Bachman, Turner still rockin', rollin'

Randy Bachman and Fred Turner (WENN.COM file photo)

Randy Bachman and Fred Turner are rollin' down the Canadian highway again.

A year after reteaming for their first album in more than 20 years, the Can-Rock titans are gearing up to continue their comeback with a coast-to-coast tour. But anyone who thinks the duo have mellowed with age is in for a rude surprise, according to Bachman.

"We've got a rock 'n' roll truck and we're driving over your face," laughs the 67-year-old singer-guitarist during a rare pit stop at his B.C. home. "We're not doing dance music or Lady Gaga stuff. It's 90 minutes of full-on rock -- the same Bachman and Turner songs you know."

Of course, as fans also know, the duo won't be in overdrive. The other half of BTO -- guitarist Blair Thornton and drummer Robbie Bachman, Randy's estranged little brother -- refused to let the duo revive their old handle, prompting Randy and Fred to tour and record under their last names, backed by Bachman's longtime band. For this tour, they're also bringing fellow classic rockers like Paul Rodgers and Blue Öyster Cult along for the ride as opening acts.

While taking care of business around the house -- and prepping for the release of his new Vinyl Tap book and a BT live DVD in September -- the Winnipeg native and former Guess Who guitarist discussed old friends, new plans and bringing it all back home.

You've spent the last year doing festivals in Europe and the U.S. It must be good to finally tour Canada.

Yeah, it is. It is something to come back. We meet fans before and after the show and hear stories about when they first saw us in Brave Belt or BTO or, in my case, way back in The Guess Who. It's amazing that they've been coming to our shows for four decades. Now they're bringing their kids and grandkids. For us it's a real thrill.

Was the Bachman and Turner album received as you hoped? A part of you must have wondered if anybody was going to hear it.

Exactly. It's not like the '70s when we were selling five or six million albums. I would have loved to have a radio hit, but how do you even do that anymore? Radio is such a small format, and there are no music stores anymore. Everything's changed.

Everything except playing live, I expect.

That's always the same, ever since the old minstrels traveling town to town in medieval England. And for us, playing live has actually got better. We're having great fun. Luckily, we have a couple of dozen songs everybody knows. That's a switch from the old days, when you hoped to have one song on the radio that they knew when you came into town.

How are you two old minstrels holding up?

Really good. We're both in better shape than we were in the '70s. We have one spoonful of ice cream instead of a whole quart, one piece of chicken instead of a bucket, one slice of pizza. Everything's down to one. We want to stay as healthy as we can so we can keep playing music. Of course, we're not taking down our own gear, jamming it in the station wagon and driving to the next city. We've got a tour bus and a crew, because we realize we're not invincible like these 20 year olds. Of course, neither are they; there's so many of them dropping and dying. No they're all in NA and AA.

You were ahead of the curve on that; back in the '70s when everybody was getting wasted, you were straight.

That's true. I've had a lot of guys come up and say, 'If only I'd followed your path.' I've never smoked, I've never done drugs, and I quit drinking back when I was about 25 after a binge with Burton Cummings. I made a fool of myself and quit. They say every line on your body comes from what you drink and smoke; hopefully I have fewer lines than the next guy.

How is Fred enjoying it? He was basically retired, and was a bit nervous at first.

He really has embraced it. He's like a kid in his favourite class in high school. He's just gushing and he loves it. When we first plugged in to rehearse and played, Let it Ride, as soon as he sang the first line (imitates Fred): 'You can see the morning,' it was, 'Oh, he's back.' And the great thing is that every time we do a gig, someone comes up to him and goes, "Man, your voice is still a gravel truck. We've been waiting so long to hear that.' It's been a great boost for his ego and his heart and his soul.

Is it more rewarding to climb the mountain again than it was the first time?

I just feel very fortunate to have climbed the mountain a few times, first with The Guess Who and with Burton Cummings, and then with Fred. Now all I have to do is lift my foot and put it there. It's been a great year. At the Junos, I got to embrace Neil Young again and give him an award. We talked about doing something together again. We did Prairie Town and Made in Canada, and I've got a great idea for a song called Manitoba Skies. So hopefully we'll complete that trilogy. And I'd love to do a Winnipeg concert with him and Fred and Burton and give the money to Haiti or War Child or something like that. That would be incredible.

Bachman and Turner Canadian tour dates:

Sept. 3 | ST-PIE | Sanair Raceway

Sept. 8 | Belleville | Empire Square

Sept. 9 | London | Western Fair Grandstand

Sept. 10 | Toronto | Molson Amphitheatre

Sept. 12 | Sydney | Membertou Trade Centre

Sept. 13 | Halifax | Metro Centre

Sept. 14 | Saint John | Harbour Station

Sept. 16 | St. John's | Mile One Centre

Sept. 22 | Thunder Bay | Thunder Bay Community Auditorium

Sept. 24 | Winnipeg | MTS Centre

Sept. 26 | Edmonton | Northern Jubilee Auditorium