It wasn’t until my sister brought an acoustic guitar to our home that things changed around. And then, when I heard Guns N’ Roses guitarist ‘Slash’ play that beautiful ‘Sweet child o’ Mine’ intro, I was sold on the spot. Years later I got the chance to thank him in person for this decisive moment. It sparked a lifelong musical journey, that took me places I could have never imagined and, most importantly, brought me so much joy and excitement.
By now, at age 46, I’ve been playing live for over thirty years and still, to me, there’s nothing better than doing just that. Playing my guitar with a band, making the best music I can. It helps when you have a great drummer in the band who also happens to be your brother. As for our bandmates Mike and Lucas; they are both crazy like us, so that makes for an interesting bunch of pals. Now that I come to think of it: in those seven years that we’ve been together as a band, there hasn’t been the slightest argument or typical ‘band-struggle’. It’s all fun and music, which is something to cherish.
The songs you’ll find on this ’30 years live’ double album are those of our former studio albums ‘All Saints’ (2019) and ‘Reloaded’ (2022). It’s funny that we actually never played the ‘Reloaded’ songs in front of an audience before that recording night on November 17, 2022 at De Flux, Zaandam. Due to it being midwinter, we actually froze our hands off that night, but listening to the recordings I must say it turned out great. It’s all very edgy, with a certain risk and I like that. It keeps things interesting.
Pieter Bas Borger recorded the ‘frozen-show’ as we got to call it and I think he’s a true master at preserving the spirit and energy of a live performance. Great job. After the mixing was done, Erwin Musper helped me out by mastering the album, something I’m very grateful for. Jan Blaauw once again captured the music and colours in his artwork, supported by the photography of Ron Koffeman. I’m blessed having good friends who love music as much as I do.
Since playing live has always been such an essential part of my life, I’m very proud to have a follow up to our 2017 ’25 Live’ double album. I also notice that, while it’s still the same band, we have made musical progression. So, from an artistic point of view, I think our best work still lays ahead of us.
‘30 YEARS LIVE’ makes for 22 songs and almost two hours of pure, no-nonsense rock & roll, soul, blues, ballads, boogie, hardrock and pop music made by real human beings instead of Artificial Intelligence. We hope you enjoy this double live album as much as we did making it. So here’s to the next thirty years of playing my guitar anytime and anywhere. I feel like I’m only just getting started! Cheers!"
Ruben Hoeke - September 2023
PERSQUOTES
• ‘Hoeke would kick ass among the best rockbands in the world! A worldclass starplayer.’ (Lust for Life)
• ‘One of todays leading Dutch guitarplayers.’ (Platomania)
• ‘His solo parts are raw, energetic and dirty. Love it!’ (OOR)
• ‘Steaming hot Rock & Roll!’ (Music Maker)
• ‘His guitar skill is of international stature. Time and time again he proofs to be the best blues- rock guitarist in the Benelux and perhaps even across the border’ (Bluesmagazine)
Ruben Hoeke - Guitar | Eric Hoeke - Drums | Mike Kamp - Bass | Lucas Pruim - Vocals
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT STEFAN HAYES AT MUNICH RECORDS/V2 Stefan.Hayes@v2benelux.com
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