We don’t play music to the audience, we play it with them,” says the lead vocalist of Foreigner, Kelly Hansen. The band Foreigner will be playing in India from February 11 to 20 across five cities in the country. The members are quite excited about their first ever visit to India. “Personally, we are looking forward to it. I haven’t heard too much of Indian music, but this will be a great opportunity to know Indian culture and music,” says Hansen.
“This was an idea to meet new fans and take Foreigner to a new place. We don’t have a specific set of songs in our repertoire for the Indian tour since each country has its own choices. Songs have different popularity levels and we just want people to have fun listening to some good music. We will belt out our greatest hits and I am sure it’s going to be a great experience,” adds Hansen.
The British-American rock band, which was formed in 1978 by Mick Jones, Ian Mcdonald and Lou Gramm has undergone many changes in the last three decades and has seen various ups and downs in its musical career. One of the intriguing things about Foreigner is its name.
“All the other founding members of Foreigner were American. I am an English, so Foreigner seemed like an apt name for the band,” says the lead guitarist and the permanent member of the band Mick Jones. Jones has probably been the most inspirational member for the band and has played with the likes of The Beatles, Jimmy Page, George Harrison and Peter Frampton. “It was great playing with some these legends especially George Harrison who was my hero whilst growing up, but playing your own music in your own band is a supremely satisfying experience,” says Jones who also was associated with the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
“I went out with Jimi Hendrix on his first tour in France and I got to know Jimi quite well. He was a sweetheart, an amazing man and just a very peaceful kind of guy. He was very natural and down-to-earth. That was before he had all the success, of course. I’d never seen anything like him. It was like he was from outer space. How could he get a sound like that from a guitar and how could he treat a guitar like that? The best part of those days and working with all those people was that I was able to learn so much. Different musically, perhaps, but they all shared the same kind of passion for music. I’ve always been ready to listen and to learn. Even now I try and keep an open mind for that,” says Jones.
Considering the number of changes the band has gone through, Hansen feels that they are much better off now than what they were ten years ago. “Every music band has its up times and down times. Moreover, things have changed so much that now you have at least a hundred choices of listening to music,” says Hansen. The challenges that bands face today are far more than what it used to be two decades ago. “In the 1970s it was easier to get noticed and record your album. Now with multiple options on the Internet, there are plenty of choices to entertain the masses. The Internet dynamics have sort of changed the structure of the music industry, especially for the bands,” asserts Hansen.
He believes that technology has done a lot of good to music, but at the same time has also allowed various illegal ways of downloading music. “It’s tough to be a musician in the present times. There is so much of exciting work that keeps you going, but the illegal downloading and piracy issues make it difficult for musicians to survive,” says Hansen. But at the end of the day, all that matters is creating good music. “You are influenced by something everyday. You just want to make good music and move forward,” says Hansen.