At the young age of 15, discovering the Beatles was like turning on a classic rock floodgate for me. Bands like the Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ZZ Top and Black Sabbath took over my thoughts and music-crazed obsessions (not to mention my walls and T-shirt wardrobe), but Foghat somehow managed to slip just under my rock & roll radar.
Sure, I’d heard “Slowride” on the radio, movies and TV shows like That 70s Show and Seinfeld. I was also familiar with “I Just Want to Make Love to You” as a classic rock staple, but the core of Foghat’s classic songs and top-selling albums never ended up in my growing collection. Looking back on my teenage years, I feel like I missed out on hearing and seeing one of the great bands in rock music. If it takes me ’til my golden years, I’ll do my best to make up for it.
Roger Earl, the young-at-heart drummer and founding member of Foghat, spoke with Vintage Rock recently as he relaxed on the deck of his Long Island harbor houseboat. Roger was talkative and incredibly gracious, and speaks with a wicked sense of humor and a classic English humility, even though his lifestyle is now closer to that of a Southern U.S. redneck than British Rock Royalty. As Roger himself confirms, he’d rather be fishing or cooking than being knighted by the Queen or schmoozing at a Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
As a personal note to Foghat fans, Roger was simply a blast to speak to. I’ve done many of these interviews over the years, and he quickly won me over with his charm and wit. Except for Roger’s dinner, no fish over 45 pounds were harmed during the course of this interview.
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Roger, why the decision to re-visit the classic Foghat Live when making Foghat Live II?
Foghat Live was the first live record we did, and we had complete control over it as far as production, song choice, and everything. In between that one in ’77 and this one, there have been a couple of live releases here and there — from radio stations and live broadcasts — that have come out, and to be totally honest, except for the first one, we were never happy with those releases. With this record, we had total control again. No overdubs on it, we produced it ourselves and recorded it on our own mobile unit. We’re really excited about it sonically, with the sound and how it turned out. Once we finished it, we said, “Well why don’t we call it Foghat Live II?” The evening we finished the show, we went back to the hotel with the CDSs the house engineer burned for us, and it sounded great even in rough mixes. We put it on and all said, “Uh oh. We’ve got something here…” We broke out the tequila and wine and had a good time and danced around the room until four in the morning until the neighbors started to complain.
How much of a loss, personally and as a band, was it for you when Dave and Rod passed away?
It was so tough when Dave passed away. Dave came off the road in the ’90s because his wife was ill, not because he was ill. Within a couple a couple of weeks of being on the road, he was bouncing around and singing as hard as he ever did. When he died, it was so hard. We always said that Dave and I were “brothers by different mothers,” and ironically enough on the last tour we did together, we grew even closer. We hung out a lot then, talking about growing up in London and going to see the same American blues and rock artists that visited like Chuck Berry, Sonny Boy Williamson and Jerry Lee Lewis. We talked about those aspects of our early lives that last tour, and it was so much fun and meaningful. I miss them both.
What you do think of the numerous pop culture references to Foghat in television and movies?
They’re not paying me enough… just kidding! I guess if you stick around long enough on this planet, then people will start to notice you. Foghat has always been a band of the people – a rock & roll band, with no pretensions. Just good rock & roll music. Chuck Berry’s music is as valid today as it was in the 1950s and 60s – not that I’m comparing Foghat to Chuck, but rock has longevity and has a way of hanging around. Look at the Stones… They’re still out there rocking, and I think if your heart’s in the right place and you’re doing it for the music and for the right reasons, then why not? We’ve been around for how long now? Thirty-six years — AAARGH! But all kidding aside, Foghat has just become a part of the pop culture, and I think it’s great.
If you hadn’t found success with Foghat, what do you think you would be doing?
Probably playing drums for free in some local bar. I know how fortunate I am to still be doing something I enjoy and really love. We still have a blast, and maybe I shouldn’t be having so much fun at 61, but hell, I’m going to roll ’til I’m old and rock ’til I drop. Like Satchel Paige the baseball player used to say to people when asked how old he was — I guess they figured he was too old to be throwing as well as he did. Satchel didn’t have a birth certificate, and would reply, “Well how old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” I’m a 16-year-old really, full of youthful exuberance in my 61-year-old body, and if somebody puts a label on it and says I’m far too old, then I just repeat Lonesome Dave’s words I just said:. “roll ’til I’m old and rock ’til I drop.”
What is something very un-rock and roll about you that long-time fans may not know?
I’m a football fan — soccer that is. Where I come from we call it football. I love and support the Arsenal team and I have a passion for all things football. When I’m home, it’s so different from being on the road. I’ve calmed down somewhat from the 70s and 80s tours. Now we can go out for two or three days and go back home and see family and friends and play golf. At the moment, I’m supposed to be doing some carpentry work. I live on an 80-year-old houseboat with a lot of “wood” issues, and that’s what I do when I’m not on the road rockin’ and rollin,’ besides working in the garden. OOH! Vegetables! If you’ve got some land or containers, grow some vegetables. It’s very gratifying to grow your own food. I really enjoy that now. I’m married to a Sicilian woman and when the family comes over, I cook food. I’m a good chef.
Tell me about your family — do they bring you joy and inspiration?
Yeah, of course. I have a bunch of grandchildren and three daughters. My in-laws and brothers, everyone — family is very important to me. It was sad and very difficult not to have the family around when we were doing the heavier touring in the early days. I was hardly home and it made it very hard to have normal relationships. It’s so much better now. My ex-wife has forgiven me, and I’m a much better husband, father and friend now.
What’s this I hear about your love of fishing? What fish do you go after? What was the biggest you ever caught?
I go after anything and everything. I live on the water here in Long Island, and catch bluefish, striped bass, salmon and trout… I’m not one to go after just one fish. I like to say, “I fish, therefore I am.” I love it. It’s very relaxing and it puts dinner on the table. But, I have to admit, I’m starting to put the big ones back. I caught a 45-pound striped bass, biggest I’d ever caught, right here in the bay where I live not long ago. I had a dozen three to five-pound fish in the cooler. It took 40 minutes to get the fish in the boat, and I looked at Linda, my wife and told her, “I can’t kill this fish, Linda,” and she said good, and we took pictures. How can you kill a grandmother (the fish)? I say, take what you need and leave the rest — it was something I learned as I got older.
Can you put into your own words the “Foghat” sound?
Obviously, we’re a rock & roll band… I’m not really sure I want to pigeonhole us. Dave once said we just play the blues and turn it up a bit. There’s no real one sound. We do have our influences of different musicians and bands, but it’s all just rock and roll.
I know it wasn’t as historic as when KISS went without the makeup, but what prompted your move to part with the big moustache? Do you miss the old guy sometimes?
You know, it’s only hair. It’s nothing special, just hair. It’s how you are in the world and how you treat people around you, and what’s inside you, that matters. I must admit though that at the time when I shaved it off, my manager didn’t speak to me for 3-4 months and he was really pissed off. Funny you ask, because I cut my long hair off about five years ago. We were having some electrical work done on the houseboat, and my wife and I were in a local hotel and I just said, “I wanna cut my hair off. I’m fed up.” She told me to do what I want, saying, “it’s only hair, cut it — shave it off if you want.” And I did.
The night you spent playing music and listening to music at Willie Dixon’s house — what do you most recall about that night?
That was absolutely one of the musical highlights of my life — back in ’78, we were doing the Stone Blue Tour. “I Just Want To Make Love To You” came out on our first album in 1971, and was the single release on Foghat Live. Willie Dixon was, of course, the writer, and unlike some others I won’t mention that would steal his songs, we credited Willie with the songs, and for nearly eight years, he was getting all this money from a band called Foghat because we credited him, rightly, for the song. We were playing three dates at the amphitheater in Chicago. First night, his daughter came down and we treated her like a princess and told her what a hero of ours her father was. The second night, Willie’s son, Butch, came down. And on the third night, Willie himself came down, and Dave introduced him on stage. Dave said, “Without people like Willie Dixon, there’d be no rock and roll music,” and that’s the truth, a real truism. Backstage after we finished playing, Willie was very funny and very gracious. He was a terrific man, a giant too, must have been 6’6″ or something, and his wife was with him. They invited us to his house next time we were coming to Chicago. The next time we were in town, we went to Willie’s house over on the south side and hung out ’til like three or four in the morning, drinking and eating and singing and everybody playing guitar and piano… all of us and everyone in his family played and sang too. We talked about blues artists he’d known over the years, and played the old 78-rpm records of the blues guys. It was thrilling to meet one of our heroes. He was a very genuine and great man. We certainly weren’t let down.
Besides that night, what would you say have been your top musical experiences or memories?
That’s easy…1977. We played the Palladium in New York City — Foghat’s Tribute to the Blues. We put on a show with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter, Eddie ‘Bluesman’ Kirkland, Otis Blackwell, Honey Boy Edwards and others, and we were basically the house band for the night. Everybody got paid for the night except for us, because Dave had found out the New York Public Library didn’t really have a decent collection of blues records, so we did it as a fundraiser kind of thing, and it seemed like a good enough excuse to gather all those guys. It was such a highlight of our careers, and my life… playing “I Just Want To Make Love To You” with Muddy, John Lee Hooker and backing up Paul Butterfield and Johnny and all of them. Without any doubt it was the highlight of my music career.
How are fans responding to the current incarnation of Foghat — it obviously can’t be what it was in ’77 for instance, but do you think Foghat is special as it is in 2007?
We still get people coming that used to see us in the 70s. But now, we have a huge contingent of young people that come to see us between 12 and 20. It’s very gratifying that after playing for nearly 40 years, the music and the band can still stand up like that. When young people come out and dig it, we just love that. For us to be successful today with rap and pop and boy bands, it’s very satisfying that we can draw fans and crowds.
What do the fans then and now mean to you and the band? Can you answer without using that old clichéd rock & roll interview answer, “They mean everything” to me?
(in an excited voice followed by a devilish laugh) They mean NOTHING to us! Absolutely nothing! I don’t give a shit about them! And again, juuuust kidding! To be honest with you… if people don’t come to see us or buy the records, I’d be out of work, sitting here bashing away in my living room. Foghat’s always given the fans a 100%. Even when Dave was ill, he gave nothing less than 110%, and that’s imperative to be on that level every show. People that come to see us all work and have jobs and spend their money to see us play. I love them, and we’d be nothing without them. What can you say? Without the fans, we’d just be sitting in our living rooms. We give our all when we play and give it our best shot.
What do you think will be Foghat’s ultimate place in rock music history — will the band stand with the greats of the time?
I don’t think that’s for me to say. It’s for other people to say. The reality is, I’m still able to play and perform and do something I love – and successfully I might add – we can go out and play and make money and pay the bills. Everything is cool now. This is not hard work. We go two or three days without much sleep, but it’s fun. We get to play in a rock & roll band. Life is good. Some of the fans write and say, “Well why isn’t Foghat in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?” I don’t know the answer to that, and it doesn’t concern me one bit. My job is playing drums and helping the band stay on track and loving every minute of it. We’re happier being able to still record and tour, over being on display in some stuffy museum. We’re not museum material. Rock & roll is about performing live. It’s what Foghat’s been about since the very beginning. We never set back on our haunches and have always gone out in the trenches and played. We once had a year or so off in the late 70s when Rod was having some health issues, and it was horrible for all of us having to sit around, doing nothing but maybe getting drunk and getting stoned. My drug of choice now is going out to play.
