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So I've been on a huge Cheap Trick binge this week. I had the opportunity to interview Brian J. Kramp, who is the author of "This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick" yesterday. Brian wrote an excellent book, which came out today. Here's the link to get a copy. I'll post the interview on Thursday. Can't wait to share this one with you guys! Brian offered up a ton of trivia and backstories behind the band's early days right through to the late 70s when Cheap Trick was one of the biggest bands in rock.
One of the things Brian talked about was the recognizable look of each of the Cheap Trick band members, which includes guitarist Rick Nielsen wearing the bowtie and baseball cap with the bill flipped up. As Brian points out, some say Rick's look was inspired by an actor named Huntz Hall. Hall was part of an ensemble cast of characters called The Bowery Boys, who were pretty famous back in the 40s. I'm a classic film junkie, what can I say? The Bowery Boys were the stars of close to 50 films back in the day. One of the members was Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones, who was played by Huntz Hall. Check out the photo of Rick Nielsen on the left, "Sach" on the right.
Hmmm.....
Some say Rick's look was inspired by the character of "Sach" but Brian was told was that a fan simply threw a baseball cap on stage during a Cheap Trick concert one night, Rick put it on and decided to wear it from that point on. That kinda goes against the theory that Rick had the look planned out.
While you ponder this, here's one of the most underrated Cheap Trick songs of them all - "Stop This Game" from 1980's 'All Shook Up':