Lou Gramm to offer a full performance of top hits on June 10

By Ken Luchterhand



From his first footsteps in life, Lou Gramm knew that music would be a key component in his life. His mother, Nikki, was a singer and his father, Bennie, was a band leader and trumpeter.
“Our house was always swinging,” Gramm said.
Gramm is well known for giant hits like “Urgent,” “Hot Blooded,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Long, Long Way from Home,” “Double Vision,” “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” “Head Games.” Those are several of his hits while with the group Foreigner.
Solo singles include “Midnight Blue,” “Ready or Not,” and “Just Between You and Me.”
Gramm will be making a performance at 8 p.m. June 10 at Ho-Chunk Gaming – Black River Falls. Tickets are available for $45 and can be purchased at the casino or by calling (800) 657-4621 Extension 4060.
Since he grew up with music in his blood, it is difficult to tell how much of his talent is inherited from his parents and how much is from being around a musical environment all the time.
“I think some of both, to tell you the truth. For as long as I could remember there’s been Big Band jazz playing in the house. My dad played trumpet and had his own band and my mom was a singer,” Gramm said.
Louis Andrew Grammitico, now known as Lou Gramm, was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and graduated from high school in 1968. He also is an alumnus of Monroe Community College in Rochester.
Right after high school, Gramm began his musical career with a band called Black Sheep. With that band, he sang and played the drums, and eventually became the front man for the group. Black Sheep was the first American band to sign with the Chrysalis label and their first single, “Stick Around,” was released in 1973. The band also played in local nightclubs in the Rochester area.
Achieving a level of success, Black Sheep went on to sign with Capitol Records and released two albums, “Black Sheep” and “Encouraging Words.”
One night, they were the opening act for Kiss when the equipment truck was involved in an accident. The equipment was destroyed and, with no means to replace it, the group disbanded.
While he was with the group Black Sheep, he met Mick Jones, who played with a band named Spooky Tooth. At the time, Gramm had no idea that the chance meeting would help decide his future.
“Six months later, when he was putting together his band, he listened to the albums and he liked the way I sing,” Gramm said. “Then I went to New York and auditioned. I was one of about 40 people who auditioned. He asked me to stick around and he and I began writing songs and eventually I moved down there.”
Jones and Gramm helped form a new band named Trigger, which eventually was renamed to “Foreigner,” the band Gramm is most know for today.
Part of Gramm’s success can be contributed to his highly-skilled songwriting abilities, having crafted many top hits through the years.
“I just think that the creative process, taking ideas and making it into something that can have an effect on someone, whether it rocks them or brings them to tears. I think that’s something to be said of people who can do that effectively,” Gramm said.
He has had so many great hits, but he can’t put his finger on just one song as being his favorite.
“They’re like your kids. You helped to write them, so you have a special relationship with them,” he said. “I have four kids. I couldn’t tell you if I have a favorite.”
Gramm and Foreigner spent many years together while turning out the hits. But at one point, Jones and Gramm clashed about the direction of the band. Gramm wanted to keep the band true to its origins while Jones wanted to change to a more modern synthesizer style.
Gramm decided to strike out on his own in 1987 with his first solo album, “Ready or Not.” From that album, a top five hit, “Midnight Blue,” hit the airwaves.
“Once I left Foreigner, and I focused more or less on my own career, I thought it would be a better idea to just have my name on the moniker. I earned it. So, it’s just called Lou Gramm,” he said.
Gramm went on to produce another solo album and two more top hits, but also received considerable acclaim when he wrote and developed the title song for the move “The Lost Boys.” He came upon the request from a movie representative and went quickly to work.
“A publicist will say, ‘There’s a new movie coming out. They’re looking for songs. And by the way, they’re looking for a title song.’ So, in the case of The Lost Boys, when I found out exactly that information, I took one of the songs I intended for my solo album and started working on it with the intent of it being the title song. While the name of the movie was The Lost Boys, my track was called Lost in the Shadows. It suited the movie so well that (producer) Schumacher did, in fact, use it as the title song,” Gramm said.
These days Gramm performs for large crowds of fans and enjoys every minute of it. Fortunately it’s not as stressful when on tour as it used to be. 
“It’s not like the old days when you get on a bus and you’re gone for six or eight weeks, or longer. We fly to the shows. The promoter takes care of the stage, the lights, the microphones and the amplifiers,” he said. “We’re a lot more mobile than we used to be. So if we play Friday and Saturday, we’re home by Sunday afternoon. Then Thursday afternoon, we fly to the next show, which is on Friday.”
That type of scheule works out much better with his family. He and his wife, Robyn, have a son, Nicolas, 37, another son, Mathew, 32, and 16-year-old twins, Natalie and Joseph. They live in Rochester, New York.
Even though touring and performing is not as difficult as it once was, sometimes he can feel that it’s time to go – not wanting to overstay his welcome.
“With the state of radio, we can write another “Hey Jude,” or something great, but the corporations that own the stations limit what will be put on the radio. They won’t play any of our new songs,” he said. “To me it’s like forced retirement. Not going to beat head against the wall, just going with it.”

But he’s not looking that far ahead yet. He’s excited to be performing on a regular basis and is eager to come to Black River Falls for his performance on June 10.
“We play a huge cross-section of all the Foreigner hits and the Lou Gramm hits from my solo albums. So, it’s non-stop hits from the beginning to the end. We take a few liberties with the songs, a little bit, but basically the arrangements are just like off the record. So, if people like the familiarity of our hits, they won’t be disappointed,” Gramm said.
Tris Harris, senior manager of Public Relations at Ho-Chunk Gaming Black River Falls, said there are a few seats available for Lou Gramm’s performance on June 10.
“In researching ticket prices for Lou Gramm and the current Foreigner band, they range from $60-$300, so our ticket prices are the best out there, with the exception of some free concerts where there are tens of thousands of people.  Also, we only have 600 seats, so every seat can be considered VIP seating, which at other venues is over $150,” Harris said.



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