Foghat

THE BAND. . . PAST, PRESENT, AND INTO THE FUTURE In the late 1960’s Roger Earl & Lonesome Dave Peverett first toured America as members of the seminal British band "Savoy Brown". Together with guitarist Kim Simmonds, "Savoy Brown" was on the cutting edge of the emerging British blues-rock scene, and they influenced countless musicians on both sides of the "pond". In 1971, wanting to give a more Rock ‘n Roll flavor to the blues-boogie music they were playing with "Savoy", Dave & Roger enlisted lead/slide guitarist Rod Price & bassist Tony Stevens, formed a new band, "Foghat", and the rest is part of Rock and Roll history. Signed by Albert Grossman to Bearsville Records in 1971, the band recorded their first self-titled LP "Foghat" and began touring relentlessly for the next 14 years. Their hard work has thus far been rewarded with seven Gold records, one Platinum record "Fool For The City" (1975), and one Double-Platinum record "Foghat Live" (1977). The "Fool For The City" album contained Foghat’s trademark Top 40 hit song "Slow Ride" and cemented their place as one of the world’s top rock acts. They continued to hit the charts in the 1970’s with singles such as "Fool For The City", "Drivin’ Wheel", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", "I’ll Be Standing By", "Stone Blue", "Third Time Lucky" and "Somebody’s Been Sleeping In My Bed"… many of which are still classic rock radio staples. Foghat toured and recorded non-stop into the mid-eighties. Tony Stevens had left the band in 1974 to pursue other interests, and was replaced by bassist Craig MacGregor (with a short stint with Nick Jameson in between). Rod Price departed the band in 1980. In 1985 Lonesome Dave returned to England for a well-deserved break from touring, while Roger remained in the US and continued to carry the Foghat flag with non-stop touring with various new musicians and Foghat alumni. In 1989 Lonesome Dave resumed touring in the states with future member Bryan Bassett. But it is 1994 that marks the return of Foghat to the world stage, when the original members reunite for the recording of "Return of the Boogie Men". Being back on the road, non-stop, once again yielded a new live CD for the band titled "Road Cases", released in 1997. In 1998, Lonesome Dave is diagnosed with cancer. He battles it with amazing strength and courage. He decides he would like to tour again in 1999. With Rod Price’s decision not to resume touring, Dave calls his old friend Bryan Bassett, who is touring with "Molly Hatchet" and asks him to join the band. Lonesome Dave, one of the all time great rock ‘n rollers, and a consummate professional, performs flawlessly night after night, doing what he loved doing best…while still undergoing chemotherapy. The tour was cut short in the fall of 1999, when Dave returns home. He sadly passes away on February 7, 2000. Family and friends are devastated. One of rock ‘n roll’s legendary performers is mourned by thousands of fans. As all who knew and loved Dave tried to adjust to this devastating loss, the band had to decide whether it could, or even wanted to, continue playing. Even Dave’s encouragement to keep the band together and to ‘Keep on Rockin’ was not enough to convince the band that they should go on. After much soul searching and support from the fans, Roger began to hesitantly review some tapes of singers. None of them seemed to have that blend of blues and rock so important to the band’s sound. Becoming quite discouraged about the prospect of finding a new singer, Roger happened to recall seeing a "Humble Pie" show with Dave…they wanted to see who was singing their mate Stevie Marriott’s songs. They were both pleasantly surprised and impressed! The singer was former "Ted Nugent" and "Victory" vocalist Charlie Huhn. Roger contacted Charlie and a rehearsal was set up at SIR in New York. After just a few hours of jamming, the chemistry was undeniable and all agreed that this was the person to join the band and take it into the future. Charlie’s vocal ability and guitar playing fit the music perfectly and his high-energy stage presence provides what is an essential ingredient to a "Foghat" show. The band began to tour once again in August of 2000, doing what they love to do and do best…taking their music to the fans. The camaraderie and fun was apparent in their live performances and after two solid years of touring the band entered the studio to write and record a new CD. The result was their latest studio recording ”Family Joules”. In 2004 they released a live DVD called “The Official Bootleg DVD, Volume 1” and at the end of that year, veteran Foghat bassist extraordinaire Craig Macgregor rejoined the lineup launching Foghat's hard rocking tradition into the future. They are touring non-stop again, and the energy is incredible. In 2007 they released a new double live CD entitled “FOGHAT LIVE II” , (recorded in 2005 & 2007) to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the original ‘Foghat LIVE’, and to bring the energy and excitement of the current lineup (ROGER EARL, CRAIG MACGREGOR, BRYAN BASSETT & CHARLIE HUHN) to the fans. In 2008 Foghat founding member Roger Earl, launched Foghat’s own brand of wine called “FOGHAT CELLARS” in conjunction with well known winemaker Steve Rasmussen. Their first offering was a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles which got rave reviews! Now, in their 6th year as winemakers, they have harvested and released two Chardonnay vintages (2008 and 2010) another Cabernet Sauvignon (2007) and a delicious 2010 Pinot Noir. Wine & music, what a combination. Foghat’s latest CD project ‘LAST TRAIN HOME’ (released June 15, 2010) was the culmination of a dream shared by Roger Earl and Lonesome Dave Peverett . It contained some of their favorite blues songs, three originals ('Born for the Road', 'Last Train Home' and '495 Boogie)', and two songs by special guest performer and long time friend, Eddie 'Bluesman' Kirkland who was 86. He had played with Foghat as a special guest back in 1977 at Foghat’s Tribute to the Blues at the New York Palladium, and remained a good friend of the band. (Sadly, Eddie Kirkland was killed in a car accident on February 27th, 2011). Also performing on ‘LAST TRAIN HOME’ are Colin Earl / piano, Jeff Howell / bass and Lefty Lefkowitz / harmonica. According to Earl “This CD is a testimony to Lonesome Dave. We always planned to do this. I am so fortunate to have partners in band members Charlie Huhn and Bryan Bassett who share the same passion for the blues. It was not hard work putting this album together; playing this kind of music is joyous. We had a blast!” With ‘LAST TRAIN HOME’ Foghat comes full circle, with an offering that mixes some Foghat Blues stamped originals with many blues gems. This album has gotten consistently incredible reviews and is guaranteed to become a classic. Foghat has never stopped touring and recording. They have been together in one form or another, with Roger Earl steadfastly in that drum seat throughout for 42 years now! And 2013 is bringing lots of new and exciting releases and new projects for the band. They are releasing two singles, a DVD and a Christmas song, along with a new CD which is in the works for early 2014. This band never sleeps or rests on its history! They still tour relentlessly because they just love to play, which is evident in the passion and fun they have onstage during their live performances. That is what Foghat is all about. It’s about the music!