Playing guitar in a rock 鈥檔鈥� roll band may seem like living the dream.

But for Derry Grehan, lead guitarist and chief songwriter for iconic Canadian 鈥�80s band Honeymoon Suite, he and his bandmates had 鈥渢o work their ass off鈥� to earn a living in the music business.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a lifestyle I would necessarily recommend to anyone. People think you are making tonnes of money and the limos and all that, but it鈥檚 a hard life sometimes,鈥� Grehan said.

Yet as a musician and songwriter, Grehan says there is nothing else he would rather do.

鈥淎re we living the dream? Of course I wish we might have gone further and been bigger but at the same time I appreciate all the success that I have had in the music business,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 am a songwriter who has been able to make a living from what I love to do. How many people get to do that anymore? And the added benefit is that people still want to see us play live and our original band is back together again so I鈥檓 getting the best of both worlds.鈥�

Honeymoon Suite will be the closing act on Sunday for the second annual Rock The Lake classic rock festival this weekend at the Prospera Place parking lot.

Grehan is familiar with the Okanagan, the band having played numerous times in 琉璃神社 over the years as well as headlining the Peach Festival in Penticton.

The group performed in Thunder Bay on Thursday, Ottawa on Friday and hope to be in 琉璃神社 to catch some of Rock The Lake.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful place to come play and performing in an outside venue is something we really look forward to. We do a lot of outside concerts and it always sounds a bit different from playing at an indoor venue.鈥�

The initial success of Honeymoon Suite was largely derived from the band鈥檚 first hit song, 鈥淣ew Girl Now,鈥� which Grehan says he wrote in his kitchen while he was going to college, long before the band started.

鈥淚t took me about a half hour to write it and I just forgot about it in the years that followed. Then I played it for (lead singer Johnny Dee) one day and he said we should record that,鈥� Grehan recalled.

The group won a song contest in Toronto performing the song, which earned them a record deal and it became there first of a string of hits during the 鈥�80s.

鈥淚 guess that song will always be special. It has the hook and riff to it that as a songwriter you are always looking for,鈥� he said.

Grehan says Honeymoon Suite has reached a touring comfort zone, still in high demand based on the group鈥檚 catalogue of past hits, but he continues to write new music.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the family business,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y daughter is 16 and she wants to be a singer and songwriter so I have been working with her. Having gone through all that, I can help her avoid some of the pitfalls that go along with starting out.鈥�

Grehan was born and raised in Niagara Falls, but lives today in Illinois.

鈥淢y wife is American and from there and we have two teenage kids. My family is used to the lifestyle I have now. I鈥檓 gone most weekends,鈥� Grehan said.

鈥淭hey are used to Daddy leaving on Wednesday or Thursday to go to work and coming back home Sunday or Monday. And they know it is hammer time during the summer as you do what you have to do to make a living.鈥�

Grehan said Honeymoon Suite will carry on until the fun fades or it doesn鈥檛 make sense to keep performing anymore.

鈥淚f there are conflicts in the band or we are not representing ourselves well anymore, then it will be time to shut it down. I think we鈥檒l all know when that time comes,鈥� he said.

For Grehan, writing songs is something he will continue to pursue, his idea being to eventually move to Nashville, the current music haven for songwriters.

鈥淢y daughter and I have been down there a few times already. I love writing and co-writing songs for other people to perform and my daughter is starting to come into her own as well as a songwriter,鈥� he said.