Lou Gramm: The Voice of Foreigner
Live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill July 16th
Syracuse music is in full stride with concerts happening constantly throughout the rest of the summer. The bigger events are on. The clubs are bustling with action. Its outdoor show season. And all is right with the world existing in the maze of our social calendars.
Speaking of “outdoor shows,” Lou Gramm from Foreigner is coming to town on July 16 at Sharkey’s in Liverpool. If you haven’t been over there to catch one of their shows—which features local and national talent—I suggest you do. The facility sports a nice big stage worthy of any show, the clientele is always cool, they have a little tiki bar out back, not to mention all the other activities that goes along with Sharkey’s including volleyball courts, food, plenty of parking, etc.
Lou Gramm, as you well know, is the lead singer for Foreigner. Lou, along with partner Mick Jones penned many hits, some of them destined to be timeless classics for ages to come throughout the world. Not bad for our local-neighbor Rochester boy whose early days were just as much about keeping the van running (in order to make it to the next show) as it was about the music.
Through the course of talking with Lou on the phone for this interview I was aware of how deeply Lou is “all about” the music as he told his stories. The point of everything he said was about seeking the best music possible. I would bet that when Lou’s making toast in the morning, he’s making it in the key of G.
His career spans decades with Foreigner, and his solo and otherwise works… again… also garnering more hits. You know ‘em… And, hell be right here in our backyard. You can see him up close, as the show promises to deliver all those hits.
Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Lou Gramm.
Chuck Schiele: Hello Lou. Thank you for talking a little time for us here in Syracuse. We’re looking forward to your visit to Sharkey’s on July 16.
Lou Gramm: My pleasure, Chuck.
CS: Being a lifelong rocker. It’s a job. Was it a blast, or what?
LG: It was definitely a blast! A lot of fun. But, it was still work. While we had the satisfaction of a good gig, we always had a lot of fatigue from giving it everything we had, in our shows.
CS: Please tell us a bit about your project “Lou Gramm The Voice of Foreigner.” How’s it all going?
LG: It’s going well. As far as our tour, we’ve kind of done some work on the setlist, made it chronological to our career timeline. The show includes video accompaniment every three or four songs including anecdotes and quirky stories and bits with Mick Jones— including song writing and photo sessions. Our audiences openly love it.
CS: Real cool. Sort of a documentary aspect to it.
LG: Yeah!
CS: Both your folks were musicians. I assume they were active in enabling your start in music?
LG: Yes they were. They encouraged us to start when we showed the interest. However, they weren’t happy when I started to go on the road.
CS: Oh?
LG: There were too many pitfalls, temptations with the road life. So, they were worried about my health and well-being. They voiced their concerns. They would have been happier if I just did music as a hobby, and had a regular job.
CS: Obviously, you weren’t on board with the hobby thing.
LG: Music is my job.
CS: You have a lotta notches on your hot belt. Where/what/how do you find inspiration as a writer?
LG: Sometimes its from movies and television shows, where I’ll pick up a phrase… a lot of times its a book I’m reading… I look for interesting ways of saying things. I’m interested in dialects. I always have my notepad with me. If I hear a catchy phrase or saying; or something phonetically catchy, I take note. I can build on it. I could be a title, or a line in a verse…
CS: What would be an example?
LG: (Pauses…)
CS: Like… “inside looking outside”?
LG: Yes! Yeah!… that’s exactly what I mean… or “Check it and see” is another one. I must have heard that in a movie. I wrote it down and massaged it in into a catch phrase—and steered it to Hot Blooded.
CS: Cool.
LG: Yeah, it was a natural fit, It was attitude heavy, so that was working for me.
CS: Of course, the Syracuse audience is looking forward to the hits. Will there be any new material presented at the show?
LG: I don’t think we’re going to do any new material. We’re playing a bit longer on this tour. We’ll be playing Foreigner stuff and some of my solo hits. We’ve played new songs before mixed in with our hits… We’d throw in new stuff or a B-side… even if it was a kick butt song, there would still be a void of response. It’s a let-down, and very disappointing for us, so we stopped doing that.
CS: As it relates to today, please share your thoughts on the music industry and maybe offer insights for the budding musicians.
L
G: Its a completely different game. Not only the rules, but the players. Even the record companies are shadows of what they used to be, or defunct. Its completely backwards from what we were used to in that its all about online singles instead of albums. You have to adapt. It used to be that record companies would help produce the album—help with cover concepts, and pacing the play list and things like that. All of that is overlooked these days, which is too bad, because those things were sort of an art form themselves.
CS: I recently read an article by Roger Daltrey. He said somebody asked him about another album and his reply was, “why bother, anymore?”
LG: Yeah… right. People don’t go for albums anymore. They go for singles and they mix it in with other singles to make their own albums.
CS: Gone are the days of our adolescence where we laid on our beds listening to records, looking at the covers entranced…
LG: …and reading the lyrics, who they thank, who played what… and hearing the songs in the running order. We took a lot of time determining things like opening with a kick butt song, where does the ballad go, the last song of the album that you leave them with. It was an art form. the importance of that doesn’t exist anymore.
CS: When you review of your career as a musician, what do you feel most strongly about under the heading of artistic success? Any particular standouts, for you?
LG: I love all the albums. We released an album in the mid-90s on an independent label. It was so independent that only three people worked there.
CS: That’s pretty independent.
LG: They were so independent, the president would drive around with albums in his trunk, delivering them one at a time. The album was called “Mr. Moonlight.”
CS: I always ask this of the regional and local artists. Any particularly funny rock and roll moments come to mind?
LG: (laughs…) Yeah. (exhales…) I have a few of those lying around. (laughs…)
CS: You are a favorite singer to many. Who makes your list of personal favorites? What and who do you listen to?
LG: Aretha Franklin, Paul Rogers, Steve Winwood, Steve Marriott… Those are all people who used their tonality and expressions. They were so melodic. They really put it out there—they spit it out. I liked that… Marvin Gaye.
CS: You know the more I listen to Paul Rogers the more I appreciate his detail and artfulness. He gets better every time I listen.
LG: Yeah, he sure is a great singer. He’s a really good guy—known him for 15 years.
CS: Nice guy?
LG: Yes! He was pretty wild back in his Free days… he led the life. But in recent years met a woman from Canada who captured his heart. She’s been very good for him. He eats well now, and he likes to get sleep these days. He’s leading a more normal life.
CS: Anything you’d like to say to your fans in Syracuse? Any particular memories from playing Syracuse?
LG: We had fun at the Dome the couple of times we played there. We’re really looking forward to July 16.
CS: What’s in the future for Lou Gramm’s music endeavors?
LG: To just keep playing.
CS: Cool. Well, thank you, Lou. See you at the show!
LG: You bet, Chuck. It was my pleasure. Have a great day. See you there.
Chuck Schiele is an award-winning musician, art director, producer, editorialist, artist, activist, member of SaltCityChill.com and fan of the CNY music scene. To be considered for this column, please write chuck.schiele@gmail.com.
