Love Letter to Cheap Trick

When I was 13 my family packed us up and moved us to some isolated small town. I was from the Los Angeles area, you know, a MAJOR city. So being the new girl in town with all those backwards, a year behind in all things entertainment town, was not easy to deal with. Being 13 in the late 70's was somewhat hard. So much was going on and with a new decade looming in the distance, it felt like the ground was bubbling beneath me. I was into the Hardy Boys and Shaun Cassidy. I liked whatever the top 40 songs were and basically I liked teenybopper music. So, one day I went shopping with my mom to the only supermarket in town and as usual, I headed straight for the magazines when I walked in. I had no idea that my whole life would change in the next few minutes. I had perused my usual Tiger Beat, Teen Beat & Superteen magazines when I came upon a different magazine. It was geared more towards "Rock" music. So I opened it to the middle and the heavens opened up right along with it. There was a centerfold with the 4 most eclectic guys I had ever seen. And the one that caught my eye was Robin Zander. He was the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He stirred something in me that I had no idea existed. My whole world came to a halt as I examined this band called Cheap Trick. I could not put the magazine down and of course I begged my mom to buy it for me. The next thing I knew I had to have everything I could find on this band. There was only one small record store in the town and thankfully they had Cheap Trick's first four albums. I only had enough money for two of them at the time, so I bought the first two. I can still see me back then clearly to this day when I opened the first album. I carefully took out the album and liner notes that came along with it. I placed the album on the turntable and put the needle onto the first song. I read the liner notes as I listened to what would be a life long love affair with this band. The songs were so different from the bugglegum music I was use to. In that moment I went from that to Rock-n-Roll. Elo Kiddies, Speak Now, and He's A Whore were so cool sounding. I knew I had discovered a new kind of treasure. Any money that I got I spent on Cheap Trick albums. I would call the local radio station and request I Want You to Want Me at least 10 times a day. When they were on tour for the Dream Police album I begged my parents to let me go. But they wouldn't take me to the arena that was 2 hours away. Besides my father didn't think I should go to a "rock show" Well my parents divorced a year later, we moved back to the Los Angeles area and I finally got to see Cheap Trick live in 1980. It was my first rock concert and it was so rad! An all day festival, with thousands of people and it was over 100 degrees that day. I got squished in the front of the stadium and had to be pulled out by security because I was having a hard time breathing. I hated losing my place in the front, but I figured it was better to live. I bought my first Cheap Trick shirt at that show and was so proud to wear it on the first day of school that year. I still wear Cheap Trick shirts to this day and my girls have several as well. It was at that first show on July 26th 1980, I made a promise to myself that I would never miss a Cheap Trick show any time they came to Southern California. Thirty years later and I have NEVER broken that promise. I have over 100 shows under my belt. I just saw them on Friday the 26^th and as I stood there in the 4^th row on the left side where Rick was, I just took it all in and let it fill me up. It was such a high. And as Robin sang Voices later in the set, I just watched him and cried, because he sounded so beautiful. That voice is still amazing to this day. I will be seeing them again in April for my second show of 2010. And again, when they tour in the summer, if they come back to my area. Their new cd "The Latest" is a masterpiece. I have to keep buying it because I keep giving my copy away to people I know. I wish everyone could have a copy of it so they could hear what good music is supposed to sound like. I love this band and their music is the soundtrack of my life. They have always been there for me. They come to town at least once a year and they never let me down. I always have a show to look forward to. Through all the good times and bad they have been there for me to listen to. They were playing while I brought both my girls into the world and both my girls have seen them with me and have met the band. My crush on Robin got me into the band and it is the music that has been the driving force in my love for them. So with all of this I say, thank you to Cheap Trick. It has been a blast!