Derek Stuart Hoeckel

In 1996, I was asked to join The Brian Jonestown Massacre as a guitar player.  I think I lasted 6 months or so before leaving and playing in 2 other bands.  Then, in 1998, my original mentor Sal Trentino of Mesa Boogie and Trentino Amplifiers, nurtured a desire I had to design and build complex vacuum tube circuits. We collaborated in building a vacuum tube theremin called "the Airplay" for a band who requested one while I was working as a night tape op at Brilliant Studios in San Francisco. Sal sadly passed away a few years later and so I started working with Jon Helsing Erikson (of Tonecraft Audio) converting, re-wiring and rack-mounting vintage preamp modules. In 2002, I moved to New York City and continued to tinker and experiment while touring worldwide with bands (The New York Dolls, BRMC, KMFDM, Psychedelic Furs, Rich Robinson/Black Crowes) as a sound mixer and Drum tech.  In 2009, I emigrated to Toronto and began to amass gear, tearing it all down, finding out how things work and repairing what I could. Then, in 2016 I decided to get serious and seek out some formal training under the watchful eye of legendary amp man Gerald Weber (RIP) of Kendrick Amplifiers in Texas. I continued training here in Toronto with my very good friends at Shyboy & Tex for a short stint. And since 2018, I've had my own amp workshop in my home. I call it the AIRPLAY AMPLIFICATION LAB because amplified sound waves “play” in the air and as a tribute to my vintage electronics mentor, Sal.