Bryan Adams saves the rock star moments for the stage.
Riding the train as lush countryside goes by in a blur, there’s no bodyguard or publicist in sight. The man who gave us songs like “Summer of ’69,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” and “Cuts Like a Knife” is crammed into a back row, reading a book, doing an interview and basically just living his life.
Where’s the limo? The prolific songwriter just sighs.
“I’ve never been enamored with the idea of being a so-called celebrity,” the 66-year-old Adams says. “I’m the guy you will find on that train or subway. If you have to ask, ‘Is that Bryan Adams?’ … it probably is. If you want to come up and say you love a song, we’ll have a little talk.”
Adams’ next outing will bring him to Vegas for a residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas running from Wednesday through June 7. It’s part of his “Bare Bones” tour, a spare, acoustic undertaking.
Age has brought some changes to how he works the Bryan Adams machine. For starters, he has started his own independent label, Bad Records. Part of his summer tour will also reflect a different kind of production.
“It’s one of my most intimate shows with songs stripped down to their essence with just voice, guitar, piano and emotion,” says Adams, who will take the stage with just longtime pianist and collaborator Gary Breil.
Four decades into a long career and the Ontario rocker still has that “first real six-string.” He keeps it at his home in London, where he lives with daughters Mirabella, 16, and Lula, 13, and partner Alicia Grimaldi. His good life advice:
Fun in Vegas
“Am I excited to be back in Vegas? “Oh yeah. It’s going to be fun,” says Adams, who calls his “Bare Bones” show “one of the purest forms of performing.” “It’s amazing how these songs really lend themselves to the format of just singer, guitar, piano. Of course, it’s a little bit different than what you hear on the radio, which is what makes it exciting.”
As for his choice of venue: “Every single time I’ve played Vegas in the last years, I’ve said, ‘This room at the Wynn is perfect for ‘Bare Bones,’” he shares. “You have these dreams and then you make them happen.”
Instrumental moment
Adams — whose father was an officer in the British and the Canadian armies and later worked as a U.N. peacekeeping observer and Canadian foreign service diplomat — was mostly raised in Vancouver, where he was handed his first guitar. “My father gave it to me,” he says. “It was like the world opening up. I taught myself to play. I don’t know if my father expected me to take to the guitar the way I did, but it was done. I was going to make a life in music. … I asked for a drum kit, and they went for that, too. It was a loud house.”
Follow through
Adams quit school in his teens to play in groups and used the money his parents saved for college to buy an Estey grand piano. At 15, he was the leader of a band called Sweeney Todd that played pubs. “I took the big chance and had to see it through with music,” he says. “My other job was washing plates, so music was a better gig.” What did his parents think? “They just said, ‘Go for it.’ … If something is what you really want to do in your heart, then stay the course,” he adds.
‘Mind-blowing’ trip
He knew his career was taking off when he touched down in Vegas for the first time: playing an August 1983 gig at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. “I was the opening act at age 22 for another band,” he recalls. “All I can remember is it was such a big deal just to be in America, but to play Vegas was mind-blowing. I’d play in a parking lot in Vegas. Anyone who would give me a gig, I’d be there.”
Roll with it
“I have an album out called ‘Roll with the Punches,’” Adams says of his 16th studio recording. “You will have the ups and downs, but all that matters is how you roll with it.”
Fast track
Adams has written many songs for movies, including “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” for “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” Is it true he wrote it quickly? “Yeah, 45 minutes,” he says. “I knew it was a good song right away. It always works live. I enjoy singing it.”
Age wisely
Adams doesn’t lament the passing decades; he celebrates them. “I proudly say that I’m 66,” he says. “Of course, then you’re asked what is the secret of feeling good at this age. I truly think you’ve gotta keep stretching your body. Every single day. You also have to keep an eye on your health. To me this means getting out in nature as much as possible, which is just calming and good for stress. I eat a vegan diet. I make sure to fit in some kind of exercise every single day.
“You just have to move. And you must keep smiling. You just keep going … so far, so good.”
