• Episode will air March 11 on History Channel

Staff Report

Rockford’s own Rick Nielsen and the Burpee Museum of Natural History exhibit “Rick’s Picks: A Lifelong Affair with Guitars & Music” will be featured on a March 11 episode of History Channel’s American Pickers.

The critically-acclaimed hit television series follows Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they scour the country for hidden gems in basements, garages and barns, meeting quirky characters and sharing their amazing stories with upwards of 5 million viewers each week.

There is no story more amazing than that of Nielsen, a true collector of the very first order.

“Frank Fritz, like a lot of people who love great music, is a big fan of Cheap Trick,” said Jay Graham of GrahamSpencer, the creative team for the Rick’s Picks exhibit. “Naturally, when he heard about Rick’s Picks, he wanted to experience it. It didn’t take him long to convince picking partner Mike Wolfe that a little side trip to Burpee Museum and Rick’s Picks would be worth their while. Of course, you’ll have to watch the episode to see what happened.”

Wolfe explained: “What happened was pretty special. We’re birds of a feather, Frank and Rick and me. Collecting, picking brothers in arms. We were all three bitten by the same crazy bug early on in life, and it’s amazing how quickly it brought us together when we went to Rick’s exhibit in Rockford. That’s when the picks really started flying.”

Fritz added: “Seeing Rick’s exhibit was truly mind-boggling. For me, as a nearly lifelong Cheap Trick fan, I was in heaven. And then, to dig even deeper with Rick himself — well, we can’t wait for the nation to see what we picked out of Rick’s storage lockers. Mike and I drove away from Rockford very, very happy.”

Nielsen said: “Those guys are great. Frank and Mike can rummage through my collection any day.”

The episode airs Monday, March 11 on History. Visit http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers ^[1] for local listings.

Rick’s Picks will be on exhibit through April 10 at Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 N. Main St. Find more information on https://www.facebook.com/RicksPicksLive ^[2] or follow emerging news at https://twitter.com/RicksPicksLive ^[3]. Visit the Rick’s Picks website at http://www.rickspickslive.com ^[4], or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.burpee.org ^[5].

Rick’s Picks

It’s guitars. It’s Rick. It’s music history. It’s a fund-raiser. From Rockford’s skating rinks to Tokyo’s Budokan, Rick’s Picks tells the 40-year story of one of the hardest-working stars in rock ’n’ roll. As one would expect, Nielsen has more stories than his five neck has strings.

Rick’s Picks also is a fund-raiser for Nielsen’s favorite hometown museum, the Burpee Museum of Natural History.

Since 1942, Burpee Museum of Natural History has inspired people to engage in a lifetime of learning about the natural world. Burpee Museum of Natural History is home to 66-million-year-old juvenile T.rex, Jane, as well as a number of other interactive and educational exhibits.

Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick

When Cheap Trick burst onto the national music scene in the 1970s, it broke new ground with a punkish, hard-edged brand of literate garage rock that was the perfect antidote to what ailed weary FM radio listeners worldwide. The band’s uniquely Midwestern sensibilities have been deftly recorded in 28 albums and laid bare in thousands upon thousands of performances worldwide.

With walls of gold and platinum records to prove their enduring success, Cheap Trick and its pick-flinging, checkerboard-bedecked dynamo guitarist Nielsen have never stopped touring, much to the delight of one of rock history’s most loyal fan bases.

Nielsen, and bandmates Robin Zander and Tom Petersson were seen touring with Aerosmith in major cities across North America. The band and the tour were named among “the summer’s hottest” by Rolling Stone magazine.

From the Feb. 20-26, 2013, issue