jobeterob
06-01-2012, 12:22 PM
It appears to be a bad week to be a keyboardist in a rock and roll band.
On the heels of news that Procol Harum leader Gary Brooker suffered a seriously fall in South Africa earlier this week, leading to cancelled shows, comes new that Michael Bluestein, keyboardist with arena-rockers Foreigner, has been diagnosed with cancer.
Bluestein - who has also performed as a session guy with Stevie Nicks, Boz Scaggs and Supertramp's Roger Hodgson - will reportedly take an indefinite leave of absence from the band as he undergoes treatment, according to a story in Ultimate Classic Rock.
The Massachusetts-reared musician has played with the gazillion-selling Foreigner [[see hits including “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You”) since 2008.
As he explains in a statement released on Foreigner’s official website, “I recently went to the hospital following some symptoms, and it was discovered that I have colorectal cancer. This has required me to take a leave of absence from the band for a significant period.”
Bluestein adds, “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. And of course normal life for me includes rocking with Foreigner!!”
We wish him well.
On the heels of news that Procol Harum leader Gary Brooker suffered a seriously fall in South Africa earlier this week, leading to cancelled shows, comes new that Michael Bluestein, keyboardist with arena-rockers Foreigner, has been diagnosed with cancer.
Bluestein - who has also performed as a session guy with Stevie Nicks, Boz Scaggs and Supertramp's Roger Hodgson - will reportedly take an indefinite leave of absence from the band as he undergoes treatment, according to a story in Ultimate Classic Rock.
The Massachusetts-reared musician has played with the gazillion-selling Foreigner [[see hits including “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You”) since 2008.
As he explains in a statement released on Foreigner’s official website, “I recently went to the hospital following some symptoms, and it was discovered that I have colorectal cancer. This has required me to take a leave of absence from the band for a significant period.”
Bluestein adds, “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. And of course normal life for me includes rocking with Foreigner!!”
We wish him well.