Lou Gramm had been performing since the 1970s and had some success with the band Black Sheep that formed in the mid-1970s. They even secured a recording deal with a major record label. But an auto accident on the way to a concert unceremoniously claimed almost all the band’s gear. The guitars were mangled, drums were oval shaped instead of round and the much-anticipated tour they were supposed to share with Kiss came to an abrupt end. Black Sheep went into forced hibernation. Soon after, an unexpected audition with Brit music veteran Mick Jones resulted in lead singer Lou Gramm being recruited into a new, untested band that, at its inception, was half British and half American musicians. A recording contract with the prestigious and powerful Atlantic Records saw the newly christened Foreigner come out of the gate like a potent muscle car or hotrod (one of Gramm’s ‘off hour’ passions) as they scored seemingly countless hits with memorable originals such as… well, you can certainly name most of them since they are repeatedly playing around the world on radio, streaming channels and more.
Gramm left Foreigner in the early 1990s, pursued a solo career, occasionally reunited with the band, returned to a solo career, retired a few times, and returned to performing… Got that? What matters is he’s back on stage and there were over two dozen shows officially booked through the end of 2024. In addition, the official announcement that Foreigner—with Lou Gramm as THE lead singer—is finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame / Class of 2024-now has an energized Gramm accepting some dates in 2025.
One of the first shows of Gramm’s 2024 tour took place on Saturday March 9. The Rochester venue was the Kodak Center, a 1968 seat room which has been on the Kodak corporate campus for decades. Like Kodak Center, more and more venues across the country now have their own keyboards, drum sets, ‘backline’ equipment such as audio and light boards etc. So was the case at Kodak Center which means it’s already a system that’s custom designed for that specific venue. Groups such as Gramm’s are what’s called a ‘fly band’ since they rent much of the equipment vs. having one or more massive eighteen-wheeler trucks travel from town to town. And, unlike performing at a massive outdoor venue, there’s no worries about convoluted traffic jams, rain, humidity or unpredictable weather-related challenges when you’re indoors.
The vast, quiet stage, as expected, was bare that Saturday morning. With a six-man crew ready to go, load-in started around 10 AM, hours before any musicians showed up for the scheduled midafternoon sound check. The crew would strategically position microphone stands, weave cables throughout the venue, connect to monitors and the mixing board several hundred feet away at the back of the concert hall while audio and lighting mixing boards were tested and re-tested. As for where the musicians would eventually position themselves, the crew set up the keyboards stage right-toward the back, guitar stage right-toward the front, sound baffles were set up surrounding the drum set—positioned toward the back of centerstage, while the bassist and saxophonist were assigned stage left positions. Once the microphones were ‘hot,’ the familiar shouts of ‘check one / two’ were heard repeatedly and then, after about an hour or so, the musicians strolled on stage for a collective sound check.
Officially dubbed ‘The Lou Gramm All Stars,’ the band consisted of keyboardist