Jim Peterik needs little introduction.

A true rock-and-roll veteran, probably best-known for co-writing and performing the Grammy-winnning, Oscar-nominated and timeless "Eye of the Tiger" while with the band Survivor, the Burr Ridge resident still records and performs with The Ides of March (of "Vehicle" fame), founded in Berwyn in 1964 (!), along with side projects Pride of Lions and Jim Peterik's Lifeforce.

On Feb. 4, he'll bring a one-night-only acoustic performance to the Theatre of Western Springs. We got a hold of Peterik for a chat about his career, his local connections and his surprise penchant for roller-skating.

What brought you to do a performance at TWS?

“Well, Western Springs is part of my stomping grounds. I love Western Springs; I have a lot of friends in Western Springs. It’s just a great, great town. I do a lot of business there. I’m always there at Casey’s Market or Oberweis. And so I took it near and dear to my heart, and it’s terrific to be in this really great auditorium, playing for friends and hopefully new fans.”

What should people at TWS expect from your show?

“I decided to do a fairly intimate show. The Theatre has such great acoustics, I didn’t want to blow everybody away with amplification… So I decided to do an unplugged shot in Western Springs, kind of tell the stories behind the songs. So it’s just going to be me, an acoustic guitar and a wonderful keyboard player named Jeff Lantz. And that’s it. I’m just going to be playing some of the biggest hits I have, and some new songs that hopefully will become big hits.”

Are you planning to stick around after the show?

“Absolutely. I’ll be hanging around, I’ll probably bringing some merchandise, seeing if anybody’d like to buy my new CD, but if anything it’s just to meet people.”

You’ve always had a personal connection this area—The Ides of March were founded in Berwyn. What’s kept you here; what do you love about Chicagoland, or the Chicago suburbs?

“Well, I’ve never lived in another town, but I’ve spent enough time in L.A. to know that it’s just not me! It feels cold, it feels removed; I don’t feel like myself. The familiarity of Chicago is a big part of it, and the people that I know and love, family, friends, restaurants I love, the lakefront—it’s my comfort zone. I may have had more opportunity in New York, L.A., or Nashville, but if I’m not happy, what good is opportunity?”

You’re regular presence in Western Springs; at St. John of the Cross, for one. What do you think of our little town?

“Well, I love the town, and St. John of the Cross is very dear to me. My favorite thing to do is right around Christmastime, I sing with the choir; usually it’s a song called ‘Sharing Christmas,’ which was inspired by St. John of the Cross, they have that program every year called Share Christmas, and I did it a couple of years in a row where we delivered food and cans to some very needy people. I just love that term, sharing Christmas, so I wrote a song called Sharing Christmas… St. Johns is just a great, great parish.”

These days, even young kids born long after are familiar with “Eye of the Tiger.” What’s your relationship with your biggest hit these days?

“That song is the gift that just keeps giving. I’m absolutely amazed and humbled by the fact that it’s still around in 2012. We wrote it in 1982; thought it was going to be a pretty big hit because it had a $10 million video to go with it [Rocky III.] But what really astounds me is that every generation kind of adopts it as its own. Young children come up to me, “that’s my favorite song…’ ‘it has inspired me to do my best…’ It doesn’t get better than that as a songwriter.”

Most people know you primarily guitarist and a songwriter. What’s something people don’t know about you that’s interesting, unique, or even just funny?

“Well, I’ve been married for forty years, which is unusual in this business! My wife [is] Karen Peterik, who went to Nazareth… We met waiting in line to see The Turtles in 1968. So music brought us together, and we’re still together after 40 years of marriage… I have about 180 guitars, most of them vintage… and I have them on display all around my house. And that’s my hobby. But I also love to roller-blade; we’ll go to the I&M canal and skate along during good weather; we’ll go to the lakefront and go all the way from the south shore country club north all the way to Arie Crown Theatre and back. That’s a passion of ours for sure.”

Do you play any of those vintage guitars?

“I play them all. They’re all out of cases, most of them. I have a beautiful studio—two studios, one above the garage, and one in the lower level—and if I’m recording a rocker, I’ll look around and grab a Les Paul, if it’s a [different] thing, I’ll look around and grab a Steelcaster Fender. It’s really a lot of fun to have all those guitars at your disposal and your mood.”

How are things going with World Stage International, and your various other projects, like Lifeforce and Pride of Lions?

“There is so much going on. Ideas of March is looking forward to a great year; we’re 48 years and running as of this season; got a lot of good shows coming up. World Stage International is an umbrella that I develop new talent, new artists with… I have my son Sijay who’s about to release his own album; he’s a keyboard player-singer-songwriter finishing up his first album; it’s amazing, he’s a great musician and I’m not saying that just because I’m his dad… Pride of Lions, I’m really in the trenches with that right now; I’m submitting songs to my label, Frontiers… This is the fourth Pride of Lions record, and this time we’re going to go over to Belgium in the summer for this weeklong festival … It’s been about two or three years since the last one, and in that time [singer] Toby Hitchcock put out a solo album that I had nothing to do with, but it gave me time to regroup and get excited again abut melodic rock, and that Survivor-esque side of my writing.”

When you look back at your distinguished career, what stands out most?

“I think it’s probably the live performance aspect. That’s the real rush. Without that, I don’t think I could really write songs the way I do. You kind of gain intelligence; you’re out in the street, you see what people are responding to, what they’re getting excited about, which ones they’re sitting on their hands. And it really informs your songwriting. But there’s nothing better than the rush of a standing ovation after you’ve done a good performance. That’s to me still the ultimate.”

Where do you stand now, and what’s the future look like for you?

“I’m extremely busy, probably more so than ever. It’s hard because last November I turned 61 and I feel like a kid. I refuse to lay down or stand down. At this age, as long as you’re healthy, you have the benefit of the wisdom you’ve gained combined with all the contacts that you’ve made through the years, you can do what you want to do. You have the freedom to do exactly what you want to do… I’m really looking forward to [the TWS show.] It’ll be great to just pretend like it’s my living room, and I’ve invited a bunch of guests.”

(Check here for tickets to the performance!)