Is Foreigner still Foreigner without founder Mick Jones on stage?

By

• Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk | jkaczmarczyk@mlive.com

Courtesy PhotoForeigner's Mick Jones and Michael Bluestein (fourth and fifth from left) aren't expected to appear at Meijer Gardens with band members (from left) Jeff Pilson, Tom Gimbel and Kelly Hansen, and (far right) Mark Schulman.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Is Foreigner still Foreigner without Mick Jones?

The audience at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will decide on Thursday.

Foreigner's summer tour opened June 8 in Cherokee, N.C., without the band's only remaining founding member.

Jones, 67, missed a number of dates for an undisclosed reason during last year's tour with Journey and Night Ranger, and in February the guitarist underwent heart surgery in Miami.

Guitarist Bruce Watson, a former member of Rod Stewart's band, has filled in for Jones since then and opened with Foreigner last week at Harrah's Cherokee Event Center.

Jones' first public appearance was in April when NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart presented Foreigner with three Platinum singles and a Gold plaque at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jones, who wrote or co-wrote most of Foreigner's biggest hits with original lead singer Lou Gramm, also was spotted last week in New York City at the premiere of the movie "Rock of Ages," which features several Foreigner songs.

Foreigner's official website and Facebook page have said nothing about Jones' absence from the band's 2012 summer tour.

On the other hand, the British-American rock band has been upfront that Michael Bluestein, a band member since 2008, isn’t touring for the foreseeable future.

A statement attributed to Bluestein on Foreigner's website says the keyboardist has colorectal cancer and will be away "for a significant period."

“The good news is that I caught this early enough so that through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, I will be able to treat this and return to normal life after it’s over,” Bluestein posted. “And of course normal life for me includes rocking with Foreigner!”

Bluestein has started a blog to keep fans posted about the progress of his condition.

Foreigner has had nine Top 10 hits and has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide since the band was co-founded by Jones, Gramm and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald in 1976.

You make the call: Is Foreigner still Foreigner when none of its founding members are on stage?

E-mail Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk: jkaczmarczyk@mlive.com
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