Editor's note: If you aren't sure what this is all about, please click here to read the original Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? post. It should answer most your questions about the cause and who the hell this Colin Gawel (Watershed) fellow is anyway. Also: A limited number of "Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ? " T-shirts are still available. Better move quick though. click here for the link and info
"Your shirt sucks."
"Excuse me. Come again?"
"Your shirt. It sucks."
He was pointing to the shirt I was wearing which read, "Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?"
"How's that? " I asked.
"Alice Cooper should be in the hall before Cheap Trick"
"I think Alice Cooper is in the Rock Hall, aren't they?" **
"Nope. And that's why your shirt sucks, and the Rock Hall sucks"
I countered: "But the reason for a hall of fame in the first place, be it baseball, football or rock and roll, is to spur conversation among fans about who should be in. Rock and roll is going extinct like the dinosaurs, yet here we are—two strangers having a conversation about Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick in the checkout line at the grocery store. I think that's what makes the Rock Hall pretty cool."
"Whatever. Alice Cooper should be in before Cheap Trick"
This conversation really happened and I think sums up the whole point of Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? To get people talking and damn if we didn't. The original story crushed all previous Pencilstorm records with over 2,500 hits. Facebook blew up with all sorts of Cheap Trick and music sites jumping on board. I knew we were cooking with gas when metal nerd guru Eddie Trunk himself tweeted about the gig. Rumor has it that even Rick Nielsen himself was e-mailing people asking what this was all about. At least that is what Cheap Trick expert and legendary DJ/ renaissance man of all things rock Lou Brutus had heard. There were also numerous articles written about the shows but I think this one by Andy Gray from the Youngstown Tribune was the best. Read it here.
Other press: Columbus Alive, Cleveland Scene, Cool Cleveland, The Examiner
Both shows were well attended but the Columbus show was damn-near a madhouse/sellout thanks to Brian Phillips from CD102.5 and Dan Orr WLVQ for plugging the gig on the FM dial.
Oh, almost forgot, below is a clip of Rick and Robin holding up a "Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?" T-Shirt on stage in front of 5,000 people before playing "Surrender" - look for it 35 seconds in.
And for those of you asking about the set...
Stop This Game/ Hello There / Come on Come on / On Top of the World / These Days / Speak Now / Baby Loves to Rock / Downed / I Can't Take It / It's Only Love / Southern Girls / I Know What I Want / Voices / Tonight It's You / Oh Clare / Surrender. Encore: Daytripper / Way of the World / He's a Whore / Auf Wiedersehn
Given our limited time/resources/talent, I thought we did a pretty damn fine job not embarrassing ourselves. Click here for a taste.
Anyway, thanks to all who helped Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall Fame? For everybody's sake let's hope this is our first/last show and Cheap Trick gets the induction NEXT YEAR. If not, we will be back again trying to find an answer to a simple question: Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
** Alice Cooper is already in the Rock Hall. I fucking knew it!
Colin Gawel plays in the band Watershed and fronts his solo band The Lonely Bones. He started Pencilstorm during downtime at his coffee shop, the cleverly named Colin's Coffee. He really wants to know why Cheap Trick isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. colingawel.com watershedcentral.com