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And if Winnipeg is the Liverpool, then Neil Young is the John Lennon. And so it follows - taking this thing further than we really ought to - that Randy Bachman is the Paul McCartney. Or something ...
What we're getting at here is that Bachman is a big man in a big town. As the founder of the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive, he helped create "Wheatfield Soul," a simple, down-to-earth style of music that still resonates in Canadian rock music today.
Bachman isn't just a Canadian legend. He's recently attained iconic status in the U.S. as well. In what he calls "the honour of a lifetime," he'll guest star on The Simpsons early next year, playing Taking Care of Business and calling Homer a "hoser" for the first time on network television.
Although Bachman and singer Burton Cummings haven't spoken in years, the Guess Who will reunite for the closing ceremonies of the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg next month. The band is reportedly being paid more than $200,000 to play four songs. As Homer might say, whoo-hoo!
Meanwhile, Bachman brings his band to the Klondike Days Telus Stage at the Northlands Exposition tomorrow.
Here's a look inside the mind of Winnipeg's second most famous rock legend:
1. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU REALLY LOVED?
Seven Years in Tibet ... I saw three movies starring Brad Pitt on a flight to England. I saw what an incredible actor he was.
2. WHAT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM YOU EVER OWNED?
Elvis.
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
Sarum; it's about a foot thick, about 2,000 pages, it's a history of England as written through a couple of cavemen.
4. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE HANGOUT?
(Laughs) the airport ...
5. DO YOU HAVE A PET PEEVE?
Yeah, people who are late.
6. WHAT'S YOUR IDEA OF THE PERFECT SUNDAY?
Church, family, nice dinner, sunny day.
7. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE JUNK FOOD?
Dad's oatmeal cookies.
8. WHAT ARE YOUR DOING ON NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1999?
I have a choice. I really want to stay home with a candle that my family and I will huddle around. But there's these offers coming in for mega dollars to play a gig. I'm trying to accept one where there's people I know, so I'm not stuck in a hotel when the power goes out and the elevators don't work. I'm hoping for Winnipeg.
9. WHAT GADGET OR GIZMO CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?
My Yamaha QY-22. It's a walkman-sized band in a box sort of thing. I do all my demos on it.
10. DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY OR HABIT YOU THINK WOULD SURPRISE PEOPLE?
I'm so predictable. My hobby is music. But I read a lot of spy novels. They're like comic books for older men.
11. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PIECE OF CLOTHING?
A jean shirt.
12. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF IF YOU COULD?
My size.
13. WHOM DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Neil Young.
14. WHAT'S YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
Buying antique guitars.
15. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MISTAKEN FOR ANOTHER CELEBRITY?
People swear I'm Jerry Garcia. People are walking to me saying, 'Aren't you supposed to be dead?'
16. DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE QUOTE?
"Don't be in the back yard looking for a four leaf clover when lady luck is knocking on your front door."
17. WHAT'S YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS?
Dad's oatmeal cookies.
18. IF YOU ARE REINCARNATED, WHO WILL YOU BE?
I have no idea. I know who I would not want to be: Bill Clinton.
19. OF THE 300 GUITARS YOU OWN, WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
I have two kinds - one is to play and one is to look at. To play, it's a Fender Stratocaster guitar, the standard rock 'n' roll Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix kind of guitar. And the one to look at is a 1930s Gretsch Syncromatic 400. There were only 20 or 30 ever made. It's too beautiful to play.
20. OF ALL THE VERSIONS OF YOUR SONGS THAT HAVE BEEN RECORDED RECENTLY, WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
The latest one by Lenny Kravitz ... it's growing on me and will probably soon become my favourite through the mere fact that he so re-interpreted it that it's become a different song.