Foreigner‘s lead singer Kelly Hansen admits that the band’s days of releasing full-length studio albums might be in the past. Just released is the group’s new live CD/DVD collection, Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. The set, which was recorded last May in Lucerne, Switzerland, features 14 tracks on the CD and three more on the DVD.
During a chat with AntiHeroMagazine.com, Hansen — who because Foreigner’s frontman back in 2005 — was asked about new studio tracks, and said, “Y’know, I don’t think that in this day and age, it makes sense to put out full CD’s anymore. When we put out (2009’s) Can’t Slow Down, the day we released it, you could get it for free on the Internet. That’s just reflective of the day and age that we’re in, unfortunately. So we spent a year, a full year of our life and our energy and our time and our money making Can’t Slow Down and then find out that they’re getting it for free on the internet is very disappointing. I think it makes more sense to do one or two songs at a time, maybe do a little mini-campaign around them, something like that, so I think that might be more of our approach in the future.”
Although the frontman gig in Foreigner is the dream job for any singer — Hansen said that he entered with both eyes open before joining an outfit in which he was replacing such a beloved and creative frontman as Lou Gramm: “Well, I understood that there might be people that weren’t going to accept another singer in the band besides Lou, but does that mean you don’t do it? No, it means you have to have a bit of confidence and say ‘y’know I think I can do this and I think I can do these songs with integrity and hopefully people will be on board with that.’ The other choice is that these songs never get played live by Foreigner again and that’s not a great prospect, y’know, so I had to kind of think about it that way.”
Co-founding guitarist and songwriter, Mick Jones said that he feels as though Foreigner was among the last hard rock bands to dominate radio before the dawn of the ’80s and the birth of MTV: “I think perhaps we were part of a — almost like the end of that era of where songs were still really important. And I think that’s why we’re attracting a lot of younger kids to the shows now too, y’know. And the kids actually sing along to the songs and know all the lyrics, so that’s pretty refreshing.”
The new Foreigner musical built around the band’s legendary catalogue will open this summer in Calgary, Alberta. The production, called Jukebox Hero after Foreigner’s 1981 classic, will open first in Calgary, running from August 10th through 12th at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, before hitting Edmonton on August 16th through 19th at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
Foreigner will next perform on May 5th in Tel Aviv, Israel.
UPDATED: Foreigner, Whitesnake & Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening tour dates (subject to change):
June 15 – Bangor, ME – Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
June 16 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 19 – Syracuse, NY – Lakeview Amphitheater
June 20 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
June 22 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach
June 23 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
June 26 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 27 – Burgettstown, PA – KeyBank Pavilion
June 29 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
June 30 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July 3 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
July 4 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
July 6 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
July 7 – Alpharetta, GA – Verizon Amphitheatre
July 8 – Simpsonville, SC – Heritage Park Amphitheatre
July 10 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
July 11 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 13 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
July 15 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 17 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
July 18 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 20 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 21 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
July 24 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
July 25 – West Valley City, UT – Usana Amphitheater
July 27 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
July 28 – Ridgefield, WA – Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre
July 29 – Murphy, CA – Ironstone Amphitheatre
July 31 – Chula Vista, CA – Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
August 1 – Irvine, CA – Five Point Amphitheater
August 4 – Sturgis, SD – Sturgis Buffalo Chip (Foreigner only)
August 11 – West Allis, WI – Wisconsin State Fair – Main Stage (Foreigner only)
August 12 – Springfield, IL – Grandstand at Illinois State Fair (Foreigner & Joan Jett & The Blackstars)
September 1 – Huron, SD – South Dakota State Fair (Foreigner & Night Ranger)
September 2 – Norfolk, NE – Divots Event Center (Foreigner & Tesla)
September 21 – San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park (Foreigner only)
September 22 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Resort Casino (Foreigner only)
