If you’ve been to see legendary classic rock band Foreigner over the past 16 or so years, you know that lead vocalist Kelly Hansen approaches his job with a passionate, frenetic energy that is infectious. Whether he is running through the crowd, or bounding from side to side on stage, and never missing a note, he is an ebullient, energetic ball of fun, powering through 90 minutes of incredible music.
So, imagine what it must be like to have nowhere to expend that energy, no way to have that sort of powerful connection with fans, or to be able to share in the joy and rush of the unique compelling experience you can only have at a big rock show. That’s what Hansen, and in fact vocalists and musicians around the world have had to cope with since the rise of the disastrous and increasingly tragic COVID-19 pandemic.
Hansen has managed to maintain his sanity while staying at home during the lockdown in California where he lives, and he and his bandmates decided to use some of their energy and time to help members of their extended ‘family’ who are truly struggling during these unprecedented times – their crew. These are the worker bees behind the scenes who ensure every aspect of a Foreigner show is the most positive and memorable experience possible for each and every fan. These folks have lost their livelihoods and often don’t have alternate sources of revenue.
Hansen, and fellow Foreigner members Mick Jones, Jeff Pilson, Thom Gimbel, Michael Bluestein, Bruce Watson and Chris Frazier as well as the band’s management decided to host an online sale of unique Foreigner merchandise and memorabilia with all proceeds going to help their crew mitigate some of the financial uncertainty and hardship they are currently experiencing.
“We wanted to come up with a way that we could help our crew, but we also wanted to make sure that everybody got something out of it. So, if you go to our website www.foreigneronline.com, there’s a ‘Crew’ page and you can click on it and we’ve created these packages of stuff like tote bags and CDs and t-shirts and these different kind of things at different price points that you can buy. And all the proceeds go to our crew, so we think it gives the fans something and it gives our crew something. It’s something positive and constructive that we can do during these tough times,” said Hansen.
“The fans have always been so great at showing love to the band for all these years. We ask that they show a little more love to our crew too, because they are just as important and formidable an aspect of what’s going on tour with us as a band. It’s nice for them to get a little help and a little recognition in that way. Fans have always been so amazing, and they are being amazing again for our crew, which makes us band members so incredibly grateful because we know everybody in this country is going through something even apart from COVID. We all have our struggles and it’s great to see everybody helping each other out.”
Hansen has nothing but praise for the Foreigner crew, whom he and his bandmates consider to be part of one big family, all working towards the same goal – putting on a kick ass rock show, night after night, more than 100 nights a year.
“These are super hard working, dedicated professionals who are so really good at their jobs, but they’re never seen, they’re never heard. They have pretty much a thankless job in making the band look and sound good every night. They are responsible for everything you see and hear on stage every night. They give us the opportunity to do our best. They are at the venue very early in the morning getting things ready, and sometimes having to ad hoc together parts of the production because every building we play is different and has its own little idiosyncrasies and challenges. And they always do a great job. And they don’t leave until way into the night, far after the band has left and long after the fans have gone home. They pack everything up into the trucks and the drive all night to the next show. They get very few hours of sleep and then they start it all over again the next day. We’re all kind of a family here in Foreigner, like any kind of small business would be. They are all specialists in their field and are so good at what they do,” he said.
“For example, you have a guy who runs the sound out front that the audience hears, working behind a huge console. He works in concert with the guy, usually at stage right, right on the edge of the sage, who provides the band with our mix in our ears. We each have custom ear packs and we have a wireless receiver that receives the mix. And that guy, the monitor guy, he has to give everybody in the band their own stereo mix, with different instruments louder than other instruments. Like, I need my voice louder than the drummer needs my voice. The drummer needs his mix to be big and bombastic to feel that he is really getting the most out of the drums. Then you have the people running the lights and all the other individual technicians like the drum tech, the keyboard tech, the guitar tech and several other techs. I have my own personal guy who has been on stage right with me for more than 10 years and takes care of me and has my drinks and towels ready and gets me anything I need during the show. He is also the crew carpenter and the stage manager.
“Then we have the production people, the people who work backstage, in the dressing room areas, who work every day doing advance work and making sure that everything is set and ready to go for the next show, the next week, the next two weeks. It’s just a load of people, the bus drivers and truck drivers and on the big summer tours we travel with a catering company. So, there’s a lot of people involved to make these shows happen. It’s really incredible and they are all really good at their particular specialties. It’s really amazing what they have been asked to do and always have been able to come through with. They go above and beyond because what they give us, whenever they give it to us, is always more than we need.”
So why is the crew so dedicated, where did this level of commitment come from?
“I think what it is is that everyone from the top down recognizes what an awesome catalogue of songs there are, and everybody on stage recognizes how fortunate we are, because we’ve all been around the block, and I think that the crew senses that and sees that we care and that we are really doing our best, and hopefully that motivates them to do their best,” Hansen said.
“And they’re all top professionals in their field so they want to do a really great, perfect job too. So, when you’re working with a whole group of people where everyone of them is doing top notch, incredible work, you’re inspired to do your best work. And I think that’s how it works and why everyone is so passionate about putting on the best show for the fans.”
And speaking of the fans, it isn’t lost on Hansen or the rest of his Foreigner bandmates that the reason they are able to play well over 100 shows a year to sold out crowds is because their fan base continues to grow and diversity across various demographic metrics.
“We’re really lucky because if someone comes to our show, they’re going to hear a lot of songs that they know, and I think that’s a key thing for why we have such great Foreigner fans. It’s not like there’s only two songs that are saved for the end of the show that the band is known for. It’s really a great catalogue,” he said.
“I have noticed over the last 10 years especially how there’s a lot more young people in the audience and I can tell you they’re not being dragged to the show by their parents because they know the words to the songs – I can see them singing along every night. I think that has a lot to do with movie placements or song placements in commercials or TV shows. Younger people hear the songs and then because of the internet they can Google us and find the whole catalogue. So, I think a lot of the reason why we are attracting younger fans is through osmosis like that.”
Hansen obviously misses being onstage and performing with his pals for Foreigner fans but said he has tried to stay busy throughout a disappointing 10 months.
“We book almost a year in advance, so we had the whole year of 2020 booked and ready to go. But we all came home on March 12; we left in the middle of a leg. I came home from Minneapolis-St. Paul and we saw chunk by chunk as legs of the tour just got cancelled or postponed. Around July or August, we knew that it probably wasn’t going to happen at all for 2020. We’re optimistic looking forward. We have a fully booked year this year. We were supposed to start in February but now it looks like we’re starting in March. All you can do is be positive and be prepared for it and hope it happens,” he said.
“I do have to admit that at first I allowed myself what I believe was some well-earned time off. I have been doing this for eight or nine months a year for the last 15 years straight, so I needed a break, and it was good for me to take a break. But since [American] Thanksgiving I am back training and vocalizing and working out because I have to prepare myself for that energy that I want to let of on stage.
“I am normally kind of a mellow person but being on stage is a whole other part of me that comes out. I am a performer, and I am kind of old school, or time theatre, ‘show must go on’ kind of performer and that’s just how I was raised. In terms of creating new stuff, there’s always several things in different stages of completion, and we’re working on a couple of things. There are always songs that are partially done, but the fact that we’re on the road so much makes it hard to get that stuff done. Now, we can work on them a bit more, but we’re doing it remotely. We have satellite studios and we’re working on some tracks and doing stuff to keep busy. But listen, I also have a long list of stuff to do around the house that I haven’t been able to get to over the last 15 years. And I enjoy that too. I enjoy being able to use that other part of my brain.”
Hansen added that the fundraising program to help the Foreigner crew will last until the end of January. Once again, visit https://store.foreigneronline.com/dept/foreigner-crew.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for nearly 30 years. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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I purchased the $100 tote for my best friend for Christmas. It was full of great fan friendly items! Was a great deal for a great cause.