In a new interview with Louder Sound, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen discusses jamming with AC/DC, the majesty of Highway To Hell and the ‘pirate’ genius of Bon Scott. An excerpt follows...

Rick Nielsen: “AC/DC’s guy at their label, Atlantic, was the brother of our guy at our label, Epic, which is how I first heard about them. I guess we were both starting to break through around the same time – '75/'76. I heard those early albums and immediately liked them. Highway To Hell felt like their shot at the big time. The song 'Highway To Hell' itself is the perfect ‘Howay the lads!’ anthem. It’s a great, great record.

“Cheap Trick played with AC/DC a lot in the late seventies. We did flip-flops – sometimes we headlined, sometimes they headlined. They were just so good – the only band where I watched every show every night. There was no funny stuff, they weren’t trying to be something they weren’t. The guitars were perfect, the rhythm was perfect, the singing was perfect. They were a bar band, but better than any bar band I’ve ever seen. The ultimate bar band."

Read more at Louder Sound.

Cheap Trick recently announced a new string of US tour dates in October this year. All dates are listed below, and ticket links can be found here.

Tour dates:

October
2 - Gillioz Theatre - Springfield, MO
3 - Orpheum Theater - Omaha, NE
5 - Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts - Salina, KS
6 - Sioux City Orpheum - Sioux City, IA
8 - Pikes Peak Center - Colorado Springs, CO
9 - Revel Entertainment Center - Albuquerque, NM
11 - Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ
12 - Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort - Las Vegas, NV
14 - Pechanga Resort & Casino - Temecula, CA
15 - Fox Theater - Bakersfield, CA
18 - Warnors Theatre - Fresno, CA
19 - Gallo Center For the Arts - Modesto, CA
21 - Gold Country Casino and Hotel - Oroville, CA
22 - Grand Sierra Resort and Casino - Reno, NV