Cheap Trick among Rocklahoma headliners

Out of all the guitarists in all the bands to tread the four stages of the mammoth Rocklahoma outdoor music fest this Memorial Day weekend, one will stand out above all others, like a zebra in a herd of Black Angus.

He'll be the one who looks for all the world like the screwball character “Satch” from the old “Bowery Boys” comedies, wearing a nerdy buttoned-up sweater and vintage-style baseball cap with turned-up bill crowning the goofy effect. (He often adds a bow tie as well.) He'll also be the one playing some wildly-shaped, outrageously decorated instruments from a vast arsenal of custom-made guitars.

But walking, talking gimmick though he may be, Cheap Trick lead guitarist Rick Nielsen can shred those strings or execute intricate, nimble-fingered solo runs with the best axmen in the business. And he's pretty handy at crafting addictive pop-rock songs, too.

Those are some of the main reasons why Cheap Trick is one of the headlining bands at the 12th annual Memorial Day weekend rock 'n' roll extravaganza, Rocklahoma, being held Friday through Sunday at the “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, just outside of Tulsa.

One of about 80 bands set to play the event, Cheap Trick takes its turn at 8:40 p.m. Sunday on the main Bud Light Stage. It'll mark the band's second appearance at the festival.

“May 26, 2013. So, five years ago. Yeah,” Nielsen said in a recent phone interview from somewhere in Michigan.

The guitarist remembered his previous Rocklahoma experience as a very good time.

“Big huge crowd, lots of cool bands,” he said, in a voice that was lower and a little more gravelly than one would expect. Nothing like Huntz Hall, the actor who played Satch, with his dim-witted Bowery accent. Nielsen sounds Midwestern, being from Rockford, Illinois. Sounds a lot smarter, too.

Cheap Trick is currently on tour with Poison, and both bands share headlining positions Sunday night. The two groups have toured together once before, and enjoy each other's company, but Nielsen says it's hard hanging out together with other bands on the road, especially at big festivals.

“See, unless we are on tour with somebody, a lot of the people that we know we never see. And a lot of people we don't know we never see either. So, those big festivals like that, we play 'em all over the world. But I remember Rocklahoma was a big crowd and (nationally syndicated rock radio host) Eddie Trunk was there.”

Oklahoma memories

Nielsen says he has no preference between indoor or outdoor venues.

“Depends on what it is,” he said. “If the stage is good and it sounds good, that's what I like best. “Doesn't matter if it's indoors or outdoors, whatever. If it sounds good onstage then you know it probably sounds good up front.”

Cheap Trick has played several indoor and outdoor shows in Oklahoma during the course of its 44-year existence, but Nielsen still remembers one of the band's earliest Okie gigs.

“I remember we played at ‘Filthy McNasty's',” he said. Then he repeated the name of the long-defunct club in a comically lascivious growl, savoring it: “Filthy McNasty!” He laughed, loving the sound of it. “We played there, uh, God, that was 1973, '74, somewhere around in there. Yeah. that was probably one of the earliest shows that we ever did in Oklahoma.”

That was before Cheap Trick was even signed to a label. But a scout from Columbia Records was there to hear them, and the rest is — well — what we know of Cheap Trick today.

Taking their stylistic cues from the Beatles and other British acts, singer-guitarist Robin Zander, bassist-backing vocalist Tom Petersson, original drummer-backing vocalist Bun E. Carlos and lead guitarist-backing vocalist and keyboardist Nielsen have unspooled a long string of power-pop hits including “Dream Police,” “I Want You to Want Me,” “The Flame,” a Top 10 cover of Elvis Presley's “Don't Be Cruel,” even a full-album tribute to their heroes with “Sgt. Pepper Live,” and their signature teen-anthem smash, “Surrender,” finally earning themselves a long-deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

And unlike many of the other long-lived bands sharing the spotlights at this weekend's all-star bash, Cheap Trick has continued to write and record new originals and tour nonstop for the last 44 years. They've lost only one of their original members — Carlos, who took his leave and was replaced by Nielsen's son Daxx in 2010.

Adding on

And the elder Nielsen, at 69, plans to keep on churning away for as long as he's able, while continuing to add to his formidable collection of rare and exotic “git-fiddles” — like the one with five necks, and that other oddity that looks and is shaped like a cartoon image of himself. How many fretted specimens does he own by now?

“How many do you want?” he said. “Well, it's about between four and 500. You know, just guitars. It's a good habit and it's a bad habit, you know, because I've already bought maybe eight this year. And one of the ones I just got was a Dwight Coronet. They only made about 72 of those and they're hard to find.”

One of his most prized acquisitions is the left-handed instrument once owned by the late Ollie Halsall, a unique British guitarist best known for his role in The Rutles and the underground bands Timebox, Boxer and Patto.

“You know, hardly anybody knows that band (Patto)” Nielsen said. "I liked them from the first time I heard 'em. I thought (Halsall) was innovative, and technically he played like nobody else. The whole band played like nobody else. They were like a jazz band, a rock band, they had so many different aspects of the band. Just, I liked the whole thing. They were kind of a rough and tumble kind of bunch. I just liked the whole concept of it. When I tell other people about it, they either love it or they don't get it. ‘Loud Green Song,' ‘Singin' the Blues on Reds,' I loved it. It's like they build up to something amazing and I knew about (singer) Mike Patto. The last album he was like lyin' on the floor singin' the thing 'cause his cancer was so bad.”

Fortunately for Cheap Trick fans, Nielsen and company are still alive and well, and released their 22nd and 23rd albums, “We're All Alright” and “Christmas Christmas” in 2017, plus a brand-new single, “The Summer Looks Good On You,” which hit stores last week.

'A good thing'

Asked if the band was reaching for a new sound or style with “We're All Alright,” Nielsen responded with: “No, no. You know, it sounds kind of bad in a way, what I say, but we're Cheap Trick. We haven't progressed. But it's a good thing. We didn't all of a sudden decide ‘now we're a prog band or we're ADM.' We're stuck with what we think we do best. We make diverse rock records. At least that's what I think.”

And diversity will be the operational word of the weekend when Cheap Trick is joined on the Rocklahoma bill by such varied attractions as Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult and A Perfect Circle (all appearing Friday), Vince Neil, Ghost and Godsmack (Saturday), and Candlebox, Halestorm and Poison along with Cheap Trick (Sunday).

Rocklahoma festival grounds, which are 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa in Pryor, are equipped for on-site camping and access to restrooms and a shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating and hospitality areas. The festival is staged by AEG Presents. Sponsors include Bud Light, Monster Energy, Zippo, River Spirit Casino, D&B Processing, SWFTCharge, Chevrolet, Island Noodles, F*ck Cancer and others.

Tickets are available for individual days. For directions, a full schedule, information and list of bands, go online to www.Rocklahoma.com.