Rick (00:04): It takes a bit of a blend of art and science to get baking just right, and having extra eyes, ears, and hands can make a big difference along the way. That's where A. B. Maury North America comes into play. We are the team behind industrial and artists and bakers that help optimize success. We'll discuss more on this episode of The Oven Light. So let's get going. Flip the switch. Welcome back everybody for The Oven Light. Can you believe it? The switch is on. Welcome to The Oven Light. Today, we've got a great guest and a celebrity, and I call this gentleman a friend, and we're going to really cover some interesting ground. We're going to talk about baking. We're going to talk about lifestyle and music, even beer consumption. So we've got a great show. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome our special guest, Michael Bluestein from the band Foreigner.

Michael (00:56): Rick, great to be here. Thanks so much for having me, man.

Rick (00:59): Yeah, we've talked about this for a while and so thrilled that you can join us from California and be on the show. And you know enough about the show that the oven light kind of gives you the idea that we're going to talk baking a little bit and we're going to touch on that. We're coming hard hitting right off the bat. I mean, this is boom. What's your favorite baked good?

Michael (01:15): Ooh, favorite baked good. Man, I guess I'm a little bit old school and boring in that sense that just a nice warm chocolate chip cookie. Maybe it's like some oatmeal in there and fresh just great chocolate chips and done nice and soft, but not too-

Rick (01:34): Home style. Homestyle, right? That's

Michael (01:36): Homestyle. Right, exactly.

Rick (01:37): Okay.

Michael (01:38): It's funny because we've got those Tates. Are you familiar with Tates? Those childhood ... Oh, I mean, that's not soft. They're pretty crispy, but they're amazing. I mean, it's not the home style, but I have to say for consistency, for something that you can get in a package, grocery store, those are pretty amazing.

Rick (01:54): That's awesome. So you traveled the globe, and I guess maybe we'll touch on, and if people don't know the history of the band Foreigner, it's an interesting name. Do you want to give a little snapshot on how the name kind of came to be?

Michael (02:07): Well, yeah, we talked about it a little bit before. And so it was a mixed band, meaning international. So basically half the band was British and half the band was American. Actually, more than half was British. They came up with this name because no matter where they would be anywhere, somebody in the band would be a foreigner. And it stuck. It was basically Mick Jones had moved. He's a British guy, the guy that formed the band. He had moved to New York City in the late '70s after a career as a side man backing a lot of artists in Paris. He lived in Paris for a while in the '60s. Rubbing elbows with Jimmy Hendricks and The Beatles and worked with some French artists, this guy, Johnny Halliday, who was sort of considered the French Elvis is how they talk about him. Anyway, Mick played guitar with him.

Michael (02:56): Mick was getting, I guess, pretty close to 30 years old at that point and was like, "Hey, if I'm going to do my own thing, it's kind of now or never." As we know, Pop and Rock are generally a youth-driven enterprise and he felt like the clock was ticking and he got to New York, formed a band. He had some Brits alongside of him, Dennis Elliott, another British guy on drums. Ian McDonald, who was one of the founders of King Crimson, legendary kind of art rock band, for lack of a better description. And then he had some American guys, of course, Lou Graham, the incredible singer from Rochester, New York. And Al Greenwood was a New York guy too on keyboards. And so he pretty split up with the Americans and the Brits. And he formed this band in New York City. And I've gotten a chance to hear how it all went down talking to Al, the original keyboard player.

Michael (03:41): And I guess those guys were holed up in a rehearsal studio. And Al said, "Not much was going on. We were kind of jamming on some blues." And Al was saying he was getting ready to bail. He said, "We're just jamming on blues. We're hanging out. Nothing's really happening. We don't really have any songs." One day, Mick Jones brought in Feels Like the First Time he had this song and Al heard that. He said, "Oh, okay. I think we got something now." And sure enough, they had something that was 76 when they were rehearsing that and getting that song together. 77, it came out. And then as they say, the rest is history because it feels like the first time blew up and that first album blew up and Varner was officially on the map at that point.

Rick (04:19): That's incredible. I mean, we're going back almost 50 years if you can believe it, but the band is toured. I don't know how you do it with probably what, maybe a hundred tour dates a year. I mean, it feels like you guys get around and no matter where you go, you are kind of a foreigner as an American. So let me ask you this, do you ever stop into some of these cool locations, foreign locations? Come on, you have to stop and do a little coffee shop or a little bakery. Is there something, do you have an interesting story, whether it's music related or something you had, you're like, "Man, that was unbelievable. What a great experience." And it revolved around a breakfast bakery little shop or a coffee shop.

Michael (04:55): Yeah. I mean, I do like to go local wherever we are. Of course, there's Starbucks everywhere, but if I can help it, I'll avoid a Starbucks and try to find something that's more just a neighborhood kind of place. And that goes for the States, wherever I am in Iowa somewhere, Des Moines or just any sort of smaller town, wherever we are, I just want to get a flavor of the people there, not necessarily a chain store. If I can help, of course, Starbucks are everywhere and if you need them, it's great. But I've met some great people. I do have an amazing story in Syracuse, New York. There is a place called Funkin Waffles, sort of a play on the old, was it encyclopedia, Funk and Wagons?

Rick (05:38): Funk and Wagonals. We had them as a family. We didn't have Encyclopedia Britannica. We had Funk and Wagons.

Michael (05:44): So you got it.

Rick (05:45): Yeah.

Michael (05:46): If you're of a certain age, you get that. Of course, hard book Encyclopedia is a kind of a thing of a pass.

Rick (05:53): I know. Thanks for making me feel old, by the way, Michael. Appreciate that buddy. Look at the gray. Yeah.

Michael (05:57): Man, that would be the pot calling the kettle black. If it were me, yeah, it was me saying that because I think I got a few years on you. But anyway, so I stopped in Syracuse in this place called Funk and Waffles, and it was such a cool place. Obviously, they were serving up waffles. That was the specialty of the place. But then they had all these old '70s kind of funk and jazz albums on the wall. George Benson, Miles Davis, the Gap band, Herbie Hancock, Ohio players, all this kind of classic soul from the '70s and then sort of the jazzier side of things too. And they were playing that music and I'm a huge fan of '70s Funk and Soul. And I'm a big jazz guy too. So I was at home eating this delicious waffle and listening to this great tunes and this funky, as in the name, Bunkin Waffles is really kind of funky, cool place.

Michael (06:46): And I talked to the guy behind the counter and he was real friendly and we started talking. It turned out he was a keyboard player too. And it was his place. He had opened this place. It was his concept. I'm going to open this place called Funk and Waffles. He loved funk and soul keys and jazz and everything. He was a keyboard player. This was a side business that he had opened. And it turned out he had all these keyboards at his house. And we started talking. I was like, "Yeah, I'm here with foreigner. We're going to be playing." He's like, "Dude, we should hang out and jam a little bit." And I said, "Hell yeah." And so next thing I knew that evening, well, actually he stopped by my hotel downhill pick me up. I ended up at his house with him and B3 organs and clavinets and Fender roads and worlds or pianos and Mini Mog synthesizers and all this stuff from '70s Funk and Soul and Rock and Ray Charles and all that stuff.

Michael (07:32): And we ended up playing together and jamming. And he actually had a little keyboard that I wanted, that he had an extra one. I bought it from him right there. And I used it the next night at the Foreigner Show. He came as a guest and he got to hear me play the keyboard that I bought from him when we were jamming that after. So that's one of the better stories, I think.

Rick (07:51): Don't you think it's really powerful, like these little moments in time, or just by putting yourself out there or talking to somebody or having a conversation, it's amazing where things can lead. I mean, it's the same way. I'm going to talk a little bit more about beer. And we kind of met under maybe similar circumstances, but you touched on kind of your early love of music and funk and all that, and you've had a heck of a journey as a musician. How did you kind of define where you're going? I mean, here's a guy that went to Cal Berkeley. If I recall, you're from Boston, you went to the Berkeley College of Music, you studied a lot of classical stuff, and now you're in one of the top rated rock bands of all time. Pretty cool. It was a really,

Michael (08:29): What's the word? Serpentine, kind of like it's not a straight path.

Rick (08:33): Yeah, that's it.

Michael (08:35): I feel like when I think about the musical path, it was far from linear. It hasn't been linear. There's been a lot of twists and turns, and I guess it's a bit cliche, but I've just kind of gone where the music has taken me. And the opportunities when you're getting into a life and a career in music, the word on the street or the conventional, the wisdom is you take the opportunities that come to you because there may not always be there. And it's a tough field and it's a tough road. And so I was kind of a jazz nerd, jazz piano nerd in college at Berkeley College of Music and was really into that. But I always loved rock and pop too. I grew up as a kid in the '70s, classic rock and all the foreigner and everything else, the Who Zeppelin. I was a normal kid in that way.

Michael (09:17): I listened to all that stuff, Pink Floyd and everything. And then of course got into bands like Steely Dan and crossed over sort of more jazzy side. But yeah, so I mean, I really focused in on jazz because I love that music, but I was always a rock and pop guy too, because that was just the music at the time. So fast forward coming out of Berkeley, moved to San Francisco and was really active on the scene there, just a lot of local playing, leading my own group, backing up singers, playing in jam bands and touring around in a van, just kind of doing the sort of pay in your dues sort of gigs that you do. But working a lot and San Francisco in the '90s was a really fertile time for original music and for jazzy stuff. And so I got involved in a lot of projects and kept really busy and kind of did well there.

Michael (10:03): And then made my way to LA in the early 2000s. And then suddenly this world that wasn't open to me in San Francisco became open. There were auditions for big acts started coming my way. I did some kind of more pop touring, played with an artist named Anastasia who is American, but not really big in America, but was huge in Europe for a while. And I got on a tour with her, a few tours with her in 2005, 2006, and that kind of got me on the map as a touring keyboard guy. And so one thing led to the other. So the whole thing was that the rock and pop world just opened up to me being in LA. I mean, it's just all those opportunities that if I had, I stayed in San Francisco or even Boston or a bigger city. But LA is a real industry center.

Michael (10:45): It's where a lot of tours launch from here. It's really LA, New York or Nashville, you really kind of have to be in still for those sort of bigger touring artists, those are the places to be. So yeah, so that world opened up to me and I just went with it. I mean, it was a chance to see the world income wise. It was a step up from playing \$100 jazz gifts and hotels and stuff. So again, a path that took me through different styles and different worlds and I've just kind of gone where the opportunities have been.

Rick (11:17): That's awesome. And I'll give a little plug here because if you follow Foreigner, you can hop online and see it at foreigneronline.com. But this is the historic farewell tour, starts July 6th in Atlanta, goes all the way to early September in New Jersey. Makes a nice stop in St. Louis on July 19th. So I hope to see you. But I found this cool little thing here. It's a foreigner album signed by Lou Graham, but it's got all the great stuff like a jukebox. And obviously a jukebox hero is on this. I'm calling this episode of The Oven Light the Breadbox Hero. So you're our breadbox hero. Love it. But things like Coldesice, Double Vision, Head Games, Urgent is probably my particular favorite. But is it kind of tough? Am I asking you if you have a favorite child when I say, "Hey, what's your favorite song?" Or is there one that maybe you like because you get a chance to highlight your capabilities and your keyboard prowess, if you will?

Michael (12:07): Well, I would say actually I'm on board with you with Urgent right now because I get a featured solo now on that.

Rick (12:14): Nice.

Michael (12:15): Some of your listeners may or may not know what a key tar is, but if they don't ...

Rick (12:20): Yeah, what is that?

Michael (12:21): So a keytar is very literally, just like the name suggests, it's a keyboard and it's a guitar. So

Rick (12:27): Hence

Michael (12:27): The name Keytar. And it's a keyboard that's worn like a guitar. So I have a strap that goes over my shoulders and I'm mobile like guitar players are. One thing as a keyboard player that's kind of a drag is that generally you're stuck behind the keyboards. They're not generally movable. So you've seen the show, Rick, and I'm up on a riser and I'm planted there. I can move around and dance around and stuff, wave my arms and everything, but I'm not running around like the rest of the guys. So I've always been a little jealous of that truthfully. And so anyway, I was finally indicated as I was given the opportunity to do the ... We had a saxophone player for a very long time, but we don't have a saxophone player now. And so the saxophone solo on Urgent is now a Keytar solo.

Michael (13:11): So I get to play that solo on the Quittar and run around like a Madman-

Rick (13:16): It's an iconic solo. I mean, it really is of rock music. It really is classic.

Michael (13:21): It really is. And I like to feel like I do it justice. I pay tribute to it and quote the whole thing for the most part. I mean, I do the whole solo pretty much note for note. And then the solo gets extended a little bit, at which point I get to kind of put my own flavor on there for a bit for a few bars. So it's sort of the best of both worlds there. The fans get to hear that, as you said, iconic solo that everyone knows, Junior Walker, the great tender saxophone player. Speaking of Soul and Funk, that's where he came from, that whole soul world. And he was the featured saxophonist on the original recording of Urgent. So I am playing his solo, but then again, with a little bit of improv at the end for me.

Rick (13:59): Well, thanks for the education on the Quitar. For the folks that get a chance to see in concert, they'll now be a little bit better prepared for what they see. So Blue, I hope we can call you Blue with the name of Blue Stein. You got a little blue sky out there right now in terms of music. And you're playing a lot with ... I've met your girlfriend and she is awesome. Tina, and you guys have a little gig called Tina Blue, and I've seen it. I've heard it. It's fantastic.

Michael (14:23): Well, we actually ... So Tina and I have been together around four years now, and pretty quickly I discovered that she had a lovely singing voice. And at the time when we met, she was actually not doing a lot of singing. She has a background. She studied classical. She was a classical soprano and studied opera and classical music at the university, but then kind of just discovered for herself that that wasn't really her calling, her path to do classical music. So at the time she stopped that program and just didn't really regroup into any other music for a while. She works in events. Her career is her family and business promotes events and does band booking and that sort of thing. And so she's been a part of the family business and still is. But I quickly discovered that she had a great singing voice and I love harmonizing and singing.

Michael (15:11): I'm a singer as well. So we started harmonizing pretty quickly when we were hanging out and I just thought we've got to do something here. And I've also played guitar for a while and it was a skill that I wanted to fine tune more and get better at. And I thought, okay, this is a great opportunity. Why don't we form a duo and I'll just play mostly guitar in the duo and we'll harmonize on things and you'll be featured. It'll be mostly her featured on vocals, but we harmonize a lot. And that's how it was formed. And so during the pandemic, as we all know, there was very little live music, if any. We were here in LA in my studio, my music studio downtown. And I learned how to live stream. We got a bunch of webcams. I have a pro audio setup, of course, that's kind of required these days as a musician.

Michael (15:57): So I have a lot of microphones and good setups. So we just figured out, we learned how to live stream. I learned this software program OBS, which is pretty powerful and lets you feed all your audio and video in and put it out into the world through either YouTube Live or Twitch or Facebook Live, any of those platforms. And so yeah, so we started doing these live streams and that's what you saw the other day on Facebook. And we started doing that, but then we also found a place downstairs actually literally below us in the building, there's a bar that does live music and it's the best load that you could ever imagine. We literally load up a cart full of our gear and get into the elevator in the hallway and go downstairs and do our gig. You

Rick (16:35): Can't beat that. So how can people find out more about Tina Blue?

Michael (16:38): Yeah. So the website is tinabluella.com. But you could find on Instagram, Tina Blue, Tina Blue LA on Instagram. And then Spotify and Apple Music, we've all our stuff's up there, all the songs that we've released. We've done some kind of cool covers. We did Peanut Black by the Stones, kind of did our own version of that. I'm Daydream Believer by the Monkeys. We have a cool version of that that we've worked up. We have some original tunes of ours. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

Rick (17:06): Cool. Well, Tinabluella.com. I checked. It's working great. It looks good. So check it out. Thank

Michael (17:11): You. Thanks for confirming that.

Rick (17:12): No problem. So all right, let's give you a couple rapid fire questions. We'll call it The Hot Pan. What was your first album? Do you remember?

Michael (17:19): The Who Live at Leads. I

Rick (17:21): Saw him last year. I've seen him three times and it's powerful, right? I mean, okay, here's number two. Have you ever met a musician, right? You've met a lot in your days and your travels, but have you ever met one that you were just kind of almost starstruck or tongue tied?

Michael (17:35): I would say Herbie Hancock's a guy that did that to me. I was in a band of San Francisco. We opened for him, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters. And he's one of my heroes. I mean, a lot of people don't know. They maybe know him from Rocket that hit he had in

Rick (17:47): The 80s, but he was- That was big in high school for me, all that pep rallies and stuff. But

Michael (17:51): Before that in the 60s and 70s, he was a jazz and funk pioneer. He's one of my heroes. So I got to meet him and I was in a band that opened for him. So that was one. I haven't met Donald Fagan of Steely Dan, but I think I'd be pretty tongue tied if I met him too.

Rick (18:04): That's pretty cool. All right, let me ask you this. Question three, if you were not a keyboard player and you weren't doing what you did, you're a profession of professional musician, what would you be doing? What do you think?

Michael (18:14): Pro tennis player.

Rick (18:16): Really? No,

Michael (18:17): I mean, that would assume that I had the talent and the athleticism. That would be a dream thing. I love tennis. I've always been a big fan and I watch those monster players like Raphael Nadell, Roger Federer, Novak Jokovich, Andy Murray, all those guys. And I just think that those guys are just the athleticism and the precision that goes involved in that. It goes into that sport has always just blown me away. That'd be a dream job to be able to go toe to toe with one of them. It ain't ever going to happen, but-

Rick (18:50): What about pickleball? Pickleball seems to be taken over the country. Is that something you're interested in or not?

Michael (18:54): I'm so interested in. I've seen some videos of it and I've been hearing about it. And like you said, it's all the rage. I'm trying to play. I want to get out there. Any paddle sports I always played, this sounds really pretentious. I was in the table tennis club in high school, which as we know, table tennis is ping pong, but it sounds real fancy when you say table tennis. Yeah, I've always been into racket sports. That's my favorite.

Rick (19:17): That's cool. So let's talk about, we kind of teased it earlier, right? Just like these moments or collisions where you get a chance to meet somebody and the way Michael, you're like, why are we on a baking program here and we're talking to the musician from foreigner who's got a lot of background. But we do have a shared background because we have a love of one thing, beer. And it's interesting. It goes back a few years ago, and I'll describe it and let you kind of give the color on it is you and fellow lead guitarists for the band, a guy named Bruce Watson, and there's another Bruce Watson out there too. But Bruce Watson from Foreigner, you guys are big into beer and you had a program called VIB, which is very important beer instead of VIP. And we got a chance to meet at the St. Louis one, and it was just one of those opportunities and we've kind of connected since then.

Rick (20:01): So tell me about this love of beer and passion. And certainly when you travel the globe, boy, you see a lot of beer.

Michael (20:08): Oh man, absolutely. We go to Germany a lot. I mean, I would say that that's the country in Europe that we spend the most time. And as you know, Rick, you and I have talked about it. I mean, they do the pilsners right there. I mean, there's nothing like a German pilsner. As we know, a lot of American brewers have tried and failed to do a really good pilsner. From the time my dad would let me take sips of his beer when I was 10, 11, 12, I'd be like, "Dad, give me a sip." Of course, he'd be drinking something awful like Schlitz or Lowenbrow.

Michael (20:37): But even then when I was a kid, I was like, "I like it. " I always just had a taste for it even because obviously long before I was really drinking and long before I had any idea what a good craft beer was or anything. But yeah, I just always loved the flavor of it. And as I started traveling the world more, I kind of was exposed to great beer. But being in San Francisco in the 90s, the craft beer thing was starting as you know, Sierra Nevada was the first one, right? I think Chico. One of the

Michael (21:07): Big ones, yeah, one of the big ones that was proliferating, that was all over the place. Sierra Nevada in San Francisco, that was just a really big beer. And that's a solid pale ale right there. So I like hops. I started tuning into the fact that I liked a hoppier pale ale or IPA. And so from there, it was the whole IPA thing, as we know, exploded and everybody was doing IPAs and kind of went down that. Of course, traveling up to Seattle, Portland, certainly in Southern California. And then Colorado and then all the way across the country, the IPAs, the craze happened. Loved those. But then after a while, as you know, too many IPAs, you got to take a break. I mean, it's just there's seven, 8%.

Rick (21:51): Tough on the palate, tough on the pallet after.

Michael (21:53): Yeah. So they're really strong. And if it's a really hot day and you want to crush some beers, you can't be crushing those all in the afternoon. You're going to pass out. It's just really strong. And like you said, tough on the ... They're dense, higher calorie. It's just a heavier drinking experience, which can be cool. But we started realizing, okay, well, I like other things. I like a great log or a crisp pilsner where the hot malt balances is just right. I started tuning into that. Stouts, a really great Guinness on tap. You can't beat that. We've spent time in Dublin. We went to the Guinness factory in Dublin and getting a great Guinness. It's a whole other experience, right? Spending time in Brussels and drinking Belgian Ailes, Taco about 180 doesn't taste anything like a stout, doesn't take anything like a Guinness, doesn't really taste anything like a Bitburger, Kilsner.

Michael (22:47): So all these different styles, they started realizing that when they're done well, they all have their place and they're all tasty.

Rick (22:52): Yeah, kind of like music, right? I mean, there's so many diverse options for everybody. So we're going back to the hot pan. Favorite craft beer or beer style, or is there a craft brewery you're like, when I'm in this country, I got to make sure I go to?

Michael (23:05): Okay. So I would say that right now it changes, but I would say that a really well-brewed German style Pilsner is at the top right now. And there's a place in Germany, and it's actually, it's a pretty big company. It's called Algostina. And in Munich where the whole beer garden tradition is so rich, it's all about these beer gardens. You're hanging outside, it's a beautiful setting. They're bringing the huge leader glasses to you October fest style. There's a place called Algoshtina, and there's several of them in Munich. And that's a place that I've spent some really great time at. And a really well-brewed Chris Pilsner is the winner.

Rick (23:50): All right. Well, let me ask you this next question. So outside of Germany and Ireland and the US, do you have a favorite sneaky country that you're like, "This is a great place to drink a beer in. " I mean, obviously Germany's got that kind of vibe, but is there another little country because you guys travel to a lot of foreign places. Do you have a favorite like, "Boy, this is a sleeper."

Michael (24:12): Okay. Well, yeah, I mentioned Belgium. I mentioned Brussels. So I guess I couldn't really call that a sleeper because Belgian nails are pretty well known. If I didn't say Brussels, I'd say, where else would I say? Yeah, I mean, really, it's hard to beat Germany. It's hard to eat Belgium. It's hard to beat the States for craft beer. I'm sort of at a loss. I think those are the top three right

Rick (24:35): There. Okay. I didn't know if you'd sneak in Czech Republic or anything like that.

Michael (24:40): I just said the US and I said Belgium and I said Germany, but of course you also mentioned, so we have to say Ireland for the beginnings, but also we got to say England too because the getting a great bitter ale there or a cask ale, we haven't gone into cask hales where they're fermented in the cask because that's a rich tradition that they do in England and sort of like something that's kind of a lost art that doesn't really happen that much. So the original Budweiser is actually from the Czech Republic. So if you get a Budweiser that they do in Prague, that's a whole other Budweiser experience that you want to take part in. Well,

Rick (25:19): Do you want to throw the whole Kevin Bacon six steps away? I worked for Anheuser-Busch for 13 years before I came to AB Maori. And before I moved to Stellar Toi and Micheliboltra, I had Czechvar, which is known as Budvar. It's Bujavici Boudvar. And for a long time, Anheuser-Busch had a dispute with them over the name Budweiser. So there's the Budweiser from Bujavici Boudvar, there's Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser, and then there's a third Budweiser in that local area as well that's hidden, that's actually pretty good beer. I've had all three, not on the same day, but within a couple days of each other. Pretty interesting.

Michael (25:53): So the Budvar and then the third one that's also in Prague?

Rick (25:58): Yeah, that's in the Czech Republic that's also known as a Budweiser. Yeah. So there's three different ones, but you can buy that beer that's called Boudvar over there. It's called Czechvar here in the US. You can find it in liquor stores. Here's our third question. If you could be a brewer for a day, would you do it? Or have you ever had that opportunity?

Michael (26:17): So yes, I would absolutely do it. I would need some serious training and some serious guidance because I have never brewed beer solo. I do have a little kit here that I haven't started yet. I want to do at some point for an IPA, a little brewing kit. I haven't ventured into it yet, but yes, I would absolutely do it. And in Germany, at one point we did a VIB and they did let us participate a little in the process and it was really fun. I think Bruce actually did add some hops to the kettle. It's a fascinating process. And through these VIB events that we've done at breweries, and actually, and incidentally, we're going to be doing more of them this year, hopefully. There's some loose dates that are being thrown around. But in some of these great breweries, we've had a chance with the head brewers, they take us back and show us their whole process and all that's involved.

Michael (27:05): I mean, it's science. It really is. And there's a lot of things that have to be done right. There's a lot of cleanliness that has to be adhered to that really keeping everything clean is essential for the process for a really good, fresh beer that's untainted, that's very pure. So we've learned a lot being back there and watching them do it and talking to these brewers. It's definitely fascinating.

Rick (27:30): So tell us a little, for somebody listening in, they're like, "Okay, this VIB thing sounds cool." How do you find out about it? What can people expect when they get a chance to see you and Bruce in an event? Is there more than beer? Is there a little bit of music or is there a Q&A, all that kind of stuff?

Michael (27:46): There's all the above. It usually takes place. So when we're on tour, if we have a night off and we're going to be in one place, we're not traveling, we're not moving around, we will set up at a brewery, at a local brewery. And Bruce and I, along with Louis Maldonado, who's our newest member who also plays guitar and is a fantastic singer who's actually able to sing 400 songs in their original keys, which is not something that I can do. So we've added him and it's the three of us and we set up and we do sort of a kind of shorter set, unplugged, acoustic set of foreigner tunes. We get some nice three-part harmony going and we do a set of that. And then sometimes there will be a little Q&A. There'll be some pictures, whatever signings that people bring, T-shirts or drumsticks or whatever merch or things they need signed.

Michael (28:34): We do that.

Rick (28:34): Even a kitar, right? Even a quitar, they can find

Michael (28:37): Them. Especially a quitar.

Rick (28:39): Yeah.

Michael (28:40): Yeah. So we'll do that. We'll do a set. We'll showcase, we'll talk. If we're lucky, we'll have the head brewer there or somebody that's real beer knowledgeable and we can briefly discuss some of the beers that are being showcased at the brewery. Those will be passed around and they bring them to us and we'll taste them and talk about some of the beers briefly. We'll do that set of music and then usually just hang out and mix and mingle with the fans there and talk music and beer. And it's a really fun time.

Rick (29:05): That's great. And journalism to tech about bearing the headline. And part of the headline here is part of the reason that we wanted to talk beer with you is because our sister company, AB Biotech, so we're AB Maori, we're in baking ingredients, we're Fleischman's yeast, and a lot of people know us from there, but our roots as a company go back more than 150 years into distilling and brewing and wine making. And so part of the reason is we're launching some new beer yeast strains, an American ale and English Ale and a Pilsner as we get into a spring timeframe just in time for the Kraft Brewers Conference, which is the biggest beer conference in North America. And that's going to kick off in May in Nashville. So that's kind of the whole reason we're talking beer a little bit. I don't know if you've ever been to that show, but boy, I tell you what, for a guy like you and Bruce and now Luis, the three beer guys, not the three tenors, you would probably have a blast at a show like this.

Michael (29:57): Oh man, I'm going to bring it up with Bruce and And you've mentioned it and that sounds fantastic, but if I can fit that in, I would love to do that. It's a great excuse to get to Nashville and we get to hang out and that sounds like a blast.

Rick (30:10): More news coming soon from the AB Biotech crew and our brewing team. So we're excited about that. Hey, one thing, let's take a quick step to the side here. We do have an email address. If somebody listening has a comment or an interesting question for us, you can send it to theovenlight@abaury.com. So we love communication. Again, the ovenlight@abaury.com. And Michael has generously donated or AB Maury will take care of it. We're going to give away a couple tickets, which is pretty exciting. You've got a long tour of what, four or five months there. What kind of question? How about this question? You got to tell me if this works, if it's too difficult. And you could do a little bit of searching online and find out. So the band's name is Foreigner, and there's a really interesting story. And you talked about why it's called Foreigner, but there was a name of the band beforehand, which shared the name with another band.

Rick (31:00): If you can send us a note with the name of that band, we'll take care of you for a couple tickets to one of the tour stops. How's that sound, Michael? Does that sound fair?

Michael (31:08): Fantastic. And that's a tricky question that I think is probably going to elude a lot of people. So I'd be really curious. I'd be really fascinated to see if anybody can come up with that.

Rick (31:18): That'd be pretty cool. So hopefully we get something good there. So any other factoids or anything? I mean, I don't know how you prep for a tour like this, but you go from a time where you can unwind, regather your breath, and now you're going to get in ASCAR. They call it silly season. I don't know what it's called a music season, but you got to get ready.You're in spring training right now, but it's almost regular season, right?

Michael (31:40): Yeah, we start out. I mean, actually it's a good way to go. Later in March, it'll be here a month from now already, less than a month. We're starting out in Vegas. We have a residency at the Venetian in Vegas, which has been an annual thing now for three years. So we have eight dates in Vegas. And that's kind of your stamp, but that's a good way to ease into it because when you do a residency, as the name implies, we're not going anywhere.

Rick (32:05): So as Michael alluded to, you can hop on foreigneronline.com, check that out. Residency runs March 24th through April 8th at the Venetians. So that's a great opportunity. Again, this is kind of the last hurrah, the historic farewell tour. You never know where things are going to take you and the rest of the band, but an exciting summer for sure. Any other opportunities for Michael or for people to stay tuned on what you're doing besides Foreigner and Tina Blue? What do we expect from Michael Bluestein in the future?

Michael (32:35): Well, I think that the foreigner thing is going to be center stage for at least another couple years. As you said, wrap up this farewell thing, that takes a lot of time. I mean, we're talking 90 to 100 shows a year for the next two years. So that's mostly what I'll be doing, but I'll be doing ... Tina and I will get our little do Otino Blue gigs when we can. Locally, I have actually a fun little jazzy soul funk trio that I play keyboards in called Tugboat. I'll be doing some of that. We play at the same place here and now in downtown LA. And I'll be doing some of that. Can follow my projects on michaelbluesteinmusic.com and also Instagram. My handle is Bluesy Wonderland. That's Bluesy Wonderland on Instagram. You can follow all the stuff I'm doing there. And yeah, just going to stay busy and keep doing music because it's a blessing.

Rick (33:28): Well, hey, we appreciate the talk about baking, a little bit about beer and obviously music. Michael, it's good to know you. And for the folks out there listening in on The Ovenlight for now, the switch is off and we look forward to seeing you next time.

Michael (33:42): Right on. Rick, this has been great.

Rick (33:47): We hope you've enjoyed this episode of The Oven Light. Until next time when we discuss more about the wonderful world of baking technology, trends and more, the switch is officially off. Goodbye for now. See you next time.