Deb: It is my distinct honor to catch up with Loverboy’s cofounder and guitarist Paul Dean.  Thank you so much for your time today Paul. Paul Dean: “Nice to meet you, Deb.“

Deb: I wish to take a trip down memory lane just for a second Paul.  I read you started playing washtub bass at the age of 12, then onto ukulele and finally guitar by the age of 13, making you a multi-instrumentalist.   Q) 1. Do you play any other instruments? Paul Dean: “Bass, violin, mouth organ, piano, trumpet, sax, baritone horn (in my high school marching band), and drums. Mostly with my fingers now on my laptop with software instruments. I played one live gig on drums, half a dozen on sax in my first band, and bass in 2 bands in the ’60s. I played fiddle (violin) in early Loverboy, and just before that, in Streetheart.“

Deb: Your first bands included Cannonball, Scrubbaloe Caine and released 1 album Round One in 1973 and shortly after in 1977, you joined world-renowned Streetheart releasing a debut album Meanwhile Back in Paris in 1978. Q) 2).  Tell us the story of how you met Mike Reno and formed Loverboy 41 years ago in 1979? Paul Dean: “After I left Streetheart, I was playing bass for the 3rd time in a Calgary based band, can’t remember the name, with a guitar player named Craig Blair. Mike and Craig had played in a band together, called “Spunk” (who could forget THAT name)! Mike, who had just left “Moxy,” was visiting Craig during one of Craig’s and my rehearsals. It’s kinda convoluted, but hopefully, it will all make sense. I was pretty disillusioned, having worked with so many frontmen, only to be “left for dead” once again. So my new plan was, no more singers, I’m the singer now. I was doing demos with Doug Johnson on keys, me on guitar and vocals. Then I heard Mike Reno sing. He and Craig were in an adjacent room of my rehearsal hall, just jamming, and I stuck my head around the corner, listened for a bit, and immediately put my “solo” career on indefinite hold.
The next night Mike and I wrote 2 songs, the first of many.”

Deb: Q) 3. It’s been stated by Mike Reno that the band’s name was chosen due to a dream you had.   Can you elaborate?   Paul Dean: “Ha, that sounds like a dream maybe Mike was having! The name actually came from the back of a magazine my wife Denise had. It was an ad for Covergirl makeup. That got me thinking, “Coverboy, that’s a pretty cool name for a band.” Then the light went on.“

Deb: Q) 4. Starting out in 1979 opening for legends KISS on the Dynasty Tour…wow! How did this occur so early out of the gate for Loverboy? Paul Dean: “My theory is, and I’m only guessing, is the regular opening band on the Canadian leg of that Kiss tour maybe got refused entry into the country, and Bruce Allen, our manager at the time, who had, and still has, a lot of clout in the Vancouver scene, pulled a few strings and made it happen. It was very last minute, but somehow we pulled it off. It was our first live show.“

Deb: Musically moving quickly up the ladder touring with Journey, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Kansas, and Def Leppard just to name but a few. Oh my god you simply can’t forget the trademark leather pants and bandanas, you sure set a trend back then, and your fan base exploded world-wide thanks to your addictive big rock sound and high-energy live shows.   Q) 5. What was your fondest Loverboy memory? Paul Dean: “Well, there’s a few, you might say! First thing that comes to mind though, is probably the times we played American Bandstand. I remember Dick Clark coming into the dressing room, very cool, and warming us up for the live interview part. I’m glad he did, I can imagine we were pretty nervous, this was the big time for sure. But at the same time, like I said to him on camera, “We’re ready”. ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bsnm3OnHLA

Deb: Loverboy has recorded 9 studio albums, sold more than 10 million copies world-wide, winning a still-record 6 Juno awards, plus the 2009 Canadian Music Hall of Fame and in 1982, one was awarded to you Paul, as Composer of the Year along with Mike Reno for Turn Me Loose from Loverboy’s self-titled 1980 debut album.  The band has earned four multi-platinum and a trio of double-platinum plaques and received Columbia Records’ Crystal Globe Award, you are 1 of the top-grossing tour acts in the world, performing in more than 300 cities over the years. Q) 6. When Loverboy was first on the scene, what was the best advice you were giving about the ins and outs of the business? Paul Dean: “Deb, there’s 2 parts to that question. Advice I was giving, and maybe advice I was given. Best “given” was from my Dad. Back in 1962, when I first started my pro career at the ripe old age of 16, his advice was, “Stay away from alcohol and drugs. That stuff can kill you.” Advice which I promptly ignored. Not really.   Advice I always give is, on the other hand, do what you love to do. Nothing worse than working at a job you hate. As far as music business advice goes, I always say, “I’ll never play guitar like Steve Vai or Eddy Van Halen, but I don’t care if I’m not the best guitar player in the world, I love it – that’s my life.” And then I say, “Song writing is the most important part of the business. You can be the best guitar player or singer, but without songs…”

Deb: You released your 1st solo album Hard Core in 1989 cowritten with the likes of Brian Adams and Paul Stanley of Kiss, followed by your 2nd solo album in 1995 with Machine and yet a 3rd Solo album Blackstone in 1997, giving you a total of 14 albums you are included as guitarist on (between solo, Scrubbaloe Caine, Streetheart and Loverboy) and you are still touring as co-founder and original member of Loverboy, going strong, showing no signs of slowing down. Q) 7. How did you and do you find time for yourself Paul, with all your irons in the fire?
Paul Dean: ” Shameless plug – let’s not forget the album “aMuseMe” that I recently produced and played guitar on. It’s by Greg Godovitz.  But to answer the question, I spend a ton of time sitting on airplanes and living in hotels most days, so I get lots of that. That’s when I work on my new solo stuff. I know I said “on indefinite hold” a few minutes back, but that’s where I am now full circle. Obviously still touring with Loverboy, but also putting the finishing touches on my next album. “

Deb: Q) 8. Have you seen or felt a shift in music today compared to 1978?Paul Dean: “I’d have to say Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Facebook, and SoundCloud, to name a few, have radically changed the business.
But people still write and record music, and then tour to promote it. Some artists make a fortune, some struggle their whole career. Personally, it’s all about playing live, always has been. Big venue, small club, as long as the band’s in the pocket, I’m a happy guy. And that’ll never change. Wait a second while I look up “in the pocket.” Ok. In The Jazz Theory Book, Mark Levine defines playing “in the pocket” simply as grooving, where the rhythm section is locked in and working as a unit. I think your real question is about music though, not the business part. I remember hearing my first rap song in about 1982 or 3. I was in a second hand clothing store – never have enough funky leather jackets. I said to myself, “Pretty cool idea for a song.” Who made the rule you have to have melody in a song, right? I never dreamed it would be where it is today. And I think a lot of the newer country artists are a lot like we were, back in the 80’s – big guitars, big drums. But even that’s only temporary, as country continues to evolve with the inclusion of rap and electronica.  With the advent of the internet, and home studios, where you can record an album in your bedroom on your laptop – I should know, that’s what I’m doing – there’s so much being released every week, who can keep up? The biggest difference between now and 1978, is that back in the day, you COULD keep up. You knew pretty much every album being released.”

Deb: Loverboy’s string of hits include arena rock staples like “Lovin’ Every Minute of It,” “This Could Be the Night,” “Hot Girls in Love,” “Turn Me Loose” and many more crowd favorites. More recently, Loverboy has released a trio of singles. These include 2016’s “Hurtin,” and “Some Like It Hot,” as well as 2017’s “Stop the Rain.” Q) 9.  Will these songs appear on the bill and will you contribute some of your originals in the set?
Paul Dean: “No. We play basically the same dozen or so songs every show. I always look at it, though, as one 90 minute song, with tempo and mood changes built in, so everything flows properly. The songs are written so simply that it affords us a lot of opportunity to experiment, with different solos, rhythm guitar patterns, intros, extended endings etc. That’s the best part, from a musician’s point of view.  We have a lot of fans that have seen us over 100 times, so I assume they know what I’m talking about! “

Deb: Q) 10. What does success mean to you? Paul Dean: “A lot of people measure their success in real estate, expensive cars, helicopters, you know? But for me, it’s the fact that it’s 40 some odd years later, and our fans still want to hear our tunes, either streamed or performed live. Unbelievable.“

Deb: I am excited to see this performance especially with close enough to being all original members on stage: featuring yourself on guitar as co-founder, co-founder/frontman on lead vocals Mike Reno, drummer Matt Frenette, on keys Doug Johnson with Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve on bass who replaced your dearest Scott Smith who passed away in 2000.  Q) 11).  Back when it all began, had any of you, ever dreamed that Loverboy’s career would unfold the way it did? and would you have foreseen back 41 years ago that LB would impact the history of music the way it has?   Paul Dean: “I was prepared to give it 3 years, like my previous 13 bands. Little did I know we would still be performing 50-60 live shows  every year. As for impact, my favorite is the chest crushing sound of Matt’s bass drum,  blasting through a well-tuned sound system. Now that’s impact!“

Deb: Q) 12).  What do you believe is Loverboy’s secret to longevity? Paul Dean: ” I think the fact that we bring it, every show. Mike still has one the best voices in Rock,  he’s funny as hell, and we’re a pretty tight band. We better be!“

Deb: Q) 13. What is next for Paul Dean? Paul Dean: “As I was saying, I have a new album coming soon. I released 2 videos from it, “Hell Yeah”, and “Be With You”,  you can find them on YouTube.“

Deb: Q) 14. What is next for Loverboy, perhaps a new album to complement the most current 2014 Unfinished Business Album? Paul Dean: “Yeah, we still have a few riffs and hooks kickin’ around.”

Deb: Q) 15. What can we expect from your Living Arts Centre performance on September 11th, 2019? Paul Dean: “All my favorite Loverboy songs, hopefully yours, too!“

Deb: Thank you so much Paul for your time today and look forward to meeting you on September 11th as I will be honorably photographing the show.  It will appear post–event inside the www.thewiremegazine.com inside column Seeing Shows on the Road with Deb Draper on page 13 in print, as well, it will appear with tons of photos and much longer piece inside The Wire Megazine’s Blogger.   Paul Dean:  “Ok, cool. See you backstage. Thanks, Deb.”

Iconic Loverboy brings their big rock sound to the Living Arts Centre this September 11, 2019, at 8:00 PM inside the Hammerson Hall. Hurry, don’t delay get your tickets by contacting:

http:// https://ev10.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS:MLAC:20:LOVER:&linkID=mlac&_ga=2.139441014.417012665.1566937729-1507065989.1566937729 or visiting 4141 Living Arts Drive in Mississauga, ON L5B 4B8 OR BY CALLING 905 306 6000 or visiting http://www.livingartscentre.ca

About the Living Arts Centre: The Living Arts Centre is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that operates the premiere arts and culture facility located in the heart of Mississauga. A dynamic and accessible gathering place for creativity, The Living Arts Centre is dedicated to being a place for global engagement in the arts, culture, and entertainment located at 4141 Living Arts Drive Mississauga, ON L5B 4B8