Roger Earl (Foghat) Interview

For over 50 years, Foghat has spread the boogie rock gospel all across the globe, converting the masses with a string of multi-platinum smashes and countless sold out shows (1,768 and counting according to setlist.fm). Guiding the band through it all is founding drummer and visionary Roger Earl. The sole surviving member of the band’s classic ’70s lineup, we sat down with Earl to discuss Foghat’s latest tour de force, Sonic Mojo, their earliest days as an offshoot of Savoy Brown, and the importance of rock n’ roll in these troubled times. Take a “Slow Ride” with us!

Greetings Roger and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?

Roger Earl: I’m doing good! How are you doing, Joe?

I’m doing fantastic. I must say, this is a huge deal for me. Growing up, even before I truly discovered hard rock and metal, I was listening to Foghat. My mother used to play Fool for the City and Night Shift throughout the house all the time. Furthermore, it’s been almost a decade since this photo was taken. I figured you’d get a kick out of it!

RE: Oh wow! Where is that?

That was at the Copernicus Center in Chicago. I was 10 years younger, shorter, and skinnier with short hair and a clean shaved face! I was a freshman in high school.

RE: *laughs* Right on! Yeah, that was when Charlie (Huhn) was in the band. Charlie was singing with us. Charlie retired two years ago. Some of the songs we sing, especially “Fool for the City” and stuff like that, it’s a tough one. Even Lonesome Dave, when we wrote the song, he sometimes struggled with that. Charlie was with us for over 20 years. Scott Holt joined us two years ago, but I’ve been playing and making music with Scott since 2014. We have a bit of history.

We’ll be getting to that in a bit! Now while you’ve been interviewed by no shortage of classic rock and blues outlets over the years, we here at Defenders are a metal webzine. I’ve always been of the persuasion that when it comes to heavy metal in the ’70s, alongside the Sabbaths and the Purples and the Thin Lizzys, Foghat needs to be a part of the conversation. What are your thoughts on this? Did Foghat ever feel a sense of kinship with the hard and heavy acts of the era?

RE: Well Dave and I loved AC/DC. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t always keen on the singer (Bon Scott), but the band was so good. It was fun. Sometimes the singer would grate a little bit, but that’s just me. Both singers were great actually. The band, I loved the way they played. Dave would often pick up a broomstick and pretend he was in AC/DC. Metal, it’s rock n’ roll. We’re all related, whether we like it or not *laughs*. In fact, a number of times, there were songs that we would do…there was one song off one of our albums, “Wide Boy”. A lot of people consider that heavy. It’s about a bouncer. “Wide boy, I’m in a spot of trouble. Wide boy, I need assistance on the double. Wide boy, it’s good to have a friend like you.” We’re all related. It’s just music.

Sonic Mojo is the first Foghat album in seven years. What events led up to this album’s development and subsequent recording?

RE: Well actually, what interrupted it was the COVID nightmare. Basically, we came off the road for two years. We’d already started. Just before that, we did a live recording at Daryl’s House in upstate New York. That came out and then…we were gonna get together and start rehearsing to go on the road again. Charlie sent an email to our manager that said, “I’m retiring.” Fortunately, Scott Holt was down here at the studio and we were writing some music. I said, “You wanna be the singer?” He said, “Okay!” *laughs* He put his headphones on and started learning Foghat songs.

Actually, I had been working with Scott on and off since 2014. A photographer introduced us and we just hit it off, also with Bryan Bassett, our lead and slide guitar player. He’s also our producer as well. It just clicked. We just hang out. We have a similar attitude to music. I grew up listening to early rock n’ roll: Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis. Then I discovered Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Then, all of a sudden, I’m a blues boy *laughs*. That’s my inspiration. So…heavy metal, ay? Nothing wrong with that! *laughs*

Metal did come from the blues!

RE: Yeah, like I said, we’re all related, whether we like it or not, so we better get on with each other.

This is the first Foghat album to feature Scott Holt on vocals and guitars. How does working with Scott compare or contrast to working with Charlie or Dave?

RE: Well they’re all great singers. Scott is really versed in the blues, as well as Dave. Charlie was more of a heavy metal guy. That’s what he grew up playing and listening to. He was with Ted Nugent, then Victory in Europe, so that’s really what Charlie’s thing was. Charlie was also a huge fan of Savoy Brown. He used to come and see us whenever we played near Detroit, which is one of the things he told me about. Also, he took Steve Marriott’s place in Humble Pie, so you know the guy could sing. We’ve been fortunate. Every time we’ve had great singers. Dave was a great singer and great songwriter. Charlie was a great singer and great songwriter. Scott Holt is a great singer and great songwriter.

For me, my whole thing about playing was I always wanted to play in a band. I look at what I do…actually, Craig MacGregor, our longtime bass player, my brother by a different mother, said it one time. He said, “Hey Rog. You and I lay down the road for the rest of ’em to travel on.”, which is how I look at it. My job is to create the groove, the mood for where the rest of the guitars and vocals are gonna sit. I was never going to be like Buddy Rich. Those people turn up once in a lifetime. There’s lots of fantastic drummers out there, but my thing is I play for the band. I play for the music.

What are the differences between recording a Foghat album now and back in the ’70s?

RE: Well now we have our own studio. That’s where I am now, in DeLand, Florida. It’s in the middle of nowhere on 10 acres. We can make as much noise as we want. We disturb the deer. Actually, we got a panther! We have some cameras around here. There’s tons of deer and a couple of black bears. A couple of times this past summer, a panther would come by the camera. We’d go, “What is that?! It looks like a big cat!” Which is what it is! That’s really cool because they’re so rare down in Florida. My grandson was staying here at the time and he took the picture and showed it to a wildlife person. He said, “Yes, that’s the Florida panther.” It’s really cool.

Anyway, getting back to the music *laughs*. We set up in the living room. When we brought this house, it’s on 10 acres in the middle of nowhere and it’s got a huge…it would probably fit like 8 cars in there and it’s got a big concrete floor. We were gonna turn that into the studio, but then we went, “Hold on a second.” We set up in the living room and started recording and playing. It sounded so good. We went, “We don’t really need to go outside. Let’s just stay inside. There’s no red light. The kitchen is right there. You can make yourself a tea or a coffee…or something stronger.” *laughs*

Generally speaking, it’s coffee or tea for us until afterwards, when the session is finished. Over the years, I’ve probably played with a couple of hangovers. That’s not a lot of fun for a drummer. I take, and the whole band does, creating and making music seriously. We’re not fucking around. It’s fun, and I love playing music, especially making music and creating new music, but it’s the same with our live performance. Afterwards, do whatever you want. Before the show, it’s serious stuff.

Here we are now. It’s pretty organic. Usually, we’ve got new material that I’ll be writing. I’ll have some ideas for a song. Bryan will have the riff, or Scott will have something he wants to work on, or he’s got lyrics. Then, we just start. By and large, Scott and myself generally start it off. Bryan is at the board. He can see us and we can see him. We just play until we get something we like. Once you’ve worked out the arrangement to the song, we don’t play the song more than three times. If you’ve gotta play a song more than three times, just start rehearsing again. If you’ve got the arrangement down how you want it, as a musician, you should know what you’re doing. The fun part is doing that. Once you’ve got the arrangement down and know what you’re doing, then you can have fun with it.

It’s in house. We don’t have to worry about noise. Our manager is the record company. She does all the artwork for the album *shows cover to camera*. This one is signed. It’s for somebody, but you get stories and pictures. We talk about our crew. Actually, my wife sometimes says this is a bit sexist, but we only have women running the band. On the road, it’s all testosterone, but in the office, it gets run properly. The artwork gets done. If we don’t have enough people, we employ someone else to take care of it. It’s great. I’m having the time of my life with this band. They’re fun. Everybody gets on great. If you listen to the new album, or if you see any of our clips that we’ve put up on our Facebook, I think you can tell that we’re just having a good time.

Upon first few listens of Sonic Mojo, I hear a lot of the blues rock leaning not just of Foghat’s earliest output, but of Savoy Brown as well. Was this intentional on the band’s behalf and do you find yourself nostalgic of that sound and era today?

RE: Not so much nostalgic. It’s what I grew up playing. Kim Simmonds, who was the guitar player with Savoy Brown…I joined Kim when I was 19 or 20. Kim was the same. He was a year younger than me. We stayed friends. Myself and Dave left Savoy Brown in 1971 and formed Foghat, but then in 1976, I reconnected with Kim. He got busy with Savoy Brown. We got busy with Foghat. We always stayed friends. There was never any aggro between us. We enjoyed each other’s playing, and company too. Kim was a really interesting guy, really well read. I think he was one of those really great blues players that came out of Great Britain. We stayed friends forever.

Anyway, we did our last studio album prior to this one, Under the Influence. Charlie was singing on that. We had a number of guests on it. Scott Holt sang four songs. Kim Simmonds came and played on four songs as well. After we finished the record, we finished it down in Nashville with our producer, Tom Hambridge. Afterwards, Kim came up to me and said, “Roger, I’d really like to write some songs for Foghat.” I said, “That would be fine. You have to play on them.” Then, of course, the COVID nightmare hit.

Kim sent me four songs with his vocals and guitar. I think it was to a click track. They were great. In fact, three of them are on the new album. Unfortunately, Kim passed away before he could come down and play on the stuff with us. That was sad. The songs that he sent us, I think we did a number on it. To get to your point, that’s where the blues influence is. I grew up with it and I cut my teeth in Savoy Brown. Foghat always, with Lonesome Dave and Rod Price, were blues fans. It was the music I listened to. It was the music that originally inspired me.

Dave said something one time. Somebody asked him he liked the blues, why it stayed with him. He said, and this had the ring of truth, “Because it feels so honest.” When you listen to songs that get you, all of a sudden you go, “Oh, I like this.” Then you put it on again and again and again and wear it out. It’s because the song was honest; honest, as far as you were concerned. It was something that you could hear. Something that you could feel. Whether it’s the lyrics, whether it’s the riff, whether it’s because the drums sound so fucking great *laughs*, it’s because, to you, it reaches you. That’s what music is all about. You want to be reached by it. Life out there from time to time can be a little rough. The world is in total turmoil at the moment.

I’m real fortunate because I earn a living and get to play music. I don’t work. My work is travelling. Getting on a plane, getting in a car, getting on a train: I travel. I get paid for travelling. I don’t get paid for playing. I do that for free. Typical musicians. It’s like back in the early days when you’re learning your craft and learning to play. You go to a club or with the band that you’re with that night. They say, “You can come and play.” “How much are we getting?” “Well, we’re not gonna pay you.” “Huh…okay! We’ll come anyway!” *laughs* Musicians, we give it all for free. I’m real fortunate. I play in a great band. Life is good and I’m having the time of my life with this band.

I’m glad you mentioned there was no animosity between yourself and Kim. If that’s the case, what were the reasons for the Looking In lineup of Savoy Brown leaving the band to form Foghat?

RE: What happened was we were in San Francisco. Savoy Brown has a new record deal for $300,000, a lot of money. At the time, we were headlining a lot of shows and playing major festivals and a lot of big bills. We were getting between $7,000 and $15,000 a night. In 1971, that was a lot of money. We got $100 a week each. Never got paid for any records that we recorded. Never got paid for any songs that we wrote or co-wrote. Didn’t even get credit for that *laughs*.

(Bassist) Tony Stevens got fired. Kim said we could stay if we want to. Dave and I went back to my room and actually wrote a song. Dave had the lyrics. It’s called “Fool’s Hall of Fame”. The next morning, we got together and met Harry Simmonds, who was the manager. We had breakfast down there. We said, “Look, we’re gonna leave the band, but we’ll stay here until Kim puts a new band together or whatever you need to do.” With that, Harry Simmonds said, “You’re never working in England or the UK again. You’re never working in America again.” “Pardon?” *laughs*

He was a real scumbag. He was not very bright, because had he had half a brain, he would’ve said, “I’ve got three quarters of Savoy Brown. I’ll manage you!” That’s what I would’ve done. I’d say, “Alright, that’s fair enough.” Because we said we’ll stay around until Kim puts a new band together and whatever you need. True to his word, Harry stopped us from working in England. We couldn’t get any dates. I talked to our agency, the Chrysalis Agency, Terry Ellis and Chris Wright. I went to their house. They lived a couple of miles down the road from where Dave and I lived.

The only reason we got any dates is because once we got a record deal with Albert Grossman who had the Bearsville label. He was also the manager of Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin, so this guy was a heavy hitter. He came over and heard the band and said, “OK, let’s do it.” Then we took off. Around 1976, Kim and I reconnected again. Both bands were busy. Savoy Brown played Stony Brook University, which is just down the road from where I live in the Port Jefferson area. We went to see him and I invited him back to my house that night.

We got seriously loose *laughs*. At about 5 in the morning, he passed out somewhere. I think he was still there the next day. I think he stopped drinking after that, but it was a celebration of life and what we were doing. We had a really good time. We were talking about stuff and we sat in the music room and listened to music. After that, we stayed in touch, but like I said, I think he stopped drinking after that. Oh well. Another one gone *laughs*.

Well that manager couldn’t have been more wrong. Foghat was one of the biggest selling acts of the ’70s, which I always found interesting considering you were never really a band who played a commercial sound. Were you surprised Foghat blew up the way they did and was the band equipped to handle such success so fast?

RE: Yeah, I was having the time of my life! *laughs* Are you kidding? It was fucking great! Still is! Especially myself and Dave. Dave was very quiet, quite an introvert, except when he got onstage. That was the beauty of Dave. When he got onstage, you got 110%. He didn’t hold anything back. He gave it everything he had. He was a big music fan. His knowledge of all things music, jazz, blues, heavy metal, all sorts of stuff, was incredible. In fact, there’s a couple of great pictures of him reading a heavy metal magazine.

Dave loved music, every kind of music, but it was really the blues and rock n’ roll that he loved. That’s what was great about him, but I had the time of my life. Our lead guitar player, Rod (Price), eventually I think it got to him, the travelling. It was hard for him, but not me. At the end of a day of travelling, you get to play. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s ALL about *laughs*! I love what we do.

Speaking of Rod, he’s the topic of my next question. One aspect of your sound that’s always stood out to me, and I think separates Foghat from most hard rock bands both past and present, is the emphasis on slide guitar soloing, introduced of course by Rod. When did you first meet Rod? Did you initially envision Foghat boasting this slide-heavy sound?

RE: What happened after we left Savoy Brown, the three of us came back to the UK and we needed another instrument. Three of us could play and it was alright being a trio, but we knew we needed another. We auditioned a couple of keyboard players, and then I put an ad in the Melody Maker, which was an English music rag. Maybe it’s still around. I don’t know. We rented a room up in Islington, which is in northwest London, for two days.

We had some really good guitar players come down, but it was on the second day, and towards the end of the auditions, Rod turned up. Dave had met Rob. He played in a band called Black Cat Bones. Dave knew them. Anyway, Rod started playing his slide guitar. We played for about 20 minutes, half an hour with just Rod. Dave and I looked at each other and there was that knowing look between us. I said to Rod, because it was next door to a pub, which is always a good thing, “You wanna go have a drink?” I bought him a Guinness and he joined the band.

I think the band that he was playing in, they weren’t doing anything. I think Simon Kirke had been the drummer in Black Cat Bones, and then they formed Free. He had gone and I think Paul Kossoff had just joined Free. That’s why Rod was in Black Cat Bones. It wasn’t really a band anymore. It worked. Rod’s playing was brilliant. He had a fantastic vibrato, really fast. It wasn’t like a traditional blue player might play. He was an electric blues slide player and it fit.

When it came to writing music and recording, it was entirely up to Rod how he wanted to play it. Dave, as a guitar player, was more in the Chuck Berry vein of playing, very much so, but Rod had an intensity about his playing. He was a large part of the band and a large part of the band’s success. I think that was one of the things that got to him, the success of the band. You asked earlier if it got to anybody. I think it got to Rod. He wasn’t entirely happy being out on the road all the time, whereas myself and Dave and Craig, we liked doing that *laughs*.

You’re so right about his solos. When I think of the outro to “Slow Ride” or “Honey Hush” or any of those classic ’70s songs, there aren’t comparable guitar solos of that era. They stand on their own.

RE: Yeah, Rod was a great guitar player, a very intense and brilliant guitar player. He also, towards the end of him being in the band, it did get to him, being on the road like I said. Maybe the partying and drinking or whatever as well. You gotta be careful with that. I was fine with. I think it was just time for a change for him actually. He did. He went off on his own and put a band together. In fact, Linda (Earl), our manager, managed Rod for a while, about two years. That didn’t work out.

Then, Rod made a couple of blues records with our old producer, Thom Dawes. Both are really good. Then, when we put the original band back together for a while, Rod played with us, but he wasn’t happy. He didn’t enjoy being out on the road again, even though we made a record, Return of the Boogie Men (1994), which I thought was a great record. Rod didn’t enjoy being on the road and I love playing. It’s what I do. Careful what you wish for!

Now that you mention Return of the Boogie Men, what events led to that early ’90s reunion and did you believe, amidst the landscape of rock music at that time, there would be an outlet for Foghat to come back, make new music, and tour?

RE: Well there was an outlet for us. Dave left the band in 1984. He moved back to England until ’89, ’90. Then he came back. There was a a strange period where we had two Foghats. I talked to Dave and said, “Look, why don’t we put the band back together?” Eventually, our old manager managed to convince Dave that it would be a good idea. Also, there was another producer who wanted to produce the band. That didn’t quite work.

Once we got in the studio, Nick Jameson actually produced that record. We had a really good time, but then we went back out on the road again once the record was released. Rod, I think, struggled being on the road. He wasn’t happy. He liked being home. I think he enjoyed playing music, but he didn’t like being out on the road. That’s not a good idea if you’re in a rock n’ roll band trying to make it.

Another important trope of Foghat is the band’s knack for jamming live, which is something very few bands of your era still do today. As a musician, how important is it for you and Foghat for that matter to include the jams in your live show?

RE: It’s in our DNA. It’s what we do. When you make the record or make songs, it’s like a progression. Musicians, I think, are inherently, certainly musicians that have a degree of success, are inherently selfish. We wanna play. We don’t wanna sit down at home in an armchair or something. We wanna play. Bryan actually said it really well one time to me. He was doing an interview with somebody and he said, “Playing in a band when you’re playing live is like you’re having a conversation with the other players.”

That’s what jamming’s all about. You put your ears on and you’re listening to what everybody’s doing, and you’re looking, and you get a look or a nod or a hand or whatever. It’s a fun part of being creative and making music. I think that sort of thing brings bands really together. If you get to a point where you trust each other’s actions and how you perceive and play music, that’s the real thrill and joy of being in a band: Trusting each other and being able to go down that road together. One of the greatest bands ever, The Allman Brothers, that’s what they did. They just jammed and trusted each other. Foghat does that *laughs*.

It makes me so happy to hear that, especially as somebody who grew up listening to Foghat Live, then to see Foghat live today and know that spirit is still alive. I feel spoiled, especially considering I’ll see certain other bands from the era who were synonymous for lengthy jams, only to see said jam sections cut out.

RE: It’s funny you say that. The interesting thing about our new record, Sonic Mojo, is that all the songs are around 3 and a half to 4 minutes, which is kind of unusual for us. We always had a couple of songs that were 7 or 8. We did. We had about 7 or 8 songs that didn’t go on this record that were longer. When you’re making music, this was over a 2 or 3 year period that we actually recorded this record, we all picked the ones that we liked. Everybody was onboard with the songs that were on this record. Everybody said, “That’s the one.”

I remember I tore my left shoulder. This muscle had fallen down here. When we were making the final record, I had to put electric tape on here and pull my shoulder up into here. So I could only play about 2 or 3 hours, but pain? I play through the pain! You can still play. Eventually, I was able to find a surgeon who could repair it properly. They had to pull up 5 tendons and reattach them to the bone up here. That was a little rough, but it was my own fault because we played a show over in Connecticut.

It was in the winter. We got back to the house. I live in Long Island. There was 3 feet of snow in the yard and I started shoveling snow. I had both my brothers in law there. They’re big strong lads. My wife at the time said, “Don’t do that Roger! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Of course, I did *laughs*. I was showing off in front of the girlfriend *flexes* *laughs*. It wasn’t very clever, but I got through it. I got it reattached. That’s another thing with playing drums. I try to stay fit.

I exercise with light weights and stretch and bend and stuff like that. I’ll walk. I ran all my life, so I don’t run anymore. It’s too hard on my knees. Anytime something goes wrong, I find a doctor, or rather my manager finds a doctor that will fix things: stem cell therapy, PRP therapy. Sometimes if that doesn’t work, we just get in there and sew things up. I’m like the bionic bloke *laughs*! The interesting thing about this time is there’s so many different ways to get healthy. It’s not a bad time to get damaged.

Where I had my shoulder repaired, he works on boxers, baseball players, soccer players, football players. He just works on shoulders and elbows. He was the only one who did this particular thing where you had to…anyways, it’s a long story. There was a time, maybe 20 or 30 years ago, if these things happened, you’d be fucked. Your muscle is gonna be around your elbow and you just get on with it, but not anymore. The only sad part is your insurance doesn’t cover it, but you’re a young person. You don’t have to worry about this sort of thing *laughs*.

As Foghat looks forward to their 53rd year, what does 2024 have in store for the band?

RE: We’re gonna be rockin’ and rollin’ around the country. Actually, our manager is talking to a bunch of promoters in Europe, and maybe we’ll get there. I haven’t really played Europe. We did one tour back in 1973. We did a tour with Captain Beefheart. We did a couple of shows there thanks to Derek Taylor. He was The Beatles’ publicist. He got us the dates. Other than that, we’ve just played the States. We’ve played Sweden Rock Festival a couple of times. That’s a really cool place. Those people are really well organized.

We’re gonna try and get to Europe. We do about between 60 and 80 shows a year, so that’s what we’ll be doing this year: promoting the new album. Usually around January, February, March, we’ll put a new set together and we’ll start recording again at the end of the year. Oh dear. It just never stops, does it? *laughs*

The new Foghat album, Sonic Mojo, is available now. For more information on Foghat, visit www.foghat.com.