My latest interview is online right now, it's with the legendary ex-Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm who just released a new album on Frontiers Records. I am now also awaiting approval for an interview face to face with one of the Foreigner guys who will headline on the Dutch Bospop Festival next week. I hope I will talk to bassist Jeff Pilson, I already did one interview with Mick Jones a few weeks ago. Anyway, Bospop will be a great festival again with people like Jeff Beck, Tesla, Queensryche and The Australian Pink Floyd to just name a few. The interview: Hi Lou, first of all I must say, it’s a very special honour for me to do this interview with you. I grew up with listening and enjoying your voice along with the songs of Foreigner. I am glad you returned to the music business with a new album. Before we come to that album I first like to learn more about you. The first question then would be, when did you start being interested in music, who taught you and which bands and artists were the first influences to you to become a musician yourself? Hi Eddy, It’s great to talk with you too. I was interested in music as far back as I can remember. My Father had a big band that played swing music, and for a while, my mother was the singer in his band, so there was always music in our house. I started as a drummer and took lessons at the Eastman School of Music but later became more interested in the Motown vocalists. According to your bio, Black Sheep was the first band you recorded an album with and you got a record-deal with a major label called Chrysalis. Did you play in other bands prior to Black Sheep and how did you manage to get in contact and get a deal with a big company like Chrysalis? I played drums in several local bands before Blacksheep and recorded some demos, but Blacksheep’s tape was the first one that received any attention from a major label. I am not to familiar with that part of your career so can you tell me what kind of music it was you made with Black Sheep. Can it be compared with the stuff you did later with Foreigner? I think that my creative influences can be heard in any of the recordings that I’ve done. Blacksheep recordings were a little darker than the Foreigner albums. I also read that the career of Black Sheep kind of ended with a truck accident that destroyed the band’s equipment on a tour with KISS. Can you tell me some more about that story? It was just before Christmas and we were in a hurry to get home on snow covered roads, although nobody was injured, most of our equipment was destroyed. Did you already did some shows opening for KISS before that accident occurred or was it at the very beginning of that tour? Yes, we played quite a few shows with Kiss before the accident. In case of you did had some opening shows for KISS, can you still remember some memories of touring with KISS and how you were treated by these guys? They were pretty full of themselves at the time and paid very little attention to us. Then the time came you met Mick Jones and were ask to audition for a new band. How did you come in contact with Mick and did you both guys immediately know that working together would be the key to something bigger? My first audition was in the recording studio, and it was a few weeks after the audition before I heard from anyone, so I don’t think that it was an immediate thing. How did the band Foreigner manage to get a record deal, did you send demos around or were you discovered somewhere playing live? Foreigner’s manager had been shopping for a record deal before the complete line up was even in place. When you are in a band that is starting to make it as big as Foreigner did, what does it to you personally. Does one change or is it possible to keep your head cool when you start having that big success? It’s impossible to not be affected by the success, but I tried to keep my head. I did an interview with Mick Jones a few years ago and ask him how he experienced the first time he heard a song he recorded played on a radio. This is what he said: “Just fantastic, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. ‘Feels Like The First Time’ was the song and I was driving to Long Island to go to the sea when this song came on. I was on the bridge and in my mirror you could see the big city. On the radio they said, there is a new band and they have a great song which we will play now and that was my song. I turned the car window down and I started to drive very fast. I will never forget that moment!” Can you tell me about the first time you heard yourself on the radio? It was very much the same feeling; you turn the radio all the way up and enjoy the ride. In 1986 you decided it was time to do some things on your own and you recorded the ‘Ready Or Not’ and you had a hit with ‘Midnight Blue’. I am wondering what the reaction was from Mick Jones seeing the singer of his band making a success on his own? I think that Mick and Atlantic Records were a little afraid that the success of my solo work could mean the end of Foreigner, and neither one was very supportive. Unfortunately I still do not have a copy of that album (but I will soon), can you tell me who the musicians were who recorded this album with you? Almost the same line up that is currently in the Lou Gramm Band. My brother Ben played drums, brother Richard and Don Mancuso both played guitar and a few other players filled out the line-up. Most notably was Nils Lofgrin. I am also wondering if you having this success was one of the reasons it came to a split with Mick and Foreigner after you recorded ‘Inside Information’? There has always been some difference of ideas between Mick and myself. Playing and recording my own projects has allowed me to fully realize my own plans. Of course everyone knows that the time came that you returned to Foreigner, how did got this renewed contact with Mick and could there ever be a chance that a third reunion could happen or do you think that’s out of the question? Returning to Foreigner seemed like a good idea at the time, but I don’t see any reason to do it again. Okay Lou, enough about the past, the real reason for this interview is of course that you have brand new self-titled album out. Can you please start with introducing the musicians that helped you out on this album how did you find them? My brother Ben played drums on this CD; he also played on both of my solo recordings and toured with me as well. My brother Richard played guitar and bass, Richard was the first guitarist in Blacksheep and also did a lot of work on my ‘Ready or Not’ album. Don Mancuso was the Blacksheep guitarist after Richard. He played on both Blacksheep albums and also on ‘Ready or Not’ and is back with me playing again. Andy Knoll is our keyboard player; he played with both Don and Richard in some regional bands in New York, and really completes our current group. The album has been released by Frontier Records, how did you come in contact with them and is this a one record-deal? We made contact with Frontiers almost two years ago, early in our work on this CD, but it wasn’t until this year that we were in agreement to release our CD with them. We are hoping that interest in this CD will warrant future partnerships with Frontiers. When did you start working on this album, were was it recorded and was the writing of this record a group-effort or did you write the tunes by yourself? Work started on this CD over three years ago. Don, Andy and Richard would present ideas for original songs to the band and I would write lyrics and melodies for the ones that “fit”. Most of the recording was done in my own studio. If you look back to that new record, what will be the song you are the most proud on and is the most representative for Lou Gramm 2009? Right now, ‘Baptized by Fire’ and ‘So Great’ are in the foreground, but it’s constantly changing and could be any one of the songs on our CD. Will there be a tour in Europe to promote this album? On your website I only see U.S. dates till now. We are hoping that the CD will be well received in Europe and opportunities to perform will arise out of the CDs success. It’s no secret that the music-business is in big trouble because of all the illegal copying and downloading, that’s one side of the Internet. The other side is that many bands now have an easier chance to get their music abroad through websites like MySpace and even get record-deals this way. What is your opinion about what Internet does for the music-business? The Internet is just one of many changes that challenge the record industry, certainly no more than the troubled economic climate in the world right now. Okay Lou, I like to end this interview on a lighter note and hope you will give a short reaction to the following words and names. Just the first thing that comes to mind would be great… Music: Life Fame: Fleeting Love: Eternal War: Hell Health: Goal Stage: Public Studio: Private Foreigner: Achievements Mick Jones: Past