Fifty-two years into their illustrious career, Foghat isn’t tired of their mega-hit single “Slow Ride.”
The ubiquitous classic rock staple, that showed up in the 1993 film “Dazed and Confused,” countless commercials and the video game Guitar Hero, still gets the band excited when they play live.
“I enjoy it,” original Foghat member, drummer and Long Island resident Roger Earl told the New York Post. “It’s a nine-minute song these days.”
After he shared his appreciation for the track, Earl turned the tables and lobbed a question our way.
“Do you know what ‘Slow Ride’ is about?” the 77-year-old rock vet asked.
Before given a chance to answer, he laughed.
“‘Slow Ride’ is about sex!” Earl roared. “In fact, most of our songs are about it, ‘I’ve just done it, I’m thinking about doing it again, would you like some of me, darling.’ Rock and roll, right?’”
Just like that, we were off to the races.
Foghat, who first captured the world’s attention with iconic ’70s bops “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “Fool For The City,” is about to drop their bluesy 17th album “Sonic Mojo” this November and tour all over North America in support of the upcoming record.
That includes a huge gig at New York City’s Iridium Jazz Club that doubles as an album release party on Sunday, Nov. 12.
“I’m looking forward to playing the Iridium because there’s going to be a bunch of people I know,” Earl smiled. “It’s going to be a busy night.”
And even though the band has lost key members over the half-century they’ve been together like legendary lead singer “Lonesome Dave” Peverett, Fogat has a solid core these days.
As of now, the band is made up of Earl along with Wild Cherry guitarist Bryan Bassett (yes, the group that brought the world “Play That Funky Music”), Pat Travers band alum Rodney O’Quinn and Buddy Guy singer Scott Holt.
“This is a real band. We love playing. No miserable bastards here. And if we do have a few drinks after the show, everybody’s a happy drunk, so maybe that helps.”
Earl doesn’t plan on hanging it up anytime soon, either.
“The day I don’t play anymore is when my hands and feet and everything don’t function anymore,” he said.
“I’ll roll ’til I’m old, rock ’til I drop.”
A slow ride to the end, indeed.
Want to go to a Foghat show in the near future?
We’ve got everything you need to know and more about their ‘Road Fever Tour’ below.
The above interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Foghat 2023-24 tour schedule
A complete calendar, including all tour dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available, can be found here:
| Foghat 2023-24 tour dates | Ticket prices start at |
|---|---|
| Nov. 12 at the Iridium Jazz Club | $88 |
| Nov. 17 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA | $73 |
| Dec. 2 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL | $52 |
| Jan. 26, 2024 at the River Cree Casino in Enoch, AB, CA | $46 |
| Feb. 2, 2024 at the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton, WA | $40 |
| Feb. 17, 2024 at the Parker Arts Culture and Events Center in Parker, CO | $139 |
| Feb. 18, 2024 at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA | $66 |
| March 29, 2024 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert, OH | $52 |
| April 20, 2024 at The Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, OH | $159 |
(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout.)
Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
They offer a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and your tickets will be delivered prior to the event.
Foghat setlist
After over 50 years together, the band has perfected the art of concert curation.
Here are the tracks that they’ve been playing at recent shows — including a few deep-cut covers — courtesy of Set List FM.
01.) “Fool for the City”
02.) “Road Fever”
03.) “My Babe” (The Righteous Brothers cover)
04.) “Slipped, Tripped, Fell in Love”
05.) “A Hole to Hide In”
06.) “Sweet Home Chicago” (Robert Johnson cover)
07.) “Somebody’s Been Sleeping (In My Bed)” (100 Proof (Aged in Soul) cover)
08.) “A Little Bit of Everything”
09.) “Stone Blue”
10.) “It Hurts Me Too” (Tampa Red cover)
11.) “Home in My Hand”
12.) “Trouble, Trouble”
13.) “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (Willie Dixon cover)
Encore:
14.) “Play That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry cover)
15.) “Slow Ride”
It’s likely things will be a bit different on this tour, though.
“Every January, we come down to Florida, and we change the show around,” Earl told us. “There’s always five or six songs we always play, which is fine by me, but then the rest is new.”
Foghat new album
On Friday, Nov 10, Foghat’s 17th studio album, “Sonic Mojo” hits shelves.
The record is an ode to the blues, boogie and rock and roll.
In a word, it fits right into the fun-loving group’s catalog.
For our money, the track to look out for is the ZZ Top-like single “Drivin’ On.”
You can check out the two-minute jam below.
Foghat band name origin
We had to ask two questions.
Where did the band name come from AND does the band play “Slow Ride” on Guitar Hero?
Earl was happy to answer.
“Our original lead singer, Lonesome Dave, made the band name up. He was playing a Scrabble kind of game when he was like 13 or 14 with his younger brother, John. Dave insisted Foghat was a real name. His brother argued about it.”
50 years later, Foghat is an internationally recognized band.
As for Guitar Hero, no, the band does not sit around and play “Slow Ride.”
The song did widen their fanbase, though.
After the game came out, kids aged six to ten started coming to shows and asking to have their guitars signed.
“We’ve been in films, car commercials, handbag ads, stuff like that. And it turns young people on to the music, and then they discover us.”
To this day, they have a variety of people coming to their shows.
“Obviously, they’re the ones that grew up with us who are in their 60s now, but we have a lot of young people coming too,” Earl explained.
“Teenagers, people in their twenties and early thirties show up too, which is really refreshing because it means, I think it means that maybe we got it right in the first place.”
Classic rockers on tour in 2023
Many huge acts that ruled the radio in the ’70s are back at it this year.
Don’t believe us?
Well, here are just five of our favorite classic rockers on tour in 2023.
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Who else is touring? Check out our list of the 22 biggest classic rockers on tour in 2023 here to find out.
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