KELLY HANSEN (FOREIGNER) LEAVES THE BAND

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kelly Hanson, everybody, it's Quinny can't picks. When I was saying,
how you.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Doing good, Kelly Hanson formally a foreigner? What was this news?
You trapped on the Voice this week?

Speaker 3 (00:10):
Not formally yet yet?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
But what what was the deal Kelly? And how? How
when was the band clued in and how did this
announcement come to be?

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Well, I I came to Mick Jones in like twenty
twenty two and I talked to him about this possibility
and how you know we could do it, and you know,
he of course was very supportive. He wanted me to stay,
and you know, but I felt that I've been in
this band twenty years and I've been in the music

(00:41):
business almost fifty years, and I just wanted to, you know,
do other things and live life and travel without a
gig connected to it and work around the house. When
you're gone nine months a year, you can't even do that,
and I just wanted to, you know, do a new chapter.
I've got a fairly you wife and a couple of

(01:02):
step sons and just wanted to spend time living life
while while I still can't.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, good for you, man. Well, what was the deal
with not leaving the country by the way for shows.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Well, you know, I made my statement about that, and
I didn't I'm kind of a private person. I don't
want to go into the details of my personal existence,
so I kind of want to just leave it at that,
you got it. But I will be I will be
at all the shows this summer in across the US.
I know we're going to be playing in the Verona
at the Turning Stone Casino and and you can check

(01:35):
on Foreigner online where we're going to be. And I
encourage everybody to do that because I wanted everyone come
out and party with me one last time. You know,
the band will continue on. Luis Maldonado will be the
new lead singer of the band, but I want to
have one last raw with everybody this summer. So that's
that's my big thing.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
It's Foreigner as a vocalist, Kelly Hanson who made that
big announcement on the Voice that he would be stepping away,
not yet but in the future. So is this musically
will you still we still participate.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
That that's a possibility. Although I don't want to detract
from you know, what's going on with with Luise and
and the forward movement of the band. Uh. But I
don't know what I'm going to be doing next uh.
And I'm I'm looking forward to see where the wind
takes me. I don't I don't have any hard plans.

(02:25):
I'm going to take a break first. That's the first
thing I'm gonna do is just take a break and breathe.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
And I know Luise is you know, he's with the
fam and everything, but I mean, how will he interpret it,
interpret foreigner songs dispos Well, I think you'd.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Have to ask him. He's a really talented guy, a
great singer and a great guitar player, multi talented guy,
and and it made sense for us to make a
choice of someone who was already familiar to the foreigner audience,
you know, and to have him be so talented. It
just all made.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Sense, Kelly answered the foreigner. When people say in the
and you forget, I know you've heard it like there's
no more original members left in the lineup? Does that?
Do you know? You get defensive when you hear that.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Well, no, I mean your your choice is you know,
have us who been around the block, we care about
this catalog. We're very diligent and delivering these songs the
correct way, or you could have no foreigner at all. Right,
what's your what's your choice?

Speaker 1 (03:23):
So it would have been twenty years without foreigner, you know,
and we appreciate that absolutely well.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
I mean, was this emotional for you? I feel like
this was an emotional decision.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
It's still it's still emotional. It's going to be emotional
all summer. I was emotional when I left the stage
of the Voice. So yeah, it's going to be a
big deal for me.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
This has gotten everywhere. I mean, it's it's a gigantic deal.
It's a in every form of medium. Did you expect
such a outpouring of love?

Speaker 3 (03:53):
The fans have been great to me for twenty years
without a break, you know, and and and I feel that,
and I get that, and I appreciate everyone, you know,
making their comments and people getting phone calls and people
texting me and telling me things that I do appreciate that.

(04:14):
That means a lot after all these years. I mean, really,
what I really wanted in this business was just to
have the appreciation of my peers.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
When is what is your final show? Do you know
the exact date and the location?

Speaker 3 (04:26):
I guess I don't know. Exactly. But I'm going I'm
playing the shows through this summer, so it's just so new.
I haven't really gotten to that point yet. And who knows,
there might be a new show that comes in it's
not books yet that might be perfect for it. I
don't know yet.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
That's right, that makes sense. Awesome, Well, we'll see. We'll
see out there doing your thing, and.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
I feel like catching you on your last show is
going to be something very very special. I'm sure it'll
be special to you.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
I know it will be, right absolutely. I mean, all
of the shows on this run are going to be
really huge for me because some of these plays will
be the last time I play those stages, you know,
I don't know. Yeah, so that's a big deal because
you know, I've been playing these stages in these places
for twenty years. You pull up to a place and go, oh, yeah,
I remember this place and what we did here last time,

(05:14):
and and it's like you remember things like, well this
place has really great catering and you know, or whatever,
it'll be.

Speaker 1 (05:23):
My last time around to those Kelly Hanson from Foreigner,
who's getting ready to step down soon.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Big announcement kind of shocks some people when we we
heard about it. So what does what does Kelly Hanson Foreigner?
What do you do when you're off time? Like, what
do you I feel you might go to the barn
and paint.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Well, it's stuff like that. For twenty years on the
road nine months a year, you can't do anything around
the house, you know, you can't. I like to tinker
and fix things, and you know, work on motorcycles and cars,
and you just don't have time for that. And even
when I'm off the road, you're doing interviews and you're

(06:00):
you're doing all kinds of stuff, so you're not really off.
And after fifty years in the business, I just I
want to be able to do what I want to
do when I want to do it.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
That's good for you, man, You've earned everything that's come
your way.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
You'll get that itch later on down the line. You'll
start writing or something. You'll get bored, I'd promise, we'll see.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Okay, Well, you've brought a lot of smiles my ugly
head at some later point. Allways, welcome, you've brought a
lot of smiles to a lot of people over the years.
Congratulations and good luck on your final run with Foreigner.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Thank you so much. Please go to Foreigner Online and
check out where we're

Speaker 1 (06:33):
Going to be close to you, Kelly Hanson, It's Quinny
Cantara picks one on six