Legendary blues/rock band Foghat were formed in the early 70s
when guitarist/vocalist Lonesome Dave, bassist Tony Stevens and
drummer Roger Earl left British blues band Savoy Brown. Alongside
Black Cat Bones lead/slide guitarist Rod "The Bottle" Price, they
formed Foghat and signed to Bearsville.
The band soon moved from earthy rhythm and blues to stadium blues
rock, and after a few line-up changes and a string of hits,
including "Slow Ride" and a cover of "I Just Want To Make Love To
You" the band split in the early 80s.
The late 80s saw Roger Earl and Lonesome Dave both leading their
own versions of the band, before a full original line-up reunion
in the early 90s. The album Return Of The Boogie Men proved one
successful and the band are still going strong.
Sadly the band have seen the tragic loss of both Lonesome Dave and
Rod Price, yet sole original member Roger Earl is still leading
the band from strength to strength, including the release of their
new CD Live At The Blues Warehouse.
Roger is joined by bassist Craig McGregor, now with the band for
the second time, former Molly Hatchet lead guitarist Bryan Bassett
and former Ted Nugent singer/guitarist Charlie Huhn. The band have
recently released several DVDs, including Millennium Concert and
Official Bootleg.
For current band activity, check out
www.foghat.net, and for
Lonesome Dave period history,
www.foghat.com
ROGER EARL (drums)
How did this new live recording come about?
We were asked to do the Mark Klein's Blues Warehouse radio show
here on Long Island. It's a live radio show direct to a 2 track
and it was a lot of fun. We got it home that night, put the CD
in…it was a rough mix, just 2 tracks and we ended up dancing
around on the deck drinking wine and tequila and we really liked
it.
We had a record company in LA interested in working with us and we
had them listen to this…they liked it and here it is. And in fact
it was an inspiration to make another record. We are in the
process of making a blues record with some special guests on it.
We took a couple of tracks from that recording, (Live at the Blues
Warehouse) went in and recorded 5 or 6 more and we will be
releasing it later on this year.
What else is the band up to these days?
We started touring again. Earlier on this year we put together a
new set, and re-learned a couple of old tunes that we haven't
played before. As I said earlier we're working a blues album we
got 2 more tracks we want to do and as soon as we're finished up
with them it should be out hopefully the end of the year.
You've lost two founder members in the space of a few years,
was it hard to keep the band going?
Yeah it was particularly hard when Dave passed, it was really
tough. Dave had a huge influence on the band, he was our heart and
soul and our musical mentor, and he knew every R and B, Blues,
Rock and Roll song that was ever made. If he didn't have them in
his collection he had it somewhere, he knew who played on it,
where it was recorded and probably the time of day.
Dave was real special and it was difficult. Rod had left a number
of years beforehand, he really struggled with being on the road.
He was a complicated man and I don't think he always actually
enjoyed performing, where myself and Dave…it was in our blood and
we loved every bit of it. You know sometimes that traveling gets
you down, but playing live is what it's all about. It was fun.
Yeah it was hard, finding a new singer for the band was difficult
at the time.
Now it seems like a long time ago. February 2000 Dave passed, now
9 years on, I still think about Dave, he's there, yeah it was real
difficult. As I said Rod left the band a number of years before
and it was sad when he passed as well, probably just got to a
point in his life where he was actually happy.
He was teaching blues and slide guitar at home in New Hampshire.
He had a studio there. Yes they're missed. Dave told myself and
Bryan Bassett our guitar player (and probably Dave's closest
friend) to carry on playing and that's what we're doing. And in
the immortal words of Lonesome Dave, "We're gonna roll till we're
old and rock 'til we drop" I'm crediting Dave with that one I am
sure someone else said it before but I'm giving it to Dave.
What made you go for Bryan Bassett? You've worked with him
before haven't you?
Bryan joined on our last tour with Dave in 1999. He had already
been in a band with Dave back in the '90's. I had met Bryan a few
times before that. But the story goes like this, Dave had taken a
couple of years off the road to fight cancer and his wife was also
diagnosed with cancer and Dave had called me up after he had been
through his chemo and radiation and said he wanted to go out on
the road again.
So I said 'great' and with that Rod Price called up our road
manager, not myself or Dave and told him he didn't want to go on
the road anymore. With that I asked Dave what he wanted to do and
Dave said Bryan will do it. I said what? He said Bryan will do it.
So knowing Dave as I did, that meant Bryan was going to be our
next lead and slide player and I thank Dave on a regular basis for
giving us Bryan.
When (bassist) Tony Stevens left, was Craig McGregor (his mid
70s replacement) your first choice?
Actually, if we go back to like 1992, '93 rather when the original
band reformed, Craig was mine and Dave's first choice, either him
or Nick Jameson, but Rick Ruben wanted to do a record with us at
the time and he apparently wanted the original band and that was
with Tony Stevens. Tony Stevens originally left the band in '74.
Actually it worked out for awhile. I really enjoyed the first
album we did together, "Return of the Boogiemen" I thought it was
a terrific album, with some great tunes on it. But, Craig was
always mine and Dave's choice.
Do you have much new material in the pipeline?
Yeah, as I mentioned we're working on a blues album which was
inspired by our "Live at the Blues Warehouse" sessions and yeah,
I'm really pleased with that, we already got eight or nine tunes
in the can and we're working on a couple of more songs and
hopefully will be out by the end of the year. And then next year
we'll do something else. Yeah, we just keep on doin' it.
What's your view on the current state of the music industry?
Crap :I don't know, it's changed so much, it seems to change every
day. Technology sort of got way ahead of what's going on, artists
not being able to get or receive royalties, I'm not really worried
about it. It will get itself sorted out. I'm just going to carry
on playing and we'll carry on making records. We have our own
record company, we have our own studio in a band house down in
Florida, so when we're not working hard as we do during the
spring, summer and fall months, we go to Florida in the winter and
play and write new music. I'll let the music industry sort itself
out.
Were you surprised by the success when you reformed in the mid
90s?
No.
Is there much unreleased material in the vaults?
No, there's very little actually that I know of. There were a
number of demo tapes that Lonesome Dave made before he passed.
Myself and Bryan Bassett offered to finish them, and put drums and
guitar and finalize it but I don't think the Peverett estate
wanted to do that.
What have been the highs and lows of your career?
Yeah. Had a lot of highs, not too many lows, I can think of, other
than when Dave passed. I enjoy every minute I am out there playing
and doing this. I have said it before but will say it again,
because it's the truth… I love doing what I do, I know how
fortunate I am, you know I play drums in a great Rock n Roll Band.
The people I play with are not only friends, they're great
players, a lot of fun to get drunk with, sometimes a little bit
too much fun and that's only after we have finished playing. Not
too many lows other than Dave passing.
Highs, tons of them.
One of the highlights is in 1977, Foghat did a show in New York at
the Palladium, it was called "Foghat's Tribute to the Blues" and
we got to play with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Eddie
"Bluesman" Kirkland, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter, Honeyboy
Edwards. We filmed it, but were not able to release it because of
legal issues at the time. We have been trying to get it out, but
there were a lot of issues because there were a number of people
and estates that we needed to get clearances from to release it
properly.
In the meantime some scumbags over in the Netherlands have
released it illegally. They pirated it without even notifying us.
We found out from our fans. It's good that it's out but I think
that the older remaining artists, such as Eddie Bluesman Kirkland,
and Honey Boy Edwards, etc., should be compensated for their
performances and the money should go towards a blues foundation or
something like that.
That was our intention from the beginning. We donated the proceeds
from the show to the NY Public Library to start a Blues Archive.
But that is the nature of the music business lately. So many rip
offs.
Recently I was in Clarksdale, Mississippi, basically the home of
the blues. The Crossroads! They had a school there in the museum
where they teach young kids how to play drums, piano, guitar,
bass, sing, etc.
Something like that is well worth supporting, but some scumbags
over in Europe have stolen The Blues Tribute and released it.. I
am glad it's out…it is a part of history. But like I said, I think
the money should go towards some kind of blues foundation or
something to help young kids learn to play.
Back in the late 70s/early 80s, Foghat moved from stadium
blues/rock to a more rhythm'n'blues pop. Was that intentional?
I've got no idea.
Are there plans to re-visit your back catalogue? There's so
much not available in the UK.
As far as I know, everything has been re-released here in the
states on Rhino Records hopefully it should all get released in
the UK. The band never really played there other than back in 1972
we did a two or three week tour with Captain Beefheart after we
finished our first album and then the record got released in the
states so we never really got a chance to tour after we did one
show, in the mid 70's at the Rainbow Theatre but that was about
it.
Other than that we stayed in the states we've been playing here
ever since. I don't know if the back catalogue is going to be
released over there, I think it's available one way or another.
What's the story behind you, Dave and Tony leaving Savoy Brown
to form Foghat?
Well what happened was we were playing in San Francisco, the band
was really doing well and I believe we'd been offered a new
recording contract. Basically what happened Kim fired Tony Stevens
(he's always getting fired or gets kicked out or breaks up the
band - never mind don't go there) so anyway we were in the hotel
room, Tony got fired and Kim kind of offered myself and Dave some
kind of percentage, I'm not entirely sure, back at that time we
were getting $100 a week so that should tell you how things are or
were. We took some time to think about it.
Myself, Dave and Tony went back to my room and it took a little
bit to convince Dave, actually I really didn't have to convince
Dave, I think he wanted to leave… I think we came as far as we
could. Dave and myself were into a lot more of Rock 'n Roll and
Blues where I think Kim was heading in a slightly different way.
But to be fair I had a wonderful experience playing in Savoy Brown
it gave me my first shot and we had a lot of fun. We decided it
was time to leave, we saw the rest of the tour out and whatever
else Kim needed us for. But the manager Harry Simmons, who was
Kim's brother, told us that we would never work again and true to
his word he stopped us from getting any kind of record deal in
England also stopped us from working.
He managed Chickenshack and Savoy Brown who back in the early
'70's were huge in Europe so nobody would touch us because Harry
then threatened to take away Savoy and Chicken Shack so we did a
couple of weeks with Captain Beefheart. Actually Derrick Taylor
the Beatles publicist befriended us, really liked some of the
early tunes we had written and he tried to get us some work and
tried to get us a record deal but Harry didn't want us to play.
How did the Warren Phillips and the Rockets session come about?
In the Decca studios in London, I can't remember exactly which
album it was, but I think it was in 1968 or1969, when we were in
Savoy Brown, and Kim and Chris Youlden was in the band, Kim and
Chris went out to lunch during the break and the rest of us (cause
we couldn't afford to eat) stayed behind, so we did what we enjoy
doing, we started to jam.
Dave was playing some rockabilly tunes, just messing around and I
joined in and Tony did and Bob Hall I believe was there and or my
brother Colin. I think Colin was there for the first session, the
lunch hour session, played for about 2 hours and Roy Baker who was
the engineer working with Mike Vernon our producer recorded it.
Mike Vernon came back from lunch and said "this is great". We
polished off a couple of more tunes which was about 2 hours'
worth. The next day we came back in and a similar thing happened,
to the best of my recollection. We took a lunch break, and myself,
Dave and Tony and my brother Colin played piano and/or Bob Hall
and we finished it up. It was a lot of fun playing that kind of
music. It comes easy to us it's what we grew up listening to. So
that's how that came about, two lunch time sessions and I don't
think I got paid for that either.
Are you still in touch with Kim?
Yes, Kim and I stay in touch; we talk 2 or 3 times a year. Kim is
probably playing better than he ever, ever has. I did a session
for him about 10 or 11 years ago, I played on 2 or 3 songs with
him and the bass player from Ten Years After, Leo Lyons. That was
a lot of fun.
Yeah Kim and I stay in touch, as I said Kim is actually playing
better than he ever has. He also came up and played with us in
California a few years back. We did a private party together and
after his set, he came up and did Sweet Home Chicago and It Hurts
Me Too with Foghat. It was great.
What was the first record you bought?
Ah, well I'm not sure if it was Wanda Jackson's "Let's have a
party" but I think it might have been Ferlin Husky, oh dear sounds
like I'm a country boy, or a Johnny Cash song, I can't remember.
I'll have to ask my older brother Colin, see if his memory is any
better. Probably Johnny Cash or Wanda Jackson, I can't quite
remember.
Anyway, Colin was already buying Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little
Richard and Johnny Cash as well so we grew up with similar tastes
in the household, in fact my father I believe, brought home "Great
Balls of Fire" one lunch time can't quite remember how old I was
or whenever it came out but Dad played piano and "Great Balls of
Fire" was brought into the household and we were never the same.
In fact the first real concert I ever went to was Jerry Lee Lewis
at the Croton Odeon.
Interestingly enough, Lonesome Dave was there that night though of
course I didn't know him at the time. In fact on the last tour we
did together, one of the things we did was stay up late, drinking
wine, having a good time playing music and talking about all the
shows we used to go to see when we were kids around London,
teenagers and stuff. Surprisingly or not really surprising we were
at all the same shows, west end bars to see Jerry Lee Lewis,
Hammersmith Odeon to see Bo Diddley, the Stones, Chuck Berry and
whoever else was coming over from the States. Yeah, that was a lot
of fun our last tour together.
What was the last record you bought?
I'm still buying them if you consider CD's records. I'm little bit
of a luddite, so I'm still into CD's everyone else is downloading.
Records, I can't remember the last one I bought, Jerry Lee Lewis I
think it was bought for me, "Last Man Standing", what a great
record.
Are there any sessions you've done that fans might not know
about?
I played on Chris Jagger's first album that was really cool. The
sessions were done at Mick's place out in Oxfordshire or
Buckinghamshire. In fact I got that gig through Derek Taylor and
through the Stones record label. I got paid in gin and sausages...
Actually Chris is pretty talented. It must be tough sort of
standing in the shadow of a brother like Mick but Chris has his
own thing going, in fact my brother Colin played with them a year
or so ago, a festival in Europe and he said the band was terrific.
There were a few other sessions I played on Mungo Jerry's first
record on a couple of tracks. Other than that, I can't really
remember.
What fact about you would surprise your fans?
I don't know. What color do you like? Red, white and blue. What do
you like to eat? Yes.. Do you like to drink? Yes. I don't know
really. We got a new venture going "Foghat Cellars"; we're
involved in making wine out in Central Coast of California. We
have our first offering this year which is a 2005 Cabernet
Sauvignon and later on this year we'll have a 2008 Chardonnay
which we picked last year and we may have a Syrah or Shiraz as
they say down south. That might be interesting actually it's been
a lot of fun getting involved in wine. We have written a lot of
songs about it, drank MORE than our fair share. We're in the wine
business now. I'm really happy about that.
Is there anyone you would like to work with?
I don't think we've done any gigs with AC/DC. They've always been
one of my favorite bands, I love the way they play. Like I said
earlier in the interview I got to play with my heroes, like Muddy,
and John Lee Hooker, I use to jam with Paul Butterfield as well
when I lived up in Bearsville upstate in New York.
We were on the same record label. I would love to tour with AC/DC,
don't know if I wanna tour with the Stones, it must be tough to
open up for the Stones, and probably don't need an opening act
anyway, do they? They get out there and play for 3 hours; they
don't need a opening act. But I think AC/DC, that would be fun,
but they would be a tough act to follow, but we wouldn't be
following, would we, we'd be opening for them, that's right.
Any amusing stories from the road or studio?
There's a lot. Is this an all age magazine? Maybe I'll talk about
that later after I have had a couple of drinks.
Any message for your fans?
Hello. Wish we could be there. We would love to come over and play
in Europe more often. The trouble is in the summer, we get real
busy over here, but nobody really made any offers to us. But we
did play the Sweden Rock Festival, a few years back that was a lot
of fun, really well run.
But I'd love to come over and play in England, and the rest of the
band would too. Yeah, I would love to do that. That's what I
really would love to do play England. So if any promoters are
listening to this and they want to check out any of our live
records, cause we can still play even though we still a bunch of
old bastards, of course we can play we've been practicing for over
40 years. That's how we learned to play properly. Actually we
probably been practicing for over 50 years. Oh, let's not give it
all away.
Photo by
Jack Benas
CRAIG MACGREGOR (bass)
How did this new live recording come about?
Well we've wanted to go in and get some of this blues kind of feel
with some smaller equipment and we just really had the opportunity
and we had the time and we said let's go to this and cause we've
doing some radio stations And we had the chance to go in and do
it.
What else are you up to these days?
HA HA, that's a loaded question. Well we are getting ready to
start the summer season of playing that's pretty exciting
everybody to get out there again we haven't been out there for
awhile, winter was pretty long so we're anxious to start rockin'
again. So that's coming up and I busy with my son's band, Comic
Book Heroes so between the two I'm doing a lot of dancing.
How did it feel to replace (original bassist) Tony Stevens -
twice?
HA HA! Didn't feel any different than from the first time. It was
a pleasure!
In between stints, who did you play with?
I didn't play with anybody, I was "chefing" because I was home
raising my son, from '91-2005. From '91 on I was home cause I was
a chef, I was home helping raising our son.
Are there any sessions fans might not know about?
Well some of them might not about the blues show we did. In the
70's at the Palladium in NYC with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker,
Johnny Winter, Paul Butterfield, Pinetop Perkins, a lot of folks
don't know about that show.
Is there anyone you would like to work with?
Sure, I would love to work with Sammy Hagar, he's very cool, I
like his rock. I would like to work with the Chili Peppers, but
they have a bass player that's 10 times me.
How's life on the road?
A lot more civilized than it used to be. You can actually wake up
in the morning and remember the city you're in and that's a real
plus. It's just a lot more civilized, we get home we don't stay
out for long periods of time, we get to come home and be with the
families, cause everybody has families and you know you need your
time for that.
Any message for your fans?
Keep listening, Keep Rockin' cause we are gonna be there!
BRYAN BASSETT (lead guitar)
How did this new live recording come about?
We did a live broadcast for the radio program "Blues Warehouse".
It happened in the midst of our touring and we were in good
playing form and therefore quite pleased with the performance.
Our live sound mixer Carl Davino captured the performance to 2
track and we were also very pleased with the audio quality. This
is not always the case on an in studio radio broadcast.
I mastered it in my home studio and separated the interview
sections and moved them to the end of the CD so the music would
flow concert style. You'll notice the fades are quite quick on the
songs…..I had to cut the DJ speaking over the song ends…he was
very enthusiastic but it was at the end of every song. I should
have left a few in there in retrospect he was a great guy.
What else are you up to these days?
In the off season I tend to FOGHAT production duties, mixing on
some Blues tracks we have in the can, video editing and audio
mixing for those videos, conversions for the various websites;
then playing, writing and rehearsing for the upcoming tour season.
I am also mixing 2 CDs, Andrew Ashley a rock singer/songwriter who
has some fantastic material and players and one by Victor
Wainwright and the Wildroots, a killer Memphis pianist and singer,
Produced by Stephen Dees. I am also a Board Governor for the
Florida Chapter of NARAS , the Grammy organization, and that
involves various duties leading up to the Grammy Award show each
year. Other than that …trying to keep up with my young daughters
at Wii Sports.
When you got the call to join Foghat from Molly Hatchet, you'd
already crossed paths with Roger hadn't you?
I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Lonesome Dave
Peverett when he moved into the Orlando area. We became fast
friends and toured together for 4 years until he and Roger
reformed the original band.
I then joined Molly Hatchet but kept in close touch with Dave and
met Roger several times during those years. We had an instant
chemistry of friendship and though it would be several years
before we would work together when Dave called me to rejoin Foghat
I couldn't have been more pleased.
Was it hard to replace someone like Rod Price?
In a word, yes. I don't think one musician ever REPLACES another,
but following Rod as the guitarist in Foghat came with certain
musical responsibilities.
His slide playing was powerful and distinctive and burned into the
brains of all his fans and I am one of them. Every mature player
has their own sound and style, and that's a good thing something
we all strive for, but I try my utmost to capture the essential
parts of Rod's playing as they are integral to the songs.
I will always sound different than Rod but I study his playing to
try and capture his approach to the material. I had the pleasure
of playing with Rod for nearly a year while touring with Dave and
we became friends and I got to see his technique up close and
personal, a time that I treasure.
There are many guitarists in my position these days and I look to
great guitarists like Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks as a way to
be true to the songs and true to myself as a player.
What fact about you would surprise your fans?
That I turned down an academic / football scholarship to Carnegie
Mellon University to go live in a condemned building in Lima, OH
to write songs with my band. My parents were real pleased with
that decision.
Is there anyone you would like to work with?
That could be a very, very long list of both musicians and
engineers. I think I would like to be a fly on the studio wall to
watch someone like Jeff Beck record , or Bob Clearmountain mix or
watch David Gilmour write, arrange and craft guitar tones. Work
with them! you bet! Play guitar, run the Protools rig, get coffee
whatever.
How's life on the road?
Well, flying isn't as fun as it used to be and 12 hour bus rides
nightly for 6 week runs got a bit much, but all in all I love to
travel and always have. Taking your music to the people always
seemed to be part and parcel of being a pro musician.
We really have the best of both worlds now where we control our
tour schedule and have both an enjoyable touring season and a
healthy home life. I am always asking "did more cities come in?"
so yes I like to hit the road. I am very much looking forward to
playing Europe more. I toured there nearly every year with Molly
and miss it quite a bit. We hope to hit some festivals there
sometime soon.
Any message for your fans?
Nothing makes me feel better than having someone say that they
enjoyed our concert or compliments me on my playing. Having our
fans give us that positive energy keeps us rolling on. So a huge
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our music a part
of your lives.
CHARLIE HUHN (guitar / lead vocals)
How did this new release come about?
The latest Foghat release, Live At The Blues Warehouse, came about
through a friend from Long Island, N.Y. named Mark Klein, who is a
D.J. on a blues show which airs weekly on a Long Island radio
station.
We recorded live, and performed several new songs to us which we
had always wanted to play and record, as well as many of the
regular tunes that are a staple of our blues diet. The sound
turned out SO AWESOMELY that we were astounded and decided that
the public MUST hear this and released it in Feb/2009. We are very
proud of the results and spontenaeity of excitement created on
this project.
What else are you up to?
I am in a mid-life crisis. Life is SO GOOD right now it should be
considered a crisis. We are back on the road now that Roger has
recovered from his October slip and fall, thank God, and I have
moved to Florida, avoiding a snowy/cold Michigan winter and
enjoying the company of my beautiful, intelligent girlfriend and
the warm, sunny conditions which are condusive to my golf
practices. I have performed at several benefit functions over the
holidays and prepared for the upcoming tour.
How did it feel to replace the late Lonesome Dave?
It was tough replacing Dave Peverett because he was so unique and
I surely miss him. May he rest in peace, his energetic attack of
blues based rock and roll is forever going to remain at the
pinnacle of contemporary music performance along with the other
superstars who have moved on to higher places after leaving their
indelible mark on us mere mortals.
I have been and continue to work on the nuances which is the
signature he left on these unforgettable songs, trying to recreate
the magic he poured into these creative works of art. It has been
extremely fun and makes me so happy to be able to perform this
material which is so positive, catchy and refreshing. The most
difficult part is performing the guitar parts along with the
vocals and making them convincing. The going gets tough,
sometimes, and keeps me on my toes. I enjoy a challenge and some
of Dave's material presents just that. Sometimes the left brain
doesn't know what the right brain is doing, though, and vice
versa! Ha ha.
Did you follow Foghat's activities prior to joining?
I did follow Foghat before joining, in fact, I even had a dream of
being at a Fog concert with the original band wailing away as
everyone was seated and I was able to walk up the aisle to the
stage, alone, and get Rod's attention and approval.
Showing my gratitude to this powerful lineup, I went back to my
seat. The dream was short, but has not ended to this day. I was
totally aware of Foghat from the start, being an avid Savoy Brown
fan, and when that 1st Fog album came out, I was in college and we
all played it over and over, I Just Want To Make Love To You. Are
you kidding me, man! What kick ass rock and roll. Everyone was
rockin to this album.
The following albums were fun, but when Fool For The City came
out, it was like a message from GOD. Wow, was that an amazing
album. And the tours, those guys were relentless. Huge stadium
crowds. Man, I thought if I could EVER do that I would give my
left nut! Thankfully I didn't have to do that, but being able to
achieve that unbelievable level several years later with Ten
Nugent gave me the full frontal lobotomy of rock and roll that I
needed, and it is still, fortunately for me, going on today with
the Fog.
How was life fronting Ted Nugent's band?
I have some fond memories of the days with Ted. We were all over
the WORLD, and just being in Japan, Europe, Great Britain, and the
U.S. ROCKIN OUR LIVES AWAY was a story in itself. Once in Holland,
though, after the show, the guys from Pat Travers' band and we
were partying at a club and I had a bottle of excellent wine that
I was carrying up these stairs.
Well, I had to goof around, and pretended to slip. Well I really
did and my arm came crashing down on the breaking bottle, giving
me a hidden cut behind my left forearm. I couldn't see it, but 10
minutes later the guys said, "man, you really cut yourself" so we
went to the hospital and they stitched me up. There went the party
for that night. Oh well, I got the stitches out at Lorely, the
outdoor event on the Rhine River in Germany a few days later
before the show. I haven't tried that trick again!
Another time when we were coming out for an encore, I could never
remember to stay back. Well, once again, running out to the front
of the stage for Motor City Madhouse, there I was! And BOOM! The
flash pots went off, nearly blinding me with a deafening
concussion effect. Man, after that, I learned to stay back. But I
just want to rock. Ha ha.
What else have you been up to?
I have been doing some side work with a German guitarist named
Matt Roehr, from Bohse Onkelz, and performing as lead vocalist on
the studio CD's and tours. He is very accommodating to make sure
that nothing interferes with the Foghat schedule, as he is a big
fan, as well. We will be recording the second CD in Phoenix, Az.
in April, 2009. I have done some other smaller stuff around
Detroit and Orlando helping out friends.
Who else would you like to work with?
I would like to put out a CD with help from all of the people I
have worked with in my 31 years of professional music career, and
the list would be quite lengthy and strong. People that I have not
worked with but admire for their inspiration would be Jimmy Page,
for his ground breaking creativity of guitar and songwriting; Ian
Hunter, because of his captivating sense of mood intensity and
feel, and Johnny Winter for his raw blues technique and knowledge
which to me is stunning. The number of people I would like to work
with could go on and on. I've been very fortunate to have worked
with some of the best musicians in the rock industry and hope to
continue into the future.
Any message for your fans?
It is an honor to be able to communicate with people and to make
them happy, especially in a business that is not work, but a labor
of love and fun, all at the same time. When we are happy, and
music makes me happy, everything else in the world is so much
easier to deal with, and this message to my friends out there who
enjoy the things I do is helping make them happy. It is amazing
how rock and roll can move you to a level that is almost surreal,
capturing charisma and driving you to the extent that you want to
create it yourself for you and others to enjoy. This is my
message, to follow up on your ambitions which make you happy, and
eventually everything will work out in your favor.
Interview © May
2009 Joe Geesin
Album review
