Do you guys remember Karyn White? She first garnered major radio play in the summer of 1988 with "The Way You Love Me" and that song kicked off a string of hits for the rising star. In an era when JodyWatley, Taylor Dayne and Paula Abdul were taking over the charts, White found herself easily in the mix. Her self titled album produced a string of hits including my favorite, "Secret Rendezvous". It peaked at number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 and burned up dance floors and car radios alike. Check out the video below!
"It's my own design It's my own remorse Help me to decide Help me make the most Of freedom and of pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world" It takes a pretty amazing song to not only represent one generation but then resonate with several more to come. When you actually do lock down one of those classics they are rarely feel-good anthems as well. Tears For Fears kind of did the almost impossible in 1985 with "Everybody Wants to Rule The World". Whenever it is played it turns into an instant sing-a-long doesn't it? I mean, you know it and if your kids are teenagers they probably know it too (though they may not admit it). It puts you in an instant good mood but at the time that it was written, the undertones were pretty serious. The message remains just as much a rally cry, just towards different countries. When Tears For Fears released their Greatest Hits compilation late last year, Curt Smith explained the phenomenon that the song remains. “I think a lot of these songs, now that I’ve listened back to them, are kind of just as poignant as they were then, but just towards different people, different areas of the world. Back when we were doing Songs From the Big Chair and ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’ we were really discussing the Cold War,” he says. “But it was the U.S. and Russia then, and now the concern is more the U.S. and Korea. I find that fascinating.” It is fascinating in that I'm sure it never occurred to them that the song would remain relevant with future generations. Check out the video below. Do you love it as much as I do?
"Lover lover why do you push Why do you push, why do you push Baby baby, did you forget about me
I've been standing at the back of your life Back row centre just above the ice"
I was under the (wrong) impression that I didn't like anything at all by Divinyls. Then I went back and listened to some of their earlier stuff and realized that I actually love some of it. I'm just not a 90's-era I Touch Myself fan. After a bit of a musical journey, I came to understand exactly how much Chrissy Amphlett contributed to the female rock movement.
Once the 90's rolled around Divinyls had totally embraced a pop music sound and image but the 80's were a different story. The band rocked and Amphlett was known for her sexy image. Most of the time she was wearing fishnets and a schoolgirl outfit and her style added to the uniqueness of the band. They eventually split in 1996 after a 16 year career together.
Amphlett was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and couldn't undergo chemotherapy/radiation because she had Multiple Sclerosis. The singer eventually died in 2013 at the age of 53 but Divinyls music definitely lives on. "Pleasure And Pain" is my favorite song by them. Check out the video below!
Even if the name Starpoint doesn't exactly ring a bell I'm going to bet that if you're an 80's music fan then at least one song by the funk band will be familiar. "Object Of My Desire" first cracked the charts back in 1985 and it enjoyed tons of radio play as well. Starpoint was originally from Maryland and gradually shifted a funk sound in the early 80's to more of an R&B vibe by the time they released their 1985 album Restless.
Starpoint's Renee Diggs might just be one of the most underrated female voices of the decade that focused on the likes of Whitney Houston and Madonna. Sadly, Diggs died in 2005 at the age of 50 due to a heart problem and complications from her long-running battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Check out the video below to catch Starpoint at their very best!
I've been listening to the music of White Lion for more than thirty years, but before this week I've never had an opportunity to connect with founder, Mike Tramp. He has left those days of big hair and spandex in the dust long ago in favor of a much more stripped-down approach. These days Tramp prefers to perform his songs closer to the way they were originally written, with an authenticity that is often missing from other artists. His new album, 'Second Time Around' is set to be released on May 1st and a new single, "The Road" recently dropped ahead of it. Obviously, as the Coronavirus seems to have a stranglehold on the world right now, it leaves things just about everything up in the air. While Tramp has had show dates canceled he remains positive and hopeful due to the strength that he carries within. Check out his thoughts below! Mike on the state of the world these last few weeks:
"Everywhere is crazy. I happen to be living on a farm outside the big cities so for the last 10 days, I’ve sort of been in solitude by myself and just working outside. I’ve been starting the day checking out newspapers from around the world online and stuff like that. It’s so unhealthy for us because there’s not a united message. There’s a lot of finger-pointing and it seems like at this moment what would help the world the most is everybody working together for the same reason. Then they can all go and be politicians after that but for right now, the world needs one cause and one direction.
It’s sort of weird to me doing an interview about my album when everything has suddenly changed so drastically around the world within the last two weeks. My tour was canceled and the future is unknown. The future for so many of us has become completely unknown."
Mike on the upcoming release of Second Time Around, on May 1st.:
"It's not like the old days when you had a thousand record stores around that receive the album all on the same day. Now, like 50% is ordered online, maybe 30% is sold at the shows, then maybe 20% are bought in the stores. It’s just the reality today. I will sell 10,000 albums online. Twenty years ago it was millions. For me it's really all about the music and where I am with it because I first write the songs for myself. I know that there are people that want to hear them so I create an album. The physical thing, an album being bought is, of course, a bonus no doubt, but these days the record budgets are so small. So much of the recording is done at home. This business is just a completely different world now.
Some artists on this journey of rock and roll think that there’s no expiration date. I have followed what I can do, what I can sing, how I can perform. That's how I write songs, that's how I sing and that's how I tour. I have no interest in trying to reproduce the person that I was when I was 27 years old. It would be a fight every day because of not being able to reach that level.
At the same time, I’m much more confident and much happier with who I am as an artist today. In many ways, it's beneficial to me the way the market is today. I have to remind myself that I came from nothing and so I’m happy with where I am at. I can always use more but the thing is I can definitely adapt and improvise to the situation that I’m in. I will never put myself into a position where I need something and if that something isn’t there, I can’t go on. I will always make sure that one way or another I’ll survive.
I come from a small family and grew up in a one and a half bedroom apartment with my mom and two brothers. We never owned a car. We had very little, but I had an incredibly happy childhood. Whenever I get connected back to those streets that I came from, I feel rewarded and I feel gifted. You can take everything away from me and I'm strong in that kind of situation."
Mike on the music industry, as it stands now:
"You can’t open a newspaper without hearing about the climates or world climate, so let’s look at it from a different way. Maybe there is also a climate within the music industry and the entertainment industry. Maybe it needs a change. Sometimes nature cleans itself out with a forest fire and it all has to do with balance. Maybe that type of balance has to happen in the music business because it becomes overindulgent. The big bands become too big, the concert tickets are becoming too expensive, people paying a thousand dollars for tickets. The whole point of rock and roll is rebellion, being against the system, and being against capitalism and stuff like that, isn't it?"
Mike on creating music:
"There are so many different reasons why one writes the music, why one records the music and stuff like that. I do it for me. But I really love to hear somebody say, 'You know man, I really love the song and I really like the message that’s coming across in the song.' When you make creative decisions based upon financial goals, it’s just not the right thing. The quality, integrity, and honesty of the artist and its' product have to be first. Then after that, you can kind of make those decisions.
You have to be blind not to see that it’s a different world we are living in. For the last 10 years, I’ve traveled the world and for the most part I’ve been behind the steering wheel touring with CDs, vinyl, and a couple t-shirts on the backseat. A Mike Tramp show is interactive with the audience. After the show I meet and greet people, handshakes, bear hugs, kiss on the cheeks, I open the CDs and sign them, I slap a high five on the way out. It’s the way it is and I feel it's how it should be, for me at least."
Mike on his writing process:
"It has never changed. I've always approached it the same way. I come from the background of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, that’s how my mom raised me. I was raised on folk music. We always wrote the songs sort of in that acoustic and Dylanish way because the song itself has to work. I need to be able to say, 'man, that’s great' before we've even added drums, reverb, or harmonies to it. I have written every single song that way and I don’t change that process because it works for me. I don’t need hairspray to go out on stage and I don’t need all of those other types of things. It’s all fine by itself.
I’m sitting there strumming an acoustic guitar wanting the melody and the lyrics to come across at that level. That version, you could give that to Black Sabbath, or to Iron Maiden, or to Coldplay and they would use the melody, but the foundation would be the sound of the particular band. Even though you write a simple song, you could easily go out there and do it with a double bass line and extra power. The songs I write while sitting on the couch, sitting on the floor with the acoustic guitar and the songs can be performed at that level."
Mike on officially touring with the music of White Lion:
"Right now, I’m sitting in my studio which is at my brother’s farm and I have about 283 posters from the last two to three years from touring. Every poster states, that’s Mike Tramp the voice of White Lion with a big White Lion logo. No matter what album I’m doing, no matter what I’m promoting, that’s what every single poster says. It’s what every venue does. Always, for the last 10 years, 50% of my acoustic set has always been White Lion songs. This time with promoting the new album, I decided that I’m going to do a two hour classic White Lion set. The songs are played with me and an electric guitar- some interesting versions and I'll be telling the stories of the music. I just want to let audiences know that White Lion was my band, these are my songs, and this is how I say thank you. The fans always ask about it and now they're getting it. But the one thing it’s not, it’s not a White Lion reunion. It’s why the posters say, 'The songs of White Lion.'
I did this show last September in Europe when we tried it out and people just love it. I enjoy playing the White Lion songs, especially the versions before they got into the studio, with the big hair and the pants. When you take the reverb and the drums away and all that stuff away, you have a very simple song that is very melodic and you can enjoy it at that level. It’s a pleasure for me to play those songs. The fans are also 30 years older so it’s nice to talk about where the songs came from. Before we were signed and had a record deal it was just a song that two people had written together. Sometimes I compare it to two people that have a child and they love it and take care of it and the second they give it to daycare, it changes. It's really the same thing. Once that song comes out to the world, then it’s not your song anymore."
Mike on being grateful:
"I’m truly grateful to have people coming to my shows now that were coming to my shows 30 years ago. Now we’ve sort of become friends on some level. When your music meant so much to someone that they are still there 30 years later, you can't really buy that feeling for any money in the world. I’m grateful that I’m still here and able to write and make music that people appreciate."
"Boy, there's no one home tonight The timing could be right To forget the rules We're out of school until tomorrow Now, if only you would stay There's so many games we'd play Why should we pretend to be just friends When we could be so much more"
I love when I'm reminded of a song that I've completely forgotten about. Regina's "Baby Love" was one of those. I was watching Totally 80's on Classic MTV the other day when this track came on and I instantly remembered it. "Baby Love" made me think of summer and when I looked it up my memory was right. It was a super popular track in the summer of 1986. One of those songs that were on the radio every couple of hours and you knew all of the lyrics to it even if you didn't like it.
This song peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and paved the way for Regina to have a string of hits on the dance charts in the mid-'80s.
Madonna dominated both the airwaves and the style of 1986. She had basically reinvented herself for the second time in just a few short years and came out with a super toned body and a cropped do'. The result was a strong and powerful looking woman and that served the message of "Papa Don't Preach" quite well. The whole concept of the video is that of a young woman telling her father that she's pregnant and it was super controversial thirty years ago.
Some groups feared that she was promoting pregnancy while others insisted that the message was that she was against abortion. In the end, Madonna's actual position was almost irrelevant because she opened up dialogue on a conversation that had been taboo. Oh and the song, well it shot to number one on Billboard's charts. Check out the video below!
Do you have a favorite Bon Jovi song? I mean, is it possible to even pick just one? During their early rise to fame the band put out a handful of albums that ultimately dominated the airwaves throughout the 80's. While it's hard to pick, and songs like "Living on a Prayer" and "Runaway" definitely make my final cut of possibilities, I think that "Born to be My Baby" tops my list. The low-budget video has also been a favorite of mine. Forget about the arena-rock crowd, glam makeup and pyro that most rock videos showcased by the end of the decade, Bon Jovi took a simple approach. Just the band working in the studio, putting together their song. Instead of flipping a switch and performing for the cameras, the cameras capture them naturally interacting and guess what? It really works. Check out "Born to be My Baby" below.
I can still remember being a little kid sitting in my dad's big green armchair, his headphones on my head, listening to Paradise Theater, Styx's most popular album still, so many decades later. I was ten and knew precious little about anything that this world had to offer, but I knew who Dennis DeYoung was. Now, nearly forty years later, he is on the edge of releasing the first part of his farewell to recording, 26 East: Vol. 1. and his voice is as pure and textured as ever.
I had a chance to chat with Dennis this week and he clued me in to his mindset while constructing this new project, which includes a little help from Jim Peterik (Ides of March, formerly of Survivor) and Julian Lennon. Check it out below.
Dennis DeYoung Promo Shot
Dennis on working with old friend Jim Peterik on 26 East, Vol. 1:
"He likes to think he encouraged me but I think he just nagged me like a mother. “Den, Den, you’ve gotta make music.” I said, “Jim, no I don’t. There’s no rule.” (laughing) We are the perfect yin and yang. He’s the positivity and I’m all cynicism so it worked out nicely. Our two personalities worked perfectly together. I heard a song and he was trying to convince me to do it. He wrote this song called, Run For The Roses, that he had finished when he returned from Milan. He said, “Okay, let’s see if we can finish it.” So we did that and we finished eight others without hardly even trying so that was a great start. It was a great partnership. During the process, about 18 songs were written. A little more than half were written together and the others I had written myself. It was a catalyst to get me to do it."
DeYoung & Peterik- Photo Cred: Kristie Schram
Dennis on writing East of Midnight:
"When we sat down it was a ‘you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.’ We started that way rather than starting with one which can be tough. He (Peterik) had written that three years earlier and called it Late Night Radio and I thought musically I could turn that into a Styx song, I know what the ingredients are. So we sat down and rejiggered it. I made it more personal about my experience in the southside. From my perspective, he set the idea down and I just added what I needed to signify it. Every time I hear it, it just makes me smile. To all those fans out there who liked that thing out there in 1977 and ‘78 well there it is! It sounds fresh to me."
Dennis on his writing process in general:
"Well, most of the things I’ve had success with were done by myself. When writing with someone, the process that turns out to be the most successful, I think, is when we both have an idea that someone is stuck on or needs more investigation it’s like, okay where will that go? What would you do to that and vice versa? That’s the process that I have found has been the most successful. For instance, Tommy (Shaw) had chords and the verses to a song called Lights we did in ‘79 and same thing with Mademoiselle when he first joined the band, he had the verses and I wrote the choruses. I’m very competent in writing hooky things that people tend to recall so the hook on Lights and the hook on Mademoiselle was mine. So that’s it. If you’re stuck for a hook or stuck for words, you just piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Then you hope when it’s done it doesn’t sound just pieced together. It’s got to sound like it was written all at the same time by one person. That’s the point.
That’s why groups are so important. All that Styx music would not have been the same if those people weren’t in that room playing off of each other and really competing! That’s the best for the competition as a whole, that’s the best scenario for any group. Competition for the good of the whole instead of just one is good for the group."
Dennis on working with Julian Lennon:
"This was my last album and the thing is from the beginning, I knew there was no rating that mattered anymore. East of Midnight begins the record and To The Good Old Days ends it, with all that’s in between that is kind of the tissue that connects it. I loved The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 and I did it in a completely Beatles style. Some people might consider a rip-off, but I went right at it. In the beginning, when Paul and John sang together you really couldn’t tell much difference and then they harmonized. To me, the harmony was the whole thing. When you saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan what struck me most of anything was the joy and the action of the group, not the vocal harmony but the harmony of the guys on stage. They seemed so filled with joy. What they were doing was also brand new. I was looking for somebody to sing that part on that song and I thought, well maybe Julian. Then I composed an email and at the last minute, I thought that I shouldn’t send this to him because it’s not his story. It’s my story about what The Beatles meant to me and the world and it’s too diddly. I realized that if I wanted to do a song with Jules, I wanted it to be ours. So I went to the piano and imagined what we would sound like and I wrote the song specifically for our voices. Then I sent it to him. Oh, and I didn’t know him, I had never met him. He responded, which shocked me ‘cause I didn’t expect it. He said he’d be honored to do it, so we met in Brooklyn and I really wanted him to just sing it like he would sing it because the lyrics really touched him. The opening line is, “It’s so hard to say goodbye. Promise not to cry.” When he sang those lines by himself, wow. So I brought it home and I matched him. I sat in my room and thought that this has to be the kind of harmony that the lads from Liverpool did or dare I say The Everly Brothers because that’s the pattern we want. People love The Everly Brothers. So, I just sang and I finished it. I pulled all the stops on this thing. Then I figured that this has got to be us. Not them. This is about Jules talent and my talent because I was a fan of Jules since ‘84 and his album Valotte. So I got my own Beatle, (laughing). Quite frankly, when we were standing in the control room, not even the studio, we just started singing together and I thought, man this is going to be good. If ever there was a time that we needed to have a song like that, it might be right now."
Dennis on 26 East, Vol. 1 & 2 being his final farewell:
"I try to explain it this way. I frame some notes and put them on chords and then I stick words on the notes. Then I attempt to tell you my point of view regarding my life and what I see around me hoping that you will find yourself in my story. That’s it. When you do that right, you’d be surprised how many people relate because when people listen to music, they think it is their story. I think I’ve done what I needed to do. I’ve completed the circle with this record. I've come full circle.
Dennis DeYoung- Promo Shot
I believe that I don't have the ambition to do it again because I sing it, I write it, I mix it, and I produce it. You know, I’m not a kid. When you’re young, you have this ambition that you must pay attention to. Then, after you’ve had some success, and you were looking for success, you think that success will change you fundamentally. It will not. It will not change you and when you realize that, life becomes more in focus and in perspective. For me, after this, I’ve said what I need to say. I thought I’d said what I needed to say before this record (laughing). I’m 73. It’s time for me to say thank you very much to everyone who has given me this incredible life and then that’s it. The thing on the album says it best, A.D. 2020. If you know anything about Styx music, if you’re really a Styx fan, you might tear up."
Dennis on what comes next for him:
"I think Law & Order reruns with pizza (laughing). I have a musical that is supposed to open at the Skylight Theater in Milwaukee in September. I can be content working on that for the rest of my life, just working on and being a part of productions across the country. I tour a lot, I still do. I don’t know what that holds for the future anymore."
26 East: Vol. 1 is out on April 10th and you can preorder it now from Frontiers Music Srl
I want to have some fun Move my body all night long Working hard every day So I ain't staying home no way
So technically, it's Freestyle Friday here at Boom and I know that Samantha Fox isn't exactly in that category but she is one hell of a dance artist. She has also taken part in some of those freestyle shows that criss-cross the globe so in my mind, that makes Fox fair game. Close enough, right? Plus, I've always loved her. Fox was the very first woman that I can remember bluntly singing about sex in songs that actually charted well.
"Touch Me" was her breakthrough hit in the U.S. and I think the shock value alone easily made copies fly off of the record store shelves. By the time Fox returned with a follow-up album in 1988 we all knew what she was about. "I Wanna Have Some Fun" became a hit in my senior year of high school and it was one of those club hits that my friends and I listened to in between Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. It was simply a fun track that just so happened to have a double entendre which worked perfectly for Fox's sexed up image. Check out the video below. Were you a Samantha Fox fan?
"The stars say you're my best lover Matched up like sugar for a cake They say our love could conquer anything I'd always hide my feelings Keep them so cool and so contained This time it's something I just can't retain Cos you give me a good vibe don't you know baby You give me funky love, funky love Could this be what love's all about baby Or is it just another dream Is this for real or is it just another dream"
Do you remember Cathy Dennis? She was a young singer that burst out of the UK around 1990 and hit the charts with a handful of hits before seeming to disappear. I say seeming to because she has never actually left the music industry. She has simply opted for a career as an award-winning songwriter and producer instead. Who better to guide others than someone who has conquered Billboard's charts themselves, right?
Just how noteworthy is Cathy? Well in 2006 she was named the UK music business's Woman Of The Year. Not too shabby.
But for today, let's kick it back to when her hair was on fire, she looked great in a catsuit and her dance moves were pretty impressive too. "Just Another Dream" found its' way to number 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 and spent a few weeks in the second spot on the dance charts. Check it out below!
"Don't try to compare us to another bad little fad I'm the Mac and I'm bad givin' ya something that you never had I'll make ya rump rump wiggle and shake your rump 'Cause I'll be kicking the flavor that makes you wanna Jump How high? Real high Cause I'm just so fly A young loveable, huggable type of guy And everything is to the back with a little slack" The early '90s seemed to have a handful of hi[p hop groups or duo's that amounted to being a flash in the pan. The music market was so flooded with them that they almost canceled each other out which was kind of sad because there was some real talent there. Kris Kross was one of the few exceptions to that situation. Chris Kelly and Chris Smith got together before they were barely teenagers and by the time 1992 rolled around they were sitting on top of Billboard's Hot 100 for 8 weeks. "Jump" was and still is an anthem. It gets people up and moving with every spin. Not only did Kelly and Smith have mad skills but they were produced by Jermaine Dupri, which basically ensured their success. They were also unique, known for wearing their clothes backwards and when 90's kids followed their lead they became fashion trailblazers of a sort. Kris Kross ultimately released 3 albums together and kept making moves in the music industry, often behind the scenes. Chris Kelly's struggle with drugs was pretty well known and in May of 2013 he lost that battle. Chris Smith continues to make music and produce. Check out the video for "Jump" below. I don't remember wearing my clothes backwards but my hat was definitely tipped to the back.
"Boy, there you go You're telling me that you love me But boy you know That you belong to another girl who loves you You are so fine, (so fine, so fine) You blow my mind (Things you do) with the things you do to me (She sees) She's not blind, she's not blind Things you do for me, but I know
[Chorus] I'm so into you I don't know what I'm gonna do Boy, you got me so confused I don't know what I'm gonna do "
It has been awhile since I featured some classic 90's R&B so I figured maybe SWV would be a great group to feature. Sisters With Voices first got together as a gospel group in the late 80's but by 1992 they had shortened their name to SWV and since R&B and slow jams were hot, transitioning to that style was a natural progression for the ladies. Songs like "Weak" and "I'm So Into You" got tons of radio play and they were constantly popping up on MTV every few hours like clockwork.
I was definitely feeling the soul and slow jam vibe when it was hot but I'll admit that now, 2 decades later I think I appreciate it even more. Back then I'd flip on MTV and think, "Ugh, there's SWV again". Now I wish I was seeing them pop up constantly because that era of my life was a whole lot easier than being a busy adult is now!
I'm not sure what SWV song I like best but I'm going to leave you with "I'm So Into You". Check it out below!
How can you not love Bananarama? If you go back and watch their earliest videos you'll quickly realize that this trio never really took themselves very seriously. Sure, they were invested in their version of pop but they were silly. They had real fun, the kind that you just don't see in videos these days. Fifth Harmony is too busy sexing it up to even consider sharing a silly moment on camera. That's kind of sad because women that are friends and that have a real connection, are goofballs at times. That's real life.
So, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward not only were friends thirty years ago, but they remain connected to this day. aLst year the ladies announced a return to touring and performing together as Bananarama. They have a string of U.S. dates on their Original Line Up Tour that starts next week.
"I Heard a Rumour" was released in June of 1987 and hit number 4 on Billboard's Hot 100. It was part of the Disorderlies soundtrack and one of my very favorite songs by Bananarama. Check out the video below!
This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital To rock (a rhyme), that's right (on time) It's Tricky is the title, here we go...
I was cruising through Boom's archives yesterday and realized that there hasn't been very much old school rap featured and that is something that I need to correct immediately, starting with RUN-DMC. While everyone else was semi-obsessed with the boys appearing with Aerosmith in their video for "Walk This Way", I was all about "It's Tricky" the third track off of their Raising Hell album.
"It's Tricky" was released in late 1986 and got tons of airplay in my area. Plus the video was constantly playing on MTV, in part because of it featuring a cameo with Penn & Teller. Do you guys remember this one? Check out the clip below, 30 years later it's still one of my very favorite RUN-DMC tracks!
I remember being 15-years old and in tenth grade when Eddie Money released Can't Hold Back, an album that had several breakout hits like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "I Wanna Go Back". The video to the latter was all about a middle age man revisiting his high school, walking through empty halls and remembering his youth. At the time of its release, I was still that high school kid and so while my head got the concept, there was no way that I'd really get it.
Fast forward nearly 30 years and "I Wanna Go Back" can almost feel like an anthem on particularly lousy adult days. It's funny how, as a teen, you really don't understand how your life will change. Some of those turns will be natural and gradual while others feel like detours that lead to nothing but a dead end. But one thing is constant and that is that nothing really stays the same.
Not that change is a bad thing by any means, but it's amazing how those years just fly by and those teenage worries that were like life and death now seem pretty laughable. Check out the video below, what does it remind you guys of?
Foreigner's bass guitarist, Jeff Pilson, is undoubtedly one of the busiest guys in the business. Aside from traveling 200+ days a year with that classic rock powerhouse machine, he also juggles a few side projects at a time. If you think that supergroups are a thing of the past then you need to pay closer attention because Jeff has a knack for not only combining established rockers but also bringing them to a higher musical level.
He is currently working on a few "side projects", The End Machine with ex-Dokken bandmates George Lynch and Mick Brown (Warrant'sRobert Mason on vocals), and another endeavor with Robin McAuley (Schenkerfest; The Rock Vault) and Reb Beach (Winger; Whitesnake).
His plate is always overflowing and this year has been exhausting, yet Jeff was bursting with excitement when he spoke about the great things to come in an interview that occurred about an hour before Foreigner's Double Vision Then & Now reunion show in Atlantic City. Check it out!
Jeff Pilson on Foreigner's journey this year:
"It has been so good! I've been going with the flow and we've done about 110ish dates this year so it has been really busy. We have had to cut back on some dates though because we're not just driving 50 miles to get to a show, we're all over the place (laughing).
When Mick Jones was choosing people to play in the current lineup I know that work ethic was important to him, but also important was how well you fit into the vision. There's a certain chemistry about how we all fit together and Mick is really good at finding and figuring out what works. We all have some sayso in things but Mick is the final arbiter and he understands the importance of chemistry, both in playing and personality. We spend a lot of time in this big tube together and so you have to be able to hang (laughing) and I think he has always been cognizant of that. You have to be at a certain level to be able to play in the band, but after that, it's about how well you fit in and adapt to the overall sound. It really is very much a group effort and we've got it now so that everyone really listens and pays attention. At the end of the night, it's pretty amazing to have everyone on stage and realize that we really are all listening to each other. We've all grown to be great friends and I love these guys- plus we're having so much fun."
Jeff on reuniting with the original members of Foreigner:
"This kind of night is fun, it's just so great. We're all sad that Lou (Gramm) is not here, of course, and we really do miss him. I spoke with his wife this morning and I'm really glad he's taking care of his health. He is going to be fine, it's nothing long term thank god. We miss him though and it's not quite the same without him. Having said that, these shows are going to be great. The energy is there and the cool thing about Foreigner is that it's really about the music. We miss Lou and I'm sure the audience will too, but the music is so strong that it really has a way of overcoming adversity.
There's something about these reunion shows that connects everyone to the roots of this whole band and that's such a healthy thing for us to be able to do. The fact that we can even pull this off is incredible. No other band has ever been able to meld their past with their current and so I'm genuinely, incredibly proud that we can do it. In the process, we've gained friendships and insight, plus we've come up with a product that allows us to bring these guys in and tour a bit with them too. What an amazing thing that is."
Jeff on what's next for The End Machine, his project with George Lynch, Robert Mason, and Mick Brown:
"There is more coming! I was hoping we would be able to write during the upcoming break from touring but scheduling is difficult. There's definitely more coming but I'm just not sure when. Hopefully, we'll be able to start writing again soon, it has just been hard because there's so much going on. The reaction to The End Machine has been so positive and one of the things that has been really special to us is the depth of the band and our first record. We know not to rush it. Writing with George doesn't feel like work. It's a flowing and fun thing that we love to do.
George (Lynch) and I did a record together in 2003 called Lynch Pilson and we finally got the rights back to that record. In turn, we then sold it to Cleopatra who is going to re-release it. We just wrote a song a few weeks ago called "Top of the World" and that's going to come out soon. I'm so excited about the record being released again and having a new song to go with it."
Jeff on that other side project with Robin McAuley and Reb Beach:
"We just had conference calls about everything this morning! That's coming out in March and I think the first single will be out in December. We're filming two videos for it on Nov. 1-2 and so either sometime in December or January the first video will come out, followed by the second video. Then on Valentine's Day, we'll be releasing the third song, it's a ballad that came out incredible. I'm really excited about it and just wait until you hear Robin's voice on this project. He's such a dear friend and boy does he really shine here."
Jeff on being busier than ever:
"Well, with all of the creative stuff happening and the offers there I feel like you kind of have to strike while the iron is hot. I'm not in a rush about certain things, but who knows what's going to be there in ten years. I'm not that old, I mean I'm kind of old (laughing), but I'm not dead yet. Musically I still haven't written the greatest song of all time yet (laughing). I'll leave the term "greatest" open to interpretation, but that's still on my bucket list of things to do (laughing)."
Jeff on juggling a family while being on the road:
"Honestly, I need to take a little bit of a break. I feel like when I finally go home I need to just be able to stay home for a while. Being a father is really tough with this job and luckily we have a daughter that's just angelic (laughing). She's really smart, really into her school and she does a great job with her schoolwork. If we had a troubled kid I don't know how we would deal with it. She went to her first Foreigner show at 6 weeks old (laughing) and I've had to reconcile myself with not being home very much. It puts a real undue burden on my wife because she has to be like a single parent a lot and that's not fair. I do what I can and my wife understands but she's a human being. She gets tired and stressed out, so it's tricky. When I'm home, I'm dad and I'm all in. We're going to go away for six days on vacation in November and I'm really looking forward to that."
Jeff on what's next for Foreigner:
"More touring forever (laughing), more dates are on the books for after our Las Vegas residency. I'm sure they'll be making an announcement about it soon. We've been trying to stay out of the major American markets and doing secondary markets because we'll be doing a big 2020 shed tour in the summer. I can't say who's on that but an announcement is coming. We're also going to South America and we're headed back to Europe again to do some festivals. Musically it's very satisfying to play somewhere like Germany because those audiences really listen. We are working on some new music and it's strictly on the creative level. There is no time frame involved but it's starting to happen and there could be a new song or two coming."
I want people to know that Foreigner is a very viable, relevant band right now. Yes, we deal with the nostalgia of this great catalog, but we're out there hitting the pavement pretty damn hard and there's no sign of that letting up for the next couple of years. We're very committed to taking Foreigner, with both its' catalog and its' fans, and making the very best of it. We want the chapter of Mick Jones' life about Foreigner to be perfect and complete. That really is our goal to do that and to make it that way for him".
