"I'm not doing anything important at the moment, I'm just stuck here; I was practicing," laughed a well-rested Roger Earl as he discussed Foghat's forthcoming release, drums, Blues music, condoms and more ahead of the band's May 20 appearance at The Bergen PAC in Englewood, NJ. "I'm leaving to go on the road, we have a new album coming out soon. The album has 10 tracks on there; six or seven originals and three songs that were actually written; did you know that Kim Simmonds passed away recently? Kim and I reconnected back in 1976 and we'd been playing out here and there, we hung out for a while and it was over the last 10 years, seven or eight years or so that we were with the same agency. They managed to pick up Savoy Brown and we've done a number of shows together and when we were making this last studio album, Kim said, "Hey, I'd like to write some songs for you" and I said, that will be great! I said, so long as you're playing on them too! Unfortunately, Kim got ill and he couldn't really get his fingers working, so he sent us the lyrics and a basic outline and we put the music down for the tracks and they turned out better than I could have ever hoped. I miss him already, I was kind of looking forward to spending our late years playing music together but never mind."
Perhaps best known for their searing guitar licks; or was it their high-powered vocals? Maybe it was the thunderous drums of Earl in songs like "Slow Ride" or the pulse they gave to "I Just Wanna Make Love To You," regardless of what it was, one thing is certain; if you can't have fun at a Foghat show, check your pulse.
Foghat has raised audiences' heart rates since the early 1970s with their trademark sound; a combination of Blues, Rock, lots of slide guitar and a rhythm section that could bring "Eyesight to the blind" and they have done so as an interchangeable unit and with guests.One of those performers was the aforementioned Kim Simmonds who took to the stage with his buddy Earl a few years back making for a memorable evening for those in attendance at a certain New York City nightclub.
"Under The Influence" was our last studio album and that was a great show you saw at BB King's; we were out supporting that," he recalled with ease. "I listened to the tapes from that show; I love to listen to our live stuff. Our current sound guy has been with us on and off since 1990 I think; '91 maybe or somewhere around there. He's back with us steady again. I love to listen to the shows and make sure everything's sort of in the pocket and rockin' to keep us on our toes."
"Scott Holt has been with us since February, he was the lead singer of Earl & The Agitators," he continued. "Charlie Huhn retired in January of this year and he didn't give us much notice but that's another story. I think he had some physical issues and some stuff like that and I think he was just getting a bit restrained because he sings at a high register. He's a great singer and a great guitar player; we were together for 19 or 21 years. He decided to retire and now he's running around the world and relaxing. I personally don't want to give up just yet. I've been a rocker for a long time, I'm old and like to rock.The body has a lot to do with it, especially on the drums. I work on my hands, my feet; my big toes are sometimes a bit of an issue.The one on my right foot especially but I have some really good doctors who keep an eye on things, I use stem cell therapy which has saved my life a couple of times; it's my own stem cells. I go down to a place in Florida and it usually takes about two to three months or maybe a bit more before it actually works but it's basically your own body repairing itself and to me it's work and I've done some damage to my body over the years (laughs)."
Not only was Roger hard on his body but he is also known for playing his drums with ferocity as well. He laughed relaying a story from the band's early days involving one of his first endorsement deals.
"I used to endorse Ludwig drums and I'm still good friends with Bill Ludwig but after he left, everything seemed to go downhill for a while but that's another thing. I remember doing an event in '77, '78 or something like that and we were doing some filming and we were talking to a bunch of reporters and guys from Chicago and Bill was standing there and I said, drums; as long as they're round it only matters how you play them and how you tune them and Bill just looked at me and shook his head but it's sort of the truth. I have my own kit but I hardly ever wind up using it because most of our dates are fly-ins. I use a basic, different DW kit every night and it's amazing how well they hold up and sound. I just put new heads on them and tune them to the best of my ability and off I go; I've never gotten any problems. They are great drums; made in America for Americans but foreigners can play them too (laughs)."
Speaking of "Playing," music isn't the only thing they play; over the last decade, they have diversified and have their own line of wine and a condom brand called "Slow Ride." Yes, named after their most requested and best known song; the band says they chose the name after receiving multiple letters from fans claiming their children were conceived while listening to the tune. Earl laughed when he explained how the decision was made to create the line of protection; albeit a short one."
" You know I think it was my girlfriend, who is also my wife and my manager; she might have been girlfriend at the time and we're OK because we've been together for 25 or 30 years but it's not right to rush things. I think it's not right to rush, take your time. So, yeah, "Slow Ride," Foghat promotes safe sex, there's no rush to anything, it's OK, take your time."
Taking their time is what they do these days, whether it's touring or making an album; they command their own ship and the speed it travels.
"When we started recording the "Under The Influence" album; when we record an album, it usually takes three or four years before we finish a studio album because it's not a race anymore. We had done quite a bit and we were about three or four songs short for an album and Scott Holt was down in that studio with me along with Bryan (Bassett) and we needed to write at least three songs and we ended up writing 17 and recording 17. One of them went on that last studio album; Scott Holt is a brilliant singer and guitar player who also played with Buddy Guy for 10 or 12 years or something like that. So, he has got the Blues creds and also if Buddy guy is anywhere near us, I get to meet Buddy; a beautiful man, an absolutely beautiful man. He is so cool and funny, he has a fabulous sense of humor. I remember one time, I went to see him at BB King's in New York when it was still there; that's a shame they shut that down. Buddy was half-way through his set and it was sold out and somebody in the back of the room got up to go use the bathroom I think and Buddy yells out, "Hey! Where you going?" Then they shined a spotlight on the poor guy (laughs)."
"One of the things is; Foghat was always in charge of what we recorded, nobody told us what to do or how to do it. We've worked with some great producers and as far as I'm concerned the producer joins the band; Tom Dawes, Nick Jameson, Dave Edmunds were great producers and they joined the band as the fifth member. We always did the songs and the way we did it was, Dave (Lonesome Dave Peverett) would come up with the lyrics and basically, the band would arrange it. We sort of do it that way now; somebody comes up with the lyrics and the band puts the music to it and it is a process that I enjoy; it's fun figuring out where to go by just listening to the words and saying, hold on, I've got an idea for this. So, yeah, it's fun and I love doing it."
One of the things that has always brought Earl pleasure is music and to hear him talk, he doesn't sound as if he's ever worked a day in his life as he loves what he does and the career he has carved out; having his eyes firmly set on the prize from his earliest days.
"I think every generation has their music; people complain about some of the more contemporary stuff but every generation has their music. That's the way it should be, it shouldn't be the same way forever. Although, I'm kind of locked into my thing and the way I see things but there again, I have views about American music. Country, Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, Jazz and even Gospel. I love Gospel and sometimes I'll find it on the radio and it's fantastic! I mean, real Gospel where they are singing; I've said this to a number of people, music comes from this country, from the States; all contemporary forms of music, maybe not the Beatles, Stones but they were all influenced by American music, it is the land of music and it is why I live here and why I always wanted to come here. I used to see the Stones when I was growing up in Southwest London and they were great. I was like 16 then and they played Chuck Berry really well, they probably turned me on to Chuck Berry; wait, no, it was Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. They used to do an afternoon session at The Flamingo and Georgie Flame was playing "Sweet Little Sixteen;" it's funny how you remember shit like that (Laughs). It was on a Sunday afternoon or Saturday afternoon and I was living up in Central London and all of a sudden I was hearing "Sweet Little Sixteen" and I went in there, paid my whatever it was; you had to buy a Coca-Cola or some soft drink and there was Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and they were a great band."
When a group has had the commercial success of a Foghat and the longevity that comes with it, there are occasionally difficulties introducing new music to older audiences. Earl says they change it up as often as possible while remaining loyal to their fans.
"No I don't think so," he replied when asked if picking a set list is difficult. "We are playing one of the songs at the moment that Kim wrote for us and we'll probably get two or three more worked in; at the beginning of the year, we go down to Florida and every year we change the set around and put like five or six different songs in that we haven't played before or that we've not played in a while. Now of course we have to play the five or six songs forever and ever "Fool For The City," which is fine; "Slow Ride," "Stone Blue," "I Just Wanna Make Love To You," "Sweet Home Chicago" because people want to hear those but every now and again I need some new songs or I'm learning new old songs. They re-released our first album recently and so I had to listen to that; we've decided to play a couple of tunes off of that so, yeah, something different."
Then; what does the Bergen PAC hold in store for those attending this Saturday evening?
"Well, the contract says, "75 minutes" but we usually do about an hour-and-a-half as long as they are OK with the time constraints but we can cut it down to 75 minutes if they have a curfew and if there is no curfew we can play about an hour-and-45-minutes; then the drummer says can we take a break? No, I'm just kidding (Laughs). We have Dana Fuchs on this show; have you ever seen her? She's fantastic! What a voice and what a performer, she is absolutely incredible. In fact, she sang on our last studio album on a couple of songs. She did backup vocals and sang lead on a couple of songs; we're an all-inclusive band, if you're around, we'll put you to work. I like doing that; having different people come and sit in with us can be exciting or at least I think so anyway."
Shall you wish to read up on Foghat or purchase tickets to the show, please visit https://foghat.com/band/band-bio/.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
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