From the kid who first heard that “one guitar” changes everything in “Juke Box Hero” to the seasoned musician keeping that very song alive night after night, Jeff Pilson understands both sides of the rock and roll equation. The bassist brings Foreigner’s catalog of 16 top-30 hits to Caesars Windsor on July 4 and 5, managing both a legacy and a transition as longtime vocalist Kelly Hansen prepares to step down after two decades with the band. “I feel a responsibility,” Pilson says in a Zoom call from Reno. “It’s important to make sure that this music gets represented fairly accurately and in the best light possible.”
At 61, Pilson has evolved from sideman to bandleader, a role that extends far beyond his bass duties. “They have appointed me the band leader,” he explains. “I always say that loosely because we don’t need a lot of leading. Everybody’s very focused, and I don’t have to rule with an iron fist or anything like that. But I guess I am the guy responsible at the end of the day.”
The responsibility weighs on him, particularly as the keeper of a legacy with no original members remaining. “I do feel like a curator in a sense, and again I take it as a responsibility,” he admits. “I love doing it, I love the music, I love Mick Jones and his vision. Yeah, curator is a good word.”
When critics dismiss the current lineup as a tribute act, Pilson remains unfazed. “It doesn’t really hurt. It just reinforces — I mean, listen, the Internet is what it is,” he says. “People use the Internet for all sorts of hate speech and all that. I just view it as part of the course. I understand when people have something against bands that don’t have their original members. I just think in Foreigner’s case, it’s so much more about the music than it is the personnel.”
The upcoming Windsor shows carry special significance as Hansen’s final Canadian performances with Foreigner. “Kelly has just been one of the most consistent, tremendous front men I’ve ever dealt with, and I’ve dealt with some biggies,” Pilson says, his voice carrying genuine emotion. “Ronnie James Dio. And Kelly has just been phenomenal. I mean, he’s been such an integral part of bringing this whole thing forward over the last twenty years. His work speaks for itself. It really does. He’s just been exemplary.”
Luis Miguel Maldonado will assume vocal duties with what Pilson describes as extraordinary natural talent. “Luis’s voice is just magically incredible,” he explains. “It’s just one of those god-given natural voices that speaks with emotion on a level that exceeds the usual singing voice. It also opens up the possibility of doing Spanish language versions of some of the songs, which is pretty cool. It’s like a new chapter opening up.”
With such a deep catalog, the band’s setlist remains largely predetermined, though Pilson hints at potential expansions. “We had 16 top 30 hits. Not many bands can say that. So our set list is carved out ahead of time,” he notes. “But we want to add at least a song or two different here and there so that we can widen the set list a little bit. Even the songs that we’re going to do were probably played on the radio.”
Pilson’s career trajectory—from Dokken through Dio to Foreigner—follows a consistent thread he calls “high energy rock.” “It’s all pretty much high energy rock on the live level,” he explains. “People ask me all the time, like, is it really different playing with Foreigner than with Dokken? Well, not as much as you might think. Because with Dokken, we wanted to play heavy rock but with great songs and great choruses. And that’s exactly what Foreigner is. Foreigner was a bit of a template for Dokken, to be honest with you.”
His leadership style draws from lessons learned with Ronnie James Dio, whom he calls “the best overall band leader of anybody I dealt with because he was so tuned in to every aspect of the show, every aspect of the performances.” Dio’s attention to detail provides the template Pilson now follows. “He would be standing at a sound check and he’d say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. That rigging point, that’s not right. Move that over.’ He literally knew that kind of thing. So now I have to make sure the sound is good, the lights are right, the staging is right, the crew is right.”
As Foreigner approaches its 50th anniversary, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction serves as validation of the band’s enduring impact. “To me, it means that the legacy is very strong, that obviously, the songs have staying power,” Pilson reflects. “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally being acknowledged there just reinforces that. Foreigner music is the real deal. My goal is that it’s here a hundred years from now.”
Catch Foreigner’s last Canadian shows with Kelly Hanson on vocals at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor on July 4 and 5.
For the complete conversation with Jeff Pilson — including stories about Steel Dragon, his production philosophy and his musical brotherhood with George Lynch — catch the full interview in the next issue of 519 Magazine.
