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00:00I think it was a newspaper person in Boston thought that there was some lip syncing involved.
00:04I hate when I read that. It's totally offensive because we spend a lot of time and value that we don't do that.
00:10There's no tracks with TSO. We work hard to sound good as a band.
00:15Rock, metal, frog, and everything in between.
00:19Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:23Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:27And now, it's time for today's conversation. Here's Meltdown.
00:32So, you're a baseball guy, but are you a basketball guy as well? That's your sport, isn't it?
00:37Yeah, I'm a basketball guy, baseball. Yeah, those two.
00:41Yeah, so you grew up in the Chicago area, Blackhawks, all that kind of stuff?
00:45Yeah. The owner was terrible. I mean, he never had the Blackhawks on TV when we were kids.
00:49So, like, I just never developed into a Blackhawks fan because of that.
00:53I mean, like, you know, horrible. No one was going to go to the games if he put it on TV.
00:59I mean, talk about antiquated thinking.
01:03Yeah, that's kind of how it is nowadays. Of course, we have streaming services for everything,
01:07and I refuse to pay for the Red Wing streaming service just because it's like, you know,
01:11I already have 87 other streaming services to pay for.
01:14Well, I think between our two cities, we're responsible for probably the greatest basketball
01:19rivalry of all time. I mean, I guess you got to go Lakers-Celtics if we're honest,
01:25but that is some of the best basketball ever, those Pistons-Bulls series, man.
01:31Yeah, it's just unbelievable.
01:33Well, you're coming through town playing the LCA. You've been there a few times, of course,
01:37the home of the Pistons and the Red Wings, the ghosts of Eve, the best of TSO and more.
01:42Hey, real fast, I talked about this on the radio the other day, but explain this rehearsal to
01:47everybody that for people that may not know how you guys rehearse.
01:51Well, us musicians, we get a song list essentially a month before we get to rehearsals,
01:57and it's longer than our actual set list. There's some stuff they like to look at on stage,
02:01and they like to debate a little bit about what the show running order is going to be. We don't
02:05actually know that going in yet, and the rehearsals are about two and a half weeks. We rehearse in an
02:11arena, which is cool. Those that aren't in the know, there's a TSO East and a TSO West, so we
02:16can have as many shows as possible around the holidays. Otherwise, we'd be touring California in
02:22August or something, playing a Christmas show. So we got two arena setups facing each other in an
02:30arena. It's totally awesome. So the bands alternate. If you're working on the music end of
02:37things, you're essentially in the locker room areas in the setup. It's not as bad as it sounds,
02:43like a dressing room for an arena, not like a tile locker room or something. But we're in there
02:49working on the music while one band is out in the arena playing on their stage. But what I was going
02:54to say is really cool. Sometimes when we're on our stage, they'll be doing the production moves
02:58on the stage across from us. We'll be seeing the lights and the pyro and everything on the one
03:03across the way. But it's probably, I mean, I'm going to say it's probably a setup unlike anything
03:10else, man. Having two setups like that in an arena. It's cool having all of us together,
03:14everybody from the West Band and the East Band. We've kind of one big team, man. We put the show
03:18together, talk about what we're doing on each side. So we're on the same page. And then there's
03:23a whole backup band too. If any of us go down, you know, get sick or break an arm or whatever the
03:27deck. We got a whole bunch of people that can go in too. So there's a lot of musical talent in that
03:35arena, man. Like during that two and a half week period, it's really cool. That's part of the
03:38process that I really enjoy. I mean, it was a lot. I like the whole process of TSO, but that's really
03:44cool. Now I've heard about the rehearsals before, you know, Steve Black is one of my friends. You
03:49probably know Steve. But anyways, I didn't realize you guys had, you guys have like a whole nother
03:53band, like a minor league that you can pull from if some guy gets hurt or gets sick or something.
03:59Yeah. So they rehearse at the beginning of our rehearsals. They even rehearse a little bit before
04:05we're there. They're rehearsing. And then they leave a little bit before we're done. I think like
04:10a week or something before we're done. And they're just kind of on standby and their job is to be ready
04:16if anything goes wrong. I mean, yeah, I think those tours are, they were ahead of their time with that.
04:23I mean, now I know a lot of the pro bands are doing that these days, which they didn't used to.
04:28Kind of amazing. When you think about the amount of money that's on the line, if there was just an
04:32emergency, if a huge band is playing a stadium gig or something like that. Kind of smart to have
04:39somebody on standby just in case, man. I think COVID really normalized that for a lot of the bigger
04:45bands. They started to go, you know what? Let's pay some guy just to learn the stuff just in case
04:49something happens and hang out. And, you know, at worst, they hang out at home and they get paid.
04:55Now, I just posted about this since I'm coming up on my 30th anniversary here at the radio station,
05:00but I was wearing this exact shirt in Las Vegas in 2019 when my friend Blaz Elias and myself met
05:07Chris Angel. Oh, right. Anyway, so we meet Chris and then we go out to have some dinner or whatever
05:13after. And Blaz told me the whole thing about how he joined TSO. And I guess they saw him on YouTube
05:18and video and stuff. How did you join TSO?
05:23I was just recommended by a couple of band members. I mean, it's amazing how much it felt like just
05:30joining a normal band, which TSO is definitely not just like a normal band. I mean, it's, you know,
05:34massive and every, every level. But it was just one of those situations Alex Skolnick had been
05:42playing in the band for years. Yeah. Alex needed to take a year off and a couple of band members
05:46recommended me. Next thing I do, I auditioned for Al Petrelli. That went well. And then I had an
05:51audition for Paul O'Neill, the founder of TSO. Rest in peace, Paul. And got hired. And yeah, I mean,
05:59it's amazing, man. I've been doing this now with them for basically 15 years. And it's like,
06:05yeah, I'm still the new guy to some of these guys. So I've been doing it the whole time,
06:10which is crazy. So, but it's all, it's incredible, man. I'm super honored to be a part of it.
06:15Truly. Like it's, I think I've, I've had a lot of great breaks and opportunities in my career.
06:20And I'd have to say TSO is probably the single best thing that has happened just because of the
06:27longevity, being able to do it for so long and have it be at such a high level and something
06:31that I enjoy doing so much. It's really amazing. Great gig. But for people that are out there,
06:37they should know that this isn't a job for shoegazers. This is a job for a guy that likes
06:41to live in the spotlight. And really, really, that's what Blas was telling me. They're looking
06:45for flash and flair, looking for the whole gamut, right? Yeah. I mean, I think they,
06:51they value showmanship on TSO. That's, that's part of the, the spectacle of it all.
06:56I even approached it that way with my guitars, man. This is like my opportunity to tote out a lot
07:02of the collection just cause I can. I don't have to, I could probably play the gig down on like two
07:09or three guitars. And I'm out there with like 14 of them, just showing them all off and like,
07:13look at this one, huh? So anyway, it's great fun. I look at it. Like it's part of the visual end of
07:19things that, I mean, there's those out there that haven't seen TSO, but the show is incredible to look
07:23at, man. Got a video wall, the width of the arena, the laser light show is like Pink Floyd
07:28level good. And pyro is like insane off the charts. We've got the moving hydraulic lifts
07:35right over the crowd playing, you know, upper deck of the arena playing to people. And we get to run
07:41out in the crowd and TSO it's a little safer with TSO than it would be if we were a slipknot or
07:46something like that. So we get to like go out in the crowd and play for everybody, which is totally
07:51fun and snows indoors. And this is the, it's a really cool visual spectacle.
07:56And also you just mentioned Paul. Paul told me one time that, uh, I wrote, I think it was a
08:01newspaper person in Boston mentioned that he thought the show was, uh, what, that there was
08:06some lip lip syncing involved because, uh, how can you run around the arena and sing? And, and Paul
08:11said to that guy, he goes, I'll give a hundred thousand dollars to your favorite charity. If you
08:15can spot lip syncing on this. So there's like no tracks, it's all real. It's all right there.
08:19It's so annoying that people think that we do that. It's, uh, I, I hate when I read that it's,
08:25um, it's totally offensive because we, we spend a lot of time and value that we don't do that.
08:31I think what confuses people or maybe that it's occurring is that it's, it's really polished
08:38musically, but we do play to what's like time code to sync the production to us. So, you know,
08:47we're, we're on basically, you know, it's the equivalent of a metronome, right? But like with,
08:53with some of the songs, there's times where it slows down or speeds up or you'll get count
08:57ins for certain sections. That's just running with time code to sync the lights and the pyro
09:02and things like that to us. So everybody's on the same page. And, but that's it. There's
09:07no tracks with, with TSO. Um, that's, I mean, there's no need to, we have so much talent in
09:14that band. I mean, you've got nine singers in each band and I mean, so the backing vocals,
09:19no, we're good. We got that covered. Um, you know, and everybody plays their parts that,
09:25you know, relatively well, man. I mean, we work hard to sound good as a band. So it's,
09:30yeah, it's really annoying when people think that we're faking it. It's like, dude, come
09:33on, man.
09:34Yeah. I want to give you a chance to talk about that. Cause I know that was one of the things
09:38that I think Paul really, he strived for and that was one of his things he was really honored
09:42about. Yeah, oh, definitely. I mean, I obviously Paul was the guy to hire me and I was all part of
09:50the opening, you know, I'm hiring you rap, you know, like one of the, one of the things he hung
09:56his hat on. And there was a lot of those things that Paul had, some of them were quirky and some
10:00of them made a lot of sense. And that one makes a lot of sense to me because you don't want somebody
10:03to question the integrity of what it is you're doing. Um, so that, that, that is, but I guess,
10:11you know, it's such the norm these days that like most bands have tracks going that people just
10:15assume, right? Like, no, we actually don't. And, but there's no way if Paul were alive right now
10:21that he would let us, you know what I mean? That would never, it would just never happen.
10:26Yeah. I was thinking about that and the way in we're, we're probably close to the same age and
10:29it's like, yeah, that this, this talk didn't come up until like the last decade or so. But, uh,
10:34anyways, uh, moving on here, I saw you, you did a, on your, on your Facebook yard,
10:37you did that skit on, uh, about, you know, a spinal tap. Have you seen the new one?
10:42I haven't yet. I haven't had a chance. It's just cause I've been really busy, man. I've
10:45been recording a lot. Um, I do, I've just finished, I finished my album, which my project
10:51is called Joel Hoschers 13. Then I have two other projects that I'm a part of with Frontiers
10:56Records. Iconic with my, my Whitesnake bandmate, Tommy Aldridge and Michael Sweet from Striper.
11:01Uh, Nathan James, great singer from, uh, London, Marco Mendoza on bass, and then, uh, Revolution
11:08Saints, uh, which is, I'm just finishing up on the last song, recording that album. That's
11:13with, uh, Dean Castronova from Journey. And that's sort of, that's really been one of
11:18Frontiers biggest, uh, projects, I suppose we'll call it for now. Band, we can call it
11:23band or project, um, for, uh, quite some time now. I mean, the last 10, 15 years, something
11:30like that. So, uh, anyway, been really busting hard. That's stuff that I gotta get done. Cause
11:35it's like, man, I gotta start working on all the songs for TSO. I've gotta, you know,
11:39get myself together about, uh, not to mention a smattering of other little gigs that I'm
11:44doing. I'm playing with Broadway's Rock of Ages band. That's not the show, but we just
11:48go out and we do shows in places where play full length versions. It's like watch, you
11:53get, getting to watch me do a cover gig, which is a lot of fun. I have a blast doing it.
11:58It's great. It's real, real light and loose, man. Just like, you know, but we're, I have,
12:02I think four of those or something like that before TSO yet. And just to add the acoustic
12:06gigs with Brandon Gibbs last weekend, like get a set together, record this album, I teach
12:12virtually. And then, you know, there's days like today, press day for TSO. It's like,
12:17uh, I've been at it since nine this morning doing interviews solid right now. So believe
12:21it or not, so fairly well. What do you have coming up in a 2026 that, that you can talk
12:27about? Um, I mean, I, it's not announced yet, but I, I, I'm going to be part of a performance
12:34at Carnegie hall in January that I'm super psyched about. Um, let me think what else,
12:39I mean, a lot of these album releases will technically be happening in 26 that I'm recording
12:45right now. Um, trying to think what else I got queued up. It's like, it's coming together.
12:51I was at the monsters of rock cruise is something earlier on in the year that I'm a part of that's,
12:56I have an annual set on there that I've built. That's kind of like a, that's a tradition too,
13:00in its own way. It's called the hangover jam. And I give away free bloody Mary's to everybody
13:04that comes and I give away free stuff between every song. It's just that again, it's just,
13:10it's fun. You know, it's me with an acoustic guitar and, uh, I have guests, guest singers,
13:15had some really talented people up with me over the years though. You know, I've had Todd Latore
13:19from Queensryche and Kip Winger's gotten up with me, Brad Gillis. Um, you know, a lot of,
13:24a lot of guys from bigger bands and whatnot have, have come up and sat in. So it's,
13:30it's great fun. Yeah. All the sober guys. Uh, by the way, uh, I was, uh, I was talking
13:35with some people today, so I may see you on that boat this year. So right on dude. Yeah.
13:39You should come on. Have you done that cruise yet? I haven't done it yet, but I mean, Don
13:43Jamison, Bumblefoot, Slaughter, Brad, who just, I mean, I've got tons of friends who have been
13:47on that cruise. Yeah. It's a, it's a fun cruise. Well, Bumblefoot does the other one,
13:52right. Uh, but I guess, uh, yeah, I guess you might be right. Rondo's the other one,
13:56but Don, Don Jamison is, is on every year and yeah, it's, it's great, man. It's fun. There's
14:02always something happening on that cruise, you know, it's like, and the, it's cool to go on
14:07one like that where there's that many bands, because it's not like I've done some other
14:12cruises where it's like, there's one or two big bands. And for the most part, when you're
14:16walking around the ship, you're just congregating amongst cruisers. But on the Monsters
14:20Rock Cruise, dude, it's like one out every five people, somebody from a band, right?
14:24You're walking down the hallway and you're just, you're walking right by all the people
14:28you're going to go see play. Um, so it's a little bit more communal, man. It feels like
14:32very, like, you know, you're all, you're all in it together.
14:35I, uh, I was so close last year. My wife and I took a trip down to the keys and we're
14:39coming back to get on our plane. Uh, the day you guys were leaving and I saw the boats, I
14:43was crossing a bridge and I saw the boats and I took a picture of it. I sent it to like,
14:47uh, you know, Ray West from spread Eagle and Don Jamison and Mark Slaughter. I'm
14:51like, I'm right here, but I couldn't get out of the boat. So anyway, yeah, yeah. I
14:54mean, dude, you're too, you know, we obviously have a lot of mutual friends, but I
14:58love, you know, I love Don, man. He's been on his show a couple of times. He's a
15:01great guy. We're always a part of the, the, uh, the shred competition they have on
15:06there. Don is a, a judge, which is, he's hilarious, you know, obviously doesn't
15:12play, but, uh, having him on there just as a judge in a shred competition where
15:17he doesn't play is comedy in itself. It's comedy. Well, yeah, he's great. I've
15:23known him for years. Tell you what, we'll, uh, let's just, uh, split here at TSO
15:26December 27 at the LCA. And, uh, please, before I leave, uh, give our
15:30condolences to, uh, Chris Caffrey on his, the passing of his mother. That's, uh, it
15:34sounds like she had a great life and she got to see her son, uh, really, uh, do what he
15:38wanted to do in life. Yeah. I mean, I think she should be very proud. I
15:42mean, Chris is a great musician and a great dude, great friend and, uh, just a
15:47great performer. You know, his personality really shines on stage. Um, uh, just as
15:53much as guitar playing, he's obviously a dear friend. I've been touring with him
15:57for 15 years now. So, you know, I feel for Chris in this moment and obviously
16:00wish him the very best, but his mom should be very proud, man. I mean, he's, he's a
16:04great guy. Yeah. Well, thank you for your time. Maybe we'll see you, uh,
16:08coming up in, uh, April, I guess. And, uh, take the rest of the day
16:11off. Uh, right on, dude. I got a few more actually, and then I got to
16:15teach five and then I got to record, man. Come on. I'm kidding. Thanks so
16:19much. Thanks so much for your time, Joel. Appreciate it. All right,
16:22brother. Have a great one. See ya.
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