By Brett Ratner

Foghat lead guitarist Rod Price hates the word "comeback."

A true connoisseur of the blues, Price's slide-heavy work on his Les Paul Junior helped propel such tunes as "Slow Ride" and "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" into all-time classic rock anthems as much an icon of the '70s as, um 8-tracks.

But it's the '90s now, and Price has never shaken the blues, or his love for playing. And with the help of movies such as Dazed and Confused," which feature Foghat tunes in their soundtracks, Price's band is making a comeback. But don't tell him that. As far a Price is concerned, he never left.

"I think it's just the way that the world works," Price said. "They think that if you're not in the public eye, you're dormant. I've never stopped playing. We're musicians. It doesn't mean that we put the guitars away and we haven't played. It's very important that people know that. In fact, I think I'm more in love with music these days than I've ever been in my life. I certainly don't think that you ever just put it down. You can't. If you catch the bug, you've got it for life."

While Price hasn't lost the "bug," he says he has gained some maturity over the years, rekindling his love of playing.

"I think maturity sparked my interest again," Price said. "Thank god the '70s are over! For me, it was a very crazy time. It was packed with touring. Quite honestly, I burned out at the end of the '70s. I had nothing left inside of me. I was an empty shell. I really needed a couple years to sit down and think, 'Well, what are you going to do with your life.' The truth of the matter was that I listened to very little music, if any at all. I'm not one of those people who listens to the radio, because as you know, there's not too much good on the radio. It gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate myself. What I found after a about a year, I really decided to look at this because, you know, this is my life. I found myself going back to the blues - going back to the blues - it always went back to the blues."

Price says that he grew up on the blues. It's a good thing that his music has come full circle.

"Ever since I started playing in, oh my God, (laughs) 1965. I started in blues bands," Price said. "I met [Foghat vocalist] "Lonesome" Dave Peverett in the blues clubs in England, the pubs. When I looked at this, I realized that unfortunately there are a lot of real jerks in this business, and they tell you what you should be doing or what you should know. I used to fall for that crap. I don't do that anymore. Dave and I, sort of as a team, we do what we want to do, which is blues-based rock. When people try to make something out of you that you're not, that's when you run into trouble."

Price says that they don't let anyone sway their musical vision anymore.

"I think now, we're much stronger in our direction, and we're just sticking to our guns this time," Price said. "That way, you are going to get the best out of the band. There's so much good blues music out there that still hasn't been looked at."

Currently, the band is re-organizing the "academic side of the band," as Price says, in other words, taking care of business. They have recently embarked on a string of club and festival gigs. Foghat has also resisted pressure to jump right into the studio. The band plans to take their time and record an album, (possibly live) this fall. According to Price, they want to road test the new songs and find out what does and doesn't work.

While Price, Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl have had the opportunity to live the rock and roll lifestyle to it's fullest, Price contests that there are many places the band never got to play, and many things he would like to experience. Price is grateful for the band's second wind.

"You name it, we haven't been there."