FOGHAT

We’re super-excited and honored to have with us today as special guests the legendary Bryan Bassett of FOGHAT; greetings and salutations, gang! Before we meander down the Q&A musical pathway, could you all say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?

BB: Greetings and salutations readers. My name is Bryan Bassett. I’m a professional musician hailing from Pittsburgh, PA and have been in the game since the early ‘70s. For several years I played in the lively club scene in the Pittsburgh, PA and tri-state area. I joined the band Wild Cherry lead by our singer and guitarist Rob Parissi around 1974-75. Together with my band mates, Allen Wentz and Ron Beitle, within the year we recorded the number one hit record “Play That Funky Music.” For several years we toured with some of the most renowned R&B artists of the day, The Average White Band, The Commodores, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Jackson 5, and many more. I then returned to Pittsburgh to form the band Airborne, later known as T-Dice, and had several more successful years on the Pittsburgh club circuit. In the mid-‘80s I relocated to Florida and became an engineer and producer for King Snake records, an independent blues and roots label based in central Florida. We released dozens of albums for many now quite well-known blues artists. While in Florida, I met Lonesome Dave Peverett of Foghat and we became friends and eventually bandmates, and I toured with him for five years. Upon Foghat’s reformation with all its original members in 1993, I then joined the southern rock band Molly Hatchet. I toured extensively around the world for seven years and recorded three albums on the SPV label with Molly Hatchet. In 1999, I was asked to re-join Foghat as their guitarist and in-house producer and engineer, and I have been in the band ever since. That my dear readers is the short version of the last 50 years of my musical life..haha. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Major kudos and accolades for your forthcoming studio album SONIC MOJO which is set to be released this November 10! Bryan, can you give us the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on what inspired one of the best albums of 2023?

BB: Thank you, every year at the end of our touring season we gather at our studio in Central Florida (we call it “Boogie Motel South”) for rehearsals to prepare songs and the setlist for the coming year. I also have recording gear set up there so that when we get sparks of new ideas for songs or ideas of cover songs we would like to capture in our Foghat style, it’s very easy for me to hit record and put those songs on tape or these days on hard drive. Once we have a collection of songs that we feel hold together as a package, we begin the process of creating a release, which is what we have done with SONIC MOJO. I take the songs to my home studio for mixing and mastering and Linda Arcello-Earl, our manager and Artistic Director, starts working on the artwork and doing the hard work of preparing various aspects of the release.

Bryan, SONIC MOJO marks the first new album from FOGHAT in seven years. Were there any pre-recording jitters prior to going into the studio to cut the LP, or did it all come together quite smoothly?

BB: We record in our home studio/rehearsal facility, so there were really no recording jitters at all. In fact, it’s quite relaxed. We play, I record, we have some drinks, we eat (Roger is a fabulous cook), we go hit golf balls in the front yard...pretty laid back really and a great way to record, as opposed to the pressure days of having a tight budget and limited recording studio time.

We’re big fans of the tune She’s a Little Bit of Everything off of the SONIC MOJO album! What’s the story behind this gem?

BB: That is a song that began as a demo sent to us by Kim Simmons of Savoy Brown fame, one of four songs he sent us to work on. Roger and Kim have been lifelong friends since being bandmates in the late ‘60s early ‘70s, and of course Foghat was formed with three members of Savoy Brown in 1971. I’ve known Kim for some years, but in particular got to know him really well when he traveled to Nashville to help us finish our last studio release UNDER THE INFLUENCE. We had hoped for him to join us on this record as a player, but unfortunately his health was failing and he passed away not long after sending us those demos. We are blessed and honored to have some of his last compositions on this record. We chose three of his demos to work on and they turned out really fantastic. “She’s a Little Bit of Everything” is about the wonderful attributes of a man’s significant other. We believe it was written about his wife, Debbie, a great tribute to her and it has become a fan favorite live as we’ve been playing it recently in concert.

How is SONIC MOJO similar to some of the past music of FOGHAT? How is it different?

BB: This record is similar to all the Foghat records in that Roger’s drumming style is quite unique and the foundation of all the tracks as in all previous Foghat recordings. The rest of us are blues-rock musicians and our personal musical playing style doesn’t vary much from the classic Foghat sound. Rodney O’Quinn has been with us eight years and spent many years with the great guitarist Pat Travers. Our longtime bassist Craig MacGregor personally selected Rodney as his replacement as they were friends and Craig admired his playing. Scott Holt, our singer and guitarist, is the new factor in our recording. We have known Scott for several years, in fact he participated as a player and writer on UNDER THE

INFLUENCE. When we got together to write some songs, we ended up with so many songs that we created a side project band called “Earl and the Agitators” and released an album under that name, so check it out. There’s quite a few great songs on there. Scott played in blues legend Buddy Guy’s band for over 10 years, so he’s very steeped in the blues tradition and his playing is a great addition to our sound.

Bryan, on the heels of the release of SONIC MOJO this November 10, can fans look forward to catching FOGHAT on the touring/performing circuit?

BB: Most definitely. We tour every year performing 60 to 70 concerts each season, so check foghat.com to see if we’re anywhere near you and come on out and see a show.

Who inspires you musically?

BB: I was very inspired by the British invasion guitarists, particularly those in the blues and blues rock genre. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Kim Simmonds, Mick Taylor. Listening to those players lead me to discover all the great American blues players that inspired them. B.B. King, Otis Rush, Albert King, Albert Collins, Freddie King, of course Buddy Guy. Jeff Beck was a particularly great inspiration to me though not many people can play like him. Later Jimmy Page, Johnny Winter, David Gilmour, Duane Allman, the untouchable Jimi Hendrix and so many more…I could really go on and on.

What differentiates SONIC MOJO from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?

BB: I’m very glad to see classic rock bands continue to make great new music. The best part of that is bands of our era each have their own distinguishable sound, and luckily we have fans that appreciate hearing our new recordings.

SONIC MOJO is being released through the band’s label Foghat Records which is distributed via Select-O-Hits. What makes Select-O-Hits the perfect label for Foghat Records to team up with on this release?

BB: Select-O-Hits has a long and distinguished history supporting blues artists and they totally understand our style of music and how to promote it and get it out into the marketplace for us. Take a deep dive on the Internet to see how far back they go in the history of music. It is something well worth your time.

At the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving SONIC MOJO many-a-spin on their respective hi-fi systems?

BB: I hope your listeners walk away, thinking “Well…the boys are still laying down some great music.” I hope they like the new originals and I hope they enjoy our take on some classic covers. Plus, it’s really nice to have this record come out on high-quality vinyl. I’m pleased to see that format have another day in the sun.

All the best …keep rockin’…and we hope to see you out on the road.