Rick Nielsen Quotes

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Rick Nielsen

Profession : Musician

Birth : December 22, 1948

I like the guys in Cheap Trick. I like playing in it and the music we do.

Rick Nielsen

We tried to act trendy. We took one of our songs and tried to make a dance mix. They put it on the turntables, unannounced, in Los Angeles and New York the same weekend, where they had a big dance crowd going wild. It cleared the floor on both coasts.

Rick Nielsen

There's no way we could make up what we are. The group is just what everyone is. Each of us has a different audience.

Rick Nielsen

No one knows this, but when I would play the clubs back in '65, '66, they used to call me 'Screaming Chicken,' 'cause I would go out and scream, fall on the ground, beat myself, smash stuff, jump through the ceiling, roll on the floor, and act like I was having epileptic fits.

Rick Nielsen

To me, a day off is sitting at a piano or with a guitar and writing.

Rick Nielsen

I think every one of our songs could be a Top 10 record.

Rick Nielsen

I don't like the term 'rock star.'

Rick Nielsen

I'm a normal person. I don't see where people come off saying I'm crazy.

Rick Nielsen

We're known as a touring band, not a singles band.

Rick Nielsen

I'd rather be known as a songwriter than a guitarist, although I love to play the guitar.

Rick Nielsen

One reason I rarely listen to radio is they don't play our music much.

Rick Nielsen

We do try to be entertainers, but we're musicians first, and we try to showcase the music.

Rick Nielsen

I don't always feel like a million dollars, but I try not to let anybody know.

Rick Nielsen

We're basically a rock band - guitar, bass, drums and vocals. But we take it further than that. We can be rotten, dirty, and heavy as anyone, but at the same time, we've got a lot of melody.

Rick Nielsen

Playing it safe isn't fun; you have to take a chance.

Rick Nielsen

We've got the pretty-boy lead singer and the fat, dumpy drummer, and I'm the zany guitarist. Sure, we've played up the image at times. But it's the music that matters most.

Rick Nielsen

People say, 'Oh, Rick, he's crazy.' Well, I'm crazy, and I'm not crazy... When I went to my high school reunion, I was the only one there doing what he said he was going to do. How crazy is that?

Rick Nielsen

I never went to any high school dances or proms unless I was playing in them.

Rick Nielsen

Playing in Japan for thousands of people was like playing on the moon.

Rick Nielsen