Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen: Bastard Father To All Power Pop Bands

First forming in 1974 in Rockford, Illinois, Cheap Trick went on to become one of the most successful and influencial power pop outfits of their generation. Their blending of superbly crafted pop with walls of crunchy guitar, were all underscored by a tongue-in-check attitude as heard on classics such as Surrender, I Want You To Want Me and Dream Police all of which have define Cheap Trick. After a 30 year plus career, the band will soon release their new studio outing titled Rockford on June 6th. In this exclusive interview with Ultimate-Guitar, Joe Matera spoke to the group’s founding guitarist, Rick Nielsen to talk guitars, working with John Lennon and getting drunk with Slash.

Ultimate-Guitar: Rockford is a very diverse sounding album?

Rick Nielsen: Yes it has got a lot of diversity to it. It’s got some great pop songs too like for example, the song Welcome To The World that was written for the birth of my son’s daughter. The day she was born I felt like writing a song. For a little baby you could write a lullaby but I wanted to write a rock song, welcome to the world in the sense of the world now being a better place ‘cause she’s here now. I try not make songs one dimensional though by having one meaning, it’s needs to have more than one meaning to it. If I didn’t tell you this now not many people would have picked up on that fact that it’s about a baby!

The first single off Rockford is titled Perfect Stranger and is produced by in demand songwriter Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes fame?

Yes and she’s a firecracker of a woman to work with. Because she’s written stuff for so many different people, we were paired up because the record company people thought it’d be a good idea to have her do a song with us being the big name she is. And it was a good song. We knew each other prior but we had never met.

"People say that Budokan made us famous, well I say we made the Budokan famous."

Is the title a reflection on where the band’s roots proudly lie?

Perhaps… but we’ve never come up with a title that means anything. It’s like with the live ‘At Budokan’ record, no one knew what a Budokan was then? But now everybody does! You know people say that Budokan made us famous, well I say we made the Budokan famous. Rockford is a working class, good people, hard working town. And it’s not like we’re paying special attention to the people there but we’re also not ignoring where we came from too.

What guitars did you use for this album?

It depends on what the song was really, but I do have one Les Paul that has appeared on basically every album that we’ve done. It’s a ’58 Sunburst Les Paul Standard. There are also some Fenders, some Guilds, some Gretschs, a Gibson Hummingbird and of course Hamers on there too. There are a multitude of guitars on there and it really depended on the songs and what we had in the studio at the time.

Aside from the guitars and amps, do you utilize other equipment in helping to recreate your studio sounds when it comes to the live environment?

We never use tapes or backing tracks or anything like that, so if I have something that has a harmony lead for example, I’ll use an Octave Divider but mostly I like to get good tones right off my amp. But those harmony things are rare, there’s a very few songs I actually do that on. Sometimes Robin will follow me as he plays guitar live and also Tom’s 12-string bass will fill out a lot of those gaps too. And because we try to write songs that have a lot of Es, Ds, As and Gs it gives us lots of open strings to play with.

Surrender has just been picked up for the theme to the new ABC comedy TV series Sons & Daughters?

I don’t watch much commercial television so I had people call me and tell me this. It’s like my daughter called me awhile ago and told me that Lindsay Lohan had done a cover of one of our song ‘I Want You To Want Me’ recently. I didn’t know that. It’s not the first time ‘Surrender’ has been on a soundtrack, it also appeared on the soundtrack to the Matt Dillon movie ‘Over The Edge’ back in 1979. Songs like this have a kind of life of their own. I think ‘Surrender’ is timeless because every kid thinks their parents are nuts, no matter what the generation is.

You performed Surrender with Velvet Revolver when they came to Rockford last year?

That was terrific and it was their idea to do it. They did a great version of it.

You and Slash go back a long way, in fact you and Slash were involved in a altercation during the Guns & Roses days. So who won?

Well he’s not claiming any victory lets put that way. It wasn’t a fight it was just a couple of drunken sailors in the middle of night acting stupid, and let’s leave it at that. The next time I saw him, he said “Rick, please don’t hit me, please don’t hit me”. But we’ve become good friends over the years. I love Izzy though, he was my favourite Guns & Roses because he was the most human.

"What John Lennon told Bun. E was the all-time compliment I've ever received."

What was it like to work with John Lennon when you did the session for Double Fantasy?

It was quite an honour to have been asked to work with him. That came about through our producer Jack Douglas at the time. I remember it vividly as it was August 12, 1980, the same day that my third son Daxx was born. It was Bun E. and myself. Bun. E was smart enough to get John’s autograph though, but I never did. And what John told Bun E was the all-time compliment I’ve ever received. When I was playing the solo to ‘I’m Losing You’ John turned around to Bun E and said “Oh man I wish I had Rick on ‘Cold Turkey’ ‘cause Eric Clapton choked up on it”. He never said that to me, but he told Bun. E as I was in the studio and Bun was in the booth with him.

The way you work in the studio is interesting, you seem to be able to combine the verse of one song, take the chorus of another and instantly make a hybrid and a brand new song from it?

We were doing that long before Def Leppard were even born (laughs). If the part fits then why not? Usually Robin will grab a whole bunch of my demos and he’ll interpret what I do really well. He can see the finished product like I do. Most of my demos are pretty horrible, because I don’t take the time to make them perfect. So sometimes there might too many words in a chorus or we might have a good first part of the chorus but a bad part of the chorus, so we’ll take bits from that and thrown them into the mix and make them work. One thing we don’t do like to do like a lot of other bands is use Pro Tools or tape and use them to mix and match together, we kind of have it all figured out in advance. We’ll do it manually until we’ve get it down before recording. Like on most of our albums, 80% of the recorded tracks are usually the first or second takes.

What do you now think of Cheap Trick’s influence on all the power pop bands?

It’s always great when somebody else gives you kudos and praise and everything, but in a funny way I guess its nice being the bastard father to all these bands (laughs).

Your whole image with the baseball cap and all, is the antithesis of the normal rock and roll image… its very individualist?

I never wanted to be anybody else but at the same time I never knew who I wanted to be too so I never fitted…funnily people may know about me even though they might not know all our songs. It’s good to be for the most part recognizable.

Before Cheap Trick you were in a band in the late ‘60s that were going to open for Otis Redding on the day he tragically died?

The band was called The Grim Reapers, and it was on the night he died that we were going to open for him, December 10, 1967. The poster for the advertised show was quite creepy too it had like all these plants growing out from what looked like a coffin.

You reputedly have the largest guitar collection in the world?

Well I’ve had about 2,000 guitars over the years. Now I’ve got 250 – 300 guitars but to me it’s not whoever has the most wins.

"I taught myself how to play guitar and never had any guitar lessons and I still don’t know what I’m doing."

How did your famous five-neck guitar come about?

Originally I wanted to have a six neck because I used to stack guitars on top of one another and I found that I was destroying my guitars and as I played one, I would throw it off. I wanted the six-neck to spin but right after that, Billy Gibbons came out with a guitar that spun around. And then I thought well everybody will think I’m copying his, so let’s do something a bit more conservative, let’s make it a five neck. And not have it spin. And once again it was the antithesis of a rock star which at that time was the double neck guitar and twin acoustic neck on a stand. I thought well you seem to need all these necks to do this stuff so let me be more ridiculous about it. I actually play every neck every night and now I have three of them. I’ve retired the well-known and original “orange” one [built in 1980]. The other one is a black and white checkered one and last year Hamer made me a Korina five-neck which actually has 38 strings instead of the usual 36. The other two had a 12-string and four 6-strings this one has a 12-string, 3 six-strings and one eight string mandocello.

How do you go about dialling in your tone?

I love Fender Deluxes for tone, and I have a heavy duty transformer and master switch too so that way I can boost it up just as little hotter. By having that master control you can control your tone and your distortion without needing to crank up the amp all the way. But you need the master and the sub master to achieve this. Then I have a Gibson Goldtone and a Rivera that gives me that punch I need. When I play, are always two amps being miked and it’s a mixture of the two coming through.

You’re pretty much unschooled on the guitar, do you find this hinders your playing in any way?

No, I taught myself how to play guitar and never had any guitar lessons and I still don’t know what I’m doing. But I’m actually a drummer, I started out on drums. I may know a lot of the chords I play but I don’t know any theory. I’m also self-taught on piano. Even on the mandocello I’ve always made up my own chords, I wouldn’t have any idea what they were. I’ve always played by feel and I still do today.

Why did you end up redoing ‘In Color’ with Steve Albini?

It’s because I liked the songs but the original production on it made us sound so wimpy and I didn’t like it. So I wanted to recut it and so we did the whole album except for one track which I can’t remember now.

Joe Matera © 2006

Comments

[losingprada]

pretty cool

got to love Cheap Trick.

[blitzballer1]

yeh true as ay. i am self taught to, and think that when you just play by feeling, its a much better soundin piece of guitar work. Theory helps, but music comes from the soul ya know? so respect to this guy. Cheap Trick have some mad songs...

[ZOSOGuitarist01]

^ yeah. i used to feel inferior that i couldnt read music notes, but now that i know most older musicians didnt, its a relief.

[4yourlungsonly]

oh yea, being self taught is the best. i am self taught and have been playing for about 7 months now and i am playing stuff like nothing else matters and stairway to heaven. its all easy.

[glpledzep145]

you shouldnt be proud that you dont know theory... thats why he isnt known for being a "guitar god"

[civildp1]

I actually go to school in Rockford, Illinois. It's pretty cool, Rick and Bun E still live there and you see them in bars and at hockey games from time to time.

[rayIII]

he sure does seem pretty cocky for someone who doesn't even know theory...


I love Cheap Trick though, keep it up Rick!!

[Teleprompters]

i live in rockford, i pm'ed you civildp1

[Brennos_37]

ilearned to play guitar by myself for over 8 months but now i have a teacher and he teaches me alot of scales which is god because i improved alot

[RR=bestevrplaya]

theory is probably pretty helpful, but its not necessary, if u play wat feels right, then it can't be wrong

[joshsirjoshules]

To the guys who are saying, "Oh he's not a god cause he don't know theory" shut the **** up seriously. John Lennon himself said that he'd rather have Rick Nielsen than Eric Clapton. Musical knowledge is actually notorious for ruining rock and roll, i.e. Yngwie.

[Tulkas]

glpledzep145 wrote:

you shouldnt be proud that you dont know theory... thats why he isnt known for being a "guitar god"

Yeah, Hendrix knew his stuff! And that Chuck Berry, man look at his chord structure! Give me the idiot who plays by feel and makes chicks shake their ass as opposed to a guy who can tell me about every possible note, but can't write a song to save his life. The theorist gods have their cult, but the popular bands and players are popular for a reason. They groove and others don't. Not that theory sucks, but it's definately not a pre-requisite. Probably a lot more useful for those of us with little to no talent.

[Steve Cropper]

Most amateur guitarists who put out this play by feeling bullcrap can't do it very well themselves I'm willing to bet. I can read music and I can improvise by ear. I know enough music theory to get myself around when it comes up. Theory is necessary even guitarists who play by ear learn it just in a different method than sitting down and memorizing scales, figuring out what resolves to what, and textbook learning in general. I learned most of my theory from alot of reading and alot of thinking. It can only help you if you take up learning it formally. I mean not every body can be Jimmy Hendrix can they? He just had the gift of music, he was an artist that happened to play guitar.

[Ablazean]

I was born in Rockford, Illinois. Too bad I never got to see these guys.

[ooblah]

aww you guys, music theory or none he was still an awesome guy.. cant we all get along?

[ooblah]

joshsirjoshules wrote:

To the guys who are saying, "Oh he's not a god cause he don't know theory" shut the **** up seriously. John Lennon himself said that he'd rather have Rick Nielsen than Eric Clapton. Musical knowledge is actually notorious for ruining rock and roll, i.e. Yngwie.

HAHA ok you cant really insult yngwie malmsteen for "ruining" rock come on man at least be smart about your insults

[joshsirjoshules]

HAHA ok you cant really insult yngwie malmsteen for "ruining" rock come on man at least be smart about your insults

His whole "shredding" thing, not just him I guess, but he was definitely the one who started it. You know what's so cool about music theory? It has nothing to do with rock and roll. Music theory ruins rock and roll. Have you noticed that? Rock and roll is at it's best when it is played with minimal musical knowledge. Look at The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Iggy And The Stooges, U2, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC etc. Look at the impact those bands have had on music. Minimal knowledge. Then the whole shred thing came along and ruined it. Hair metal, Metallica, Megadeth, stupid 80s metal. Nirvana and grunge luckily came along and killed that whole scene, but only for a little while. This is why you have bands like Opeth, Slipknot and Children Of Bodom who think that they can know all the music theory knowledge in the world and automatically have good songwriting skills. They think they can be as fast and crazy as possible, **** that. They'll never have the same effect as something like "Bastards Of Young" by The Replacements.

[joshsirjoshules]

Being a Clash fan, you of all people would know that.

[shesadaytripper]

I can only imagine how much a 5 neck guitar would way.What would you do with 3 different 6 strings anyways?I think thats a little over kill and pointless:-/

[Letterbomb11]

I need a guitar like that 5-necker.

[Pure_Morning]

shesadaytripper wrote:

I can only imagine how much a 5 neck guitar would way.What would you do with 3 different 6 strings anyways?I think thats a little over kill and pointless:-/

Different tunings is really the only use for em. But why use 5 necks when a normal guitar will do?

[Siandos.BCRich]

joshsirjoshules wrote:

HAHA ok you cant really insult yngwie malmsteen for "ruining" rock come on man at least be smart about your insults

His whole "shredding" thing, not just him I guess, but he was definitely the one who started it. You know what's so cool about music theory? It has nothing to do with rock and roll. Music theory ruins rock and roll. Have you noticed that? Rock and roll is at it's best when it is played with minimal musical knowledge. Look at The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Iggy And The Stooges, U2, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC etc. Look at the impact those bands have had on music. Minimal knowledge. Then the whole shred thing came along and ruined it. Hair metal, Metallica, Megadeth, stupid 80s metal. Nirvana and grunge luckily came along and killed that whole scene, but only for a little while. This is why you have bands like Opeth, Slipknot and Children Of Bodom who think that they can know all the music theory knowledge in the world and automatically have good songwriting skills. They think they can be as fast and crazy as possible, **** that. They'll never have the same effect as something like "Bastards Of Young" by The Replacements.

Dude, u like iggy and the stooges and u talk crap about metallica? how can u say that kirk hammets soloing is ruining rock n roll? well first of all its not rock n roll, its heavy metal and second how is he ruining rock n roll by being a good guitarist... anw music theory has nothing to do with shredding. u can be fast and be self-taught. i respect ur opinion but u r just talking bullshit man

spam checked

[bloke]

don;t even know why i'm bothering to post, but self taught or tutored, makes no difference as long as you can write original and creative pieces of work, teaching yourself and then saying oh yeah i'm so great because i can play this song or this song means nothing because learning someone elses song is easy compared to making your own, it can't hurt to learn some theory, and i would guess about 90% of people who say theory ruins rock actually subconsciously makes this excuse because they can't be bothered or don't have the ability to learn theory themselves,

what ruins rock is using theory as an excuse, i.e. look at me i can play this and this, and in this style so i must be a rock god, not the fact that some good musicians use theory to back up there already creative style,

oh and the guy that said metallica ruined rock, first of all cliff burton was the only guy who knew tonnes of theory, the others hardly knew any and i think they were pretty much self taught other than cliff (might be wrong) and cliff isn't even with them anymore.. so your wrong, and your even wronger because metallica whether you like it or not are one of the most influential bands of second generation rock, oh and are you seriously telling me sabbath had no theory knowledge? and if anyone even dares say sabbath destroyed rock i will personally slap you with this ham sandwich, if i haven't eaten it first...


*goes back to secret cave*

[MeTaL'Foo]

this debaite about music theory is stupid. you either learn it or you dont, dosent really make a difference if it sounds good. i liked this interview and the guitars

[azureXsmurF]

Good music is good music, who the hell cares how complex it is if it's pleasing to our ears.

Get off your ****ing high horses.

[jimmcs2000]

^^^
No shit!!! completely agree

It's not really the theory or lack of, it's the passion, creativity and hook. good is good.420

[xXbleed4meXx]

cheap trick is cool

[joshsirjoshules]

Dude, u like iggy and the stooges and u talk crap about metallica? how can u say that kirk hammets soloing is ruining rock n roll? well first of all its not rock n roll, its heavy metal and second how is he ruining rock n roll by being a good guitarist... anw music theory has nothing to do with shredding. u can be fast and be self-taught. i respect ur opinion but u r just talking bullshit ma

First of all, Iggy and The Stooges said more in their three album career than Metallica said in their whole career. Metallica has no balls, everyone knows that. Does anyone remember that Napster "crisis"? Not only are they looking like dicks by being useless rock stars, they were being ****ing crybabies about the whole thing when none of the other bands who were on there really had a problem with it. and heavy metal just happens to be under the rock and roll umbrella, dumbass. Yeah, but don't you need to know what notes go together well in order to shred? MUSIC THEORY.

bloke :
don;t even know why i'm bothering to post, but self taught or tutored, makes no difference as long as you can write original and creative pieces of work, teaching yourself and then saying oh yeah i'm so great because i can play this song or this song means nothing because learning someone elses song is easy compared to making your own, it can't hurt to learn some theory, and i would guess about 90% of people who say theory ruins rock actually subconsciously makes this excuse because they can't be bothered or don't have the ability to learn theory themselves,

what ruins rock is using theory as an excuse, i.e. look at me i can play this and this, and in this style so i must be a rock god, not the fact that some good musicians use theory to back up there already creative style,

oh and the guy that said metallica ruined rock, first of all cliff burton was the only guy who knew tonnes of theory, the others hardly knew any and i think they were pretty much self taught other than cliff (might be wrong) and cliff isn't even with them anymore.. so your wrong, and your even wronger because metallica whether you like it or not are one of the most influential bands of second generation rock, oh and are you seriously telling me sabbath had no theory knowledge? and if anyone even dares say sabbath destroyed rock i will personally slap you with this ham sandwich, if i haven't eaten it first...

The reason these people say that music theory doesn't go with rock and roll is because rock and roll is supposed to be sleazy, and you can't be sleazy when you are stressed out about making the perfect song/guitar solo. When you know music theory, you get really conscious about using it. Just because you know music theory doesn't make you a good guitarist, look at Keith Richards.

I never denied their influence, but I don't think that that makes them a good band. Black Sabbath has nothing to do with what I'm talking about, they are a good band, unlike the other bands I mentioned.

[Quintin]

yeah you right alot ^

[last_biscuit]

Yeah, but don't you need to know what notes go together well in order to shred? MUSIC THEORY.

Dont get me wrong im not gonna critiscise anyones taste in music...all i wanna know is, how can you claim shredding doesn't sound good or whatever, or something like it ruined rock music, when you yourself say you need to kno 'what notes go together well'? If they go together well, it makes sense to assume it sounds good, and music is about sounding good.
I dont actually learn theory because any songs i write, i happen to think of them randomly, so im not just siding with the shredders, i just think that you can't deny the success of bands like Metalloca because you don't like them. I heard recently they've sold over 100 million cds or something...that has to mean something.

[!MoosE!]

"don;t even know why i'm bothering to post, but self taught or tutored, makes no difference as long as you can write original and creative pieces of work, teaching yourself and then saying oh yeah i'm so great because i can play this song or this song means nothing because learning someone elses song is easy compared to making your own, it can't hurt to learn some theory, and i would guess about 90% of people who say theory ruins rock actually subconsciously makes this excuse because they can't be bothered or don't have the ability to learn theory themselves,

what ruins rock is using theory as an excuse, i.e. look at me i can play this and this, and in this style so i must be a rock god, not the fact that some good musicians use theory to back up there already creative style,

oh and the guy that said metallica ruined rock, first of all cliff burton was the only guy who knew tonnes of theory, the others hardly knew any and i think they were pretty much self taught other than cliff (might be wrong) and cliff isn't even with them anymore.. so your wrong, and your even wronger because metallica whether you like it or not are one of the most influential bands of second generation rock, oh and are you seriously telling me sabbath had no theory knowledge? and if anyone even dares say sabbath destroyed rock i will personally slap you with this ham sandwich, if i haven't eaten it first..."

Mr Bloke you are correct in that Burton is the theory guy behind metallica and teh rest are self taught.....and yh to that prick who thinks they ruined Rock....all i have to say is WTF! They are teh most influential metal band of all time and have sold over 90 million records world wide! And i completely back the whole napster thing! You'd be pretty pissed off if some arse wipe came and stole a wod out of your paypacket at the end of the month for all the work you have done! The reason none of teh other bands had a aproblem was coz they had no bollox to stand up to napster and risk losing a couple of wortless fans in the process....! Metallica Rule!

[Kutanmoogle]

joshsirjoshules wrote:

Black Sabbath has nothing to do with what I'm talking about, they are a good band, unlike the other bands I mentioned.

Black Sabbath was an amazing band that utilized pretty extensive theory.
Same goes for bands like Deep Purple, FZ and the Mothers of Invention,

[Kutanmoogle]

The point is, theory doesnt "ruin" rock, it's just that you're jealous of bands that learned and applied theory.

Jeez, just 'cause some people decided to learn WHY music sounded good doesn't mean they're any worse than the guy who sits around and noodles alot until he stumbles across another pentatonic lick.

*spam check.

whatever floats ur boat guys. just play good music.

[wanna_lick_me?]

Tulkas wrote:

glpledzep145 wrote:

you shouldnt be proud that you dont know theory... thats why he isnt known for being a "guitar god"



Yeah, Hendrix knew his stuff! And that Chuck Berry, man look at his chord structure! Give me the idiot who plays by feel and makes chicks shake their ass as opposed to a guy who can tell me about every possible note, but can't write a song to save his life. The theorist gods have their cult, but the popular bands and players are popular for a reason. They groove and others don't. Not that theory sucks, but it's definately not a pre-requisite. Probably a lot more useful for those of us with little to no talent.

geez people, no need to be vicious. And yeah, hendrix did know more theory than people give him credit for. Just 'cause you know a lot of theory it doesnt mean you cant feel. Im pretty sure Steve Vai isnt just "feeling" his way around, but you cant say his palying is bare and unemotional either. The ideal is a mix of theory and "feel."

[wanna_lick_me?]

joshsirjoshules wrote:

HAHA ok you cant really insult yngwie malmsteen for "ruining" rock come on man at least be smart about your insults


His whole "shredding" thing, not just him I guess, but he was definitely the one who started it. You know what's so cool about music theory? It has nothing to do with rock and roll. Music theory ruins rock and roll. Have you noticed that? Rock and roll is at it's best when it is played with minimal musical knowledge. Look at The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Iggy And The Stooges, U2, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC etc. Look at the impact those bands have had on music. Minimal knowledge. Then the whole shred thing came along and ruined it. Hair metal, Metallica, Megadeth, stupid 80s metal. Nirvana and grunge luckily came along and killed that whole scene, but only for a little while. This is why you have bands like Opeth, Slipknot and Children Of Bodom who think that they can know all the music theory knowledge in the world and automatically have good songwriting skills. They think they can be as fast and crazy as possible, **** that. They'll never have the same effect as something like "Bastards Of Young" by The Replacements.

sorry for doubleposting, but i cant restrain myself. This is the most bullshit I've ever ever read. Sure, malsteen sucks penis, but so do the Ramones...just a different kind of penis. AC/DC??? nigga please! they're a great simple rock band (and angus has some sweet solos) but all their songs are the same. The sex pistols? they were in it for the money and drugs (well, except Johnny Rotten, i guess). U2...i wont even go there man.

Jimmy Page knew theory, and so did John Paul Jones, and I hear a rumor that Rob Plant is now teaching music (or workshops or sum shit) in a college in england. Bonham, i dont know...well, drummer...
my point being, did Led Zep kill rock and roll?

stop saying shit, man, please.

[Partyboy2k05]

I've seen these guys in concert, and he honestly brings out a different guitar every single song, it's crazy. As far as the self taught vs. music theory arguement. There's perks for both. There is no right or wrong answer to it all because in the end it's still music. To say that some of the early artists didn't understand music theory is retarded. Ok, so maybe jimi, ricky, and all these other guitarist don't know some of the actual names for music theory. The point is they understood it and knew it well, far beyond what many of us ever will. If you can play every single chord and progression, but don't know the names of the chords or the progression, does that mean you don't know it? No, it just means that you know the process, which is just as good as knowing whether or not you're playing a G, D, or pentonic scale.

[kryptonite22]

glpledzep145 wrote:

you shouldnt be proud that you dont know theory... thats why he isnt known for being a "guitar god"

Not everyone wants to be a "guitar god". Some of us do it for love. I'm self-taught and proud.

[joshsirjoshules]

sorry for doubleposting, but i cant restrain myself. This is the most bullshit I've ever ever read. Sure, malsteen sucks penis, but so do the Ramones...just a different kind of penis. AC/DC??? nigga please! they're a great simple rock band (and angus has some sweet solos) but all their songs are the same. The sex pistols? they were in it for the money and drugs (well, except Johnny Rotten, i guess). U2...i wont even go there man.

Jimmy Page knew theory, and so did John Paul Jones, and I hear a rumor that Rob Plant is now teaching music (or workshops or sum shit) in a college in england. Bonham, i dont know...well, drummer...
my point being, did Led Zep kill rock and roll?

stop saying shit, man, please.

You did notice that I was listing those bands as having minimal musical knowledge?

...You can't be serious. You're comparing one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time (The Ramones) to one of the most pointless, bland guitarists of the 80s? Johnny Ramone did more with one chord than Yngwie did with his entire fretboard. AC/DC is the same way, even though I'm not a big fan of theirs. And you obviously know nothing of the Sex Pistols, they already had the drugs and knew they weren't going to make a lot of money, mostly they were pissed off at bland 70s rock and the English government. Steve Jones is a hell of a guitarist considering his complete lack of musical knowledge during that time. He later gained the musical knowledge and got caught up in the 80s metal thing which ruined his career and destroyed everything that was good about him.

Yeah, but I don't have to tell you how sloppy Jimmy Page was. His knowledge was not very extensive, we're talking about the biggest usurper of American blues ever here, and we all know that blues doesn't take much theory. John Paul Jones was dead on all the time, there's no denying his musical talent. Robert Plant...there's really no way to tell, but as for Bonham, what theory do you need to know besides time signatures really?

My point being, rock and roll is at its best when it's simple.

[carsonh76]

My point being, rock and roll is at its best when it's simple.

your little rant on how the ramones are one of the greatest rock bands ever is bullshit alone. but comparing THEM to LED ZEPPELIN? are u out of ur mind?! jimmy page is classic. it takes no talent whatsoever to put together a simple chord progression. to do what yngwie does... that takes theory and talent. who idolizes someone who is good at chords alone? you learn chords in the first week you start playing guitar. they are essential, but guitar definately does not peak there. it takes years to play like yngwie. music is an art... not something that you just throw together because it "feels" good. rock and roll is always improving and progressing. i think the only reason that you would ever say its best when its simple is cause you cant play at the level guys like yngwie and jimmy page did. satriani, steve vai.... theory. why play music if you dont kno what its about and how it works?

quit the arguing guys

[A Warm Place]

I think we should just take each band for what they are you guys. The Ramones and Led Zeppelin are both extremely important bands for different reasons. Led Zeppelin may have had more musical talent, but they were both important bands. As for the whole Yngwie thing, he probably is the most talented guitarist in the world, but sometimes he seems like a complete *******. Still, that doesn't change the fact that he's really good. On the other hand, he really isn't that important in the grand scheme of things.

[a real DEAD one]

this is the most ive EVER seen written in any of these blogs before.

People are having paragraph fights and shit, wow...

This is crazy

[colelamb_611]

lol i learned to play the same way as he did alone no lessons i have no clue who this dude is but i like his shades

[matta182004]

believe it or not i knw the lead singers nephew...were like best friends. but ya i went 2 c cheap trick when they came 2 denver this last time with def leppard. it was AWESUM!!! but ya reading this gives an explination of how Cheap Trick has made a huge impact on power pop bands 2day, cuz of this reason is y so many ppl like them

[Leonheart]

Wow, I thought this was an article about cheap trick not a debate about music theory.

[stratman13]

Leonheart : Wow, I thought this was an article about cheap trick not a debate about music theory.

Right on! it's silly to argue about things like this. Some artists' (such as the Ramones) power and appeal lies in the simplicity of their music. Others (such as Mozart) strong points are the complexities of their music. It is not possible to say whether being simple and self taught is better than being complex and working through theory because 1) All music is based on music theory, consciously or not, and 2) Music, like art is subjective and cannot be quantified. This debate is pointless, Rick Nielsen would disapprove.

[Sash0]

the best comment is probably the last one, big up yourself straman13... stop arguing, people!

Although I'm pretty shocked that Lennon said that about Clapton, who saved Harrison on My Guitar Gently Wheeps; interesting. It's so intriguing reading about opinions big icons have (had) about eachother...

warnings for
joshsirjoshules
carsonh76

I told you to stop arguing.

[Test4Echo]

Jimi Hendrix,Lenny Breau,Eddie Van Halen,Jimmy Page,Randy Rhoads,Django Reinhardt,Joe Satriani,Steve Vai,George Bellas,Shawn Lane,Eric Clapton . Ah Hell even Yngwie Malmsteem. I Could go on and on naming great guitarist. No one Guitarist ,Is any better than the other one!They've all put there mark on guitar playing with there own unique styles...Long Live Rock-n-Roll!!

[livefortoday]

oh sorry for double posting i just posted after ready josh's comment.. i didn't see that arguing wasn't allowed anymore.

[goddamnit_76]

good interview but the "?" at the end of statements really annoyed me?

[carsonh76]

livefortoday... you are exactly right.

[carsonh76]

i saw def leppard and cheap trick when they came in louisville.. great show.

[thefinalcut]

stratman13 Right on! it's silly to argue about things like this. Some artists' (such as the Ramones) power and appeal lies in the simplicity of their music. Others (such as Mozart) strong points are the complexities of their music. It is not possible to say whether being simple and self taught is better than being complex and working through theory because 1) All music is based on music theory, consciously or not, and 2) Music, like art is subjective and cannot be quantified. This debate is pointless, Rick Nielsen would disapprove.

That is the final answer to this whole debate. Still, I don't understand why people feel to say "stop the arguing" or "this has nothing to do with Cheap Trick" t oothers. I mean, WTF are the comments for? Sure things got a little heated but are we supposed to agree on everything all the time? Or can we only make approval and disapproval comments about articles?

Although I'm pretty shocked that Lennon said that about Clapton, who saved Harrison on My Guitar Gently Wheeps; interesting. It's so intriguing reading about opinions big icons have (had) about eachother...

Clapton choked up in the studio on "Cold Turkey", so what John probably couldn't even play it but that's not the point. That comment might have been John being a nice guy, who know?

And Clapton didn't "save" Harrison. Harrison invited him to play the solo, so that the other Beatles took his song seriously. It besides the point anyway.

[civildp1]

Pure_Morning wrote:



But why use 5 necks when a normal guitar will do?

because it looks cool.

[lextrip]

All of the above artists are great for different reasons, but one thing they have in common ? they Move the Soul, whether or not they know theory or have a lot of technical performance skills. A good song is a good song.

Cheap Trick
Led Zeppelin
Yngwie Malsteen
Mozart
Ramones
Stooges
Eric Clapton
AC/DC

All great in my book.

checked

[Nielsen 33]

Best band ever.