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By Jeb Wright
Tony Stevens first came to fame as the bass
player in blues rock act Savoy Brown. From there he formed Foghat with Savoy
bandmates Roger Earl and Lonesome Dave Peverett. Rod Price joined on guitar and
the foursome went on to define boogie rock in the 1970's. Stevens enjoyed music
outside of the genre he was playing in and decided that Foghat was running it's
course so he opted out and went on to play in numerous bands and became a
successful actor. Years later, the original Foghat reformed and Stevens came
back to the fold. All was right with the world for a time. Sadly, Lonesome
Dave passed away from cancer and guitarist Rod Price left the band. Foghat
would continue with Steven and Earl as the only original members.
Steven's claims the band played sloppy and that
he was not having fun anymore in Foghat. Once again, he packed his bags and
went out to find his way. Oddly enough, he was contacted about releasing music
that he created outside of Foghat over the years. One of the releases is titled
Don't Blame Me.. I Just Play Bass. The record was started nearly twenty
years ago and was completed and initially released in 1998. Now, in 2007, the album is getting new life.
The music on the album is very good. Tony put his heart and soul into the
production of the music. Stevens steps out of his boogie rock shadow and plays
many genres bordering on pop and jazz. His talent is not in question yet
many Foghat diehards may not have realized he had this music in him.
To check out more of Don't Blame Me.. I Just
Play Bass visit Angel
Air Records.
Jeb: Don't Blame Me... I Just Play Bass
has been given a second life. How did this come about?
Tony: I was contacted a year ago by a member of
a band that I had in the 70s/80s with Maggie Bell named Midnight Flyer. A
record company in England, Angel Air, wanted to re-release the album. I spoke to
the label regarding the deal and the owner of the company asked me if I had any
other material that he would be interested in. I sent him my solo album, of
which the agreement with Slick Records had expired, and another album from a
band that I played with called Nobody's Business, which is being released in
June 2007, with a video. I also sent him my rock opera, Fallout. The
rest is music history..
Jeb: The music on the album is different than
one might expect from a guy who was with Foghat. It is very classy pop music.
Is this a style you always wanted to play in?
Tony: I love playing blues and rock but I write
songs in a more commercial vein. I love the verse/chorus/ hook syndrome and
songs about 3-4 minutes long so that you want to play them again right after you
have listened to them.
Jeb: You have a couple of covers. Tell me how
you came up with the idea arrange "Under My Thumb" the way you did.
Tony: "Under My Thumb" has been a Stones
favorite of mine for many years so I wanted to put my stamp on it without losing
the essence of the song. Living in Ibiza, in Spain, which has some of the
largest clubs in the world, I decided to add a dance track for the club scene
and also add a Spanish flavor with the acoustic guitar.
Jeb: Same question for "Sail on Sailor." This
is not the most famous song by this band.
Tony: "Sail on Sailor" is a verse/chorus/hook
song and, as you say; it was a lesser known Beach Boys song, which was on the
Holland album. It just grabbed me.
Jeb: The only band I can think of that goes to
such perfection in the production of their albums is Toto. How much time was
spent on getting everything perfect for your album?
Tony: I started writing and recording the CD in
1988. I managed to lay down eight tracks then life and other projects
sidetracked me until 1998, when the newly reformed Foghat was taking a break
whilst Dave was getting treatment for his cancer. I started up the project again
with a different co-producer and laid down another 10 tracks and then mixed,
mastered and re-mastered them until the tracks jumped out at you. Each song had
to be just right and different from the last track.
Jeb: How proud of this music are you?
Tony: The only other event in my life that
surpasses the pride that I have in my CD was the birth of my daughter Amber.
Jeb: Tell me about your new band, Tony
Steven's Slow Ride?
Tony: What can I say? It is one of the best
rock and roll bands in the whole of Wal-mart! I have the best musicians in,
Billy Livesay, Tommy Hall and Eddie Zyne. We just get better and better. The
new CD will be out in June.
Jeb: I have to ask a tough one. You were not
on the Foghat album that had "Slow Ride" on it. Isn't it kind of strange to use
that song as your link to Foghat?
Tony: Why? I was one fourth of the creation of
Foghat. My input on the most commercial songs, "Step Outside," "Long Way to Go"
and "Fly by Night" helped to mold the sound that created the hits after I had
left. I think I can be given a bit of latitude in that department.
Jeb: Speaking of Foghat, you left that band
twice and neither time was under the best of circumstances. The first time you
left the band was on the brink of breaking huge. Why did you leave just before
the flood gates broke?
Tony: I saw other new bands around us breaking
into markets that Foghat were starting to struggle with after four years because
we just kept on touring, sometimes three tours a year without let up. I could
see the fans getting restless seeing the same set over and over again. My
thoughts were to go overseas, give the USA time to miss us, and return
triumphant with a new album and set but there was too much greed and not enough
forward planning from sources in the band to allow that to happen. The writing
was on the wall. I was bored.
Jeb: Did Craig McGregor send you a fruit
basket for allowing him the job in Foghat once again when you left?
Tony: Dear Craig. He is a nice bloke who
deserves better than the $ 500 a night he pays Foghat to be able to play with
them -- just a joke. I didn't get a fruit basket but I sent him some earplugs.
Jeb: You stayed very busy with your life after
Foghat but I wonder did you ever miss it? The band went huge during the Live
era.
Tony: Jeb, my friend, if you cry at every
opportunity that you miss in life you will end up dehydrated with all the tears
that you have shed. I had a great time after Foghat with the television shows
Rock Follies, Nobody’s Business, Midnight Flyer, Roger Chapman and my acting
career all before I rejoined Foghat. Does that sound like I was crying over an
opportunity that I missed? I made my own opportunities
Jeb: You have said you didn't like the style of
music the band was playing when you left. Just wondering what made it
distasteful to you?
Tony: It wasn’t as distasteful as it was
getting boring and sloppy. Some nights I would cringe at the mistakes in the
simplest of songs that we had been playing for many years. Dave and Rods’ songs
are classic great Foghat songs but it was time for me to go somewhere else and
create the huge buzz that I missed in the '70s.
Jeb: Skip ahead a few years and Lonesome Dave
wants to get the band back together. What was your reaction?
Tony: First of all it wasn’t Dave that wanted
the band back together. In fact there was no love lost for Roger after the
legal battle that Dave went through for the Foghat name in the late 80s. Rod
felt the same way about Roger. In fact it was Rick Rubin that got the original
band back together. He spoke to the old manager of the band, who managed to kill
the deal that Rick Rubin wanted to put together for a new album. I was happy at
getting the phone call that brought the original band back together as equal
partners again.
Jeb: I am sure you are grateful that you did
get back with the band as you were able to spend more time on stage with Dave
before his tragic death.
Tony: Dave was the most courageous trooper that
I have ever met in the music business. He willed himself to come back after six
months of chemotherapy and do a tour; the last we ever did together. Rod had
left and we replaced him with Bryan Bassett. The Millennium DVD came from
that tour. It was an honor to play with him.
Jeb: How was Foghat different after Dave
died? You stayed for a while but then left again.
Tony: It got good for a little while then
Spinal Tap set in. It got, as I mentioned before, sloppy and repetitive.
Jeb: I think Charlie and Bryan do a great job
and I saw that line up a couple of times and you all retained the spirit of the
original -- I mean no one can replace Dave but the band you were in at the time
was a damn good one. Why leave again?
Tony: You saw us “a couple of times". What
about the times you did not see us and what about attitudes off stage?
Jeb: Next came a terrible lawsuit. You wanted
the name but in the end Roger Earl won. Let me just ask you why you think you
deserved the name and how did you react when you lost the case?
Tony: I started the band with Roger and Dave in
the 70s and remolded the band with the others when we reformed as equal partners
in 1993 until I left in 2005. Do you not think that that stands for something,
going through all the cancelled shows and tours when Dave and his wife Linda
both got sick with cancer? Lesser musicians would have given up the ghost but we
persevered.
Roger did not win. I let him have the name in
the end. We could have gone on financially a lot longer but I looked at what
wasn’t happening and that was I wasn’t working with my new band and thinking I
will have to play all Foghat tunes for the rest off my band career. There is so
much talent, both in playing and songwriting, in my band that it seemed a shame
to restrict ourselves. Of course I will play the Foghat hits as it is my
heritage. I will be playing some Savoy Brown songs as well. It is my pleasure
playing them for the fans but I want to go onwards and upwards and I can’t do
that as Foghat.
Jeb: Again tragedy struck and we lost Rod
Price. Had you stayed in touch with Rod?
Tony: I spoke to him a couple of times after he
left the band in 1999.
Jeb: On a lighter note, are there any plans to
play any of the solo album on tour?
Tony: You are my sunshine. There was talk of
doing a couple of tracks from my album and me singing them. Oh Lordy, Lord.
Jeb: Is there any reconciling with Roger and
the boys in Foghat at this point or have you moved on?
Tony: I do not want to give my fruit basket
back to Craig and I do not want my earplugs back. I’ve moved on my friend.
Jeb: Last one: what is the story behind the
title of your solo album?
Tony: As I am a bass
player that sings and not a singer that plays bass, ala Sting. If anybody says
to me, "I like your songs but your voice…" I would answer, “Don’t blame me, I
just play bass." It's a coward’s way out.
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