Episode 136 | A Life of Adventure: The Uncopyable Journey of Foghat Band Manager Linda Arcello-Earl

Meet Linda Arcello-Earl, longtime manager of the legendary rock band Foghat—and wife of founding member and drummer Roger Earl. From hitchhiking solo across Europe at 18 to managing one of rock’s most iconic bands (twice!), Linda’s story is packed with grit, guts, and rock ‘n’ roll.

Linda stumbled into the music business, left to build a thriving computer consulting firm, and eventually returned to help rebuild Foghat during a pivotal time. Linda opens up about trusting her gut, building strong relationships, and  being called the “Holy Trinity”—Roger’s wife, manager, and girlfriend.

If you love stories about resilient, Uncopyable women who forge their own path and make things happen, you’re going to love this conversation.

About Linda Arcello-Earl:

Linda Arcello-Earl is a trailblazer whose life reads like a rock 'n' roll adventure. Growing up in 1960s New York, she was driven by curiosity and a love of music and travel. At 18, she flew to Europe by herself, and spent almost two years living  Amsterdam.

In the mid-1970s, Linda joined Foghat as office manager, later managing artists including Eddie “Bluesman” Kirkland. Then she left music to launch a successful computer consulting firm, spending 25 years serving clients from businesses to medical departments.

In the late '90s, Linda reconnected with Foghat’s drummer and founding member, Roger Earl—her longtime friend turned husband. After the death of frontman Lonesome Dave, Linda returned to help rebuild the band’s legacy. Her leadership helped bring Foghat back to life. Now, she manages the band's operations—from marketing to touring—and was instrumental in their 2023 Sonic Mojo album reaching #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.

Linda and Roger now live on a Long Island houseboat, enjoying a life that's equal parts rock 'n' roll and digital savvy. She’s proof that reinvention is always possible.

Connect with Linda:
📧 foghatbiz@foghat.com
🔗 LinkedIn
🎸 Foghat Tour dates, Albums and more

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Transcript

Speaker 1 00:00:01  Welcome to unconquerable women in business. I'm Kay Miller. Also known as Muffler Mama. I've been the number one salesperson in a male dominated industry. A successful entrepreneur for over 30 years. And now my mission is to help you build a business and brand. Nobody else can compete with. If you're ready to break out of the pack and create your own unstoppable advantage. Stay tuned. My guests and I are here to help. And a quick heads up. I just released something brand new to help you boost your sales without being pushy or salesy. I'll tell you more about it later in the show. But if you can't wait. Go to be.com. And that link is in the show notes. Today I'm talking with Linda Marcelo Earl, manager of the legendary rock band Foghat and wife of founding member and drummer Roger Earle. Now you know Foghat for their iconic song Slow Ride, which just turned 50. But Linda's story, well, that's been more like a wild ride. Linda flew to Europe by herself at the age of 18, and ended up living in Amsterdam for two years.
Speaker 1 00:01:19  That adventure was only the beginning. Linda never intended to get into the business of music. She has a psychology degree and got connected with Foghat through a mutual friend, but left to start her own computer consulting company. She enjoyed being a successful business owner for many years, until she got the call to help rebuild Foghat during a turning point in the band's history. Linda is sharp, grounded, and totally copyable. You're going to love her story. Linda, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 00:01:57  Thank you. Nice to meet you. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:01:59  It's been fun getting to know you a little bit. We've talked before the recording. And I, we met through Joe Sneider, who you've known for years, and he works for f C, which is Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation. And you have a history with him. And he said he's just been so blessed to spend time with you and Roger and the band Foghat. So as I mentioned in the intro, you are the band manager for Foghat, married to the amazing Roger Earl and original founding member of Foghat.
Speaker 1 00:02:35  And you just told me 54 years ago. So I want to talk to you because you are obviously a spunky woman who, you know, you're really down to earth, but you're obviously driven and you don't take no crap. So I would like to hear from you how you started.
Speaker 2 00:02:56  I actually, when I was 25. I had never thought about getting into the music business. I was 25. I was going to school at night. I thought I was going to be a psychologist. I was working two jobs. I was working as a secretary during the day at the community college. I was working as a waitress on the weekends and going to school four nights a week. And at the community college, it was summertime and they were making all the secretaries, even though there was no school and no professors there. They made us in our office. So the Teamsters union came in and they wanted to kind of come into the college. And instead of the Csea union that we had. So the women there all wanted the Teamsters, and they elected me to go speak to the dean to present their case.
Speaker 2 00:03:48  So I did, and I got my head handed to me. I was 25 years old and I didn't like my job anyway. I thought it was boring, but I got my head handed to me, and not one of those women stood behind me. So one of the women there was friends with Lockhart's manager's wife. And she said, do you want to go for an interview? I said, who? So I went and I met Cheryl and she gave me five Foghat albums, the first five albums to listen to. And then I had a meeting with their manager at the time. So I went and I got the job, and that was 1976, and I started working for Foghat, and I worked for Foghat for a few years. I started as their office manager. I and I worked there for a few years. It was interesting. It was up there in their heyday. This was right after Slow Ride came out. So it was like their biggest year is pretty much, you know, Stone blue for the city, you know, live album.
Speaker 2 00:04:45  And I learned a lot. I also learned not to agree with some of the stuff that was being done by management at the time, and I got myself fired in 1979, which was good.
Speaker 1 00:05:01  And by the way, I want to say that you just mentioned that slow ride is the fit. You're having the 50th anniversary of Slow Ride, which hardly seems possible as a 65 year old, but.
Speaker 2 00:05:14  75 came out of the city with that iconic album cover with Roger fishing and the manhole cover in New York City. So we're doing a lot with that this year with Warner Brothers. We're doing a lot of releases this year and a lot of promotion on the 50th anniversary, so I worked with them for a few years, and then Rod Price, their original lead slide guitar player, left, and I managed him for a few years. That was interesting. We started another band and I'm a hard worker. I put 110% into things and after managing him for a few years and we had a great band, everything turned.
Speaker 2 00:05:50  He was having problems. He ended up having problems with a couple of guys in the band and the whole thing fell apart and I really got disgusted. I love musicians, but I got disgusted putting all my energy into a business that was so predicated on emotions and people. So I ended up at the time I met my future husband, my future ex-husband, and we ended up getting into the computer business. We started selling computer supplies. I ended up becoming a computer consultant, and in 1984 to 1987, I built a really thriving computer business. I was setting up Novell Networks, and this is before windows. I was setting up networks and specializing in accounting software, which was a very male dominated business, very male dominated. But it was fun. I enjoyed it when the clients that I had, I got along great with. It really was exciting to set up all these different businesses. And in 97, Roger and I were friends from today I started working for Foghat. He and I became really good friends.
Speaker 1 00:06:59  I know I have to throw it. And you said you were both at each other's weddings, right?
Speaker 2 00:07:03  I knew all his girlfriends at the time. Not all because.
Speaker 1 00:07:07  Yeah, really.
Speaker 2 00:07:07  The rock star. But we were at each other's weddings. I was there when his kids were born, so we were friends for years. And then in 97, he came to visit me and his dad had just passed away. My boyfriend at the time had just been killed in a plane crash because I was skydiving and was my instructor. So we kind of, I don't know, we started talking more seriously than we ever had in our friendship about like, life and stuff. And then my dad passed away and it threw us together. We were such good friends. We were terrified that we were going to ruin our friendship. But here we are 28 years later and it's wonderful. So we got together in 97, and I said to him, the original band had gotten back together, and I said to him, I want nothing to do with your business.
Speaker 2 00:07:58  If I come out on the road, I'm fluff. I just want to be fluff. I'm making a ton of money as a computer consultant. I was making a lot of money hourly. I had great clients. I wanted nothing to do with the music business. I just wanted to be friends. And then in 2000, Lonesome Dave Pivot died. He ended up getting kidney cancer, and he died.
Speaker 1 00:08:20  Yeah, it sounds like he and his wife both got sick at the same time. That's a bummer.
Speaker 2 00:08:24  Yeah. Linda had uterine cancer and had kidney cancer. He went through chemo and stuff, and he came back out on the road in 99, in the summer, in August. And after going through his treatments and everything, and he was like, he was a trooper, man, he was great. But then in October, Linda got sick and he canceled the tour. So he went back home and the tour ended, and he died in February. And then she died the following December.
Speaker 2 00:08:53  Roger didn't know what he wanted to do at the time, whether he should continue with the band or not try to find another singer. They were very heavily in debt because canceled the tour.
Speaker 1 00:09:04  They had to cancel. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:09:05  And hotels and deposits and stuff. So I was like the likely candidate to help. And I did. And it was a real challenge. That was 25 years ago now. And the band was really not doing well at all at the time. We found a singer, this guy Charlie June, who used to be with Ted Nugent and Victory. He came down from Detroit, and Roger and Dave had seen him play when he was singing with Humble Pie. He had replaced Steve Marriott, so they had seen him play. So Roger called our tour manager and said, can you find this guy who was singing for Humble Pie? So he did. He found Charlie. So Roger talked to him and gave him like 20 songs to learn if he was interested. He got off the phone, I said, isn't that a bit much? He said he's interested.
Speaker 2 00:09:57  He'll learn it. He came down two weeks later and he knew him all. So he was in the band for 22 years until three years ago. So we slowly rebuilt the band. It was a lot of work because Roger, being the only original member, we were getting a lot of flak from people. It's not really Foghat, it's a tribute band and all that shit, and pretty much we just rose above it. My mantra was, it's about the music. You come out and you listen to the music you love. Slow ride. Your kid was probably. We have so many people that say that their child was conceived to slow ride. So listen to Slow Ride. Stone blue. When I was stone blue, a rock n roll show helped me through. We get so many stories about people that were sick or something bad happened. And I guess being a woman, I'm a soft touch. I answered every email to everybody that emailed us that had a problem where the music meant something for them.
Speaker 2 00:11:00  Music is healing. Music means something to people and my guys. They are great because I have brought people backstage and I've introduced them to people that have been through stuff, and they tell them how the music got them through and it matters to them. I can't say that about all musicians that I know, but we get it. So I think and then after each show, they go out and do meet and greet and they sign. We don't charge. I get venues all the time. They call Linda. We want to charge $100 extra for meeting with the band. We say, no, we don't charge for meet and greets, and I can't tell you the amount of flack I get. Sometimes I say, if it wasn't for the fans, we wouldn't be here. Why are we going to charge them to meet the band if we're going to go out there and sit at the table after the show, why do we have to charge them for that? So it's been interesting. It's been interesting, but it's been very gratifying.
Speaker 1 00:11:58  Several things that you said I want to talk about, but I'm sure that the band also wants to connect with the fans. As you said, without the fans, you have nothing. And connecting with people is what it's all about. You mentioned skydiving and hang gliding you talked about earlier, so that tells me something about you right there. I'd like to talk more about that. You said you have maybe the soft touch, and I think I saw you in something that you wrote that men and women do approach things differently. But you're also one tough cookie. You said you're not going to put up with people that dismiss you because you're a woman. Either deal with it or don't. So I really admire that those qualities, and also the part about being in a male dominated industry, just being a pioneer. Back before there were very many women managers. It sounds like that's changing. Now. I would like to get into what your perspective is on what has made you successful, what's gotten you through all that? Because of course, you listening.
Speaker 1 00:13:03  You want to know that you're thinking, oh my gosh, this woman is so impressive and married to your best friend who happens to be a rock star. So what would you say helps you achieve all that? Keep your your perspective.
Speaker 2 00:13:19  You know what? Okay. I like people, whether it's male or female. There's women I don't like, there's men I don't like, those women I love, this man I love. And I find that in business that most of the people that I work with, I get along with, fine. I'm not pushy, but this is what I want. I'll listen to stuff, but I'm not going to veer. And I think people know that about me. I'll never get nasty with somebody I have. I guess I have once or twice I've had to, but I haven't had problems with men, I really haven't. I've been backstage. I've been treated like a groupie. I just laugh about that kind of stuff because I was around in the 70s and I was backstage, and frankly, I saw a lot of how some women acted backstage.
Speaker 2 00:14:04  And now when I see the way some people act, I'm like, really, girl, come on, you're more than that.
Speaker 1 00:14:11  I know, but there is. We talked about that before we recorded. There's something about a rock star musicians.
Speaker 2 00:14:18  You know what? I never felt that. You know what I mean? They've all been friends to me. I have to show you something funny. My guys, I have the best guys. This lineup by far is my absolute favorite in this band. They are absolutely wonderful. They posted something on Facebook one day. I'm sitting here working and I get this picture and they put this.
Speaker 1 00:14:41  Okay, so I have to read that because a lot of people will be listening. If at first you don't succeed, try doing what Linda told you to do the first time. That's great.
Speaker 2 00:14:53  And all. Roger had it laminated, and all four of them stood there and took a picture. I have got the best guys that I work with. They have no problem with the fact that I'm a woman, and I have no problem with the fact that we all get along great, and we talk about things and we don't have any problems.
Speaker 2 00:15:13  And I think because I'm a woman, probably I'm the difference between men and women. We do have perception okay. Intuition okay. And that's a given. So if I sense anything going on everybody talks about because that's how bands fall apart. That's how people don't get along. That's how things turn to shit. When you start having this kind of stuff going on behind your back and everything. So I'm pretty aware of all that stuff. And we've also worked hard over the years to get an organization of people that work well together. We have 12 people on our organization, between the band, the crew, the office and everything, and they're all 1,000% beautiful people. We're very lucky. Roger and I both are on the same page with that. We're too old to put up with any drama or any egos or anything.
Speaker 1 00:16:07  You've earned that respect, though. I think it's interesting. Yes, I think women do have that intuition. But sometimes then we are also tend to be pushovers or we don't stand up for ourselves, which you really do.
Speaker 1 00:16:20  And yeah, so you've built this and I think other women I've talked to in the podcast who are very successful, like you say, oh, I'm lucky in some ways. It's not just luck. You mentioned your work ethic, which.
Speaker 2 00:16:32  Is strong for yourself. I have to tell you, when I was 18 years old, I always wanted to travel. And when I was 18, I had a friend that I knew that hung out with all of us. This was 1969, and we were all stoned in the park and everything. And he said, my family and I are going to go over to Tunisia, and then we're going to Paris. In London. You want to go? I never met his parents. I'm like, yeah. So I went home and I said to my mom, I want to go. I've never been in an airplane. She says, do you know these people? I said, no, but my mom was going through a divorce at the time, so she couldn't say much.
Speaker 2 00:17:04  I did. I bought an airplane ticket.
Speaker 1 00:17:07  Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 00:17:08  I thought, well, I'll tell you why I'm the way I am. I couldn't afford to go to Tunisia. I was going to meet them in Paris. I think it was like July 8th, 1969. We were going to meet under the Eiffel Tower at noon. I flew to Paris. Never been in a plane before. I was shocked that the trees were green. I thought they'd be red or something. I took a bus into Paris and I sat under the Eiffel Tower and they never showed up.
Speaker 1 00:17:37  And you did that all by yourself. Then you flew to Paris.
Speaker 2 00:17:40  I was 18 and I had never really. The further I lived in new Jersey, the furthest I ever was Virginia. So I sat on the Eiffel Tower until midnight thinking maybe it's midnight. I didn't have a hotel room. Nothing. So I went up to a gendarme and I said, I need to go to a hotel. And he's called hotel. He put me in a cab and they took me to a hotel across town.
Speaker 2 00:18:00  The next day I walked back to the Eiffel Tower and I sat there again at noon. Never showed up. I ended up staying in Europe for two years. I met hippies, I hitchhiked all over Europe. I ended up living in Amsterdam for a year and a half.
Speaker 1 00:18:15  I saw that, and I'm sure that was a wild experience too.
Speaker 2 00:18:18  In 1969 and 70, that was a wild experience, but it strengthened me.
Speaker 1 00:18:23  So I don't even know the word fortitude. Is it really the right word? Guts? I don't know, moxy to just take off on this adventure. I guess that you didn't tell me that before the interview, although I read something about that, but that really shows what kind of person you are and how you've always been, whether you were born that way, baby, I was born this way, or how that developed, I don't know.
Speaker 2 00:18:46  My grandmother was Italian and she used to call me Liberty. Which means liberty means liberty. I always wanted to do my own thing, even as a little girl.
Speaker 2 00:18:55  When we were five years old, when we'd go to the store, I wanted to pay. So, yeah, I've always been like that, but I just. I kind of had to be in charge as a little girl. My mom, like I said, was going through divorce. I took care of my little brother. So I think it's an oldest thing, too. When you have siblings, when you're the oldest, you're in charge of your little brothers and sisters and stuff. So I don't know.
Speaker 1 00:19:16  How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Speaker 2 00:19:18  I have one full brother and I have three half brothers.
Speaker 1 00:19:21  Okay, I was the oldest and I had a little brother and I sure never did anything like that. I also, though it's funny, I didn't get on a plane till I was 18 either. And that's so different now cuz our daughter was three months old the first time we took her somewhere. So if you're listening, that was a big deal back in the day, right? But a good deal I was.
Speaker 2 00:19:43  I couldn't get my nose off the window. I was so excited to see clouds from the other side. I still get excited and I've probably flown a couple of thousand times now. We fly every weekend, but I still have to sit in the window. I still take pictures of the clouds, I still I love clouds, I just love it. And when I used to skydive, I used to love. You're not supposed to bust a cloud. But I used to love flying around the clouds and everything.
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Speaker 1 00:20:48  Check it out at elle.com. And by the way, that link is in the show notes. Now back to the show. So yeah, you are. You have an adventuresome or an adventurous, I should say spirit. Yeah. Because skydiving and hang gliding like you said, which back in the day when you did it was really dangerous. And I know you said one time, why don't you tell that story about one time you were ready to go and something in your gut said, no, Linda, this isn't it. You're not.
Speaker 2 00:21:24  Doing it. I was the only woman in the New York State Hang Gliding Association. I was learning how to hang glide, and we used to go up these little hundred foot cliffs. We just run and learn how to fly your glider. And I bought a hang glider. And then it came time for me to jump off a 3000 foot cliff in Ellendale, New York. And you didn't really have landing areas. It was all trees down there. You had to try to find a place to land, or you had to land in the trees.
Speaker 2 00:21:52  And I stood there with my kite waiting to take off. And there were all these spectators, and this little boy came up to me and said, hey, lady, are you going to fly that thing all by yourself? I said, no, I'm holding it for my boyfriend till he gets here, which was a joke.
Speaker 1 00:22:07  Sarcasm. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:22:09  But but I and then one woman said to me, if you land in the trees because it could take hours for them to come and get you. What if you have to pee? I said, oh, you got a point there.
Speaker 1 00:22:19  There might be a shower.
Speaker 2 00:22:21  I know a guy, but I stood there waiting for the winds to be right and I chickened out. I decided not to jump that day. Something in my gut just told me not to do it, and I didn't. And I really didn't go hang gliding after that. And the president of the New York State Hang Gliding Association, his wife, was there, and she was encouraged.
Speaker 2 00:22:43  She said, Linda, you're the only woman this. Think of what this will mean for women. I said, yeah, I could be the first dead woman.
Speaker 1 00:22:50  That's right. I don't want to. I don't want to go.
Speaker 2 00:22:53  That year hang gliding. And 20 years later, I did a tandem hang glide off Haleakala in Hawaii, in Maui.
Speaker 1 00:23:01  And been to Haleakala and at sunrise. It is incredible. I can't imagine how cool that must have been.
Speaker 2 00:23:08  Oh, it's a 20 minute ride. It was just absolutely beautiful. And I met all these hang gliders back then, and they said to me it was one of the smartest decisions I ever made. Not jumping the kite that I had, the hang glider, the regalo wing wasn't. There were a lot of fatalities with that particular wing. It was a new sport. So I've gone with my gut in life. I'm not afraid to say no to not do it. I'm not worried that somebody's going to say, oh, she's a chicken.
Speaker 2 00:23:38  I don't give a shit. I'd rather be alive.
Speaker 1 00:23:41  And it was really a logical decision when you say chickened out. I don't know the first chickened out. You made a good decision, and it was a risk you didn't want to take.
Speaker 2 00:23:51  Now I have about. I only have about 250 skydivers, but there are a couple of times I decided not to jump. And I went back down with the plane just because I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't do it. And I just. I've always believed in going with my gut, you know, anytime that I have. And it's been a mistake.
Speaker 1 00:24:12  There you go. So you got, I don't know, thrown or pulled into this position of managing the band and going with your gut. I'm sure you've done that many times with business, too, and maybe going with your gut was saying, hey, Roger, Earl's really cool. We're good friends, and I got to meet him before we recorded and I can't remember. What did he say? You're the trifecta or the Holy grail.
Speaker 2 00:24:36  Holy. I'm the holy trinity. I'm his girlfriend, his wife and his manager. He tells all the. Every time he does an interview, he tells them, I'm the Holy Trinity.
Speaker 1 00:24:45  The Holy Trinity. And it's really cool that you've said in interviews that he's super supportive of women in the industry and just promoting.
Speaker 2 00:24:54  He doesn't have any of those problems at all. Like, Roger and I are very similar in our outlook on life. That's why we're together. We were really good friends before we ended up together. We were best friends. He could come here and hang out with me and we could hang out. We were just always so comfortable together. He's a good man. He's a good guy. Even with his whole the 70s 70s, we were all crazy. So it was like, we've all been around the block a few times, but he's just a good guy. I was nervous about managing the band because in my computer business, originally, I was in business with my ex-husband and that didn't work.
Speaker 2 00:25:31  And when Roger wanted me to manage Foghat, I was worried because I loved him and I had a really good computer business going, and I didn't want to affect our relationship. And I said, okay, I'll do this. But here's the deal. It's your band. If we ever don't agree on something, it's your decision. And I've stood by that. And I think it's only happened about three times in 25 years. And it's usually been about money where he thought we would, should get more. And he was right each time. So we pretty much agree on everything which is. And he's a drummer and I'm not. And I'm a manager and he's not. So we respect each other. For what? And he's great with the band. He's a really great band member. He treats everybody with such respect and they have so much fun together. He just had his fun playing. It's a fun band.
Speaker 1 00:26:27  So what a blessing. Yeah. He treats. Just the way he talked about them before we got on.
Speaker 1 00:26:32  And it's like a family he really respects enjoys them, you know? And he's got you to be the tough guy.
Speaker 2 00:26:39  Well, it's not tough when I have to. And in fact, they are so creative. Three years ago, I think I would tell you we have understudies for everybody just in case, because we're not kids. And we have a lot of shows booked. And in fact, Roger had the flu. About six weeks ago and he ended up in the hospital. And we had to get somebody to play drums for three shows. Fortunately, our friend Jules from Blue Oyster Cult was available. So he played the shows. But I guess 12 years ago we were looking for an understudy for our lead singer, which was Charlie Young at the time. And we met this guy, Scott Holt, who's our currently singer now. And we met Scott and he's from Nashville, and he played with buddy Guy for ten years. And he's a real blues. He's an amazing human being and musician and person.
Speaker 2 00:27:30  He and Roger just hit it off. We all hit it off. So they started writing together. We have a studio down in Florida, and we asked him to be a guest on our next record, which was 2016. They ended up writing 17 songs together. Him and Roger and Brian and Rodney. So we ended up putting a side band together called Early Agitators because we had all this music. We didn't know what to do with, so we put out a record with our own. We have our own record company too. By the way, I'm also.
Speaker 1 00:27:58  And. Yeah. And your own wine company. You now write.
Speaker 2 00:28:01  Company and a record company and two publishing companies. Yeah, we have a lot.
Speaker 1 00:28:05  Yeah. What do you do in your spare time?
Speaker 2 00:28:06  I don't have any. I have.
Speaker 1 00:28:08  No. Although, I have to say, it's fun to watch you together. A lot of couples work together, and it doesn't go quite as smoothly as you know how it's going for you.
Speaker 1 00:28:19  And you said you go to the gym together. He's a great cook and he cooks for you. You just. You really get along. You have. You don't argue with, you.
Speaker 2 00:28:28  Know, we never.
Speaker 1 00:28:28  Be together. All that.
Speaker 2 00:28:30  I told Roger when we got together, I said the word recreate is part of recreation. I said, so you are in charge of recreation? I'm a workaholic, so I have four computers at my desk. I said, I'm working. So he cooks and he pulls me away from the computer and we have dinner. No, it's a it's like we have a great relationship. He just is. He's amazing. We're really good friends. We care about each other. So I'm very fortunate that way. We both are. We love each other and the band. I was what I was worried about with the band managing the band. I'm not worried about it all. I would do anything to make Foghat do well because of him. I really am so happy.
Speaker 2 00:29:20  We had a new record out November 2023, number one on the Billboard Blues charts, and we stayed in top ten last year for 34 weeks. That's how cool this band is. When Scott joined three years ago, we did the early agitators thing with Scott. We did another, and then our singer decided to leave three years ago. So Scott joined right away. It's been great. They are so creative together. They get together and the new stuff just comes out of them. So this new record was just after a 54 year old band had a number one Billboard chart song.
Speaker 1 00:29:59  That's amazing.
Speaker 2 00:30:00  Isn't.
Speaker 1 00:30:01  It? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:30:02  It is. It's like a new band. It's like. It's like a whole new thing, which is. Well, you can tell I get excited about it. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1 00:30:09  Yeah. And even talking about how the band gets along so great and you've attracted all this talent, but you also get what you put out there, don't you think? It's.
Speaker 2 00:30:19  Yeah, that's very true.
Speaker 2 00:30:21  And Roger and I are very like minded that way. And we know what we want, and we're both pretty nice people and we're not going to. We've had, believe me, over the past 25 years. We've had our issues with people. We've been we've been in a couple. I was in a half $1 million A lawsuit with our ex bass player for the name Foghat. I was in two major trademark lawsuits. So I've had my issues in this business, too. It hasn't all been like making it sound. We've had a lot of issues too.
Speaker 1 00:30:54  But that's a good point because it's not all smooth sailing and that's why you really like I think of you as a tough cookie. Even when we first started communicating, you were such a delight and fun and funny. But I knew just from what you've accomplished that you're not. You're tough when you need to be.
Speaker 2 00:31:12  I won this lawsuit against this guy who is a piece of shit. Excuse me. I hope I can swear on this, but.
Speaker 1 00:31:20  I think so. Well.
Speaker 2 00:31:22  He started a bunch of bands. He would put a band out there. That one person played with that band. He put out a fake Fleetwood Mac Drifters. He put out all these bands. So he put out a fake Foghat with our old bass player and sued us for the name fog. We own the trademark. So when you get sued, the burden of proof is on you. And he sued us in Florida and we had. This was a two year loss which cost us a fortune. We won the lawyers win. But yeah, it's been interesting. I've had a couple of trademark lawsuits, but we own the trademark. But it's it's worth it. And for where we're at now. I'm so proud of them. I really am. It's such a it's such a pleasure to work with all of them. I would do anything for these guys. We're all very close. We all care about each other, which is very unusual in this business.
Speaker 1 00:32:20  You know, definitely blessed.
Speaker 1 00:32:21  And Roger, obviously is just very warm and wonderful guy. And. Yeah. And it's great to hear how you've integrated all of this, but it's not always smooth sailing.
Speaker 2 00:32:34  He just lost his brother. Who was the keyboard player on Mongo? I remember the song In the Summertime.
Speaker 1 00:32:41  Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:32:42  That was Roger's brother.
Speaker 1 00:32:44  Wow.
Speaker 2 00:32:45  And he passed away last month, so we were just in England, but he wrote a song on this record that we just put out. Well, I wish I'd have been there when Hank Williams came to town. It's a country kind of song. And Foghat did it, and it's terrific. I did a video. I do, I also, in addition to managing them, I do all the artwork for all their records.
Speaker 1 00:33:07  I read that you are just multi-talented.
Speaker 2 00:33:10  I do all the video editing too. I do all the videos and stuff too. Yeah. If I could just do what I wanted to do, I would do artwork and video. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 00:33:19  Well, that's fine again. What about I said, hold up that sign. Linda. Do what Linda says the first time.
Speaker 2 00:33:26  I like doing. I did a lot of the music videos for this record. I like doing video stuff and I like doing artwork. I usually do that between midnight and 6 a.m. on my downtime.
Speaker 1 00:33:37  So for people that want to learn more about Foghat, follow your tour. What would you recommend? I know you have a website. Is that the best foghat.com?
Speaker 2 00:33:47  Yeah. Dot com. That's our website.
Speaker 1 00:33:49  And you're coming to Seattle right? That's right.
Speaker 2 00:33:52  We have to play that area at least once a year. I'm still booking a lot of shows. We're getting a lot of shows this year. I just look, we've already got 45 shows booked and it's just March, so we'll probably be doing about 6570 this year. We should be in Seattle. We usually play that area.
Speaker 1 00:34:10  Like I said, I can't wait to meet you when you come.
Speaker 2 00:34:12  So I know.
Speaker 2 00:34:13  And then you come to our show. That'll be fun.
Speaker 1 00:34:15  Yes. For sure. And as I said, Joe, who originally introduced us, he is just such a huge fan and couldn't say enough nice things about you.
Speaker 2 00:34:24  Oh, have fun with them. We did a Freightliner bus. We did a little tour with them, we did a few shows and we actually we were on one of their buses and we pulled over to the side to a rest area on the Mississippi River, and the band all got out and sat in the parking lot next to the river and did their song born for the road, which was pretty funny. They were great people, the Freightliner people. They're great people. Joe's just awesome. He's very cool.
Speaker 1 00:34:51  He really is. Linda, we're going to close this out. It's just been a pleasure. I'm honored that you would come on the show. And I'm so excited for you listening to be inspired by Linda and her life and all the successes, bumps, different things that happen.
Speaker 1 00:35:06  But you've really just you're somebody I really admire. So thank you so much, Linda, for being on the show.
Speaker 2 00:35:12  Very nice to meet you. Okay. Thank you. You take care.
Speaker 1 00:35:17  Thanks for listening to this episode. And by the way, I invite you to join my Facebook group, Unstoppable Women in Business. See you next time. And always remember to be unconquerable.