Can you give a one-paragraph career synopsis, including your early days? How did you gravitate to songwriting?

I started classical piano when I was seven. Later, all that training came back when I picked up guitar and drums. I spent my teens and early 20s playing drums in cover bands, then in 1975 I joined Prism. They needed material, so I became a songwriter by default. Prism's first album was a moderate success in North America, but I didn't like touring, so I left the band before the second album. I spent the next few years as a freelance session drummer, then I met Bryan Adams, who was 18 and living with his mom. We got together every day and wrote songs. It took a while, but eventually Bryan got a record deal. That was the beginning, really.

What were your early successes and disappointments?

There really weren't any disappointments ... sure, Adams and I were rejected by nearly every record label and publisher in Canada, but it just fuelled our desire to succeed. If you're easily discouraged, then avoid a career in music.

Many successful songwriters get involved in either owning/running studios and/or record companies. Has this worked out for you?

Since I was thirteen I've had some kind of studio in the basement. The first one, in 1965, was a $20 reel-to-reel from the Eaton's catalogue. By 1985 I had a Studer 24-track and an SSL console. The "home studio" thing was great until my son was born. Imagine Aerosmith in the basement with their amps cranked to eleven, and the baby trying to nap upstairs. Basically, my wife "evicted" me!

I looked around for space to rent, but nobody wanted a musician for a tenant, so I ended up building The Armoury Studios from the ground up, a two-year, $3-million project. All my studio-owner friends said "Don't do it!" but I didn't listen. I loved every minute of designing and building the place, but once it was finished I absolutely hated owning it. I'm not cut out to be "the boss", and it was difficult hiring and firing people. Most of the bands that booked the studio were respectful, but a few weren't. There was a bit of damage done, and occasionally some of my equipment would go missing. One band was actually bowling with my Juno awards! Eventually I got fed up and sold the place to my friend Bruce Fairbairn (producer for Bon Jovi and AC/DC). I haven't regretted it for a minute! Now I have a comfortable writing suite at the back of my property, next to the pool. It's what I should have done in the first place!

How about producing records - another avenue for many successful songwriters?

I've done a bit of production, but I'm too obsessive-compulsive to be good at it. I get bogged down in the details -- like, is the hi-hat in sync with the backing vocal? -- rather than looking at the big picture.

Could you talk a bit about co-writing? How do you define the 'ground rules" as you build a songwriting relationship? Any anecdotes about successful - and unsuccessful - creative partnerships?

I've worked with hundreds of singer-songwriters over the years: Ozzy Osbourne, Bryan Adams, Alice Cooper. I usually get called when an artist delivers a "finished album" but the label doesn't hear a single. They ship the writer to Vancouver for a week and we're expected to produce a "hit". That's how I met Aerosmith. Initially they were opposed to writing outside the band, but our collaboration went so well they came back ... three albums in a row!

Ozzy is the most fun I've had writing songs ... ever! He's hilarious -- some of it intentional, some of it not -- but when he knows he's "got you going" he just gets funnier, he can't help himself. My wife would say "someone should be filming this." Eventually MTV had the good sense to develop The Osbournes television show. Ozzy may appear to be a bit slow, but he's actually a very clever guy. He knows exactly what he's doing, what it takes to make and sell records.

Steven Tyler is another co-writer I enjoy. He's enormously creative, with a child-like wonder about everything. He has a new idea every nano-second, so it's a job in itself keeping things organized and on-track while you're writing.

Is being a 'song doctor' the same as being a songwriter?

I've never liked the "song doctor" handle, which implies I "fix broken songs". There are a few occasions where I've re-worked existing material, like with the Scorpions, a German group who needed help with their English lyrics - but in 99% of the cases I start from scratch, which is what I prefer.

How do you respond to covers of your songs that might not carry the spirit of the original?

Often my expectations are exceeded, like with Joe Cocker on "When The Night Comes", or Heart's version of "What About Love". A few times I've been disappointed, one example being "I Just Want You", a ballad I wrote with Ozzy. Our demo was brilliant, but the producer went somewhere else with it. Ozzy was so devastated that he phoned me to apologize.

Here's the standard chestnut question: Which comes first - music or lyrics?

I'm seldom stuck for a chord progression or a melody, but for me, writing lyrics is painful. It's ironic, because the misconception is I'm primarily a lyricist, which I'm not. In many ways I believe lyrics are the most important part of the process ... it's your chance to really connect with the listener, to "tap into" something they might be thinking or feeling. Lyrics are hard work, and I always leave them to the last, but they can't be neglected.

Do you listen to a lot of other peoples' music?

I'm constantly listening to the radio. Plus, my son (now 13) keeps me up on what's current, like Swollen Members, who I enjoy, and Sum 41. Really, I love it all: Metallica, Madonna, U2, Shania Twain. I'm just a fan of good songs and good records.

Are there songwriters you emulate, or admire? Who are your favourite writers? Are there people you'd like to cowrite with, but haven't had the opportunity?

All these years later I'm still in awe when I listen to anything by the Beatles, the Stones, the Beach Boys. I also love the Motown catalogue, Bacharach-David, Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

You walked away from the scene for a few years. Are you comfortable explaining why? And what encouraged you to return to the fray?

I wrote songs 50 weeks a year for 15 years. When you're self-employed no one tells you when it's time to "go home", so I would spend ridiculous hours in the studio. You can stay up all night when you're 20, you can even do it when you're 30, but at 45 I ended up in the hospital having back surgery, a direct result of my work and travel schedule.

When I recovered I decided to take a year off, but it turned into five! Now I'm writing again, mostly with young artists just getting started. There's no pressure, no expectations. It's all about the music, which is why I got into this in the first place. Somewhere I lost track of what mattered, what was fun about it. Now I'm finding that again.

Do you have a "routine"for writing? Like, for instance, every day between nine and noon?

When I'm collaborating with another writer I like to work a 12-hour day, usually 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Often, co-writers travel a long way to be with you, so I try to give them a generous amount of my time. I'll do that for a week, then take a couple of weeks off. That's my latest attempt at finding some kind of "balance" between work and family. There's no way it's ever going to be a 9-to-5 thing.

Do you spend your waking days with one inner ear open for ideas?

As a writer you're always listening to music and cataloguing ideas, almost like there's a filing cabinet in your brain called "music and lyrics for future consideration. " It's a bit of a plague really, because you'll catch yourself thinking about a song when you're having dinner with friends. It can be very distracting, almost like "hearing voices". I managed to turn that switch off during my 5-year break and I have to admit, the silence was glorious.

Is it possible to teach songwriting or is it a gift that's simply inexplicable?

I've been involved in a number of "songwriter workshops" over the years, and you can see the kids who've "got it" and the ones who don't. I don't think you can "learn" to write songs, but you have it to start with.

How do you make demos of the songs you create?

I always record meticulous demos, paint-by-number templates for the producer. With pop music the arrangement and instrumentation can be as important as the lyric and melody, and I want to make sure my ideas get communicated. You can't do that with an acoustic guitar and a Walkman.

You are on the Board of SOCAN. How is that experience?

I've been on the SOCAN board, on-and-off, for 15 years ... in fact I'm currently a SOCAN director. I think it's essential to play a role in the industry that puts food on your table. It's a steep learning curve, and the landscape is always changing, but I love the challenge. There are some incredibly bright people on the SOCAN board, and I've learned a lot about the "business" side of music.

Do you enjoy the "business" of music? How much time do you spend dealing with that aspect of your life?

It's a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? ... music and business. Hunter Thompson described it as a place where "pimps and thieves run free, and good men die like dogs." I'm not sure it's quite that harsh, but it does help to have a good lawyer to read the fine print for you. I do a fair amount of music business by necessity. I read contracts, I check my royalty statements, I make sure my taxes are paid. Not unlike any other self employed person.

If you weren't a songwriter, or a musician, have you ever thought of what else you would have liked to do?

I might have been an architect - or maybe an artist, like my grandfather. He drew pictures for the newspapers before the days of photo-journalism.

When you are not involved in music, what other areas of life fascinate, amuse or entertain you?

I love travelling ... I've been to Japan, Israel, Norway, Australia, Ireland, Yugoslavia. Just give me a map, a compass and a Michelin guide and I'm in heaven. I also devote a fair chunk of time to genealogy, family research. I've got a "family tree" database with over 3,000 entries, tracing some branches of my family back to the 1400's. It's great fun, like a giant puzzle that's never done.

Talking of travelling around the world, how do you feel about the worldwide success of the new version of Heaven?

It's a songwriter's dream, really -- every twenty years your song becomes a "hit" all over again!