Roger Earl has no patience for drum solos in ballads, musicians who get wasted before a show, or anyone trying to sue Guitar Hero. “Don’t be stupid,” he says flatly. “What is wrong with you people?”
Foghat’s legendary drummer joined Kyle Meredith With… to talk about the band’s 50th anniversary and their new live record Eight Days on the Road, recorded just before COVID shut everything down. “It’s more like 80,000 days on the road,” he jokes. “But we’re still here.”
The album was recorded at Daryl’s House—a venue that Earl raves about for its killer acoustics and HD camera setup. “We don’t usually get to play intimate venues like that,” he says. “But we were back in the van, driving 400 miles between gigs. Felt like the old days.” Not that they were partying like it. “Nobody gets whacked before the show,” he insists. “Do what you want after, but people paid good money to see you—not to watch some idiot fall over.”
For Earl, live shows are sacred. “You’ve got to treat it special,” he says. “Playing music is a privilege. Practice, practice, practice.” Which he still does nearly every day—decades later, working his hands and feet like a drummer with something to prove.
Foghat has gone through its share of lineup changes, with Earl the lone original member still pounding the skins. When Lonesome Dave passed, Earl wasn’t sure he wanted to continue. But then he remembered a guy who once covered Steve Marriott songs so well it stopped him in his tracks—Charlie Huhn. “I sent him 30 songs,” Earl laughs. “My girlfriend said that was a bit much. I said, ‘If he wants the gig, he’ll learn ’em.’” He did.
Earl still plays with producer/guitarist Brian Bassett, who’s been in the fold for over 24 years. “If the drums don’t sound good, the rest of the band might as well go home,” he says with zero irony.
As for the new live album’s title track—an R&B deep cut that’s now become their mantra—Earl loves it for one key reason: “I get to play double bass drums and pound away. It’s good fun.”
He also gives props to Guitar Hero for introducing Foghat to kids who weren’t even alive when Slow Ride first hit. “We had eight-year-olds at our shows!” he laughs. “You can’t pay for that kind of publicity.”
Speaking of Slow Ride, it’s the song that keeps paying dividends, partly thanks to Dazed and Confused. “One of the greatest moments in that movie,” Earl agrees. “I never get tired of hearing it.”
He’s less sentimental about the band’s early ’80s curveball, Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce, which flirted with new wave. “Not necessarily my thing,” he admits. “But Dave was checking out new stuff. Music is music.” Earl’s brother once told him anything more than three chords should be viewed with suspicion. “That sort of stuck,” he says.
Still, Earl’s open-minded. “My taste in music is much wider now than when I was 15. Back then I’d go, ‘Nope—more than three chords? I’m out.’”
Foghat’s next chapter includes a new studio album, assuming their ancient mixing board survives. “The board’s 21 years old,” Earl groans. “Some faders work, some don’t. I said, ‘Let’s get a new one.’”
But even with modern gear, he feels for today’s bands. “They have it easier with the tech, but harder trying to make a living. Drums have soul—machines don’t.”
Amen.
Watch the interview above and then check out the tracks below:
