Hard Rocking Hopping

Andy Hopping is both chief financial officer and executive vice president at Jackson National Life (JNL) insurance company in Lansing.

Hopping’s influence, both corporate and cultural, can be found throughout JNL. Beyond the company's growth and success, Hopping's touch is also apparent inside the exquisitely architected and luxuriously appointed lobby inside the building, starting with the enviable art collection housed in the corporate offices. A tour of the building reveals that the collection continues throughout each floor, offering something pleasing to the eye nearly everywhere one looks.

But there's more to Hopping than corporate big wig.

He's also a composer and musician and is the lead singer and guitarist of the Boomers, JNL’s “corporate band" that is about to fly to Los Angeles to compete in the 9th Annual Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands.

Born to Boom

“I call it the Smartest Rock Band in the Country,” Hopping says of the JNL band that includes two accountants, two actuaries and one attorney.

The six members—Hopping on guitar and vocals; Jim Binderon drums; David Zyble on guitar; Ab Manning on bass; Ryan Mellot on lead guitar; and Chet Czubko on keyboards)—are all JNL employees.

“Most of the band members have been professional musicians at some point over the years,” says Hopping. “But the music path is so difficult. So this gives us something fun to do at work and gives us a chance to play again.”

Hopping, an accomplished musician and song writer, put the Boomers together specifically to take on the Battle of the Corporate Bands.

“I looked at it every year and thought it would be fun to play,” says Hopping.

Sponsored by Fortune magazine in collaboration with Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Association of Music and Merchants, Key Bank and Gibson, the event raises much needed funds for the Hall of Fame’s educational programming.

In 2006, Hopping organized a “Jackson Idol” competitionto encourage employees to audition for the band. Nearly 30 employees showed up.

“We had some pretty good singers come out of the woodwork,” he says.

The next step was to find a name, and Hopping again turned to his employees. He held a contest to name the band and received “thousands of entries.”

The only requirement was that the name be tied into the nature of the business and have a connection to music. The Boomers was chosen because it reflected JNL’s primary customer demographic—baby boomers.

With the band formed, named and polished in rehearsals, The Boomers began to perform in 2006 for charities, company holiday parties and Lansing’s Common Ground festival, specializing in classic rock, covering songs from bands like Cream, ZZ Top and Steppenwolf.

After submitting an entry to the competition for three years in a row, the Boomers were finally been chosen this year, from among 56 corporate entrants, to be one of 16 semi-finalists.

Semi-finals will be held in Los Angeles on June 20 and Nashville on July 18, with eight bands in each location competing for six finalist spots. Finals will be held late in the year at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The champion band, in addition to winning notoriety for their company, gets an invite to next year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony celebrating the newest artists to be recognized by the Hall.

Win or lose, just being a part of the competition will be the experience of a lifetime.

“Even the people that don’t make it are really good,” Hopping says. “We’ll show them what these old accountants can do!”

Local Roots

Hopping has close ties to Lansing and Michigan State University (MSU). He gained experience playing in restaurants, bars and nightclubs while completing a BA in accounting at MSU.

“When I was 18, I had a couple goals,” Hopping says. “I wanted to move to LA, I wanted to make music and I wanted own my own record company. I wanted to get an MBA and I wanted to be a CFO of a major corporation.”

His performing life tapered off when he moved west and earned an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. But after his return to the Lansing area, Hopping penned a song that avid Spartans fans will most certainly recognize.

In the spring of 2000, MSU’s men’s basketball team was closing in on a victory in the NCAA championship tournament. Inspired by the team’s success, Hopping wrote “It’s All About Heart.” He submitted the song to the athletic department and found that it was “immediately used for the Final Four. They still use it for highlight videos and special events," he says. "It’s a way to give back to my alma mater. I hope this song will live on with the history of MSU.”

After the success of “Heart,” Hopping wrote songs for both the football and women’s basketball teams.

Hopping gives back to the community in other ways, too. He is a member of the board for Ele’s Place, a healing center for grieving children, and donates the proceeds of his CD and merchandise sales to help support the organization.

“In the end, I did find a way to do it all," he says. "It is pretty nice to be able to have a career and a family and do music for fun.”

Striking a Balance

So how does one of the Lansing area’s most successful business people manage to find the time to write songs and lead a band while balancing professional and family duties?

“I get up really early on Sunday morning and write songs before anyone else gets up,” says Hopping. “I still don’t feel like I’ve achieved real success as a songwriter. That would be the ultimate — to have a song that really makes it. I haven’t given up on that part yet.”

You can catch The Boomers in action on Sunday, Aug. 2, as a part of the Lansing 150 event Capitol Moves, a community picnic event on the Capitol lawn that will also features the Lansing Symphony Orchestra Big Band.

Jeff Shoup is a Lansing area freelance writer and musician. 

Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.