The legendary classic rock band Foghat will be performing in Great Falls at the Montana State Fair on July 28th. The Great Falls Gazette collaborated with Pipewrench Peterson, to conduct an interview with band member Bryan Bassett.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Good morning. Great Falls Gazette, this is Pipewrench.
Hey Pipewrench, this is Bryan Bassett of Foghat calling you.
Alright, Bryan. Where are you calling from this morning? And how’s the weather down there?
Well, it’s really hot down here in Central Florida and I’m getting ready to head to rehearsals in a few hours. But, you know, we’re like everywhere else in the country in the 90s.
What was this music scene like for you growing up in Pittsburgh in the 60s and 70s?
You know, it was a fantastic music town. Of course, Pittsburgh goes way back to the 40s and 50s as a jazz center and a Blues center and has great history there. But during my time in the 70s, there were dozens and dozens of clubs to play.
You know, I tell people I was spoiled growing up in Motown, and speaking of Motown, you played in the folk-rock band Wild Cherry. Tell us A little bit about that.
Well, that was our big break. We had several club bands before I joined Wild Cherry and the music scene was changing. Everything started going to R&B and funk. We just changed our whole sound really into a funk rock band. The lyrics are very autobiographical. We were a rock band and the music started changing and we had to get up to speed with the current format for our club sets in particular.
Now one of my favorite bands is Foghat, and of course, Lonesome Dave was in Savoy Brown, and that’s how I followed Lonesome Dave when I was like in junior high. So how did you two meet?
I had another band after Wild Cherry in the Pittsburgh area. I wanted to go back to a more rock sound. We had a band with three guitar players, and we were sort of like a Night Ranger kind of deal. We had two great singers, but we couldn’t get a record deal with that band.
I had a quartet at that time called Blue House and we played in the Orlando area. Lonesome Dave had just moved back from England. He had been on a several-year hiatus in England and moved to Orlando, Florida. My friend Pat Travers, the great guitarist, was a friend of mine and particularly a friend of our bass player Steven Dees. They brought him to the club. That’s where we met and we hit it off great. You know, he was a big Blues fan. We played very eclectic, said we played what you might call Swamp Blues, and he knew every song. So he sat in with us and we became friends. Eventually, when he wanted to go on national tour again, he asked me to join him, and I did, and that was my introduction to the Foghat family. That was like 1989 and I played with him until 92. All the original members of Foghat got back together in 1992, and I joined Molly Hatchet then for seven years in 1999, when Rod Price, the original guitarist, decided to retire. Dave asked me to rejoin the band, and I’ve been here ever since.
You guys are my go-to band when I’m not in a podcast and it’s like, well, we’re done for the day. Let’s go listen to foghat. And now I’m talking to you guys, you guys are legends. What is it really like?
Well, you know to play with Lonesome Dave. He was very quiet but on stage he was like a firecracker. He would just blow up on stage, always gave 120% on stage and just to play next to him was fantastic. I think of him all the time when we’re planning even to this day, 20-some years later. He was a great guy, I got to play with Craig and of course, I’m still with Roger, the original drummer. In the band and we’re just a family now, you know, we love working together. We have a new singer, Scott Holt, who’s played with Buddy Guy for over 10 years. And so he’s very steeped in the Blues. We just still love traveling around the country playing and having a good time on stage. That’s what’s great about the Foghat music, it’s just good old rock’n’roll,
Well, we’re looking forward to seeing you. What can people expect when you play at the Montana State Fair on July 28?
Well, you know, it’s funny. I always make a joke that it’s sort of like the wedding list. You know, something old, our old hits. We will always play the songs that people want to hear. Something new and stuff from the new album, something borrowed, some couple cover songs, and some Blues.
Sounds great. Is there anything else you want to tell me?
No man, just go to foghat.com for all your foghat needs and we have a lot of great merch out there. We have some CD’s and shirts and vinyl, all signed. We spent a couple of days signing stuff for people. We are pretty much on all the streaming things and come on out for a great rock’n’roll show. We just like to hit it hard and have a lot of fun and get the audience involved and just have a good old 70s rock’n’roll party,
Well, I’m looking really forward to seeing you guys. And I’m going to let everybody know you’re coming. I hope to get a chance to meet you guys next Sunday when you’re here.
If you would like to hear the entire interview, please see the podcast by Pipewrench in its entirety on Monday, July 22nd at https://youtube.com/@pipewrenchpeterson.
Pipewrench Peterson is a Great Falls celebrity podcaster who has a weekly show highlighting music, and current events. The Pipewrench Podcast is put out every Monday morning on YouTube and Spotify at 8am. He loves great music, dogs, and being the center of the attention. Alas, Pipewrench still has not gotten on the front cover of the Great Falls Gazette…
Author: Staff
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