Foreigner is spending this summer thrilling audiences across the country on the ‘Soundtrack of Summer‘ tour alongside fellow rock legends Styx and Don Felder. We’ll be getting weekly updates from the road courtesy of Mick Jones‘ assistant Tim Hare. In this second installment, Hare talks about catching up with a former Foreigner member and how he and Jones have bonded over their love of sports.

Gas, acceleration, shift up, shift down, switch lanes, gas, shift up, shift down, decelerate, break...Gas. Driving around with Mick Jones, you get a course in precision driving, because he he is incredibly focused at the art of being behind the wheel. Mick and I spend a fair amount of time discussing and idolizing different cars - Mick is a bit of a gear head and he’s teaching me a lot about sports cars and convertibles. On a recent trip to Florida for our Estero show, Mick rented a yellow Camaro which, after hearing the song by the Space Twins, I have always wanted to drive. We took the car down to meet with former Foreigner drummer Dennis Elliot and his lovely wife Iona. Mick and I always drive the speed limit, but if we didn’t this was the kind of car you would floor it with.

It was a lot of fun watching the old band mates catch up and hearing them relive glory days. Dennis took us around on this boat and we docked on the pier near one of their favorite restaurants. There are few greater pleasures in life than being on the water and eating delicious food. I am always telling Mick, “Let’s go grab some sweet cosmic rays,” a term coined by a good buddy of mine, which is now creeping into Mick’s lexicon. Getting some sun is one of the best ways to decompress from the rigors of the road, and we both need to work on our 'Soundtrack of Summer' tans. Mick and I plan on being the best-looking gentlemen out of all band and crewmembers, though I don’t think anyone else is aware of our secret competition. After dinner with Dennis and Iona, I had to work a little computer magic for Mick to recover lost info. As a reward for my success, he tossed me the keys to the Camaro, smiled, and said, “Have fun and be careful out there.”

Another general interest that bonds Mick and I together so well is our love of sports. Football and Formula 1 are the sports we both watch the most. Mick has said of F1 racing, “I love the sophistication of the cars. The science and the engineering behind it fascinate me. It’s also a big international competition.” Being a fellow Brit, Mick has to support Lewis Hamilton while I admit having an admiration for his teammate/rival Nico Rosberg. We can agree that the legacy of McClaren Racing wins out when it comes to rooting for a team year in and year out.

I recently learned that Michael Bluestein is an avid tennis fan, while Tom Gimbel has a great passion for the sport of golf. Kelly shares the love of cars with Mick and I. It’s easy to get caught up talking to them about sets or rounds, or cars on long bus rides to hotels or gigs. We usually have a game or match on our tour bus TV going. It’s a great time killer until the satellite drops out, just as things get interesting. Then it’s a mad dash to get the signal back. With the World Cup beginning this week and various races coming up we will not want for sporting events to watch this summer.

Thanks for reading, Juke Box Heroes. Until next time.

More From Ultimate Classic Rock