Foghat Levels Detroit With Axes And Drumfire (c) Copyright 1980 by Richard Hogan (Circus Magazine) Veteran Anglo-American band Foghat has been tight-lipped about just what it was that went wrong between its surviving members and guitarist Rod Price. The personnel change took place so quietly that many of the 7,000 fans at the Pine Knob Music Theatre here in Clarkston, Michigan were surprised to see new man Erik Cartwright on stage with Lonesome Dave, Roger Earl and Craig MacGregor. Now, with Cartwright safely on board after a year-long search for a suitable guitar player, the story is beginning to come out. "Third Time Lucky," the first 45 from Foghat's ninth Bearsville album Boogie Motel, had put the group back in the Top 20. But just as Foghat finished building its own studio and seemed to be sounding more solid than ever, one of the quartet's four supports fell. It was late 1979, and the Long Island-based boogie band was thrown into a full tilt of a different kind. The buttress that failed was Rod "The Bottle" Price, Foghat mainstay for nearly 10 years. Craig (r) and Dave held over 150 auditions, then narrowed the field down to two players. Erik got the job. "We were working on songs for the album that turned into Tight Shoes," leader Lonesome Dave Peverett recalls, "when I noticed we were having a problem with Rod. He just wasn't into playing the way he should have been. The group convened at its Port Jefferson, New York studio to talk the problem over, and two months later decided to realign as soon as Price's replacement could be found. One hundred fifty auditions and one national tour later, Foghat hired Cartwright in February 1981 for the spot that even Pete Comita (now with Cheap Trick) had been unable to fill. "It took us a long time, because we wanted somebody who'd contribute new ideas and not just copy Rod's guitar style," offers drummer Roger Earl, his eyes shrouded behind his famous dark glasses. Though the Pennsylvania-born Cartwright met Earl's description, he nearly turned the job down. He was up to his ears in session work and New York club gigs with Rob Stoner and Mick Ronson. A phone call to musician friend Dan Hartman (producer of Foghat's gold LP, Night Shift) changed his mind. "Dan told me I'd be crazy not to take the gig," Erik explains. Cartwright, 31, has no home but a suitcase now. He's adding a razor-edged precision to Foghat's live guitar sound, and can be heard on the band's latest record, Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce. Erik's recruitment is symptomatic of a big change in Foghat's records. Best known for its blues, shuffles and oldies, Foghat is shifting gears and becoming a more mainstream rock act specializing in short, punchy songs like "Wide Boy" and "Second Childhood." The decision is Peverett's; he's writing all of Foghat's new concert material. (In the past, the composition had been split between Peverett and Price, but by mid-'79, Price found he couldn't get any songs onto the group's albums. Rod was caught in a situation hardly likely to bring out his best work. "It's misleading to put music into strict categories," muses mustachioed Roderick Price, speaking from his Long Island home, "but I'm tempted to describe Dave's current style as "new wave." That just isn't the direction I wanted to go in." Rod sold his partnership in Foghat to Dave, Roger and their manager for a hefty price. He's since formed a new band, Nightwatch, with four American musicians, and is writing material with moody keyboard passages and subtle chord changes that Foghat would never use.) Foghat embarked on its quest for stardom in 1971, when Englishmen Peverett, Earl and Tony Stevens left Savoy Brown Blues Band under a cloud and set their sights on a new career. Enter Price, clutching a Gibson, a dobro and a bottleneck for Delta blues effect. Not only could Rod play like Robert Johnson, but, according to Earl, "He drove a wine truck, so we knew he, was all right." Albert Grossman, the managerial power behind Bob Dylan and then-owner of Bearsville Records, inked Foghat to his Woodstock-based label. In short order the four were barn-storming middle America with their Chuck Berry guitar riffs, gold lame jackets, sequined guitars and silver sneakers. After Nick Jameson replaced Tony on bass, a 45, "Slow Ride," pushed the group's sales to platinum levels. In '77, the band released a Top 10 album, Foghat Live, on which Connecticut Yankee Craig MacGregor handled the rumbling bass lines. Foghat has since re-negotiated a long-term contract with Warner/Bearsville Records. Whatever harmonic subtleties Foghat has introduced into its last two albums are largely absent from the live show the band is playing here at Pine Knob. The emphasis tonight is on action and excitement. Dark-haired Dave Peverett has strapped on a Bo Diddley cigar box-shaped guitar; Cartwright balances him visually with his fair hair and his Gibson Flying V. It's a calm August evening, more autumnal than summery, and the breeze blowing across the vast outdoor venue blends with the sounds and lights to create the kind of magic Foghat hasn't made in three years. Earl and MacGregor play with a fire they just don't get on record; "Love Zone," with its Indian warpath drumbeat, is the most dynamic of the new songs. The crowd gets to its feet to sing along with "Live Now - Pay Later,'' and stays there through "Slow Ride" and "Maybelline." After one long, bluesy wail reminiscent of his days with Savoy Brown in the late '60s, Peverett shakes his moppy hair wildly, smiles and bounds off sta ge. It's been Foghat's first show at Pine Knob in roughly six years, so the evening has smacked of a homecoming: Michigan was always one of Savoy Brown's best markets, too. Backstage, it looks as if every music business personality in Detroit except Iggy Pop has turned out to see the band. "This is one of the only groups left playing genuine rock & roll," says Silver Bullet Band member Alto Reed with sincerity. Reed played sax on Foghat's Boogie Motel, and he keeps four copies of the album (across the room froom the turntable) in his wine-laden kitchen in Birmingham. Dave Peverett's songs have been fueled by various LP's of the Jam, Graham Parker and even the Belmonts "In this region, 'Live Now-Pay Later' is a hit right out of the box," rumbles mad, bearded WRIF DJ Arthur Penhallow. As if to substantiate his words, the record comes blaring out of a transistor radio set up nearby. Richard Schein, lead guitarist for Mitch Ryder, stands not far from the stage; smiling and bobbing gently to Foghat's beat. As far as these people are concerned, whatever musical troubles Foghat has suffered lately have evaporated like a bad dream after a party where the liquor flowed a little too freely. And for Rod Price, as much as for his former band, the world is back in focus.

Back to the Articles Index Page 
Back to the Foghat Index Page