Blackfoot

This “5 and Dime” interview was conducted via e-mail with Blackfoot bass guitarist Greg T. Walker on March 12, 2005, just a few days before the untimely death of Blackfoot drummer Jakson Spires.

Tell me a little bit about how you reformed Blackfoot.

We have been talking about reforming Blackfoot since the original breakup. Through the years we each became involved with solo and group projects and never seemed to all be available at the same time. We have worked together in various combinations, two and sometimes three of us at a time. A petition drive was launched a year and a half ago in Texas by a friend of ours, and we really started paying attention once we were informed of the response. One of the original members was not interested in having anything to do with a reunion so the obvious and logical choice was Bobby Barth. We have known Bobby since the mid seventies and brought him into the lineup the last two years we were touring. He was involved in the Siogo and Vertical Smiles recordings as a writer and in pre-production as well. For Jakson Spires, Charlie Hargrett and I, there was never any consideration given to anyone other than Bobby. Most people will remember him as the frontman/lead guitarist/lead singer and principal songwriter for his own group AXE.

Are you going to record the April shows for a live CD? When will you start working on new studio material.

We have no plans to record live or in the studio at this time. We are doing brand new material in the set along with the hits. We have discussed and are open to the possibility of new product in the future but are concentrating our efforts on touring at the moment.

Tell me about the April kickoff tour, and should we expect more touring over the summer?

The tour kicks off at a Harley bike event on April 2 and we are booked well into October already. We will be in Europe the first half of June and again the end of July and into August. I hear the end of the year is often a slow time but you could fool me!

What does Blackfoot have in store for its fans over the next 12 months?

We will try out a new song from time to time and offer new merchandise occasionally. Blackfoot was never a band who used gimmicks so we will continue to put our focus on the music as always.

Feel free to promote anything else like the band website, band members websites or merchandise.

There is a lot of information on our new website at www.blackfootrocks.com so we hope all of you will take a moment to visit and add your comments. There are links to our individual websites on the discography page as well. Bobby, Jakson and I all three have solo cd's we are making available at shows along with a Blackfoot -Greatest Hits package. We always do a meet & greet after every show and we would be happy to autograph anything you bring or purchase.

Please share a comment or story on the late Dimebag Darrell.

I only met Darrell one time. We had mutual friends so knew what each other was doing from time to time. Two years ago, Darrell had an idea to assemble a lot of musicians and have one or two original players from any given group record their hit with a couple of guest players. The last word I got from him was having Jakson and I record Train Train with he and Peter Frampton on guitars. This was to be the concept for the entire project. I do not know if he ever spoke with Peter or anyone else but the idea was to have fun with music we all loved and use every combination imaginable. Bobby, Charlie and I had just inked a deal with Dean Guitars, who made countless guitars for Darrell, some of which he designed, shortly before the tragic ending. Some things will never come to pass, but Darrell's legacy will continue.