Pacific Northwest Inlander's Dan Nailen spoke with Cheap Trick guitarist and songwriter Rick Nielsen about the drive to write new songs, tour mates, inspiration and more. An excerpt from the interview follows:

Q: The critics certainly respond to you guys, and you got in the Rock Hall of Fame. Do you pay attention to those accolades?

Rick Nielsen: "We want to play. Cheap Trick, we've always been the kind of band who will play anything. We open up the envelope and say, 'Hey, they want us to play at the state fair.' Or, 'They want us to play a private show, but it has to be quiet. This one over here, Lynyrd Skynyrd wants us to play.' OK! 'You're doing a show with Joan Jett.' OK, that's fine. 'You're doing the next one with Bad Company, then you're doing one with Def Leppard.' Yeah, that's cool. We're not afraid of anybody."

Q: You've played with so many bands. Did any of them seem like the most natural fit as tour mates?

A: "Way back in the day we did months of touring with AC/DC. We were both semi-known, we'd fill the places. And some nights they'd close, and some nights we'd close, and everybody was happy. It was good. We're not AC/DC and AC/DC ain't Cheap Trick. We weren't trying to be them and they weren't trying to be us."

Read more at a href="https://www.inlander.com/spokane/cheap-tricks-rick-nielsen-talksac-dc-opera-and-the-drive-to-make-new-music-as-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-famers-hit-spokane/Content?oid=12472118" target="_blank">Pacific Northwest Inlander.

Cheap Trick perform next on Friday, September 14th, at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, Idaho. Find the band's live itinerary here.