Foreigner is one of those bands that like a fine wine still get better in age. Foreigner is on a winter tour through arenas and casinos.

Empire Extreme got to talk to Saxophone/ Multi-Instrument player Tom Gimbel about the tour and talk about his career which is nothing short of amazing.

EE: How’s this tour going so far?

TG: It’s good, we’re up in the frozen north, on the cold as ice tour and we are loving it. People rock up here and we’re frozen solid. Up in Edmonton and Calgary Canada. We have had sold out shows, playing hockey arenas and hitting up some casinos.

EE: We covered you guys last year with Whitesnake, how was doing that tour?

TG: Those were fun shows, the outdoor venues. That was fun playing with Whitesnake and Jason Bonham.

EE: Hows it feel to be one of band members that have been with Foreigner for a while?

TG: Yes it feels great, I’m just happy I use to be called the new guy, now I’m the old guy (laughs) I never get tired of playing these songs.

EE: With Foreigner, you guys can play 2 hour plus shows just off the Hit songs.

TG: Yeah we like to joke around with Mick, that he we don’t enough time to play all these great music and songs he wrote. We tell him “You made to many hit songs” (laughs) that’s a great problem to have, huh? People come up to us and say “ I knew everyone one of those songs, or I didn’t know that was a foreigner song.”

EE: How did you get into being a multi-instrument musician?

TG: It was always just one thing after another that kept presenting itself. I wanted to be a drummer, but everyone wanted to be drummer in those days so I grabbed a guitar and played. My parents made me take piano lessons, my sisters were going so they told me I had to go. My sister had a flute and I was listening to Jethro Tull, and I checked that out. That started me off with the woodwinds and then when I went to musical college, they said you had to play the saxophone to graduate. It’s been wonderful to find a band that I can play all these instruments. Ya I get to do the flute in the beginning of Star Rider.

EE: Ya, last year when you guys played Star Rider, I was instantly brought back to my childhood and got the chills. I always loved that song and forgot about it for a while and then heard it and just brought forth that youth.

TG: alright, yeah. It takes you back. That’s one of the most magical part about music how it can take you back in time.

EE: How was it like working with Aerosmith?

TG: It was great, it was like everything you would imagine and more. It was all clean and sober, I was there at the time they were all about health. I went to Steven Tyler’s house once to practice vocals, and I get to his house, he goes “let’s go for a jog” it was through the woods of Massachusetts. Then he says “now let’s do the exercises” I was like “while we are running” and he goes “yeah” and starts doing vocal warmups.

EE: How was it like to do the Wayne’s World stuff?

TG: what a ride, the SNL people were incredible. We played on that show four times. The first time was with Tom Hanks. It was just phenomenal. Then in Wayne’s World 2, we had the live performance. That was fun. I remember Joe Perry walk up to the director with a cigar in his mouth and saying “pleasuring doing business with you” (laughs) it was great fun.

I can’t wait for Foreigner to come into Baltimore on March 22nd at Maryland Live Casino. Such a great band to see live, I always recommended going and seeing them live. Foreigner just takes you to a different world and makes you forget all the troubles for a little while.

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Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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