Headline act brings it on home
Thursday, September 07, 2006
By Troy Reimink
The Grand Rapids Press
"Play some Foghat!"
Occasionally at rock shows, you'll hear a kid yelling that. Why? Hard to say. But we fully support making "Play some Foghat!" the new "Play 'Freebird'!"
Local pride has a lot to do with it. East Grand Rapids native Charlie Huhn has been the band's singer since 2000, when he stepped in for late singer "Lonesome" Dave Peverett.
Since then, Foghat, once a top-shelf arena band, has been a regular fixture on the outdoor-festival circuit. Oddly enough, Huhn has never made it back to West Michigan with the band, and Foghat's headlining slot at Celebration on the Grand will be a homecoming of sorts, since Huhn says Grand Rapids is still in his DNA.
"I really like Grand Rapids a lot. I go there, I grew up there and I learned all my rock 'n' roll licks there," he said, calling from his home outside Detroit. "I used to deliver The Press back in the '60s. Actually, I quit delivering papers right around the time I quit the marching band and started practicing guitar real hard and singing."
His musical pursuits led to gigs singing with Humble Pie, Victory and Ted Nugent's band, but he says he feels right at home in Foghat.
"I'm lucky. I knock on wood everyday and say, just give me one more year," Huhn said. "It's actually too good for a young 55-year-old to keep rocking and rolling in a former supergroup that sounds even better than it did back in the heyday."
During that heyday, the band had several radio hits, but mostly is known today for "Slow Ride," an iconic rock anthem that has granted the band open-ended staying power in pop culture.
The song has been used in movies ("Dazed and Confused"), TV shows ("Seinfeld," "Family Guy") and in several commercials, including a recent fast-food ad that notoriously attempted to sexualize hamburgers.
When a band has a signature song, the members often get jaded playing it night after night, but Huhn said Foghat views "Slow Ride" as a blessing and constantly works to improve its performance.
"You can tell when people are up there just going through the motions, and that's too bad," he said "You have to work at it. And since your work is play, it's fun. I wanna perform it better than I did last time. It's really an enjoyment playing the material."
Such are the rewards of a life spent in music. Huhn says the tensions that tear apart a lot of younger bands eventually go away, assuming you can keep the band going long enough.
"There's a feeling of camaraderie once you develop and get through all the humps and stuff, but keeping a group together is kind of difficult."
"At this stage, there are no egos anymore. Everyone knows what the score is," he said. "It's just so nice to be in with people who have been around the block and really know what the purpose is, and are happy to be working instead of at people's throats."
Send e-mail to the author: treimink@grpress.com
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