 Daughter Lorelei Bachman shares a moment with her dad, music legend Randy Bachman. |
But according to Lorelei Bachman, daughter of Randy Bachman, the Canadian musical giant who co-founded the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive - and who wrote countless hits for both bands - it was more a case of respect.
"I wouldn't say (I was) intimidated, but a little bit in awe, maybe," she said from her home outside Calgary. "But to be honest, it's just so easy for him on the guitar.
"I play piano, but not at the same level he plays guitar, so there were some times where I sat with him and I thought, "I don't think he knows how the other half lives.'"
The result of that collaboration is three songs for the Strawberry Shortcake: Follow Your Very Own Beat! live family show coming to the Kelowna Community Theatre Wednesday for two shows.
Growing up as one of eight Bachman siblings, Lorelei said there was always music in the house, so it really was no surprise she more or less fell into it as a kid.
"We grew up in an environment that was very open and conducive to creativity," she said. "We had all different kinds of stringed instruments around our house; some were hanging up and were quite intricate but other ones were there for our exploration - from things simple, like the tambourine or maracas, to a dulcimer or a mandolin.
"And as long as we were respectful to the instruments, we were always allowed to pick them up and play."
She credits some of her first youthful songs, about things like "school, or your friends or pets," written on some of those instruments, as paving the way to cultivating a lifelong appreciation of music and the craft of songwriting.
But how exactly she came to pen three songs with her dad, and one on her own, for the world's most spirited red-haired girl and her 'berry" best friends Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Torte, Plum Pudding and Cherry Jam, is another story.
She had met her father's longtime manager Gilles Paquin several times, along with his wife Patti Caplette, the principal behind Koba Entertainment, the company producing the shows. So, when Caplette asked her if she wrote music herself and whether she'd be interested in participating as writer with her dad for songs for one of their children's shows, she jumped at the chance.
"I have written music for children before, but Strawberry Shortcake was an especially fun opportunity because my sister and I loved Strawberry Shortcake as kids growing up," she said. "And that's very vivid in my memory still and my own daughters loved it as well growing up."
Working from a few notes about the live show, which follows the trials and tribulations of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends as they prepare for a big talent show, the two got to work, mostly while together at a family summer vacation, complete with grandkids in tow.
"It was an interesting challenge," she said. "Although I've had his advice my whole life, I've never actually sat down and co-written with my dad, so that was something new for us to try."
The elder Bachman is perhaps best known for penning catchy rock hits for the Guess Who, or the hard-driving anthems for B.T.O., personified by its signature tune, Taking Care of Business. However, anyone who has heard him on his CBC show Vinyl Tap, knows he has an encyclopedic knowledge of just about all kinds of modern songs.
So helping write some songs geared towards younger girls - no problem.
With Lorelei starting by writing the lyrics, the two sat down together and worked out the music for the songs, finishing rough drafts in "a week or two."
"I would say, 'here's the theme and here's what I thinking of,' and he would help me with the lyrics. And the he would say, 'now, here's what I'm hearing in my head that would go really well with this, and he would play it.
"Then together we would say, well, I think that part should be changed or maybe we should add a bridge there, but really it was quite seamless."
Keeping the focus on the Strawberry Shortcake themes of self-confidence, a positive attitude and girl power, father and daughter came up with the polished songs, going as far as bouncing ideas off some of her own kids, the youngest being eight years old. They also kept it in the family by recruiting the grandkids to sing on demo versions of the tunes.
All in all, though, she said it was rewarding to work together with her famous dad and like the message behind Strawberry Shortcake herself, confidence inspiring for her, too.
"It's refreshing in contrast to 'princess' or 'diva' culture, which most parents are familiar with," said Bachman. "This is more spunk and spirit, and you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do."
Like write songs with your legendary musician dad without feeling intimidated.
QUICKFACTS
What: Strawberry Shortcake: Follow Your Very Own Beat, with special guests The Doodlebops
Where: The Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water St.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $34.75 fees included, available at ticketmaster.ca or by calling 1-855-985-5000.
