Jonathan 'JC' Clarke

Jonathan 'JC' Clarke

ON AIR: Sundays 7PM - 9PM. Jonathan Clarke joined Q104.3, New York's Classic Rock, as an on-air personality in 1997 and continues to be a mainstay...Full Bio

 

Cheap Trick Talks Pandemic Purgatory, 20th Studio Album, Never Changing

Rick Nielsen says Cheap Trick has never changed, but what he means is that the band has the same motives now in 2021 as it did in 1973: to put on a great show and have a good time doing it.

"We had a song on our first record, 'Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School,' and it was like, 'I'm 30 but I feel like 16,'" he said. "You know, until I look in the mirror, I feel like I'm still, you know, 25 years old. Then I look in the mirror, it's like — well, I took all the mirrors out of my house... We've never progressed, which is a good thing. We didn't try to be something we weren't. Every Cheap Trick record is what we are; the song is the king."

With its 20th studio album on the way this spring, the band has 13 more songs to share, including the hard-rocking lead single "Light Up the Fire," a timely cover of John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth" and the anthemic "The Summer Looks Good on You."

Sonically speaking, Cheap Trick has always been more Beatles than AC/DC. And that means the new album, In Another World (due April 9), is as colorful a Cheap Trick record as there's ever been, full of pleasant surprises, authentic performances and genuine appreciation for the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ride.

"We just always say, too, we record for our own enjoyment," bassist Tom Petersson adds. "This is the kind of stuff we like to hear. We don't really know what anybody else wants to hear. All we can do is just what we think sounds cool to us, and that's the end of it."

Watch the full conversation via the video player above!

Get more information on the new album and Cheap Trick's 2021 touring plans here.

Follow Cheap Trick on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Listen to "Light Up the Fire" via the player below:


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