FOREIGNER's JEFF PILSON Reveals His Post-Farewell Tour Plans

In a new interview with Rob Rush, FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson spoke about his plans for after he and his bandmates complete their recently launched farewell tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH>NET): "Well, one of my favorite things to do is to produce music. And I've got several projects — I've got THE END MACHINE that I do with George Lynch. That's music that we write; that's original music… The next THE END MACHINE record … probably won't come out till early next year. We're mixing it right now, though. It's, it came out amazing and I'm very excited about that. And I'll also probably be doing another BLACK SWAN record with the guys in that, which is Robin McAuley from MCAULAY SHENKER [GROUP] and 'Raiding The Rock Vault', Reb Beach from WHITESNAKE and WINGER plays guitar, and Matt Starr's the drummer. So that's an exciting project. Plus I've got REVOLUTION SAINTS with Deen Castronovo from JOURNEY and Joel Hoekstra from WHITESNAKE. So I'll have plenty of projects to keep me busy. And there's also some FOREIGNER songs that are kicking around, so I would love to see us finish up a few of those, maybe, when we're not on the road so much. So there's plenty of music to be recorded, and that's my plan. And then if I'm able to do shows with some of the other bands I'm involved in, great. And who knows? Maybe a special FOREIGNER show here and there. Who knows?"

Ever since FOREIGNER kicked off its farewell tour on July 6 in Alpharetta, Georgia, Pilson has been performing while seated on a stool as the result of a recent back injury.

FOREIGNER's farewell tour is currently scheduled to run through November 18 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but is expected to continue into 2024. For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation-produced tour, FOREIGNER is being joined by LOVERBOY.

Joining Pilson in FOREIGNER's current lineup are founding guitarist Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen on vocals, Michael Bluestein on keyboards, Bruce Watson on guitar, Chris Frazier on drums and Luis Maldonado on guitar.

The 64-year-old Pilson, who does yoga, Pilates and meditation to keep himself focused, joined FOREIGNER in 2004 and has been with the band longer than anybody except Jones.

Pilson is best known for playing with DOKKEN and FOREIGNER, but he also toured with DIO in the 1990s and performed on three of the group's albums — "Strange Highways" (1993),"Angry Machines" (1996) and the group's tenth and final studio release, "Master Of The Moon" (2004).

After singer Lou Gramm left FOREIGNER in 2003, Jones took some time off before regrouping a couple years later with an entirely new lineup, featuring Hansen and Pilson, among others.

In 2018, Gramm revealed that he was retiring from touring as a solo artist. The vocalist made the announcement just months after he participated in FOREIGNER's "Double Vision: Then And Now" concerts, which featured current and original members of the band, including Jones, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Rick Wills and guitarist/saxophonist Ian McDonald.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want To Know What Love Is".

Photo credit: Karsten Staiger