By Dylan Lajoie

Nearly forty years after their debut, Foghat proved they can still rock on stage. On June 27th, the classic rock band known for rock’n roll hits like "Slow Ride," "I Just Wanna Make Love to You," and "Fool For The City," was featured in the pre-race show leading up to the Lennox 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Foghat entertained a good sized crowd with both old hits and new songs off of their new album, "Last Train Home" which was just released on June 15th. For many fans the highlight may have come later in the show when the more familiar Foghat creations were played, but their new material off of the "Last Train Home" album should not be overlooked. Those new songs could be the highlights of the bands future performances as they display their classic bluesier sound. Foghat did an excellent job combining blues guitar with the band’s own sound they’ve maintained for so long, a recipe for great music.

Using great stage presence and musical ability which could only be mastered with the experience that has been built up by this band over the years, Foghat delivered a fantastic live performance that drew the audience in as the show progressed. As the crowd of NASCAR fans grew, they began singing along with the band as they pounded out their hits, leading up to the popular ‘I Just want to Make Love to You’, which had the crowd both singing along and dancing. For their encore, the fans that had filled the stands at the speedway demanded their biggest hit, ‘Slow Ride’. The body of fans in the stands that had started out fairly small had now grown in both size and excitement. Fans had moved down to the fence getting as close to the music as possible, as they danced and sang with the classic band to their biggest hits.

Foghat performing the national anthem at NHMS. G. Campbell photo

After a great one-hour plus set, the band returned to the stage minutes before the command to start the engines. They did an amazing version of the National Anthem, which was featured on the national television broadcast of the race.

Foghat was not new to the sport though. They had played for a NASCAR crowd before, as they had played around other racing events. This was the first time however, that they had played at a track on the day of the event, and it was their biggest performance at a NASCAR event of their careers. The band said they have always been fans of motor sports.

Roger Earl, drummer for the band said, "Yea, we’re a bunch of gear heads from back in the day. It’s a lot of fun, all types of racing, Grand Prix, NASCAR." Earl didn’t name a favorite driver himself, but referred to Dale Earnhardt Jr. as his grandson’s favorite while Charlie Huhn, the group’s lead singer named one of NASCAR’s more dominant drivers, Jimmie Johnson as his favorite.

The band has made a few line up changes throughout the years, as original lead singer and rhythm guitarist Dave Peverett and lead guitarist Rod Price passed away in the past ten years. Longtime members Roger Earl and Craig MacGregor had found a powerful partnership to continue their rock and roll tradition with Charlie Huhn, formerly of Ted Nugent’s band on lead vocals and guitar, and Bryan Basset formerly of Molly Hatchet on lead guitar. Basset plays the slide guitar allowing the band to carry on the unique sound first developed by the band in the 1970’s.

Carrying on that rock and roll tradition, despite many tough times has not always been easy. All bands face challenges at some point in their careers, and few made it through and continue on as Foghat has been able to do. Lead singer Charlie Huhn said, "There are ups and downs you know, like any organization, you just decide to keep moving on and continuing the tradition, and it’s and honor to be able to play."

"We love what we do, we play rock and roll. We get paid for doing something we love, we love our work," says Roger Earl, founding member and original drummer of the band.

After Foghat’s rough and tumble upbringing in the music world, some would say they would be the perfect teachers for young bands trying to make a name for themselves, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. Comic Book Heroes, a band made up of four 18 year olds, including Foghat bassist Craig MacGregor’s son, Collin MacGregor on the drums, partnered with NASCAR and the Nationwide Series in 2010. They even opened for Foghat at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The band considers Comic Book Heroes a part of the Foghat family. The band has been guiding the younger rock band and helping them achieve success in the early stages without the pain and trouble other bands go through. Many of today’s stars in the music world hit the scene before they are ready, before they refine their musical skill. While that can be fixed in the studio, when a band that has not fully developed yet hits a stage in front of thousands of fans, they just don’t sound as good as the bands did in the golden years of rock and roll.

Huhn & Bassett trading guitar licks at NHMS. G. Campbell photo

Bryan Basset said, "All the classic rock bands are very good live performers because of that fact. They were basically live players first, records came almost secondary, came along later in their careers, so they get to play on big stages where the music sounds good. I think that’s what some of the new bands miss out on is that early craft working, working your way up. A lot of young bands are hitting the big stages before they’re ready." Foghat wants to make sure that Comic Book Heroes don’t make the same mistakes that so many rock bands of today make.

Foghat released their new album, "Last Train Home" on June 15th. The album which combines a fresh blues sound with Foghat’s original sound can be found everywhere along with being available on their website, www.foghat.net. The new album sounds great. It does a good job of combing a fast paced rock and roll sound that Foghat thrived on and combined it with amazing blues guitar and chords. The songs from the new CD they performed at Loudon were awesome, and the new CD is sure to please rockers who enjoy classic rock and blues music.