In a new interview with music journalist Joel Gausten, legendary Foghat/Savoy Brown drummer Roger Earl discusses a number of topics including his late '60s jam with Jimi Hendrix, Foghat's new album Under the Influence and the longevity of the band's classic song “Slow Ride.” An excerpt from the chat appears below:

Gausten: You’re the only person I’ll ever talk to in my career who has an answer to this question: What was your experience playing with Jimi Hendrix?

Earl: "I was a commercial artist in London at the time…Chas Chandler, the bass player from The Animals and Jimi’s manager, called me up at work and asked if I’d be interested in auditioning for Jimi Hendrix. In England, many people had heard about him. People who had been to the states – like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend – were all raving about this guy, Jimi Hendrix. So I said to Chas, ‘Yeah, I’d love to!’ I went to a club just off of Piccadilly Circus; I think it was called Birdland. Of course, it was raining as usual… I brought my drums in; my older brother gave me a hand taking the drums down. I’m sitting outside in the rain, and Jimi jumped up and started talking to me about some songs he’d written the night before. He was a really friendly guy."

"It came to my turn to play with him, and he was very generous with his time. But he started playing and I didn’t have a clue as to what he has doing! It was music that I’d never heard. It seemed a while, but it was probably only 10 minutes. Then, he started playing like slow blues, and then he played a Chuck Berry tune, then played ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and did some more stuff. It was really cool. I actually got a chance to jam with him a couple of times in the States after I joined Savoy Brown. I jammed with him in a club in New York and also at a club in LA, I think. He was a really, really cool guy and a fantastic musician. He re-wrote the whole book on guitar playing… Jimi was really exciting once I got a handle on what he was doing. He had some great drummers auditioning. I think the drummer he ended up with, Mitch Mitchell, was just absolutely incredible for him. It was a new approach to music that Mitch Mitchell had with Jimi."

Gausten: I also understand your auditioned for Arthur Brown as well during that period.

Earl: "Where are you hearing all this from? I did! I didn’t get that job either (laughs)."

Gausten: Going back to Foghat, you guys are known for many songs in your repertoire, but surely “Slow Ride” is the best-known one. There are bands all over this planet praying for one song that stands the test of time. What do you think it was about that particular number that continues to be THE song for Foghat?

Earl: "It’s kind of what Foghat is all about. It’s a rock ‘n’ roll band steeped in the blues. We still play a slow blues or whatever, but that’s from a different era. Actually, the riff to ‘Slow Ride’ was basically like a John Lee Hooker riff, but instead of playing it like a shuffle, we played it like a 4/4. It came from a jam. Rod Price and I had a house out here on Long Island at the time, and we’d jam in the basement. Nick Jameson had just joined us on bass – this is 1974, I think – and we just started jamming. The whole arrangement was done that night. We recorded it on cassettes back then. Dave said, ‘I think I’ve got some words for that.’ And that was how it started. In fact, a lot of Foghat’s music comes jamming. The way we play Willie Dixon's ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You’ on Foghat’s first album was something we would play at soundchecks when we were in Savory Brown. We would just sort of play that kind of groove and then upstroke on the guitar – which was like a blues thing, but of course we fucked around with it a little bit. I think Dave said it once: ‘Foghat’s a Blues band. We just turn it up to 11!’ (laughs)."   

The complete interview is available at this location.

Foghat scored big on the Billboard charts with their latest album, Under the Influence, debuting at #17 on Hard Rock Albums, and #40 on Independent Albums. To celebrate this accomplishment, the band will be rocking BB King’s in NYC for a record release party, on September 21st. And after the show, the band will meet and greet their fans & friends at the bar which will be serving Foghat Cellars Wines!

Some very special guests who also performed on the record will be joining Foghat on stage. These include incredible blues guitarist Scott Holt (former Buddy Guy), and for the first time since 1970 (in a pre-announced show), Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown will be joining his former band mate Roger Earl. Roger played with Savoy Brown from 1968 through 1970 and performed on five albums during that period. The audience is in for a real treat! Other surprise guests are also in the works.

According to Kim Simmonds in a recent interview, “I always had a great respect for Roger as a person and a drummer. He certainly helped make Savoy Brown the entity that it is…. It’s always nice to be around people that understand you and know you well. Like when you go home to your parents and the family you feel comfortable because you know that your parents really know everything about you. I think it’s the same with Roger and myself. We know a lot about each other and that’s the sort of a comfort that you get from still being in touch with people. I suppose it’s like old school mates or something. In this case we are old band mates.”

And the feeling is mutual from Roger’s end. “Kim gave me my shot when I was 20 years old and I joined his band. I have very fond memories playing with Kim, and also it’s a gas that we can still be friends and make music together. Kim Simmonds is just spectacular on this record. Kim and I remained friends over the years. In fact, we jammed together; when we did the Rock Legends cruise last year. Kim got up and played a couple of songs with us, and I played on another day that Kim and Savoy Brown was playing. I played three or four songs with him. As a guitar player, he was always a great! And he is even better now! He’s a brilliant blues guitarist.”

Formed in 1971 in London, Foghat remains one of rock's top "boogie" bands, having amassed eight gold records, one platinum, and one double platinum record in the US, along the way. Additionally, the group has scored hits with the songs "Slow Ride," "Fool for the City," a cover of "I Just Want to Make Love to You," “Stone Blue” and "Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool)," all of which are still in regular rotation on classic rock radio. And on September 21st, New York City-based Foghat fans will be in for a night they will never forget!

Released on June 24th, Under The Influence, produced by Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, draws from Foghat’s collective musical influences, as the band not only brought in some special guests from their past, who helped launch and inspire the Foghat story, but also invited some new friends into the mix to continue the journey of this never idle band.

Under The Influence tracklisting:

“Under The Influence”
“Knock It Off”
“Ghost”
“She’s Got A Ring In His Nose”
“Upside Of Lonely”
“Heard It Through The Grapevine”
“Made Up My Mind”
“Hot Mama”
“Heart Gone Cold”
“Honey Do List”
“All Because Of You”
“Slow Ride”

Teaser:

BraveWords' Martin Popoff spoke to leader Roger Earl for a new feature, which can be found here.

Roger Earl photo by Vintage Rock Magazine