Bob Rock might just be the most important Canadian in the music industry. He’s certainly one of the most prolific and successful Canucks.
Over a career that has spanned more than four decades, he’s produced, worked and played with an incredible list of performers, from Vancouver bands like Young Canadians, D.O.A. and his own Payola$ to global superstars like Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Bryan Adams, The Offspring and more. But his latest release might be some of the most personal and heartfelt work of his career. Lustre Parfait, for those who haven’t been paying attention, is a collection of recordings that Rock made over the course of a decade with Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, and completed in the wake of the singer’s untimely 2017 death. More than just some frivolous side project, it’s an album that finds both artists pushing themselves out of their artistic comfort zones and experimenting with everything from ’70s glam rock to ’80s synth-pop and more — and crafting a monumental and moving masterpiece in the process. After feeding horses from his truck in Maui, Rock got on the Zoom to discuss his labour of love, his early days in Winnipeg, new Metallica, who he wants to work with next and more. Enjoy.
