Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I'm Jeff Stevens. It's my eightyshow podcast. It's going to be a
busy summer tour for the Renegades andJukebox Heroes. We're talking about Styx and
Foreigner and John Waite going out thissummer. I've got singer Kelly Hanson a
Foreigner with me to talk about thattour and more. Kelly, how are
you? Hello? Hey Kelly Hanson? What's happening man? Nothing happening with
the rent. Great to be withyou. Great to be with you as
(00:24):
well, and very much looking forwardto the Renegades and Jukebox Heroes tour this
summer. First of all, didyou come up with a name? Because
the name is pretty awesome, Sosomebody came up with a cool name.
I do come up with the names, but I did not come up with
that one. Oh really, Ican't take credit for that one. All
right, Well, it's it immediately, you know. It immediately sets you
up for what you're about to see, because of course we've got Styx and
(00:45):
Foreigner and my pal John Wade isgoing to be there too. I bet
you are just busting ready for thisthis summer. And obviously you guys have
been on kind of a long extendedfarewell tour. Yeah. You know,
when we started talking about organizing thistour for this year, the shock me
to realize that we it's been tenyears since we toured with six Wow,
and that's how time lies. It'skind of crazy, and so it's nice
(01:08):
to be able to do it.And our farewell tour was always planned to
be like a two year farewell tourbecause we couldn't get everywhere in one year.
That was impossible. So but itdoesn't mean we're disappearing off the face
of the earth. But you know, we're just not going to tour nine
months a year because it's really agrind. And I've been doing it,
you know, twenty years straight.So I think after being in the business
(01:32):
for almost fifty years, I canI can say I put my time in
well, that is for sure,my friend. And of course, going
back to your Hurricane days, I'vegot the Hurricane vinyl for I'm Onto You.
I always loved that song. Andthen when I heard that you were
the new singer for Foreigner, whichis now twenty years ago, I was
like, oh man, what agreat voice. But you have really embodied
(01:53):
I mean from the moment you joinedthe band. You've embodied what Lou did
back in the seventies and eighties,and you've you've honored him, and you've
always but you've always been real graciousabout you know, you know, giving
him credit and everything else, butkind of just carrying on the legacy of
Foreigner the last twenty years. Andyou've just been amazing at doing that.
Brother, Well, thank you forthat. I you know, I think
(02:15):
I think that as time has movedon, I think that my voice has
fits the band not better. Idon't I don't think in my twenties I
would have been the right voice forthis band. And so but that's just
a coincidental, kind of wonderful giftthat that I've been given, is that
that my voice has gotten thicker andyou know, probably kind of richer over
(02:38):
the years, and so it fitsthe band better well. And that's something
that I actually just chatted with yourtouring partner, Tommy Shaw a little bit
ago about was, you know,all these years, his voice still sounds
amazing. I have seen you withForeigner probably seven or eight times in the
last fifteen or twenty years, andyour voice just continues to be amazing.
(02:59):
And I know that you you know, it doesn't always happen that way if
somebody doesn't take care of their voice. Well, you know, Tommy is
incredibly disciplined and I really admire himand all those guys They've got, you
know, three great lead singers inthat band, and it does take attention.
(03:19):
You have to pay attention. Andthat's one of the difficulties about being
on the road for nine months ofyears that when I'm on the road,
I'm not just singing for that hourand a half two hours on stage.
I have to think about and actupon what's good for my voice twenty four
to seven. Yeah, so Ihave to think about what I eat,
how I sleep, how loud Italk. You know, I can't laugh
(03:40):
too loud. I can't. Ican't you know, tell stories late at
night over a beer in a bar. I just can't do any of those
things. You have to. Andthe older you get, it seems like
the more you have to sacrifice tomaintain that status. Quote No, but
you can tell you take care ofyour voice, and and you know,
and with the songs you sing,I mean, let's be on. Lou
(04:00):
Graham didn't exactly make it easy onyou right. I mean, the songs
are truly, truly amazing that thathe and Mick wrote, and but you
do such an awesome job of honoringthose songs and also putting your own little
thing into it. But man,if you close your eyes, you close
your eyes at a Foreigner show,I mean you feel like you're listening to
a really good, big loud,live version of the original record. Well
(04:24):
you know it is. It's anincredible but challenging catalog of songs to sing,
and there's no doubt about that.And that's why I don't want to
be on stage delivering these songs ata lesser standard than they or the audience
deserves. And that's one of thereasons why we're choosing to do this Farewell
tour. These songs are hard tosing when you're in your thirties, and
(04:45):
I'm about to turn sixty three.So it's really saying, you know,
go out with you're on top,don't milk it and start. I hate
it when I hear or see aband that we all have seen that shouldn't
be out there on the road,really stealing from the fans that were dedicated
and supported them for decades. AndI don't want to be one of those.
(05:06):
Yeah, that's got to be tough. And at the same time,
you know, you're there's obviously thingsyou'll miss about being, you know,
doing the nine months out of theyear. I'm sure too. Well,
you know, it's definitely I mean, it's great to go to certain places
around the world at certain times thisyear, and you know, and you
the treatment is very nice and allthat is really great. But I'm I'm
(05:28):
happy to have a smaller life andand and it's something I actually have been
kind of pining for, you know, and so it's all it's all okay
for me, All good for me. That's pretty awesome, man. And
well, we have a couple moreminutes here. What can folks expect.
I mean, when you talk aboutStyx and Foreigner and John Waite, I
mean you're talking about probably what threehours four hours of just hit hit hit,
(05:55):
sing along, sing along, singalong. I mean, I think
that's pretty much what we're talking about. And we like to really be interactive
with the audience. I like tosay, we like to play with the
audience to the audience, and soit's really kind of a total participation kind
of thing for me. That's mygoal is to go out there and have
every everybody have a great time andjust forget about all the troubles of the
(06:17):
day for a while and just enjoyand vibe and feel and that does something
to your brain chemistry which you can'treally get in any other way. And
that's what I'm always shooting for everynight. Yeah, well you always,
you always hit it out of thepark, my friend. And now I
know you're we're talking about obviously ahuge, huge summer for Foreigner and sticks.
(06:38):
We also got to talk about theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.
We're going to find out here ina couple of weeks if Foreigner is in
this year. And man, Itell you what, I have been on
the soapbox for about twenty years,by the way, so this is so
long overdue. I've cast my votesand I will keep casting votes. But
how are you guys feeling about theodds this year? Well, by the
way, you can vote every day, yes, and I have been.
(07:00):
I have been, so keep votingeverybody. So people could go to vote
dot Rockhall dot com for that andvote for the band they want to be
inducted. And I think it's welldeserved for those the original members of the
band and and I'm really I'm standingby to assist in any way that I
can for that, and I reallyhope that it happens. And yeah,
(07:21):
I think these guys have made adifference in the musical world and I think
it's time. Absolutely very well saidKelly Hanson. And you have played a
big part of that, my friend. We will keep the votes going and
we look forward to it all happening. Great to talk to you. We'll
see you this summer. Kelly.Thank you.
I'm Jeff Stevens. It's my eightyshow podcast. It's going to be a
busy summer tour for the Renegades andJukebox Heroes. We're talking about Styx and
Foreigner and John Waite going out thissummer. I've got singer Kelly Hanson a
Foreigner with me to talk about thattour and more. Kelly, how are
you? Hello? Hey Kelly Hanson? What's happening man? Nothing happening with
the rent. Great to be withyou. Great to be with you as
(00:24):
well, and very much looking forwardto the Renegades and Jukebox Heroes tour this
summer. First of all, didyou come up with a name? Because
the name is pretty awesome, Sosomebody came up with a cool name.
I do come up with the names, but I did not come up with
that one. Oh really, Ican't take credit for that one. All
right, Well, it's it immediately, you know. It immediately sets you
up for what you're about to see, because of course we've got Styx and
(00:45):
Foreigner and my pal John Wade isgoing to be there too. I bet
you are just busting ready for thisthis summer. And obviously you guys have
been on kind of a long extendedfarewell tour. Yeah. You know,
when we started talking about organizing thistour for this year, the shock me
to realize that we it's been tenyears since we toured with six Wow,
and that's how time lies. It'skind of crazy, and so it's nice
(01:08):
to be able to do it.And our farewell tour was always planned to
be like a two year farewell tourbecause we couldn't get everywhere in one year.
That was impossible. So but itdoesn't mean we're disappearing off the face
of the earth. But you know, we're just not going to tour nine
months a year because it's really agrind. And I've been doing it,
you know, twenty years straight.So I think after being in the business
(01:32):
for almost fifty years, I canI can say I put my time in
well, that is for sure,my friend. And of course, going
back to your Hurricane days, I'vegot the Hurricane vinyl for I'm Onto You.
I always loved that song. Andthen when I heard that you were
the new singer for Foreigner, whichis now twenty years ago, I was
like, oh man, what agreat voice. But you have really embodied
(01:53):
I mean from the moment you joinedthe band. You've embodied what Lou did
back in the seventies and eighties,and you've you've honored him, and you've
always but you've always been real graciousabout you know, you know, giving
him credit and everything else, butkind of just carrying on the legacy of
Foreigner the last twenty years. Andyou've just been amazing at doing that.
Brother, Well, thank you forthat. I you know, I think
(02:15):
I think that as time has movedon, I think that my voice has
fits the band not better. Idon't I don't think in my twenties I
would have been the right voice forthis band. And so but that's just
a coincidental, kind of wonderful giftthat that I've been given, is that
that my voice has gotten thicker andyou know, probably kind of richer over
(02:38):
the years, and so it fitsthe band better well. And that's something
that I actually just chatted with yourtouring partner, Tommy Shaw a little bit
ago about was, you know,all these years, his voice still sounds
amazing. I have seen you withForeigner probably seven or eight times in the
last fifteen or twenty years, andyour voice just continues to be amazing.
(02:59):
And I know that you you know, it doesn't always happen that way if
somebody doesn't take care of their voice. Well, you know, Tommy is
incredibly disciplined and I really admire himand all those guys They've got, you
know, three great lead singers inthat band, and it does take attention.
(03:19):
You have to pay attention. Andthat's one of the difficulties about being
on the road for nine months ofyears that when I'm on the road,
I'm not just singing for that hourand a half two hours on stage.
I have to think about and actupon what's good for my voice twenty four
to seven. Yeah, so Ihave to think about what I eat,
how I sleep, how loud Italk. You know, I can't laugh
(03:40):
too loud. I can't. Ican't you know, tell stories late at
night over a beer in a bar. I just can't do any of those
things. You have to. Andthe older you get, it seems like
the more you have to sacrifice tomaintain that status. Quote No, but
you can tell you take care ofyour voice, and and you know,
and with the songs you sing,I mean, let's be on. Lou
(04:00):
Graham didn't exactly make it easy onyou right. I mean, the songs
are truly, truly amazing that thathe and Mick wrote, and but you
do such an awesome job of honoringthose songs and also putting your own little
thing into it. But man,if you close your eyes, you close
your eyes at a Foreigner show,I mean you feel like you're listening to
a really good, big loud,live version of the original record. Well
(04:24):
you know it is. It's anincredible but challenging catalog of songs to sing,
and there's no doubt about that.And that's why I don't want to
be on stage delivering these songs ata lesser standard than they or the audience
deserves. And that's one of thereasons why we're choosing to do this Farewell
tour. These songs are hard tosing when you're in your thirties, and
(04:45):
I'm about to turn sixty three.So it's really saying, you know,
go out with you're on top,don't milk it and start. I hate
it when I hear or see aband that we all have seen that shouldn't
be out there on the road,really stealing from the fans that were dedicated
and supported them for decades. AndI don't want to be one of those.
(05:06):
Yeah, that's got to be tough. And at the same time,
you know, you're there's obviously thingsyou'll miss about being, you know,
doing the nine months out of theyear. I'm sure too. Well,
you know, it's definitely I mean, it's great to go to certain places
around the world at certain times thisyear, and you know, and you
the treatment is very nice and allthat is really great. But I'm I'm
(05:28):
happy to have a smaller life andand and it's something I actually have been
kind of pining for, you know, and so it's all it's all okay
for me, All good for me. That's pretty awesome, man. And
well, we have a couple moreminutes here. What can folks expect.
I mean, when you talk aboutStyx and Foreigner and John Waite, I
mean you're talking about probably what threehours four hours of just hit hit hit,
(05:55):
sing along, sing along, singalong. I mean, I think
that's pretty much what we're talking about. And we like to really be interactive
with the audience. I like tosay, we like to play with the
audience to the audience, and soit's really kind of a total participation kind
of thing for me. That's mygoal is to go out there and have
every everybody have a great time andjust forget about all the troubles of the
(06:17):
day for a while and just enjoyand vibe and feel and that does something
to your brain chemistry which you can'treally get in any other way. And
that's what I'm always shooting for everynight. Yeah, well you always,
you always hit it out of thepark, my friend. And now I
know you're we're talking about obviously ahuge, huge summer for Foreigner and sticks.
(06:38):
We also got to talk about theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.
We're going to find out here ina couple of weeks if Foreigner is in
this year. And man, Itell you what, I have been on
the soapbox for about twenty years,by the way, so this is so
long overdue. I've cast my votesand I will keep casting votes. But
how are you guys feeling about theodds this year? Well, by the
way, you can vote every day, yes, and I have been.
(07:00):
I have been, so keep votingeverybody. So people could go to vote
dot Rockhall dot com for that andvote for the band they want to be
inducted. And I think it's welldeserved for those the original members of the
band and and I'm really I'm standingby to assist in any way that I
can for that, and I reallyhope that it happens. And yeah,
(07:21):
I think these guys have made adifference in the musical world and I think
it's time. Absolutely very well saidKelly Hanson. And you have played a
big part of that, my friend. We will keep the votes going and
we look forward to it all happening. Great to talk to you. We'll
see you this summer. Kelly.Thank you.
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