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Foghat's "Lonesome" Dave Peverett
Rock Devil: I know you've been through a lot health-wise over the last couple of years. It's great to hear you're doing better. Dave Peverett: Thank you. It was about a year ago actually, that I was diagnosed. There was a major operation and then radiation. During chemotherapy I had a low blood count, so that delayed my treatment. What normally would have been 2 months turned out to be 6. That was the worst part of it really. You know, getting the energy back, recovering from it. RD: Getting back on tour, you must feel like you’re walking on air now. Peverett: It’s great, because I appreciate it now. There was a point when my energy level was so low I couldn’t take a shower and step out. But I knew I’d be alright. I always think positive. RD: There’s been 2 live albums since your last studio effort, Return of the Boogie Men. Any chance we’ll get a new Foghat record in the near future? Peverett: Our next will be a studio album. Hopefully next year. We’ve got plenty of songs. In some of the time I’ve had off, I’ve been able to listen old tapes I made of little guitar parts and vague ideas...dating back from 1972. I think there’s a total of 90 hours worth! RD: What about the idea of putting out a box set with outtakes and demos? Peverett: It’s possible. I think Rhino had talked about that a couple of times over the years. They pretty much own the masters of the Bearsville stuff. Then we have demos and rehearsal tapes we own and some live stuff. RD: The only gold Foghat album yet to be released on CD is Boogie Motel. Why is that? Peverett: Actually, there’s a rumor it may come out. Rhino has an offshoot label for diehard record collectors that might be putting it out. In England there’s a company that’s talking of putting out the entire catalog. RD: Three out of four original Foghat members came from Savoy Brown circa 1971. Savoy was very bluesy, as is Foghat. Yet Foghat is much more riff heavy. Where’d you get the melt down boogie come from? Peverett: Savoy leaned heavily toward the experimental blues side. But my original influences were Bill Haley, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard and so forth. That led me to Chuck Berry. That was the key that unlocked the world of blues to me. Once I found out Chuck was influenced by Muddy Waters it caused me to check out the blues. When we formed Foghat , we wanted to combine the high energy rock ‘n’ roll like Jerry Lee Lewis, Vincent and James Brown, who worked their asses off onstage, with the blues. RD: I love how ou guys have transformed many blues staples into killer heavy rock songs, like "My Babe" and "I Just Wanna Make Love to You." Peverett: Part of it is volume. The original blues guys used a little amp. Of course, we played to rock ‘n’ roll crowds, like at the Fillmore, so that influenced us to go wild. RD: You often are very economical with your riffs, yet they are so effective... Peverett: I’d say my number one influence is John Lee Hooker, before he was a superstar. People now recognize him. I think, at one point, people may have said he wasn’t a good guitar player because he doesn’t play a thousand notes a minute. But what he does is right. Riffs like "I Just Wanna make Love to You" were influenced by that. RD: My dream is to get you guys, Status Quo and AC/DC together for triple bill festival! Peverett: Yes! We went to different schools together. RD: What’s amazing is that your biggest selling album is Foghat Live. This came out during 1977, the peak of the disco era... Peverett: It was funny, that whole disco era. It was all over media and TV. But there were still bands packing them in. Those were our best years actually, 1976-1979. RD: I must say I admire the quality of the albums you guys put out in the ‘70s. You weren’t just a singles band. Peverett: Back to Savoy Brown even, we were an albums band. In Foghat, we never thought of ourselves as a singles band. If you looked at the charts, we never would have made into the top 40 crowd. RD: Blues rock and boogie rock has been slighted by critics over the years. Does that frustrate you because what you guys do really is the essence of what rock ‘n’ roll is really all about? Peverett: Thank you. I’m glad you said that. With rock ‘n’ roll, it’s with the lyrics. Early John Lennon had real rock ‘n’ roll lyrics...and the Stones. People were almost trying to talk us out of liking it. They called it garbage music...loud meaningless music. But I liked it. I think blues confirmed why I liked it. The honesty is what I liked. Good rock ‘n’ roll is honesty. A big thanks to Lonesome Dave for his time. He was very generous and I enjoyed speaking with him immensely. Visit www.foghat.com for info on tour dates, band history and much more! |
Heavily influenced by blues and early rock 'n' roll,
"Lonesome" Dave Peverett fronts the legendary boogie rock outfit Foghat.
Known for such classic as "Slow Ride", "I Just Wanna Make Love to You"
and "Driving Wheel" among countless others, Foghat remains one of the last
true rock 'n' roll bands. Peverett's early days included a stint in the experimental
British blues band Savoy Brown. He acquired the nickname "Lonesome" as a
result of his shy nature (off stage that is!). He also enjoys collecting blues
records (where he has found the internet very helpful.) He has recently overcome
cancer to return to the music he loves and tour the world with Foghat alive and well.