A fine state of affairs

Q: Its been almost 20 years since your last solo album. What compelled you to head backinto the studio?

A: Id been thinking about doing this album for quite a while and I had some of these songs for years, actually. Just because there werent any commercial releases for those years doesnt mean I wasnt writing and recording. I started this project when I was 55, which is five years ago, and we were going to call it Double Nickel. And then I never really got back into the studio. But then Randy Bachman needed an operation on his shoulder from carrying a heavy guitar on it for 40 years and I knew there would be a window in early 2008 where we wouldnt be doing any Bachman-Cummings shows. I thought, You know, this is the perfect time. Ill bring the musicians down from Toronto to California in January, which never breaks anybodys heart. And we just had a great time.

Q: A large part of your time over the last 10 years was taken up with the Guess Who reunion and subsequent touring with Randy Bachman. What kind of emotional impact did that reunion have on you?

A: It was remarkable. The best thing about it was that it showed me, point blank, when those huge crowds showed up, that we had really made an impact on peoples lives, and that the songs would be forever in their memories. It was very emotional. And a lot of the old memories came rushing back on stage, from when we were 20 and 21. It was great to have all of us there together again, even though Kurt Winter [the former Guess Who guitarist who passed away in 1997] wasnt there. That was the only thing that was missing. I would love to have had Randy Bachman, Kurt Winter and Donnie McDougall all together playing guitar. That wouldve been wonderful. But that Guess Who reunion tour was a very emotional thing. Im so glad they captured it on film that night in Winnipeg with the big storm. It was very dramatic.

Q: There are several songs about personal loss on the new album. The song Richard is about people whove drifted out of your life; Kurts Song is about Kurt Winter. Was it a conscious decision to explore that theme?

A: It wasnt conscious, but Im turning 61 next month, and when you get to this stage in life, thats what starts to happen. Various people pass away or they just drift away from you. I didnt really consciously set out to put that theme in this album, but at 60, Im not going to be writing teenage love songs anymore. Im writing more observational stuff about having lived six decades, and I think all that living is creeping its way into the lyrics.

Q: The Guess Who song American Woman was highly critical of the U.S. On this album, you have a track called We Just Came from the U.S.A., which isnt very flattering, either. What inspired that song?

A: Well, it really wasnt meant to be anti-American. Its more of an observational song, particularly the bridge: "Cut you open for a nickel/Sew you back up for a dime/For a quarter I can testify someone else did it/And for a dollar do it one more time." Thats kind of a reflection on the O.J. trial, how with money you can almost get away with anything, and now Phil Spector is on trial for murder and who knows where thatll go? And Robert Blake seems to have beaten that murder rap. So thats kind of a reflection on how obsessed America is with celebrity and power and money. Dont get me wrong, I love America. I love the freedoms. Ive been living in Los Angeles on and off since 1976. It still is a country where anything can happen and Barack Obama has proven that. I just think that the country as a whole is obsessed with celebrity and thats really what that song is all about.

Q. The Guess Who played such a large role in building the Canadian music industry. What do you think of the way its evolved since you started back in Winnipeg?

A: Oh my goodness, in those days we released a lot of singles that bombed, that did very little in the market. And then finally we released a single this is still before These Eyes [the groups 1969 breakthrough hit] and I think it sold 10,000 copies and we broke out the champagne thinking, Boy, weve really made it now. Whereas a few years ago, people like Bryan Adams, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain were selling a million units in Canada alone. A million units is a helluva long way from 10,000 units. Im proud that perhaps the Guess Who laid some of the foundational building blocks for an industry that was very fledgling when we came along, but is now a huge international industry.

Q. How tough is it to age in this industry?

A: It depends who the artist is. I mean, look at Bob Dylan: hes just a road rat. Hes out there all the time and still keeps drawing the crowds. There are certain artists who are lucky enough to transcend from one generation to the next and sometimes even to a third generation. Ive been around so long I think thats starting to happen, because I see the demographic at the shows, whether its Bachman-Cummings or Burton Cummings solo shows, there are people there from 14 years old to well into their sixties, and everything in between. And once you have fans like that, I think theyre fans for life. So, in my case, the music industry and the fan base have been a little bit more forgiving. But in some cases, you have two or three good years and thats it; nobody hears anything more about you.

Q. What sort of new music do you listen to?

A: Ive heard Feist, I like some of her stuff. Theres an artist named Charlotte Sometimes who just put an album out in the States and I think its tremendous; it sounds like the kind of songs I would write. I also listen to a group called Your Vegas that I like very much. Theres another group called The Stills, and also Spoon is writing some tremendous songs. When people say theres no good new music coming out these days, thats just not true.

Q: Robert Plant once called you that "lead singer with one hell of a voice." Do you have a favourite vocal performance of yours?

A: Wow. In my solo career, I always thought Im Scared was a pretty good vocal. And Break It to Them Gently. As far as Guess Who stuff goes, I still cringe when I hear American Woman, because I never quite nailed the notes. I was trying to be Robert Plant and I never quite had the power. Even in These Eyes theres a couple of notes that make me cringe, where Im a little bit flat. But I think maybe Im a bit more aware of that than the average fan. I really liked No Time. I thought that was a pretty good vocal and theres a doubled vocal on there, and that was a bit harder than the first few singles we had. From that point on, we started getting taken a bit more seriously as a rock band.