guitar duties with Brad Gillis in the band whose songs (“Don’t Tell Me You Love Me," “(You Can Still) Rock in America” and “Sister Christian”) have become staples of classic rock radio, but he continues to perform as part of the hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages.

Did I mention that Hoekstra finds time to tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra? And then there was the time he pulled double duty and filled in for Mick Jones of Foreigner. Which begs the question: When does the man ever find time to sleep?

Next month, Night Ranger will unleash a new package of music to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary. The album, 24 Strings & A Drummer is a live CD/DVD featuring acoustic arrangements of the band’s hits.

I had the opportunity to speak with Hoekstra about the new CD as well as his own musical journey. He also gives good advice for up-and-coming guitarists and tells a great rock and roll story.

GUITAR WORLD: It’s been a busy few years for Night Ranger. Tell me about what the band has been up to.

We really have been busy. Last summer, we released a new studio album called Somewhere in California and toured the world to support it. This October, to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band, we’re releasing a greatest hits, acoustic, CD/DVD package called 24 Strings & A Drummer. It’s a live album we recorded at Bob Weir’s studio in northern California. It was an intimate, invitation-only performance.

Why a live album?

We really wanted to do something different for the die-hard fans, the ones who’ve been following Night Ranger since the very beginning. In addition to it being a live recording, we’ve also updated many of the songs we do vocally and added new sections to them.

You're one the hardest-working guitarists in the business. How do you do it all?

I love what I do and just having the opportunity is amazing. I perform eight shows of Rock of Ages each week, so whenever I’m not with Night Ranger or touring with TSO, I’m at home in New York. The blessing of doing Rock of Ages is that it keeps you sharp. I love all of the songs that we do and I get to be on stage the entire time.

You’ve also released a few solo albums as well, right?

Yes. I’ve released three solo records. The first two are a combination of rock and fusion. Virgil Donati from Planet X is on drums. He’s also worked with Steve Vai. The bass player is Ricc Fierrabracci, who’s played with artists like Andy Summers, Frank Gambale and Chick Corea. The third album is an acoustic album filled with chord/melody songs.

Do you have any advice for up-and-coming players?

The one common thread all guitar players who’ve gotten good on the instrument share is that they’ve spent a lot of time working on their craft. It’s not about how you hold your pick or what kind of amp you have. The truth is, there are many different ways to approach the instrument, but if you want to become good, you just have to spend a lot of time with it.

Are there any plans in the works to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Midnight Madness album next year?

There’s been some talk about it, but nothing concrete yet. I do know that at the top of next year we plan on heading back into the studio to start writing and recording a new album.How did you get your start with Night Ranger?That’s an interesting story. I had originally met Kelly (Keagy) through Jim Peterik’s World Stage. I was in the house band at the time, and Kelly was one of the many guests who would come out to play the hits. I saw him once every year for a number of years before he came in one day and mentioned that Jeff [Watson] wasn’t with the band anymore. I remember speaking with him about it. About a week or so later, Kelly called me up and told me that Reb Beach (who was filling in while Whitesnake were on hiatus) was going to have to miss a show and said they were either going to have cancel the gig or they could give me a shot. The only thing was, I had about eight days to learn all of the songs, and we wouldn’t be able to rehearse together before hand. It was a situation where I would just have to go in and do the gig. The show itself was going to be my audition. No pressure, though. [laughs.]You had never met Jack [Blades] or Brad [Gillis] prior to that show?No, the only person I knew was Kelly. I actually met Brad and Jack for the first time while we were grabbing our luggage in baggage claim at the Detroit airport the night before the show. By the time we all got to the hotel, it was pretty much lights-out and straight to bed. The show was great and I wound up being offered the gig. It was definitely one of the highlights of my career. Growing up, I used to have a whole wall in my room decorated with pictures torn out of guitar magazines of players I admired, and Brad and Jeff were both up there. For me to now have the opportunity to be a part of Night Ranger is surreal. When you’re up there on stage, is there ever a time when you look over at Kelly’s drum riser, see the Night Ranger logo and just go, “WOW!”?I’ve been with the band for five years now, so I look at it more like we’re all just really good friends. But every once in a while it will just hit me, and I’ll still think: “Wow! This is pretty freaking cool!” Keep up with Hoekstra at his official website and Facebook page. And be sure to check out Night Ranger's official website. James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

If you’re new to the game and just discovering Jack Blades, you’re likely to think of him as a founding member/lead vocalist/bassist for the rock band Night Ranger.

In fact, Blades is a multi-faceted artist who can easily transition from the volume of arena rock — with Night Ranger or Damn Yankees — to the stripped-down acoustic sounds of Shaw/Blades, his project with Styx vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Tommy Shaw.

Blades' latest project is his new solo album, Rock ’N Roll Ride, which sounds an awful lot like Jack Blades -- because that’s what he does. He doesn’t venture far from his roots, and that’s a good thing, because his roots are in the traditional craft of songwriting.

In a recent interview, Blades discussed writing, recording and why classic rock is just that.

GUITAR WORLD: You’re known primarily as a vocalist, but you’re also a prolific songwriter, a producer and a multi-instrumentalist. Is it ever frustrating that the other skills sometimes take second place to public perception of you as a frontman?

No, I don’t mind. I like the fact that I’m not “just a bass player,” because Kelly [Keagy, Night Ranger] and I joke that the drummer and bass player are the first two guys to get fired, so let’s make sure we write most of the songs and sing and that’ll give us a little job security! I’ve been fortunate enough to be in bands and always tried to play with people who are better than me. I play with the great Brad Gillis on guitar and Kelly on drums and vocals, Tommy Shaw is amazing, Ted Nugent is a gonzo guitar player and Neal Schon is a good buddy of mine. I’m real happy. I wouldn’t be satisfied just doing one thing, and that’s evident in my life because I’m not satisfied putting one record out or just being in Night Ranger, as evidenced by Shaw/Blades and Damn Yankees, and producing and writing.

Your musical education goes all the way back to starting out playing funk. Do you think that part of your longevity is because you have that background in different genres of music? Do some musicians limit themselves by not branching out?

I think maybe that happens when certain guys are one-trick ponies. They do their thing and that’s all they can do. I love the Beatles; they were everything to me when I was growing up. When I got into my early teens, it was Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Cream, all those rockin’ bands. Then I got into funk. In 1975, when I moved to northern California, the first thing I ended up in was a session with Sly Stone at the Sausalito Record Plant, playing very funky, slap-style music. It was a musical journey, it was a rock and roll ride even back then, and yeah, I think that had something to do with it. It’s my personality; I’m not just focused on one thing. I want to sing and write and play bass. People like Paul McCartney were my heroes, and that's what moved me on in my musical adventure.

Speaking of Paul McCartney, I hear from [songwriter/guitarist] Will Evankovich that your studio is a hotbed of Beatles paraphernalia.

Yeah! The greatest thing in the world was when I got to play with Ringo. It was like a gift from God, like God goes, “OK, Junior, I’m going to throw you a bone here. You get to play with a Beatle.” And I was like “YES!” There’s that streak in me, and it holds true when you listen to the harmonies on my record, and on Night Ranger and Damn Yankees records, and I think it’s a prevailing theme. McCartney taught us all how to play bass. My studio has a lot of things that have to do with the Beatles, a lot of pictures for inspiration, and a painting of the Beatles that’s the size of an entire wall that an artist did for me. When I’m a little low, I look at those pictures and it gives me the inspiration.

“Anything For You” [from Rock ’N Roll Ride] — obviously you’re not at all a fan of their music or their harmonies …

Not at all! And Robin [Zander] is the same way. He sang that thing and I think he was channeling John Lennon when he was singing [sings] “I will surrender.”

The Beatles song you wish you’d written.

Oh wow! How to blindside an artist in six words! “Help!”

The Beatles album you wish you’d produced.

Ohhh. Revolver, because that’s when they were changing. Everyone’s going to say Sgt. Pepper because it was a trip, but I say Revolver because they went from [sings] “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah,” to [sings] “Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.” I like that.

What is a good song? How do you know when you’re there?

My idea of a good song is when I can sit down with an acoustic guitar and sing it and strum it and get it across to somebody who’s sitting there listening. I don’t have to explain it. How do I know when it’s ready to go to the public? It’s never ready. I think the famous line is, “You never finish a mix, you just abandon a mix.” I think Sting said that once. I’ll give him credit for it, even if he didn’t! And I totally agree. It’s so true. It’s geez, just walk away, because you can keep going with a song and going with a song and going with a song, but at some time you’ve just got to stick a fork in it and say, “OK, it’s done, it’s ready.”

Hopefully, you know when you come to that place. I know now from working with great producers like Ron Nevison, who did the Damn Yankees record and is a dear friend of mine. I’ve seen how he works. There’s point where you just say, “That’s enough. It’s fine.” You have to make that decision as a producer. It’s so easy now with Pro Tools to say, “Let’s record 50 guitar tracks and use maybe three of them.” I don’t like to do that. Ron taught me that you make decisions along the way as you go, and when you’re done recording it, you sit back and that’s the record. You don’t have 50 million more decisions to make. This is what you recorded and this is what it is. I learned that from Ron years ago and that’s how I operate. I think that’s really important.

You mentioned earlier that McCartney taught everyone to play bass. While the Beatles’ music remains a reference point for so many artists, including young musicians, so is a lot of the music of the 1970s and 1980s. Are you aware of the contributions that you and your colleagues have made?

It makes me smile, because … you’re exactly right — we were sort of in that early stage of 1982, ’83, ’84, Van Halen, Journey, Def Leppard, and then Warrant, Winger, Slaughter and all those bands. We came in with “Sister Christian,” this big ballad, and so many bands had big rock ballads. The 1990s were sort of a derisive genre and era, which was kind of funny to me, because when we were in the middle of it, it was real, and it is still real by just the fact of “Look at us now.” Like you’re saying, so many of those ’80s bands are touring and doing well, and it’s because of the songs.

That’s the key. As long as the songs are there, people enjoy coming to the shows and hearing them and singing them. I think it’s great that younger bands are using us as sort of the focal point and starting point of what they want to do. It’s very flattering. I’m always surprised at the music and the people that Night Ranger influenced and the people I meet who are deeply into the band.

— Alison Richter

Alison Richter interviews artists, producers, engineers and other music industry professionals for print and online publications. Read more of her interviews right here.

One took over for Randy Rhoads after the guitarist’s untimely death, and the other can be seen on Broadway in Rock of Ages. But what Guitar World readers really want to know is…

Brad, you manipulate feedback in the solo of “Sister Christian” so fluidly. How were you able to do that? —Adam Parness

My Mesa/Boogie was key to the creation of that solo. Those amps have always helped me get the sustain I need for my personal style. I’m not a speedster player; I work off of sustain and harmonics, so we basically just had the Boogie cranked super loud, and I had a long cord going into the console room. And I could just sit there and hit a note, and there would be this loop of endless feedback. I’d just work off that and incorporate some of my whammy bar stuff.

Joel, how did you get the Night Ranger gig? —Svetlana Baiul

Kelly [Keagy, Night Ranger drummer] and I had worked together in this Eighties pick-up band in the Midwest, and we played [the Night Ranger hits] “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “Rock in America” and “Sister Christian.” He was surprised when we’d do “Rock in America” and I’d actually pull off the eight-finger tapping solo. So he kind of tucked that information away. When Jeff [Watson, former Night Ranger guitarist] left the band, Reb Beach took over for a while, but he had to go back with Whitesnake, and that’s when they contacted me. They were in Japan with Reb at the time, and they gave me a list of 25 tunes to learn. I was freaking out—I had maybe 10 days to get the songs together, leads and everything. The first time I played with them, I met Brad right before we went onstage, basically. But everything went really well.

Joel, you’ve made two fusion albums and an acoustic record, and your background has more to do with classical guitar than rock. Is what you’re doing now with the Broadway show Rock of Ages and Night Ranger kind of your way of rebelling?—Kurt Mueller

Not really. Actually, these days I’m kind of back to what got me into guitar in the first place: the energy that comes from performing great rock tunes onstage. I think most players go through a phase where they’re learning things and moving away from what initially triggered their interest, but I think everyone comes back to the original reason why they started playing in the first place, and for me it’s that energy. When I play, I find myself in the mindset of Angus Young at times—just being an over-the-top showman and bringing tons of energy to the music. That’s what’s so great about playing with Night Ranger. Thesedudes throw down like it’s still 1983.

Joel, how did you get involved in Rock of Ages?—Adam Parness

I moved to New York to do a show about Janis Joplin called Love, Janis. I had done something like 1,400 performances—I cut my teeth doing the theater thing. I had also done the Phil Collins show Tarzan, and the music supervisor for Rock of Ages was the keyboard player for that. So when this Eighties rock show came around, they thought I was the perfect choice. I mean, how many Broadway pit guys look like this [points to his long hair and tattered jeans]? How many of them warm up with shred guitar before playing all these show tunes? [laughs] So I was a natural fit for it, and when they found out I was playing with Night Ranger, it just kind of sealed the deal.

Brad, your whammy bar work is one of your trademarks. How, and at what point, did that become such a huge part of your playing?—Richard Sarafian

When Van Halen came out in the late Seventies I was very intrigued by the harmonic dive bomb, so I ended up getting myself a Floyd Rose. I wanted to be a little different, so I just took what Eddie Van Halen did and reversed it: I bring the bar down low first, hit the note, and then it bring it back up. All my guitars have floating bridges; you can do this on all Strats—just loosen the springs until you can bring the bar up and down. I use Big Bends Nut Sauce to help keep the strings in tune.

Joel, do you have any tips for getting started with eight-finger tapping? —Mickey Malnato

To develop your right hand, I’d recommend trilling every finger combination. Set down your index finger and just trill with your middle finger, then index-ring, then index-pinkie. Next, try planting your middle finger and trilling with your ring finger, then with your pinkie. After that, put down your ring finger and trill with your pinkie. It’s easier if you stand up, and you can even do it while you’re watching TV. It’s a great way to get started with this technique.

Brad, Night Ranger was unknown and just getting off the ground when you left to play with Ozzy after Randy Rhoads died. After you came back to the band, had your experience with Ozzy influenced your approach to Night Ranger?—Evan Caprizny

I got my stage presence together on the road with Ozzy. I’d been thrown to the wolves—I went from playing to five thousand people a night to 20 thousand a night with Ozzy. The main thing I learned was professionalism and showmanship, and of course I grew from playing Randy’s parts, as well. It was quite a learning experience and definitely the heaviest time of my life.

Guitar World catches up with Night Ranger's guitarist.

What inspired you to pick up a guitar?

In the Sixties, my brother used to buy a lot of records. He got me into music, and for my eighth birthday, I decided I wanted a guitar. My dad bought me a Kay guitar and amplifier, and my brother set me up with a pair of headphones and a little preamp so I could play along to his records. I used to sit in his room all day and all night playing Led Zeppelin, Santana, Big Brother, the Doors... What really got me off was Jimi Hendrix. That’s when I started getting into lead guitar playing and creating my own style.

Do you recall your first gig?

There was a talent show in middle school, and I played [the Sixties garage-rock hit] “Gloria.” I saw all the girls screaming and decided that’s what I wanted to do.

Ever had an embarrassing onstage moment?

Yes, the very first night I played with Ozzy in 1982. I’d sat in a hotel room for four days learning all of Randy [Rhoads]’s parts, but I’d never actually played with the full band before. Even at the soundcheck, we only played seven or eight songs, and Ozzy wasn’t there. Our first gig was a sold-out show in New York. We were playing “Revelation (Mother Earth),” which is a slow ballad that gets faster about halfway through. I went into the fast part early, and Ozzy shot me a look. The next night, Sharon came up and said [mimicking her], “Bradley, I want you to have a great show tonight—but don’t fuck up!”

What is your favorite piece of gear?

My red Strat, of course. I used it on Ozzy’s Speak of the Devil record and all of the Night Ranger records. But lately, I’ve been using a Soldano Decatone three-channel head, which is great. You would think that using a Stratocaster with a Floyd Rose over a wireless would give me a thin tone, but with the Decatone, I get a fat, strong sound live and in the studio.

Do you have any advice for young players?

Practice a lot and try to create your own style. That’s what I tried to do when I incorporated the whammy bar into my playing. When Eddie Van Halen came out and started doing dive bombs, I wanted to be a little different, so I started raising harmonics on my guitar. And then I started screwin’ around with the tremolo and came up with these different wacky sounds. But mainly, I tried to focus on creating my own style.