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 sixth installment, Tim talks about the fire that struck a pair of their tour buses and meeting more rock and roll legends as part of his job.

Who knew our tour buses were also 'Hot Blooded?' All joking aside… it was a bit of a nerve-racking moment when we got word that a couple of our tour buses had caught fire. Thankfully no one was hurt. I’d like to give a big SOS Tour shout out to the brave Philadelphia fire fighters who responded to the scene. We are very grateful for their help. I know there were a few of them in the audience that night in Camden. I hope they enjoyed the show.

[Editor’s note: Foreigner, Styx and Rock to the Rescue have donated $10,000 to the local Philadelphia Fire Department Local No. 22 Widows Fund to thank them for their actions]

I got to spend a few days off in New York City, which is where we were during the fire - taking Mick and Kelly [Hansen] to an interview with VH1 Radio, dining with Jeff [Pilson] and Bruce [Watson], and checking out ‘Rock of Ages on Broadway.’ The first time I ever worked with Mick, I accompanied him to a TV taping of VH1’s 'That Metal Show' on a freezing cold winter’s night in NYC. That night the guests were Leslie West who Mick played with for a few years as well as Lita Ford. While I’ve grown slightly used to seeing rock legends, that first night was pretty exciting. I’ve always had a crush on Lita Ford, but face-to-face I don’t think I said one word. I was way too nervous. Mick was cool as usual, catching up with everyone, and honoring photo/autograph requests from Lita!

There’s a mini-foodie gang forming on the tour with me, Jeff and Bruce. I am trying to recruit Kelly, as he is the ultimate foodie in our group. Jeff and Bruce took me to an amazing Indian restaurant called Tamarind in NYC. I was tempted to take a photo of our savory spread, but didn’t want to be “that guy.” Bruce and I got a tip from some locals about an awesome Thai restaurant in Ottawa. Hopefully our gang will make the trip and indulge. Bruce and I deferred ordering to Indian food expert Jeff Pilson and we were not disappointed. I haven’t felt so enjoyably full since I had Moroccan food with Mick and his son Christopher in Paris. Yes I know I am incredibly spoiled!

Current Night Ranger and ‘Rock of Ages guitarist’ Joel Hoekstra invited Bruce and I to come and see the ‘Rock of Ages’ show last week and we couldn’t resist. Joel had the sound engineer bring us a pair of in-ear monitors so we could hear the band’s mix including the hilarious between scene banter that the audience is never aware of. Joel is one of the coolest people I have ever met and an unreal guitar player. Thanks again, Joel! In line for the men’s room I came across a photo of Jeff during his Dokken days. It was funny to think “I had had dinner with that rock star last night.”

How is it already past July 4? I can’t fathom how quickly this summer is going. I hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoying the shows. My personal summer soundtrack this week is 'Brighter than Sunshine' by Aqualung. I was driving Mick back to NYC late after a gig when he put this on the stereo system. Before I knew it we had burst into a full-blown sing along. It’s quite fun to sing along to the radio with Mr. Mick Jones, I must say.

Signing off for now. ’Til next time, Juke Box Heroes…

More From Ultimate Classic Rock