JUSTIN MATTHEW HOOPES' MUSICAL HISTORY

JUSTIN MATTHEW HOOPES' MUSICAL HISTORY

Justin Matthew Hoopes' musical career started within the womb somewhere within the vicinity of the year 1981. On July 14, 1981 he was born into Arcata, CA. He was immediately baptized with alarming speed at the Lutheran Church of Arcata. His Uncles Tim and Jon Claasen were the sponsors; funnily enough, these great individuals helped Justin Matthew Hoopes get an idea of what he wanted to do with his life. Jon played the drums, while Tim played bass among other things. They gave Justin Matthew Hoopes his first real musical education. The second primary source for his musical inspiration came from his parents' Bill and Chris's record collection. Some of the records included The Beatles, James Taylor, Carol King, Mamas and The Papas, Rare Earth, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Pat Metheny, and It's A Beautiful Day. On long road trips at around age four or five, Justin's mother began playing him Beatles cassettes. Justin Matthew Hoopes was enthralled by all of the instruments, but chiefly interested in the drumming of Ringo Starr. This kicked off the idea that Justin Matthew Hoopes would begin to play music.

Piano lessons were taken, but the more rock and roll Justin played, the less exciting the piano seemed. Content to keep his experiences with the piano and tenor saxophone in his back pocket, Justin decided to pursue the drums with an unhealthy passion. A number of bands were made and dissolved; the first of these was with world renowned songwriter Tapani Paul Sernesky, who now plays in a band called Raider. His father, Danny Sernesky, connected Justin and Tapani, thus, Marshall Law was formed in 1992 at age ten. With bassist Tim Claasen they played at a number of school events and a few benefits. In 1995, Tapani Paul Sernesky moved to Canada. Justin Matthew Hoopes had to figure out something new musically to do.

One avenue that was formed was through Justin's brother Geoffrey Hoopes who had a friend who was into Van Halen named Aaron W. Dean. Through a process of jamming, the concept of Sidewynder was initiated with the help of rhythm guitarist Brian Baty. This grouping eventually came to include Nick Lende on bass and keyboards, Doug Saucedo on bass, Nathaniel Elliott on Lead Guitar, and Will Stephens on Bass. The final realization of these jams and personnel passing in and out was Force Of Nature, a punk-metal band with spoken word vocals by Aaron W. Dean. They played at the 2000 Summerfest put on by Diamondback Productions and were given a helping hand by Ole Persson, who was a friend of Kid Rock. When Kid Rock visited Humboldt, they were given a chance to perform a song with him. They played “Cowboy” the one with the Metallica riff. Justin Matthew Hoopes transcribed the entire drum part. Other notable Force Of Nature performances were at the now defunct Club West opening for the Stephen Pearcy Band and doing Octoberfest from which a Live Record was released. It is no longer available, though there are future plans to do so.

The second avenue, a shorter one, involved teaming up with Eric Langley and a fellow named Josh on bass to form the group Wombat Fury. This band coincided closely with and followed the colorful Grunge era. My involvement ended when the leader hit me due to not liking my style of drumming.

The third avenue was a Junior High School project called Butterfly Soup with Nick Lende on Guitar and Gordon Eitzen on bass. A number of tape EP 's were made and distributed but obviously no success was to be had except in our minds. Gordon decided he did not want to play anymore so Tim Claasen filled the opening, followed by Jeremy Lafayette on bass. In 1997 this particular project folded.

The fourth avenue involved a failed attempt to front a band called Run Riot. This included Cary Ozanian on drums and Nick Lende on Bass. Based on Justin Matthew Hoopes' hype and manipulation, he conned brilliant Panache Magazine founder Michelle Cable into printing an article about a band that hadn't even done a gig. It was a musical joke, but fun nonetheless. Later, under a pseudonym, he wrote a critical article in Panache that alienated his friends.

The fifth avenue involved a Nick Lende composed solo album done at what is now considered to be Livella Studios; however, then it was considered as part of Two Street Music. William Maxwell was the engineer. Justin Matthew Hoopes played drums on this.

The sixth avenue involved Eureka High School Jazz B and Jazz Ensembles. In 2000, The Jazz Ensemble released a CD entitled Keep On Keepin' On. On this CD were a couple of tunes by the Perpetual Motion Jazz Combo whose members included Kurt Anderson, Will Stephens, Nick Lende, and Easton Stuard. In this group was another notable percussionist who is now nationally known: Cary Ozanian who then played the vibes. Kristen Rasmussen was another notable, not only for being a great bassist, but a friendly individual. This group performed with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as well as with trumpet player and composer Ingrid Jensen.

The seventh avenue involved the Eureka High Jazz Singing group Limited Edition, led by Mark Russell (not the PBS guy). This group took Justin Matthew Hoopes as drummer to a number of performances. Most notably this grouping included the now world famous singer and songwriter Sara Bareilles.

While in high school, Justin Matthew Hoopes had a chance to play with the famous Mike LaBolle. This was a beneficial experience as LaBolle showed Hoopes how to hold his sticks correctly and changed the course of his drumming forever.

After leaving Force Of Nature in 2004, Justin Matthew Hoopes did a lot of different gigs with a lot of different people. He has played with the following groups and people (please note, some are one-off gigs): David Scott Yates, Ripple Effect, Tore Up, Kulica, The Generators, Miles Ahead, Vibe Tribe, Ground Control, Mobile Chiefing Unit, Dave Wilson, David Perrier, Dogbone, Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir, Shao Wei Wu, Mitch Steffen, Sudzy, The New Originals, Jared J. Fisher, Sara Bareilles, Kid Rock, White Trash Country Club, Jim Lahman, John David Young Trio (4^th person), Ruben Diaz, Dale Cash, Dan Perez, Madi Simmons, Orjazzmic, Perpetual Motion, Jake Blackshear, Lance Romance, North 101, Tree, Steen Christensen, Jon Claasen, Tim Claasen, John King, Easton Stuard, Mason Matteoli, Don Berry, Rick DeVol, Wes Anderson, Chris Thompson, Greg Moore, Merv George, Les Craig, Michael Padget, Astrid Dobo, Ryan Jones, Markus Messina, Michael Beck, Jason Miller, Guitarist from Moe, the keyboardist from Iron Butterfly, Derek Glavich, among others.

Favorite Drummers are as follows: Bill Bruford, Willie Wilcox, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Jon Claasen, Tim Claasen, Madi Simmons, Mike La Bolle, Danny Montgomery, Chad Wackerman, Vinnie Colaiuta, Terry Bozzio, Neil Peart, Virgil Donati, Van Romayne, Rod Morgenstein, Mike Portnoy, Martin Deller, Marco Minneman, Carl King, Ozric Tentacles, Chester Thompson, Phil Collins, Simon Phillips, Ringo Starr, Pat Mastelotto, Jon Hiseman, Aynsley Dunbar, Billy Cobham, Joe Travers, Prairie Prince, among many others . . .