Getting his start as an A&R man, Tom Werman signed Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Ted Nugent, Molly Hatchet and tons of others. He later then went on to produce some of the biggest names in rock and roll. Having retired since, here are Tom’s reflections on his journey.

So…are you retired from the music industry completely?

Absolutely. I wouldn’t, I can’t imagine any situation that would arise that would get me back as a full producer, unless Pete Townsend or Dave Grohl came to me and said, “We need you,” but that’s really unlikely! [Laughs].

So you have no interest in new music?

No. Nothing that I have heard. I admit, I don’t listen, I admit. I know there is a lot of good stuff out there that I don’t know about. My emotional attachment with music came when I was young, and no one is really, really excited about new music when they are 50 or 60, you know, I’m getting old. I’m still going back and rediscovering things that were recorded back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s that I missed.

You’ve held nearly every job in the record industry, what job do you want to be remembered as doing?

Being an A&R man, a talent scout. I signed a lot of really good bands, and bands that sold a tons of records. Of course, I didn’t make any money from those bands; accept the ones I went on to produce. I signed bands that sold over 100 million albums! None of the bands that I signed, no one else even looked at these bands, including Boston. Who could pass on Boston? I signed REO Speedwagon, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet, Boston, and I tried to sign KISS, Rush, and Lynerd Skynerd but they didn’t want them! [Laughs]. I had a pretty good record…

Would your life have been different if you would have signed KISS, and Rush, etc.?

It was a huge deal. If I had signed KISS and Rush that would have been in the first few years that I was at the label and that would have been REO Speedwagon, KISS, Rush, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet, you know, it would have been an overwhelming number of hit acts and I think I would have been regarded as some kind of wizard; easily the most successful talent scout in the country. Yeah, that would’ve changed my life…

You, of course, signed Cheap Trick and then went on to produce their second, third, and fourth album. Why did you not produce their first?

Well Jack had discovered them, and he was supposed to continue to produce them. The only reason I stepped in was because he was doing Aerosmith.

They have not spoken very kindly of you lately, what do you have to say in regards of your production work with them?

Yeah, well Rick has a thing about blaming everybody else for all the shortcomings of the band. You know, they blame Epic Records, why I don’t know. They fired their manager. If they didn’t like me, and they had a problem with me why would they let me do 3 albums with them, why didn’t they fire me right after the first album? It’s something to think about. We were pretty good friends through the entire relationship, our kids used to trick or treat together, I’ve been to his house in Rockford, he’s been to my house in LA, our families knew one another, we partied together, we worked together… Twenty years later, “Oh God that Werman, he was miserable. He put stuff on that album that we didn’t even know about. He didn’t capture our sound…” Look, big rock and roll stars, recreate history twenty years later. There are others in my past, but there are some like Ted and Poison who are nothing but nice. Who knows why they do that. It only comes from Rick, it would never come from Bun E. or Robin, Tom I think might mouth off a little bit; but, I love them. I thought they were great. Just brilliant in the studio, I had a great time working with them. This trashing talking twenty years later is all a mystery to me. I have proof that it’s bullshit. They say I put that piano on “I Want You To Want Me” after they left town, complete bullshit. Every time I did a record, I sent it to the band before I turned it in, I would have them approve the mix. There was a final approval from every band I’ve worked with.

What’s the scoop on you recording with them in the 90’s? If they didn’t like your work with you, then why would they want to work again with you?

That was interesting… They asked me to go to Rockford with them to do some demos with them. They told me “If the demos lead to a new deal, you can produce our next album…” So I went out, I didn’t get paid, I did the demos, we mixed the demos in Chicago and I left. They got a deal, they called me and said “Never mind, we are going to produce the album.” And then when the album came out, one of my demos with me playing tambourine was on the album! They released it as their single, no credit, no money; that was a sleazy thing to do. That’s Rick, that’s how he operates.

Why Cheap Trick is so interested in blaming Epic for everything that didn't bring them success in the 80s?

Honestly, I have no idea. There are just some people who will not admit that they are human and they have made some mistakes. For all the success this band has had they just don’t seem capable of admitting they might have screwed up. Who else do you blame? Who is the favorite target of bands? Their label!

What do you understood as the reasons for Tom Petersson leaving Cheap Trick in 1980 were?

Well I think he left because of Dagmar, his girlfriend, she wanted him to very much a leadership position in the band and she was a little bit like a Yoko figure for them. She pushed him to sing more and she thought he was the star and that he was being overlooked in the band and this is why he sang “I Know What I Want” and it wasn’t very good. Relative to Robin he was about as good as Ringo. I love Tom, he’s a great guy and a fantastic bass player, but that’s about it. A lot of guys trying going solo, and it just doesn’t work for them and they end up coming back.

I recently interviewed Bun E. and got a lifetime ban from all things Cheap Trick!

I don’t understand the artist mentality. Bun E. is a great guy, and great drummer. Straight up, honest with a lot of integrity and easily the best drummer I’ve ever worked with, hands down. Just ahead of Tommy Lee, Bun E. is just a wonderful guy…Great attitude and great style. And I just love the guy.

If you could ask Rick Nielsen one question that he had to answer, what would it be?

[Laughs]. Oh man, maybe, “What did I do to deserve this abuse?”…That’s all.

You are one of the few producers to work with nearly every major 80’s act. How did you get to be in that position?

I think that is an overstatement; there are a lot of artists that I didn’t work with. The record business, the people who run it tend to be narrow in their scope. Since Ted Nugent was the first record I ever produced, and it went platinum almost immediately, they said, “Wow, you are a great producer, you can do this!” Cheap Trick was a pretty hard-rock band for their time, so that was the next artist that I produced and then I went on to Molly Hatchet and I was firmly stuck in the hard-rock bag so I couldn’t get out. If I had begged and pleaded to produce the Eagles people would have laughed, even though I’m a pop guy, I love pop music! I like drive-in pop music, but you can tell where I am coming from just stylistically by listening to my albums. I tried to make hit singles with them…

What have been some highlights of your career?

Getting 23 Gold and Platinum albums was a highlight! I did really well and I’ll tell you, now that I’ve been out for 11 years, I really enjoy the unsolicited messages I get…a lot of emails from people thanking me for the albums that I helped create that changed their life and impacted their youth. They tell me how important my records were to them. They tell me that they would buy stuff just because I’ve produced it. That’s the highlight of everything- even after your careers over. There were certain bands I worked with that I loved, who were not successful like the Producers or Mother’s Finest who are my absolute favorite and wonderful people. We had a hugely enjoyable time making the record that was the highlight. The sad part is that they never made it past a cult status. Hardly anybody gets to do anything that’s that hardly that much fun and get paid well to do it- I was very fortunate. My timing was great, I used to lip-sync to Elvis. I saw the Beatles in Carnegie Hall, I saw the Rolling Stones with Brian Jones in New York. I sat in with Hendrix before he was famous. I saw “Tommy” played for the first time in America…

…WAIT- so not recording with Genya Ravan?

[Laughs]. I didn’t record with Genya Ravan!

She’s on “Mirrors” by Blue Oyster Cult that you did!

I don’t know how that happened. I forgot. They must’ve taken it back to New York and added her, I don’t remember mixing her. She’s great though! That’s something that I’ve completely forgot about. I liked working with those guys. It was a one-off album; it was like a detour for them. It was a little bit of departure; those guys are great too!

You are writing a book, right?

I’m writing and I’m not going to think about publishers or anything. I’m going to work it ‘till it is the best it can be. Then I’m going to shop.

Besides the book what are you currently up to?

I operate a ten-acre luxury Bed & Breakfast in Lenox, Massachusetts. It’s so blissful here that I can’t even describe it. I’m looking out now on a pond with ducks on it, willows hanging in the pond. We have a very thriving business! Bed & Breakfasts are never said in the same thread as luxury, so we have that going for us. This is a place that was destined to be beautiful and quiet, but totally wired. We have everything people could possibly want, in terms of cutting-edge New York stuff. We also have theater, dance, art…Right down the road is the orchestra and the biggest yoga retreat in the country. It’s great to do, and that’s what I’ve been doing the last eleven years.

Punk Globe would like to thank Tom Werman for the interview...