Night Ranger name guitarist

Night Ranger’s Brad Gillis has confirmed that Keri Kelli has joined the band, following the departure of Joel Hoekstra.

Hoekstra left the band last month to hook up with David Coverdale in Whitesnake, leaving Night Ranger with a hole in their lineup.

But they turned to Kelli, who previously worked with the band in 2012, when Hoekstra was on tour with Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Guitarist Gillis tells Metalholic.com: “Joel’s moved on to Whitesnake – he spent a good seven years with us and it’s been great but whenever there’s a change, you always make the best of it and we will prevail.

“Keri Kelli is back in the band now. He’s a great player and has played with us before.”

Kerri has also played with Alice Cooper, Slash, Skid Row, Ratt and Warrant.

Gillis also reveals the band suffered in the 80s when their record label insisted on releasing ballads to promote the group – a move which saw them lose some of their rock audience.

He continues: “In the 80s we got pigeonholed after Sister Christian. It was such a big hit for the record company that every album we realised after that, they would only release the ballads.

“It kinda killed us as we lost our male audience towards the end of the 80s. It was tough for us because we’ve always been, and always will be, a rock band that’s able to play the ballads but also able to slam it hard.

“With new album High Road, we wanted to get back to our roots and write songs that conveyed the original sound and feel and energy of the first couple of records. Overall, the record is definitely Night Ranger rooted.

“We took our time on this CD and started it around a year and a half before it’s release. We wrote 17 or 18 tunes and picked the best 12 for the record. So the luxury of time was great for us because it really gave us the chance to put out a great record.”

High Road, the band’s 11th album, is out now and the group are currently on tour across the US and will head to the UK for two gigs in 2015.

Dates

Mar 12: London O2 Academy

Mar 14: Hafan Y Mor Holiday Park

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.