Taking a ride on “The Last Train Home”: An Interview with Foghat’s Bryan Bassett and Eddie Kirkland by Maureen Elizabeth

When music and musicians have roots - great things happen. The new Foghat blues CD "Last Train Home" is rooted in the culmination of an early dream as well as a relationship with an original blues artist - Eddie Kirkland. I spoke with Bryan and Eddie and asked them about their experience working with each other as well as what playing the blues has meant to them...

Talking with Bryan Bassett...

What brought you to this particular project?

This is a project that had been in the back of everyone’s mind for years. Lonesome Dave was a huge blues collector. He collected 78 records and was a true historian who knew just about every blues artist that existed. He was a huge influence on the band. The sound is not a huge departure. The British invasion (Clapton, Mayall) took the blues and rocked it up a bit, brought it back to America and Roger was a part of that invasion. The British invasion exposed people to their own heritage. Then they began to notice who the songwriters were – Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Albert King, Muddy waters – and it brought many of these American artists into the public eye for the new generation of kids who were into Rock and Roll. We wanted to honor that original dream that Roger and Lonesome Dave shared.

I was so impressed with Colin Earl’s keys on 495 Boogie…

Rogers brother played in Mungo Jerry – remember the song “In the Summertime”- and he played on early Foghat records too. He still tours and is very popular in England – doesn’t come stateside often but when he does he sits in with us and now we have an entire album with him which is great.
We wanted our good friend Lefty Lefkowitz to play harp on several songs. We wanted to bring in that extra instrumentation to differentiate that real guitar sound of Foghat rock/ blues and expand the palette. The piano pulls it more into a blues atmosphere and adds some extra layers of tonality that we don’t normally use.



Your CD is being very well received!

We are most excited to reconnect to the entire blues community, to revisit it and see how thriving it is. It’s great to be accepted by this community again.

Is performing the blues, for you, about creating something new or honoring history?

Both. The blues, just like Jazz, has certain musical parameters that you can’t go out of and still consider it blues. The blues has a limited chord structure, limited song structure, and note selection specifically so and with good reason. As long as there is someone who wants to play in that musical parameter and respects the limitations of it – there will always be new blues.


Tell us about your relationship with Eddie Kirkland…

We did a benefit concert in the mid 70’s to fund a Blues Wing at the New York Public Library. Eddie was one of the performers donating his time along with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield , Johnny Winter and others. We met Eddie then so when we decided to make this blues CD we invited him as an homage to remember that blues concert from way back.

What did Eddie bring to the table?

Well, first of all, he made us feel like youngsters! He has played with all the original blues artists and it was just an honor to play with a first generation blues man. Anyone who loves the blues, loves these guys and you really get to see up close and personal how it’s done for real. It was a great learning experience.

Eddie mentioned that the blues just, quite simply, tells a story and that is what is important to him.

Yes, all of his songs are taken right from the days of his life, whether it is a story about traveling or a woman or a heart breaker – he is very much a storyteller. Many of the great blues artists have that very lyrical style.

And so is that what led him to put “In My Dreams” on the CD?

We thought what a great song! The lyric concept was great and we loved it - if you can’t have the woman you can have her in your dreams. He’s quite the ladies man.

How did you choose these particular songs?

Each of us picked one or two songs that we liked a lot. And then we wanted to include two originals, “Last Train Home” and “Born for the Road” and then the spontaneous “495 Boogie” with Colin Earl, Rogers brother, on piano. Long time favorite “Needle &Spoon” is an old Savoy Brown song which Roger played when he was in the band. And in the middle of “Rollin' and Tumblin'” Roger put in a Savoy cover of a Willie Dixon song that he loved. It fit time wise and key wise – it was a great idea. The songs just fell into place. Eddie just came in a one day session, jammed all day long, and out of the 8 tracks we laid we picked the ones we liked best.



Knowing that there have been changes in personnel over the years do you see the body of work that Foghat has produced as an evolution of sound or staying true to their original roots?

The current Foghat pays particular attention to the original songs- the way they were written and the way they were played. Ultimately, your fan base determines whether or not you are Foghat. And if not, that is why there are recordings that can be listened to again and again. The records become a time capsule, not the band, because the band is a living organism that moves forward through the years. Our natural styles are Foghat-like and our new material falls in the Foghat vein. When we play the classic Foghat songs it is our responsibility to play the songs correctly and to please ourselves as well. Musicians need to play and with the continuation of Foghat we try to keep the tradition going and have some self expression as well. What is important is the song catalogue – the songs are the legacy of the band and Foghat music, like the blues, allows you to express yourself within the context of the notes.

Talking with Eddie Kirkland...

So what was it like working with Foghat?

Great. They been sticking by me for a long time and I was very glad to do something with them on the album . It was a pleasure. People don’t realize it but the blues is here. It’s been here a long time and some way or another it’s gonna’ stay.

When you perform is it about honoring history or creating something new?

As the years go by I kinda’ do things that are up to date that younger people can dance to. I never stay in one place. In all my albums I have different arrangements, so now I am working on something for later down the road. I try to keep up to date and go back and play the old blues. I never forget that- but I know how to get something going when I get on stage to get them on the floor. I been out here so long I know when I get on stage what to play to get them up to dance.

How has your tour been going?

When I made this tour everyone came out to see me – nice crowds- people telling me not to stay away for too long. A lot of clubs closed down this past year and I sat home more than ever before- so this tour is nice. I got a lot of songs and I'm ready for another recording on my own. Money is kinda ‘slow. That was a great thing that Foghat did when they called me and asked me to do numbers on their album. If things go well with this album they might ask me to do something else you know?

How did you choose your songs for their CD?

They wanted two songs. They liked “Good, Good Day." “In My Dreams” is a song that’s been on my mind for a long time. They fell in love with that song. I was wanting to record it for a long time. It tells the truth. There is always somebody who wants to love somebody but they pay no attention. The song tells a story. Any one can see somebody that they want to be with but they turn their head, so you go home and dream about them.


You had said that the blues is a "truthful alignment to human condition"...

The blues is very important not only to us, but all across the world.
The blues is the mother of Rock and Roll, jazz, and country takes some of the blues licks. Country music and blues have been out there a long time. The rap, that’s the younger peoples music. The blues can touch any body if you're listening. If we don’t have music, we don’t have love. On the plantation, the black musicians got together and played. That music pulls people together. When you got around that music, there was nothing but love all they way around, in the air. On Monday, things go back to normal. I know I had a hard time but I am not sorry I took to the blues. The blues has brought me some happiness. I met a lot of good people. I’ll be singing the blues until the good Lord takes me away

Who were your influences?

My idols? Bind Blake lived 35 miles from where I lived in Tulsa. One day a week he'd come and play in front of the store and I would sit and listen to him. I always wanted to be a great guitar player like he was. He was my idol.

Has this been a hard life to live?

It's what I wanted to do since I was two years old. My grandmother would always order records from Sears & Roebuck, that big old catalogue. She'd get blues, country, Tommy Dorsey and I listened to it but the blues and country were may favorites. I played swing bands for a while but it wasn't fun. Playing jazz was no fun either, too fast. I wanted to play something mellow. I went back into the blues. I played R&R in the 60's and in the 70's I played a little disco but it got too wild for me so I went back to the blues. I like blues the best. It tells a story. I write songs about myself. I've been in the business 75 years and I still am probably the poorest blues musician around. I get my glory when I go out into the audience and see hundreds of thousands of people come to hear me play . In Portland people hadn't seen me for so long they said "Eddie! Don't stay away so long!" - stuff like that gives you a push. When somebody appreciates what you're doing it's better than money.

Any words to your fans or to the Foghat fans?

I'm hoping that all this will bring me more fans and if what I did helped them (Foghat)I’ll be proud of that too. Either way I’m proud. I’d like them to have some glory and I’d like to have some glory too. I think my young grandchildren will bring the blues back to how it used to be. It died down here in the states but across the water it never left. Blues is coming back. Sit and listen to it, it tells a story and maybe theres a chance that some of the things you hear in the song, you’ve experienced yourself.

Check out the "Last Train Home" at www.foghat.net
and view Eddie's incredible history at www.eddiekirkland.com

Warren King, the Wolf Moon and the Unbearable Silence that Follows... by Maureen Elizabeth

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On January 27, 2010, the Wolf Moon rose, the biggest and brightest moon of the year to come, and quietly, yet brilliantly, punctuated the end of the day Warren King set down his guitar and walked on. My personal knowledge of Warren is limited, so I talked with two musicians who have known him for decades, Bryan Bassett (Foghat) and Gil Snyder (Mystic Knights).

Bryan recalled the first time he saw Warren play. It was during the late 1960's, in a parking lot, outside of a business in Monroeville, PA. Bryan saw "this guy with long blond hair, suede fringed jacket and a red Gibson 335 guitar who looked a bit like Duane Allman." "He was the first good guitar player I ever saw" and, he said, became his first inspiration, "he really turned my head and made me think of being a musician myself." Looking back, Bryan noted that he has known Warren "pretty much my entire professional life" and although their paths crossed continuously over the years, they rarely actually played in a band together except for the occasional jam on stage in Pittsburgh. "Either he played or I played, but hardly ever in the same band at the same time -even though we played in the same bands. In Florida, at King Snake Studios, we worked together, and, in fact, with Byrd Foster and Warren there I felt like we had our own little 'Pittsburgh Club' in the studio. When I was on the road with Foghat, Warren would work on projects and when Warren was back in PA, I would fill the same chair in the studio." Quite a few of the recordings had both of them engineering and playing. "Warren was one of the most well known and respected guitar players around and anyone who knew music, knew Warren, Bryan said, "he was someone who had that spark, that presence, that you would go out of your way to see. He had that star quality. On stage he was not very gregarious, but his playing was captivating to watch - he was very focused- he'd play with his eyes closed. His expression, energy, style and phrasing were very powerful to watch."

Interestingly, Warren and Bryan did share the stage briefly back in the 1980's when Dominic DiSilvio, legendary owner of The Decade in Pittsburgh, approached Warren to form an "all-star" band to pump up an otherwise slow Monday night. Warren once recalled in those days, he would recruit " whoever I could get up before it got dark." So, for a time, this all-star jam band was composed of Warren, Byrd Foster, Bryan and keyboardist Gil Snyder. Eventually, the lineup changed and the band became "Warren King and the Mystic Knights of the Sea."

Gil recalls meeting Warren "back in the college days when I was in Brick Alley and Warren was in Diamond Rio." Brick Alley opened for Diamond Rio at a local theater, a gig that was not very well attended. "I remember feeling very disappointed that not many people showed up and then Diamond Rio went on stage and played as if they were playing for a thousand people - they powered through the set and from this I learned to perform to your highest level under any circumstance." Gil, also a young filmmaker at the time, had a Grammy nominated animated short called "Ooze." In 1977 or '78, Gil followed up with a second animated short "Space Infection." "Warren and I made the soundtrack, and believe it or not, we named ourselves the U2 band - long before we ever heard of U2!" Then came a period of time in which both Warren and Gil had recording contracts, Warren with the Silencers and Gil with the Iron City Houserockers. "We did a few jobs together, but he was going his way and I was going mine." Towards the end of the Houserockers era, the band was looking to find a replacement guitarist and Warren stepped in for about six months. "At this time we weren't afraid to walk around in a rather flamboyant fashion. After a gig at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, we didn't bother to change our clothes - we were staying at Swingo's - so instead of changing backstage (we had just opened for Ian Hunter) Warren, Mick Ronson and me decided to take a cab to the hotel and change there. Warren's hair was dyed orange and I had a bright red suit on with spiked hair (this WAS the 80's). So we arrive at the hotel and get into the elevator with another man and his pleasantly plump escort. The doors close, the elevator takes off and this couple just STARED at us. Suddenly, the elevator stopped and we were stuck. So there's the three of us, in our strange get-ups, and two very, very normal looking people. The woman started going berserk realizing that she was stuck in this small cubicle with these three human oddities. The woman was really being intolerable and Mick and I were just willing to stick it out, but Warren wouldn't. He started looking for a trap door. In those days there were no cell phones and this elevator had no emergency phone. So Warren, Samson that he was, tried to pry open the elevator doors and sure enough, he did it. To our dismay we discovered we were stuck between two floors. The opening to the next floor was about two foot high. The woman continued to scream and cry. Warren looked at us, and at her, and jumped out. Then the English fellow [Mick] said "I've had enough" and followed Warren. To get to the lower floor you had to swing out and if you didn't do it correctly there was a chance of falling down the shaft. By this time we were drawing a crowd and the woman in the elevator was still screaming. I'm trying to decide what to do when a cop shows up and shouts at me "stay there!" I looked at this woman and headed for the opening. The cop grabbed me as I made my escape and said "What's the matter with you Santy Claus?" I gave him a smart remark back and almost got arrested. By this time it was determined that the elevator wasn't going anywhere so Warren and I got to watch as this lady slides out of the elevator, feet first, as her dress goes all the way up to her neck. Warren and I often chuckled over "what color were her underpants?" Actually, we talked about this story not too long ago."

A few years ago Warren came back to PA and wanted to get back together with the Knights - the Mystic Knights "Kingfish" logo still tattooed on his arm from the early days- and so he came back to his roots and the band went into the studio to record. After becoming aware of Warren's declining health "we had hoped to do a benefit for him, to help him out. I talked to him about this and he asked that we wait until spring. Unfortunately, we didn't get that spring with him. We have a lot of great Warren King material in the can, my plan is to finish the product, he was anxious to do so, and release it in his memory. We are all going to miss him."

Brian ran into Warren about 6 or 8 months ago and had a chance to sit, talk, catch up - Warren talked about his plans, his hopes..."I never really expected it to happen that fast, he was a great guy, wonderful guitarist and fun to hang out with."

Warren played up until a short time before he died. As Bryan said, "playing is a personal comfort; hopefully playing made him feel better even for that short period of time. Warren was an ever present person in my life and now another good soul is gone. Please tell all my friends in Pittsburgh that I wished I could have been with them at the memorial and even though I wasn't there in person, I was there in spirit, in my heart." Bryan and friends also had a memorial jam for Warren in Florida.

For this writer, I'll always remember the time Gil and Warren crashed at my house after playing a local gig. The next morning Warren insisted on making the "best scrambled eggs you've ever eaten." And so, there was Warren, bopping around my kitchen, humming a tune, beret tilted to the sly, cooking up a storm. He was such a kind and gentle soul...

With the guitar laid down one last time, the stage lights dimmed, the studio chair waiting to be filled and the Wolf Moon sitting silently in the sky, we said farewell to an amazing musician who will be deeply missed. And as Bryan said, concluding our interview, when thinking of Warren, "just remember the music..."

Rest in Peace Warren King