Steven Hocker

Steven Hocker was born on September 3, 1971 on Long Island, New York. The son of Benjamin and Joann Hocker, Steven is the second of five children. At the age of five, Steven received his first drum set, which charted his course toward his lifelong passion for music.

As a child Steven was heavily influenced by the plethora of artists in his parents’ vinyl record collection, such as Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffet. As an aspiring drummer, he quickly became a fan of the “World’s Greatest Drummer” – Buddy Rich, and to this day, one of Steven’s greatest memories is personally meeting Buddy on his tour bus following an awe-inspiring performance in the summer of 1985.

In the fall of 1986, Steven was struck by an automobile as he was walking near his home, leaving him unable to continue playing drums. It was at this time, that he began to focus on singing. He joined the local church youth choir, and went on to perform in several stage productions with Creative Ministries Performing Arts Center, as well as the role of Jesus Christ in the touring production THE JOURNEY, CROSS AND CRUCIFIXION, a dramatic presentation of the Stations of the Cross.

Steven’s love of music continued to grow and he later taught himself to play the guitar. Strumming on a knock-off Gibson SG that is father purchased for him at a yard sale, Steven would try to figure out whatever song was playing on the radio. This only served to fuel his passion for music and rock in particular which helped prepare him for his role as the lead singer of two bands – Aftershock and Damaged.

It was during this time that Steven got his first experience in the recording studio. He recorded two EP’s - “Warhammer”, and “Color of Greed” with the band Aftershock, and later the full length album “Primitive Taste” with the rock band Damaged. During the recording of Primitive Taste, which was produced by Robert Spencer (Hittman, Agent Orange, Nuclear Assault), and Doug Stegmeyer (The Carpenters, Billy Joel, and Graham Parker). This experience left an indelible impression on Steven professionally and personally. Their influence led Steven to enroll in the Audio Recording Technology Institutes audio engineering program.