Cheap Trick lets the good times (rock and) roll on

If good things come to those that wait, Cheap Trick has certainly paid their dues. Though the band started in Rockford in 1974, and has had peaks of success along the way (most significantly in Japan where their catchy, heavy-handed power pop earned them recognition as the “Beatles of America”), they are currently enjoying the fruits of a late-in-the-game career revival.

In April, Cheap Trick reintroduced themselves with the appropriately named “Bang, Zoom, Crazy… Hello,” their first album since 2009 and first with new drummer Daxx Nielsen (son of guitarist Rick Nielsen) who replaced Bun E. Carlos for touring and recording duties. Just one week later, all the members — including singer Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson — came together to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center gave them the stage to play some of their biggest hits together, including “Surrender,” “Dream Police,” and “I Want You To Want Me.” For a band whose famous tagline is about playing 5,000 shows, they were still in incredible form.

“I don’t know that we ever really thought about [the Hall of Fame] to tell you the truth. We were eligible 12 – 13 years ago, and nothing ever came of it. We certainly didn’t dwell on it, let’s put it that way,” admits Rick Nielsen, the last member to give a speech that night, ending in characteristic form by commanding the band to “go play.” Even so, he says, “It’s an honor that people give a crap about us. We’re in a rock band; we’re not supposed to be treated with any respect.”

Respect, though, was certainly what Nielsen found recently returning to his home in Rockford before hitting the road on the “Rock Hall Three for All” with Joan Jett and Heart. He was greeted by new “Welcome to Trickford” and “Watched Over By the Dream Police” banners. The town’s Spring Creek Road also received honorary designation as Rick Nielsen Parkway. It’s the site of the childhood home that the Nielsen family moved to when Rick’s parents, both opera singers, bought a local music store; the garage is where Cheap Trick had its first rehearsals.

Though most of the members have now moved away (Zander to Florida, Petersson to Nashville), Nielsen still has strong ties to the city — and the greater Chicago area. He’s part owner of Wicker Park’s Piece restaurant and often works with the Chicago Music Exchange. And hopefully some day will be able to be a part of that Cheap Trick restaurant and museum that was planned to be part of a since-fizzled Motor Row revitalization project for South Michigan Avenue.

“Our part of it was always a go, and it’s a business opportunity that we are still willing to do,” he says. “I still have all the musical instruments and memorabilia we planned on having.”

Nielsen, who curated the Rick’s Picks collection at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford in 2012, is a hoarder when it comes to Cheap Trick mementoes. “I have four warehouses full of stuff,” he says. Guitars alone have been estimated in the 300-400 range. “I have every boarding pass of every flight I’ve ever been on. I have all the old contracts that we had from all the clubs and concerts we played, every one of them, up from 1980. Guitar picks and amps, it goes on and on.”

The latest addition of course is the Rock Hall trophy, though it’s not 100 percent the original. A very apologetic crew member accidentally broke the first one, though Nielsen has since received a replacement. “He felt bad, but don’t worry, I will make him feel bad for a long time,” he jokes.

The more important accolade anyway is all the well-received attention for the new album, with songs like the Bowie-esque “When I Wake Up Tomorrow” regarded as a throwback to the band’s prime in the ’70s. A cover of Billy Page’s “The In Crowd” further sets that tone; the band has been playing it since the early days of gigging.

Though Cheap Trick had been clamoring to get back in the studio, the album was pushed along by Scott Borchetta, a super fan who signed the band to his Big Machine Records, a country and pop division of Universal that’s also home to Taylor Swift and Toby Keith.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of them,” Nielsen chides, not at all phased by the correlation but rather grateful for the work the label has done in bringing the band back to the spotlight. “There’s an awareness now. People know that we’re still around and not just some old farts,” he says. “It feels good to be back at the forefront again.”

Selena Fragassi is a freelance writer.