Hoekstra playing it for real by Martin Lilleker

Doug Hoekstra, who is at the Boardwalk on Thursday, is not afraid of a bit of hard work.

Good job, really. His latest album, Around the Margins, a title that neatly sums up his place on the fringes of the pop market, is not an easy record to promote.

It is music that is peculiar to him. There might be hints of Dylan or Beck but Hoekstra’s inspired blend of whispered tales of death, chance meetings and social injustice, with quirky country, folk and pop tunes, and natural instruments and electronic affects, ishis alone.

Hoekstra is only too aware that he’s not likely to get snapped up by a major record company and radio in the States is virtually a closed shop.

"I do better with print media," says Doug. "Which is just as well, considering that I have to work every record almost solely by touring. I go where my sales are promising."

Although he was brought up in Chicago and now lives in Nashville, he is signed to Dutch label Inbetweens (Hoekstra is a name of Dutch original as it happens).

The label was atrtracted to him not just because of his music, but because he’s a self-motivator.

"You know, if you’re going to do anything in this life, I think you have to give it your all," says Doug, who first got into music thanks to the Beatles, Dylan and rock steady reggae by people like Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson. Prince is another big inspiration.

His first band was in 1990 as guitarist, singer and songwriter with edgy country outfit Bucket Number Six whose main claim to fame was that two of their songs, Only the Ball Was White and Andy Pafko’s Shoestring Catch, ended up in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Hoekstra, a huge Chicago Cubs fan, wrote both of them.

His first solo album, after he had moved to Nashville, was When the Tubes Begin to Glow.

"When it came time to strike out on my own, I didn’t want to repeat myself by getting back into the same clubs environment. I knew folks in Nashville, I knew there were great musicians and writers here, and I knew that actually there was a lot more bubbling round the edges than most people give Nashville credit for."

"It’s also a great place to tour out of, being more or less in the centre of the country. It’s been a good experience – I think being here has definitely made me a better writer and musician – it’s the crème de la creme in terms of players, I think."

His constant touring – this is his third UK tour, the last one including a Rockingham Arms date at Wentworth last October – is beginning to pay off as his name and music become known.

But don’t expect him to take his foot off the pedal. He doesn’t intend to remain on the margins forever.

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