rss feedhttp://www.speedwagon.com REO Speedwagon, "Not So Silent Night" (Sony Legacy) This is a solid Christmas album from the midwest rockers best known for their early '80s power ballads like "Take it On The Run" and "Keep On Lovin' You." Lead singer Kevin Cronin gives many of these holiday classics a surprisingly tender touch, from the short opener "The First Noel" to the delicately paced "Silent Night." They ramp things up on a frenetic version of "Deck The Halls," and lay down a fast-paced gospel vibe on "Children Go Where I Send Thee," which is probably the best track on the album. "Winter Wonderland" is set to a jaunty, strutting pace, and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" offers up the trademark Speedwagon sound nearly 40 years after this band first burst out of Illinois. • Wayne Parry, AP Writer Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST Big-gesture and easygoing, sweetened by Kevin Cronin's ever-enthusiastic voice, "Not So Silent Night" is pretty much the ideal pop Christmas album for early-1980s sentimentalists: double-guitar leads, a little bit of blues, a little bit of country, a lush ballad ("The White Snows of Winter"), a rock shuffle, ("Winter Wonderland"), and some moral high-ground (John Lennon’s "Happy Xmas"). It's a record trading on styles so old and codified, it's incredible that it was made in 2009, but man, is it efficient. (Sony Special Products, $6.98) Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST Even though REO Speedwagon has played Northeast Ohio many times in its nearly 40-year career, singer Kevin Cronin has one vivid memory tied to Youngstown. Specifically, when it’s mentioned this article is for The Vindicator, the 58-year-old cringes. “I’m very familiar with The Vindicator,” said Cronin, calling from Agoura Hills, Calif. “I had a job in high school working in the mailroom of my dad’s office. He was in the newspaper representation business. He’d have to check to make sure print advertising ran. These gigantic mailbags would get delivered filled with these newspapers, and my job was I’d have to file them. And that Sunday Youngstown Vindicator would come in and, man, that was a bear. The Monday and Tuesday editions were my favorite, but that Sunday would come in and it was no fun.” Yet fun is something Cronin and his band mates found in the ’70s and ’80s with platinum albums (“Ridin’ the Storm Out,” “You Can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish” and “Wheels Are Turnin’”) and hit singles (“Keep On Loving You,” “Take it on the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling”). Now the group is venturing down a different road with the recent release of its debut holiday album, “Not So Silent Night ... Christmas with REO Speedwagon.” “Three of us in the band �" Bruce Hall, Bryan Hitt and myself �" all have little kids at home, and when we finished our last studio album, ‘Find Your Own Way Home,’ back in 2007, we were thinking what we might want to do next and what haven’t we done yet,” Cronin said. “And the idea came up to make a Christmas album. We thought it might be cute to do that in our spare time and make it into a side project type of thing, but when we started getting into it, the things that we started picking were songs that meant something to us when we were younger. “It turned out that it really wasn’t ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Frosty The Snowman.’ We were choosing songs with a little more meat on the bone like ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Happy Christmas [War is Over].’ I was amazed we were able to pull that off. Our thing was to pick Christmas songs that pretty much people knew and turn the arrangements inside out into REO Speedwagon songs. I’m really proud of this record. I think people will be surprised in a pleasant way when they hear it.” Cronin hinted the band may play a song from the Christmas album at its upcoming co-headlining show with Styx on Saturday at Covelli Centre in Youngstown. That’s not the only special thing fans can expect from these two arena-rock acts. Earlier this year, the bands teamed up to write and record the song “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” which is performed nightly when both groups join forces on stage during the finale. This brings up the pertinent question, why are REO Speedwagon and Styx still a major concert draw 20 years after their last commercial success? “I don’t really know what it is,” Cronin said. “There is some kind of magic that happens when REO and Styx tour together. It’s one of those lucky things. Kind of similar in a way to that Elton John and Billy Joel thing, where they found that synergy and the sum of the parts is bigger than the individuals. That’s kind of how it is with us and Styx. When we pool our resources, we can bring a much bigger production along with us, and that’s fun. And the music just resonates with people. So we just keep it going. We’re having fun and people are digging it. It’s all good.” Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST Rock veterans REO Speedwagon have released their new Christmas album 'Not So Silent Night,' which hit stores Nov. 3. The album features 13 holiday classics ranging from traditional carols to unique, obscure tunes. Some of the songs on their album repertoire include 'Little Drummer Boy,' 'Silent Night,' 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Happy Xmas (War is Over),' with the band donating all artist royalties from 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' to the John Lennon Foundation. Check out AOL Radio's Rock Holiday station to hear a selection of songs from the album. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST November 02, 2009 by General Jabbo It's been a busy few years for veteran rockers REO Speedwagon. From releasing their first album in more than a decade, one that had the band rediscovering its rock roots" 2007's Find Your Own Way Home" to nonstop touring with the likes of Styx, Journey, and Night Ranger, the band has worked at a harder pace than many bands half their age. Now, nearly 40 years after their debut, REO is releasing its first Christmas album. Not So Silent Night mixes traditional Christmas carols, obscure gems, and a cover of John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" with the classic REO sound" big, melodic choruses and guitars. The album begins sweetly with a short, melodic version of "The First Noel," before segueing into a bluesy "Winter Wonderland." 'Silent Night" and "Children Go Where I Send Thee" show the band in a surprisingly gospel vein and prove to be highlights of the disc with the former done as a ballad with choir and the latter as an up-tempo number. For a band most famous for its ballads, the fact the slower material works better here is not surprising. "The White Snows of Winter" in particular stands out and should prove to be a favorite of fans of the band's softer side. The Lennon cover is by the numbers and while not an improvement over the classic original is still a strong track. In keeping with the holiday spirit, all proceeds from this track go to the Foundation. The band's cover of "Blue Christmas" finds them veering off into country territory in surprisingly convincing fashion While the band rocks up their versions of "Deck The Halls" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman," these versions come off as forced and aren't to the same standard as the rest of the CD. Still the positives outweigh the negatives here. REO Speedwagon may not be the first band people think of when it comes to recording a Christmas album, but they make it work. Fans of the band and of should enjoy this release for years to come.
http://admin.superstarmedia.com/client_data/reospeedwagon/gallery/thumbs/review.jpg Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST Breakout box FAST FACTS How did REO Speedwagon get its name? From a flatbed truck, first built in the early 1900s. It was high-speed and heavy-duty for its day, and was considered a milestone in the history of transportation. It was sometimes outfitted as a fire engine. The letters REO are the initials of Ransom Eli Olds, who went on to create the Oldsmobile. How did Styx get its name? Formerly known as Tradewinds, band members called themselves TW4 when a band with a similar sounding name broke through. It then picked a new name when signing a record deal in 1972. Styx was reportedly chosen because it was the only name suggested that nobody disliked. STATELINE -- Even though their heydays were decades ago, REO Speedwagon and Styx performed their hearts out Friday during the Lake Tahoe Summer Concert Series at Harveys Outdoor Arena. The same could be said for many fans who filled at least 90 percent of the estimated 7,000 seats. They cheered loudly for the performers and often sang and rocked along with hits mostly made popular the 1970s and 1980s. Bands played for about 70 minutes each. Styx and REO have been sharing venues off and on since 2000. REO Speedwagon kicked things off with "Don't Let Him Go" and "Take it on the Run." After the openers, REO lead vocalist Kevin Cronin, who moves as well as someone half his age, cracked a joke about a few empty seats toward the front rows. "I don't know where all these people with the expensive seats are," said Cronin, 57. Cronin then suggested those in the back take any empty front seats. The joke kept security guards busy for the next few minutes checking tickets at the front section and turning away those without appropriate tickets. Cronin recalled the band's early days, which started at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in the late 1960s playing in campus bars. When on stage, Cronin said REO members haven't forgot where they came from and when performing in front of crowds, they prefer to pretend they're in a small bar setting. Other songs included "Keep on Loving You," "Roll with the Changes" and "On the Road Again." The encore was "Ridin' the Storm Out." Styx took to the stage after a 30 minute intermission and opened with "Miss America" and "Too Much Time on my Hands." After performing "Long Nights," Styx guitar player and vocalist James Young talked about the song's meaning and relevance. "That song about the unemployment line from the 1970s is all too familiar," said Young, 59. "We have to feel the power that we can change things and make them right again." Among those who stood out on the stage was keyboardist Lawrence Gowan, who spun the keyboard at times, played it standing backward, stood on it and did moves that resemble those of an exotic dancer. Other songs played included "You're Fooling Yourself," "Come Sail Away" and "Grand Illusion." "Renegade" was the encore. Band members tossed guitar picks to the audience and threw out band-labeled Frisbees and other items. Beach balls were tossed out at the end. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT When it comes to rock and roll longevity - REO Speedwagon can claim it. Seasons change and so do administrations - and REO has been playing ever since Richard M. Nixon was in office. The hit-making heartland band has seen a lot over the years. When they hit the stage on June 24, 2009 - for their much anticipated show at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey as part of the Can't Stop Rockin tour with Styx and .38 Special - much of their history was on display revealing a vehicle that is still polished and revved up to roll some more. We first became aware of REO Speedwagon - as did a majority of their enthusiastic fanbase - when the Hi-Infidelity album burst on the scene in 1980 on the strength of its power ballads and high energy rock anthems. REO opened the show with a strong one-two punch of "Don't Let Him Go" and "Take It On the Run" which set the pace and proved their engine is still running on high-octane rock. The band only slowed down for "Keep On Loving You" (also from this album) and "Can't Fight This Feeling" from 1984's Wheels Are Turnin'. These two monster radio hits kept the fans happy and the cell phones held high. We were intrigued by REO's "overnight success" back in the day and so we went to the back catalogue to learn more about the band. The predecessor to Hi-Infidelity was 1979's Nine Lives which gave the evening's performance "Back On The Road Again" - sung by the band's longtime bass player and vocally capable Bruce Hall - and together with the band delivered an urgent tale about life on the rock and roll road. Digging deeper led us to 1978's landmark You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish - which was the album that took them from regional act to national recognition with the rocker "Roll With The Changes" (a karaoke favorite and one of the best rock anthems ever) and the acoustic "Time For Me To Fly". Both these songs were in the set at the PNC show. The overwhelming success of the band's most notable power ballads was a double edge sword for the group which muted the fact that - early on - the Speedwagon was an outfit that played loud and powerful roots-based rock. They've never stopped rocking - but along the way they've become one of music's most misunderstood acts. For fans of classic REO there was a lot of their earlier - more raucous - work on display. REO's second album, called T.W.O. - the band's first with lead singer Kevin Cronin - was a gritty effort - with brash and bold songs including the anthemic "Golden Country" which K.C. dedicated to better times ahead for our nation and the world. Ridin' the Storm Out was the band's 1973 release and the evening concert included the title track as the set closer and fan favorite "Son of a Poor Man" - a song about dating out of one's league and following your dreams. The Speedwagon's self-titled R.E.O. from 1976 is perhaps the most overlooked album in their canon. This album was the bridge from their raw rock to their more polished pop and contains some of their best numbers including "Keep Pushin'" which was an encouraging and uplifting reminder to keep at it. REO's been at it now for almost four decades and with their strong performances and well-reviewed shows on the CSR Tour the band (Dave Amato - guitar; Kevin Cronin - lead vocals, guitar, Neal Doughty - keyboards, Bruce Hall - bass, Bryan Hitt - drums) have put us on notice that they're gonna keep on truckin' because they Can't Stop Rockin! Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT The past two weeks at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain have been a lesson in what rock music used to be and has since become. Today's scene is dominated by mainstream acts like Kings of Leon, Nickelback and Green Day (among many others) who sell albums, gain fans and push limits faster than you can say "your sex is on fire." Twenty and 30 years ago, rock bands were doing the same exact things, as we saw when Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick played the Toyota Pavilion on June 28, followed by Styx, REO Speedwagon and .38 Special on July 3. Running around stage while playing all the radio-friendly hits still makes the kiddies go wild, except the kiddies have grown into middle-aged Americans grasping at memories of seventh-grade dances, prom pledges and early-20s debauchery. As the second of those two shows proved to this reviewer, playing to fans' affections is just about all it takes to become - and remain - a successful band. The evening began with a set by .38 Special featuring 11 songs, capped by fan favorite "Hold On Loosely," the band's first hit from 1981. Donnie Van Zant and the gang provided a solid warm up for the headlining acts. REO Speedwagon followed with lead singer Kevin Cronin engaging the crowd, telling numerous stories and admitting they hoped to turn Montage Mountain into a "skanky rock 'n' roll bar." I'm not sure they accomplished that, but with tight musicianship and Cronin's energy, the REO fans in attendance appeared more than pleased. The group's nearly 75-minute set featured "Keep Pushin'," "Ridin' the Storm Out" and "Time for Me To Fly," as well as megahit ballads "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." Styx followed 20 minutes later with the five members at the front of the stage clad in black outfits and ties, while drummer Todd Sucherman opted for a black tank top. Frontman James Young towered over the crowd as their set opened with "Miss America," but Young spent most of the night ceding lead vocalist duties to guitarist Tommy Shaw and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan. Despite both being in his 50s, Shaw and bassist Ricky Phillips each sported shoulder-length blonde hair that would make many women jealous. Shaw jumped around stage early on, straddling his guitar and driving the women in the first 10 rows nuts as the band kicked things off in rocking style. The set included "The Grand Illusion," "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Lorelei," as well as fan favorites "Come Sail Away" and "Renegade," the first song of the encore. The evening ended with REO joining Styx on stage for "Can't Stop Rockin'," a song co-written by Shaw and Cronin and recorded together by the bands this year. But the true highlight, for this reviewer anyway, was the fifth song of the set, a cover of The Beatles' "I Am The Walrus," which Styx recorded on their most recent album, Big Bang Theory, released in 2005. Die-hard fans may not have been surprised to hear the song, but to casual fans or those simply there to see some rock 'n' roll, it was a well-performed surprise that brought out many smiles. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT When Kevin Cronin says it's "Time For Me To Fly,"he means it. The longtime lead singer for REO Speedwagon was about to perform at Iona, Mich., in the middle of the region that is home to the band's biggest fans. The show's opening group was the “Tubes,” making the evening a concert of classic rock and classic punk rock. "We are in rural Michigan between Grand Rapids and Detroit and about 50,000 fans are looking at (Tubes' lead singer) 'Fee' like he's from another planet," Cronin said in a telephone conversation. The reporter on the other line could hear the crowd noise increase as a backstage door opened. "Let's go Kevin, you're on!" For Cronin, it was indeed, "Time For Me To Fly," the title of one of 13 top 40 hits by REO Speedwagon which shortened its name to REO " over the last four decades. The songs "Ridin' The Storm Out" and "Roll With The Changes," also apply to a band which invented the power ballad and has been so popular for so long. REO will hit the stage with Styx in a doubleheader at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 17 at the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys. Ticket prices range from $29.50 to $99.50. REO and Styx collaborated to record the single "Can't Stop Rockin.'" The group had three different singers on its first three albums, but Cronin has been the lead singer since 1976. His familiar voice undoubtedly has helped the band endure. The lineup is Cronin, vocals, rhythm guitar; David Amato, lead guitar, vocals; Bruce Hall, bass; Neal Doughty, keyboards; Bryan Hitt, drums. Concert-goers can expect hearing REO's power-ballad classics, along with some new material. The band in 2007 released its first album in 11 years, "Find Your Way Home." Two singles on the self-released record label made the radio airwaves. "I Needed To Fall" is a ballad and "Smilin In The End" is a rocker. Musical insiders called the new songs "fresh and old school." "I thought, wow, I didn't realize that's what we were doing, and that's what we did. There is a lot of excitement in our camp. Tommy Shaw of Styx said I was singing better than ever and there is no better compliment than that." It is REO's first studio album since 1996's "Building the Bridge," which had mixed success. The successful part was how President Clinton used the phrase of the title song to help win re-election. REO Speedwagon was on the stage with Clinton the night before he was re-elected. But the CD failed to capture the nation's interest. Cronin said the group strayed too far from its musical roots. "It felt good on a creative level but too much of a departure from what meat-and-potato REO Speedwagon fans wanted," said Cronin. "We have reinvented ourselves but it's been a long, gradual process." Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT For those of us who listened to REO Speedwagon and Styx back when both were hit-making machines, it's somewhat odd to think of these bands now as classic rockers. That's how they are labeled since both bands' greatest success came during the mid-1970s and 1980s. However, REO's lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Kevin Cronin doesn't mind the label. "Tonight we're playing the first of our final four shows of the 'Can't Stop Rockin' tour," he said last week by phone from Michigan. "We're psyched up. All the shows (which also include .38 Special) are sold out. It's been a great tour. We're going to put it up and out again in fall and winter, and keep this thing going. It's too much fun." In many ways, it's more fun than the old days, he said. A new perspective In hindsight, Cronin, 57, said it's quite different playing now as opposed to REO's heyday when it sold 9 million copies of "Hi Infidelity" in 1981. "I admit I didn't appreciate it then as much as I do now," he said. "With time, you see things differently. I think I took for granted what was happening. It was so big and kept going for so many years. I kind of got used to it. "Now when I walk out on stage and I look out and there are thousands of people, I appreciate every one. I see that it's such a gift they give to us that we can still continue to do what we love to do and live out our rock 'n' roll dreams on a nightly basis and be able to support our families doing it. That's a rare thing in this world. Very few people get to still do for a living what they were doing for fun as kids. "Both (Styx frontman) Tommy (Shaw) and I realize how very lucky we are. That's what fuels us. We're not out there going through the motions by any means. We're working hard, man. Having fun, but working hard. We're putting it all out there," he said. Keeping it fresh Songs tweak ever-so-slightly during sets, Cronin said. The casual fan might not notice, but the band does. "We still try to perfect songs every night," he said. "You'd think we'd have it together, but we're still working on it. But we also really enjoy playing these songs. Luckily for us, we wrote all of our songs so there's a special meaning for us with every one. I don't know how many times I've sung 'Riding the Storm Out,' but I swear, man, I enjoy it every night. If I didn't, I'd be out of here." It also helps to tour with a band of buddies from the same era. "We (REO and Styx) get along so well," Cronin said. "It's kind of a magical combo, like Elton John and Billy Joel. The combination works." That kinship prompted Cronin and Shaw to co-write "Can't Stop Rockin'," a reminder to keep living as best one can, even during this difficult economic era. It's the first time Shaw and Cronin have collaborated on a song. "We were talking about what's going on (in the world)," Cronin said. "Next thing we had our acoustic guitars and wrote about it. It's tough watching hardworking people who play by the rules -- go to work, take care of their family -- have the American Dream suddenly pulled out from them. It's disturbing to both Tommy and me. That's why we wrote this song." Recording the song was a challenge, Cronin said. Every member of both bands contributed to the track, which is available on both band's Web sites, speedwagon.com and styxworld.com. The song also is available on iTunes and at shows as a commemorative package with bonus tracks. "We recorded with both bands in the studio, both producers, everyone," Cronin said. "It wasn't easy, but it was fun, and we did it. Now we all play it as our finale. Both bands come on stage and we jam." Born under a good sign Unlike many of today's top pop stars who catapult to near-instant success through shows such as "American Idol," Cronin said he's glad REO grew in a time when it could build its fame gradually. He also gives high praise to the rock bands that came before his own. "I grew up singing old Beatles' songs as a kid," he said. "We as musicians were very lucky to have been born when we were. Right when we hit puberty, the Beatles had just come to America. There was amazing music at that time. And whatever music hits you around that age of 12 or 13 years old, that's going to be real special music to you. "We were fortunate enough to have it be something of the quality of the Beatles as opposed to -- you know, my daughter is 12, and the Jonas Brothers are the end-all, be-all to her. And hey, the Jonas Brothers are pretty good. I've seen them. But are they the quality of the Beatles? I don't know. It's too soon to judge. But my hunch is that the Beatles will stand the test of time a little bit more," he said. "That was the Golden Age of rock music. I don't think there will be another time like that." Cronin also keeps a blog on the band's Web site that he updates as much as possible. He said he's diligent about getting back to fans who write him. "When I started doing it, there was no such word as blog," he said. "We called it the 'REO newsletter.' Writing in general is my passion. I love finding the right word to capture the right emotion. Fans get to enjoy some inside stories, and it gives me an opportunity to do some creative writing other than songwriting. It's just good to exercise that muscle. Plus, it keeps me off the streets." IF YOU GO Who: Styx with REO Speedwagon When: 7:30 p.m. July 17 Where: Harveys Lake Tahoe Outdoor Amphitheater Cost: $29.50 to $99.50 Details: 800-427-7247 Web: harveystahoe.com SAMPLING THE HITS REO Speedwagon "Keep On Loving You," "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Take It On the Run," "Ridin' the Storm Out," "Roll With the Changes," "Don't Let Him Go," "Time For Me to Fly" and "In Your Letter." Styx "Lady," "Too Much Time On My Hands," "Babe," "Renegade," "Come Sail Away," "Blue Collar Man," "The Grand Illusion," "Crystal Ball," "Suite Madame Blue," "Miss America," "Mr. Roboto," "Lorelei" and "The Best of Times." Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT WHEELING -- Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino and Racetrack is always in the middle of the action, whether it is greyhound racing, the spin of the roulette wheel or the speedy whirl of the slot machines. But on Sunday evening it all takes a back seat to music. The outdoor concert at Wheeling Island Stadium will begin at 6:00 p.m. It will feature Styx and REO Speedwagon. The special guest is .38 Special. Crews spent much of the weekend setting up seats. Tickets are available at the door. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT SARATOGA SPRINGS - It was classic rock radio live on stage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saturday night.<br/> <br/> An Independence Day triple bill found 70s and 80s stalwarts REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special joining forces for a night full of hits, of course, but also one peppered with tasty catalog selections from each crew.<br/> <br/> Par for the course on these package tours is for the headliners to flip a coin or alternate nights. Whether or not that's the case here, it was a mistake for REO to follow Styx.<br/> <br/> Speedwagon singer Kevin Cronin has nothing like the charisma of Styx mouthpiece Tommy Shaw, not to mention that Shaw shares lead vocal duties with guitarist James Young and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan - any one of which has more vocal firepower than Cronin.<br/> <br/> Instead, Cronin sounded like the TV pitchman he's become.<br/> <br/> Still, his band has a big bag of hits and the crowd enjoyed MTV favorites like "Take It On The Run," "I Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Lovin' You" as well as early flag-wavers "Roll With The Changes" and "Ridin' The Storm Out."<br/> <br/> And keyboardist Neal Doughty shone on the unexpected organ-driven nostalgia of "Golden Country."<br/> <br/> Frankly, though, anyone would have been foolish to follow Styx on the Fourth. They were firecrackers.<br/> <br/> Shaw scored with the album track "Crystal Ball" and his trademark "Fooling Yourself."<br/> <br/> Young made the early hit "Lorelei" seem like it was written yesterday, giving it an urgent reading that sounded like he still wanted his main squeeze to move in, right now, baby. And Gowan, despite his histrionics, also impressed with "Grand Illusion" and a sharp take of The Beatles' "I Am The Walrus." <br/> <br/> Perhaps was made Styx so entertaining was the sheer fun they were having. It's pretty rare to see a bunch of geezers with genuine smiles pasted across the faces while they rip out songs older than half the audience.<br/> <br/> They seemed like the Chicago pranksters they were at the start of their long career. And - on sheerly shallow terms - Cronin looks like an old lady now, while Shaw stills looks like a rock and roll imp.<br/> <br/> .38 Special opened the night with a satisfying set built on Don Barnes remarkable vocal and guitar skills.<br/> <br/> They still advertise themselves as "Wild Southern Boys," but despite having a Van Zant brother in the band, they've always been more slick hit machine than Southern boogie. <br/> <br/> Barnes dazzled especially with "Hold On Loosely," "So Caught Up In You" and an extended solo on "Fantasy Girl."<br/> <br/> Speaking of fantasies, the night hit a big finish with "Can't Stop Rockin'," which found members of REO and STYX creating an uber-supergroup just right for a big Fourth of July finale.<br/> <br/> Michael Eck, a freelance writer from Albany, is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.<br/> <br/> REO SPEEDWAGON/STYX With .38 Special When: 7 p.m. Saturday Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs Length: .38 Special, 40 minutes; Styx, 80 minutes; REO Speedwagon, 80 minutes. Highlights: Styx guitarist James Young brought a workingman's snarl to "Lorelei," making the fierce tune sound fresh all over again. The Crowd: 6,500 classic rock fans spent their Fourth at SPAC. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT Former Belleville resident and keyboardist Neal Doughty has seen a lot of things change in the music business over the years, has traveled the world many times, and has just about seen it all. However, when his band comes to St. Louis on Saturday, it will be a homecoming event not only for him, but for his bandmates as well. After nearly 4 decades, REO Speedwagon is still pushing on‚ playing amphitheaters again this summer co-headlining with friends Styx and .38 Special. The "Can‚t Stop Rockin'" Tour hits Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Saturday night. "It really is a homecoming for us," Doughty said via the telephone from his Minnesota home earlier this week. "St. Louis was the first place that we really got to play a headlining show, and really has been the beginning for us as far as being able to do that." Doughty says that after graduating Belleville Township High School (now Belleville West) he had his sights set on an engineering career at the University of Illinois at Champaign. That is where he and college mate Alan Gretzer met in the fall of 1966 and began playing music together, forming what would one day become one of the greatest rock and roll bands in history. "We began playing and hit all the clubs around Champaign and ventured into the St. Louis area, where were totally clicked and were accepted by the audience," Doughty said. "So, anytime that I can get back there to play, it's special to the whole band, but to me even more." Doughty's parents still live in the Milstadt area, and he makes it home at least once a year. "I am always home for Christmas," Doughty said, "and usually sometime throughout the year when I get a chance. It's especially fun to come back and play here because I get to see family, and a lot of my high school friends -- which I still have there in Belleville." For years, Doughty lived in Los Angeles and did the whole rock star thing until a couple of years ago when he met his wife, Darya. "We got married a couple of years ago, and I moved out here to Minnesota," Doughty said. "The town I actually live in is about the size of Belleville. It's a smaller town. I did the whole L.A. thing and it‚s just too big. It would sometimes take two hours just to run an errand -- crazy." Doughty says that he feels comfortable just about wherever he is at, though. "I am just as comfortable walking in the streets in London, as I am here or at Belleville," Doughty said. "I have been so many places, that I can navigate around a lot of major cities and not get lost. I like the size of my home now." Speaking with Doughty is like speaking to someone you met at Friday's East having a beer -- laid back and personable. "I haven‚t really changed that much, I am still just the guy who everybody knows, I just happen to play keyboards in a rock and roll band," Doughty said. His presence in REO is what has gave the band it's unique sound and won over so many fans in the 1970s and 80s, especially on hits like "Ridin' the Storm Out," and "157 Riverside Avenue." "I just enjoy playing and being in front of an audience," Doughty said. "I was involved in theater in high school, because I love the stage. I get many chances to do solos on stage every night in our songs, and that is really all I want, truthfully. I just love being on the stage playing music." With Doughty being the last remaining founding member out on tour, the band is rounded out by icon Kevin Cronin on vocals, guitarist Dave Amato, bassist Bruce Hall, and drummer Bryan Hitt. Doughty says that REO and Styx flip-flop closing the show each night, and that they will be closing the St. Louis date. "It's our turn to close that night, and we end playing "Can't Stop Rockin'," the theme song for this tour," Doughty said. "Everybody from our band and Styx is on the stage at the same time. Sometimes we even have some of the guys from .38 show up. It‚s a real jam." What does Doughty say when asked why someone should come to this year's show? "All I can tell them is the truth," Doughty said. "From the time that .38 Special takes the stage through the end of the night, it's nothing but hit after hit. You may hear a song that you‚ve always known, but didn't know or forgot that one of the groups recorded it. It's just that simple, you will hear song after song that you know. It's a sing-a-long for 20,000." Who: REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special When: Saturday Where: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater How: www.livenation.com Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT Man oh man, it sure doesn’t feel like the end of June. Where’s the warm weather been? I feel like a 90-year-old man any time I talk or write about the weather, but, seriously, come the end of Saturday, Arts & Ideas and Ideat Village will be over, July will be a handful of days away and, yet, we still haven’t had any, you know, summer weather. I don’t even like the heat and this is getting to me. When Mohegan Sun first announced Wednesday’s show with REO Speedwagon, Styx and 38 Special a couple months ago, my friend Harris McCabe and I got excited about heading to the casino in the summer and seeing this gig. Yep, you can make fun of me all you want, but I’m really excited about this show. Now, Harris will seriously call Speedwagon’s “Hi Infidelity” one of the three best rock albums of all time. I think he’s off his rocker. Just completely nuts. With that said, it’s a pretty great record. And, man, does it get better than “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up In You” when it comes to singles from ’80s? I don’t think so. I guess the good news is that when we make the drive Wednesday, we’ll save some gas because we won’t need to turn on the air conditioning. That’s kind of good, but I really love A/C. It makes me happy. In all seriousness, though, $45 for those three bands? That’s pretty damn great. I don’t even like Styx. Harris and I dream that Styx closes the show, but opens with “Mr. Roboto” so we can leave immediately and go enjoy the casino. It won’t happen, but a guy can dream, right? Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT There was a time when Styx and REO Speedwagon ruled the rock world. Led by theatrical lead singer Dennis DeYoung and the dual guitar attack of James Young and Tommy Shaw, Styx had a string of huge hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, including "Babe," "Blue Collar Man," "Come Sail Away" and the oft-mocked "Mr. Roboto." REO reached its zenith with the release of "Hi-Infidelity" in 1980, which spawned a slew of pop hits including "Keep on Loving You," "Take it on the Run" and "Don't Let Him Go." These days, both bands are survivors, each ravaged by the loss of key personnel. REO lead singer Kevin Cronin is still with the band, which has only one original member, keyboardist Neal Doughty. Styx has been sans DeYoung for years; Shaw and Young are still in the fold. Southern rock act .38 Special opens for Styx and REO. Here's an up-close look at these bands' histories, hits and latest news: REO Speedwagon History: Formed by students at the University of Illinois in 1967, the band achieved its biggest success in the late '70s and early '80s. Biggest hits: "Keep On Loving You," "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Take It on the Run." Latest news: The band released the 2007 album "Find Your Own Way Home" and recorded the recent single "Can't Stop Rockin'" with Styx. Styx History: The band that would become Styx formed in Chicago in the 1960s. Upon changing its name and signing with a label, Styx became hit-makers throughout the'70s and into the '80s. Biggest hits: "Come Sail Away," "Lady," "Mr. Roboto." Latest news: Styx's last album was 2005's "Big Bang Theory." The band recorded the recent single "Can't Stop Rockin'" with REO Speedwagon. Members of the band also recently visited the White House press room. .38 Special History: Formed in Florida in the '70s, .38 Special found success throughout the '80s by merging Southern rock and arena rock. Biggest hits: "Caught Up In You," "Hold on Loosely" and "Second Chance." Latest news: The band recently toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. It's last album was 2004's "Drivetrain." -- Staff and wire reports Can't Stop Rockin' Tour With Reo Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special When: 7 p.m. Saturday Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Route 50, Saratoga Springs Tickets: $40-$60 amphitheater; $25 lawn Contact: 587-3330; http://www.spac.org Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT Looking for something a little different Saturday night? Head over to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for the all-American line-up of Styx, REO Speedwagon and .38 Special. Each band gained popularity in the 1970s and ’80s. Styx is known for mega-hits such as the futuristic “Mr. Roboto” and “Come Sail Away,” which regained popularity on the TV show “South Park.” REO Speedwagon’s hits like “Keep on Loving You” and “Take it on the Run” and .38 Special’s “Hold on Loosely” and “Rockin’ into the Night” still dominate classic rock radio. The “Can’t Stop Rockin’ Tour” spawned a collaboration between Styx and REO, the single “Can’t Stop Rockin’. ” Show info: Styx, REO Speedwagon and .38 Special's "Can't Stop Rockin' Tour," 7 p.m. Saturday, July 4 at SPAC (Route 50, Saratoga Springs). Tickets are $55 and $35 for amphitheater; $20 for lawn plus service charges. Prices increase day of show. Visit www.livenation.com or call the SPAC Box Office at 584-9330. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT MANSFIELD - "Mom, everyone here is old," said my 19-year-old daughter as we pulled into a parking space outside of the Comcast Center for the Performing Arts Sunday night. "I'm going to be the only teenager here." She wasn't 100 percent correct, but pretty close, as the audience at the "Can't Stop Rockin'" tour was comprised of mostly 30- 40- and 50-year-olds, who were treated to a night of chart toppers from the 1970s and 1980s by REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special. REO Speedwagon and Styx have alternated headlining on their national tour, and on Sunday night, before a two-thirds full house, REO Speedwagon played first. Led by front man Kevin Cronin, whose energy and enthusiasm was inspiring, REO Speedwagon kicked off a 13-song set list with "Don't Let Him Go," followed by the popular ballad, "Take it on the Run." Even after crooning for more than 40 years, Cronin's voice was strong and commanding - especially on the sing-along anthems "I Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep on Lovin' You." After a 15-minute intermission and set change, fellow Midwest rockers Styx took to the stage, opening with the rocking "Miss America," which was immediately followed by "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Grand Illusion." Lead singer Tommy Shaw, one of only three of the original band members on the current tour, did a great job keeping the momentum going and the crowd on its feet. While the absence of original Styx member Dennis DeYoung was noticed on a couple of songs - especially those with super high notes like "Come Sail Away," they still sounded great. "Blue Collar Man," "Renegade," and "Foolin' Yourself" were some of the clear crowd pleasers, as was a cover of the Beatles' "I am the Walrus," which Shaw said had been "Styx-ified." Though I know that bands can't play every song that every person in the audience wants to hear, I must say that I was disappointed that Shaw didn't sing "Crystal Ball," a beautiful ballad and one of the group's best songs. The evening wrapped up with an encore number, "Can't Stop Rockin'" written by Shaw and Cronin. The upbeat number, which turned the outdoor amphitheater into party central, saw all of the members of REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special jamming on stage and having a great time - just as the crowd was. .38 Special opened for the two bands, entertaining the crowd with a medley of their hits from the 1980s including "Second Chance" and "Hold on Loosely." As people filed out of the Comcast Center after the nearly four-hour concert, one balding man, who looked to be around 50, turned to a group of friends and said: "The kids today don't get it. This is music." Oh, and even though she wasn't even born when most of the songs performed Sunday night were released, I did catch my teenage daughter singing along to several of the songs throughout the evening. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT There's not much subtlety in the name of this summer's "Can't Stop Rockin'" tour. Or the collaborative song of the same name that inspired the concerts that match co-headliners Styx and REO Speedwagon with 38 Special.<br/> <br/> "Never really fit in / Couldn't quite be cool / Got my ass kicked up and down the halls of my high school," goes the song, put together by longtime friends REO's Kevin Cronin and Tommy Shaw of Styx. "I can't stop, can't stop rockin'," they sing in the chorus.<br/> <br/> Bob Dylan probably isn't kicking himself because he didn't come up with those lyrics. But the sentiment of the song is heartfelt.<br/> <br/> REO and Styx toured together in 2000, and Cronin and Shaw earlier this year batted around the idea of doing it again this summer.<br/> <br/> "We were talking about troubles with the economy in the United States, and so many people are losing their jobs and everything," Cronin said in a recent phone interview. "Could we still do it? Is this the right time to go out and do a rock tour? We realized that this is the time when people need our kind of music more than ever. Even during these troubled times, everybody needs to keep doing what they do, and for us, what we do is play rock music."<br/> <br/> The "Can't Stop Rockin'" tour will swing into Northeastern Pennsylvania Friday, July 3, with a show at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain.<br/> <br/> If any band knows about staying the course, it's REO, which has toured every year since the band released its first album in 1971.<br/><br/> "Part of it is strictly a practical issue," said the affable and talkative frontman. "There's a lot of mouths to feed; there's the band, the crew, the drivers. It's kind of, to a certain degree, our responsibility to kind of keep the store open. Plus, it's not exactly a bad gig. There's not too much wrong with going out every summer and singing your songs for people."<br/><br/> The current REO lineup features Cronin, founding member Neal Doughty (keyboards), longtime members Bryan Hitt (drums) and Bruce Hall (bass) and guitarist Dave Amato, with the band since 1989.<br/><br/> During its '70s and '80s heyday, REO scored hits with "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Keep On Lovin' You," "Time For Me To Fly," "Roll With The Changes," "Ridin' The Storm Out" and "Take It On The Run."<br/><br/> In addition to the band still being in constant rotation on classic rock radio, some more modern outlets have given the songs new life to younger generations. The "Rock Band" video game recently added a 7-pack of REO and Styx songs, including "Can't Stop Rockin.'" Additionally, "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Lovin' You" are featured in the Tony-winning Broadway musical comedy "Rock of Ages."<br/><br/> "We're pretty fortunate in that," Cronin said. "The music has not faded away by any means, and if anything, it's stronger than ever now. I'm not sure exactly why. I think part of it is the songs have memorable melodies, and in our case, we write our songs about what happens to people. They're kind of like amped-up folk songs."<br/><br/> Cronin also feels that younger listeners are more likely to latch onto music they like rather than follow trends.<br/><br/> "I have 9-year-old twin boys, and they're into playing 'Guitar Hero,'" he said. "They're still not brainwashed by the press - no offense - by what's cool and what's hip and what's the happening things. So with them, it could be Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon or The Scorpions. They don't really care."<br/><br/> REO and Styx are taking turns closing each show on the tour. According to the "Can't Stop Rockin'" promotional Web site, Styx will close the show in Scranton on Friday. But Cronin cautioned that fans shouldn't exit the venue right after Styx's final chord rings out, because all three bands will come together to perform a finale of the "Can't Stop Rockin'" tune.<br/><br/> "I guess the message is don't head for the parking lot until the concert is really over, because if you do, you're going to miss the very end of the show, which is a riot," he said. "So stay in your seats, it will be worth your while."<br/><br/> w<br/><br/> 'Can't Stop Rockin,' REO Speedwagon, Styx, 38 Special, Friday, July 3, 7 p.m., Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Tickets, $29.50-$55, lawn ticket 4- and 6-packs, $22.50-$13.50 per ticket. LiveNation.com, select Blockbuster locations and box office.<br/><br/> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT In 1975, rockers Kevin Cronin and Tommy Shaw almost went down one path together before unexpected opportunities drew them in different directions. "We were both in Chicago playing in local bands," Cronin told the Press-Register last week, recalling his meeting with Shaw more than three decades ago. "We almost started a band together. Within a couple of weeks of when we met and we were talking about that, Tommy got the call from Styx and I got the call from REO." Illinois native Cronin joined REO Speedwagon, and Alabama son Tommy Shaw -- born and raised in Montgomery -- joined Styx. Both bands went on to their greatest successes during the rest of the ¤'70s and the ¤'80s, each achieving top airplay and sold-out concerts, and contributing rock ballads and anthems that are still heard on classic rock stations and greatest-hits compilations. But recently, Cronin and Shaw came back together at long last, writing a song and then recording it. Fans can hear that song and see the two on stage in Orange Beach Thursday, when REO Speedwagon and Styx will perform along with .38 Special at The Amphitheater at The Wharf. The concert is part of the "Can't Stop Rockin'" 2009 tour. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show range from $16.50 to $66 plus service charges and are available through Ticketmaster. Concert-goers can expect many of the hits that made each band popular in their heydays. As for the new song, it's named "Can't Stop the Rockin'," penned as the nation's economic woes were deepening and as the two musicians were planning the whirlwind tour. "It's a song that both Tommy and I felt like we needed to write to help turn things around in this country," Cronin said. He said, "Even though it was a bit of a gamble to go on tour, we thought we could not let this get in the way of doing what we want to do. You need to lace up your boots and dirty your hands and keep doing what you are doing. That energy is what will bring things back and turn things around in our country. We felt like perhaps people needed our music more than ever." He continued, "Before we knew it, we had our acoustic guitars out and we were writing a song about exactly that. We had never written anything together before." The song speaks to the "resiliency of the American spirit," said the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and sometimes pianist for REO Speedwagon. "It takes everybody from singers and guitar players to carpenters and truck drivers. It takes everybody in the country to not let all this craziness get you down," he said. "For us, we can't stop rocking. But for everybody else, do what you do. Just don't stop." When Cronin and Shaw finished their song, the next challenge became getting both bands into a studio to record it. That was no small feat, Cronin said, considering that meant squeezing in two bass players, two drummers -- two of everybody, really. A high point in each concert is when the bands take the stage together to perform as one. "It's pretty cool," Cronin said. "It's fun being up there for everybody. Just rocking out together is just so much fun. And .38 Special sounds better than ever. I imagine by the time we get down to your neck of the woods, it might be three bands on the stage together at the end." Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT The last time REO Speedwagon and Styx teamed up for a tour, it was one of the very best touring experiences REO singer Kevin Cronin has had. That outing, in fact, resulted in the recording of "Arch Allies," a 2000 two-CD live set that included one disc from REO's set in St. Louis that night in June 2000 and the second disc devoted to Styx's performance that evening. "We've just kind of been waiting anxiously for enough time to pass for us to do it again. That's the truth," Cronin said in a recent phone interview. "We've done a few great tours in between, but REO and Styx as a co-headline tour is one of those things that, it just works." The two share the bill for a performance on opening night of City Stages. If Cronin seems to especially relish the opportunity to tour again with Styx, perhaps it's because he's seen enough highs and lows to appreciate a special musical combination and the close friendship REO and Styx share. REO Speedwagon had been together nearly a decade before it began to find an audience outside the Midwest with the 1977 concert album "Live: You Get What You Play For," the 1978 studio album "You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish" and the 1979 studio effort "Nine Lives." Then the 1980 album, "Hi Infidelity" blew the doors wide open on REO's career, as the band perfected the art of writing hit-worthy power ballads with songs like "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It On The Run," and watched "Hi Infidelity" top 9 million copies sold. For much of the rest of the decade, REO Speedwagon was one of rock's biggest bands. But then the wheels started to come off. The big blow was the split with guitarist Gary Richrath, who along with Cronin had been a key architect of REO's heartland brand of rock and big-bodied ballads. As the band (with Dave Amato replacing Richrath and drummer Bryan Hitt taking over for founding member Alan Gratzer) moved into the¤'90s, its fortunes sank to a new low. The radio hits had dried up and by the early 1990s, the band (which also includes keyboardist Neal Doughty and bassist Bruce Hall) was back playing fairs and clubs - a far cry from the arena-headlining heights of just a few years earlier. Cronin admitted that he seriously considered ending REO when Richrath quit, but decided the band had fans and he still enjoyed playing music. So the band pushed ahead. "It really was starting over again, and I think it was appropriate for us to go back and play clubs and really pay our dues," he said. "I mean, we played some funky gigs." In Cronin's view, a turning point came in the mid-1990s when REO's manager, John Baruck, hatched a unique concept for touring. "There were a lot of bands in our situation, who had been major headline bands and selling out huge stadiums and arenas and everything.," Cronin said, ticking off names like Journey, Styx and Heart. "Everybody still wanted to play, but everyone kind of couldn't quite figure out where to go. And it was really John who came up with the idea of putting two headline bands together on the same show and giving people a two-for-the-price-of-one type of thing." This summer's tour follows the same model. REO and Styx will trade headlining slots from night to night, with 38 Special opening the shows. A special twist will be the live debut of a song, "Can't Stop Rockin." Written by Cronin and Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw, it features all of the members of the two bands playing together. Cronin said fans can expect some sort of a dual band performance of the song. "Tommy and I had never written together," Cronin said. "So in a way it was kind of an excuse to get together with Tommy and write because we'd never done it. We just figured hey, we've got nothing to lose. Let's give it a shot. We really did think that it was a long shot that we'd be able to pull it off, first of all just to write the song, and then second of all to figure out how to get everybody in both bands represented on the record." The magic of overdubbing allowed each musician to play on "Can't Stop Rockin,'" but the bigger obstacle was to make sure none of the musicians felt short-changed in their roles in the song. Obviously, REO and Styx found a way to make it all work. "It was really a tribute to everybody in both bands, just everyone keeping their eye on the ball and realizing what we were trying to do," Cronin said. "The old Quincy Jones (saying) 'leave your egos at the door' thing was totally in play. I was really proud of how everyone handled it, and I think we came out with a pretty nice little record." REO Speedwagon and Styx perform June 19 at 8 p.m. on City Stages' Miller Lite Stage. Tickets to the festival are $28 for day passes. Weekend pass prices are $40 through Sunday, $45 through Thursday and $55 on Friday at the gate. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT "It seemed more than appropriate that REO Speedwagon closed out their set Saturday night with "Riding The Storm Out." Less than an hour before the concert at Rio Tinto Stadium that featured three of classic rock's biggest names, the skies opened up and heavy rain fell on those getting to the show early. And just as the concert ended, a light drizzle made sure people rushed a little quicker to their cars. Between the bookends of rain, however, a couple of thousand fans were treated to four hours of songs that read like a greatest hits soundtrack of 1970's and 1980's rock. And no rain... The energy level of Styx was high and the vocals of Tommy Shaw, James "JY" Young and Lawrence Gowan were exceptionally strong throughout their entire 80-minute set. Opening with "Miss America," the band played hit after hit, including "Too Much Time On My Hands," "The Grand Illusion" and "Lorelei." "Salt Lake City, we've come here to rock. Shall we rock? We shall!" announced Shaw to the audience of veteran concert-goers, most of whom were probably going to Styx and REO concerts when the bands were in their hey-day. "The enthusiasm of Salt Lake City is always second to none." "Crystal Ball" and "Suite Madam Blue" were a couple of highlights. For "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)" original bassist Chuck Pazzano, who due to health reasons cannot tour full time, came on stage to join the band until the end of their set. Despite keyboard problems, Styx finished strong with "Come Sail Away," "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and "Renegade." Drummer Todd Sucherman was his typical unbelievable self, pounding ridiculous rhythms and lightning fast beats. Sucherman may be the best drummer Utah audiences get to see all year at any concert. REO Speedwagon mixed their set with standards and a few surprises. As they have with many other shows, the band started off with "Don't Let Him Go," "Take It On The Run" and "Keep Pushin." "I always feel we're among friends when we come to Salt Lake," front man Kevin Cronin told the crowd. But in addition to regular songs, REO tossed in a couple of surprises dating back to the Jurassic era of the band. "Gold Country" off 1972's "R.E.O./T.W.O." and "Son of A Poor Man." Bassist Bruce Hall took the mic for "Back On The Road Again." While all their songs sounded good, REO was at their best playing the hits, such as "Time For Me To Fly," "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Lovin' You" featuring the power guitar solo of Dave Amato who was in top form all night. During "Roll With the Changes," Utah's most famous American Idol, David Archuleta, seemingly came out of nowhere for a brief cameo on-stage. The last song of the evening featured all of the members of Styx and REO playing their decent new single, "Can't Stop Rockin'," the namesake of the current tour. Jacksonville, Florida rockers .38 Special opened the show with a good 40-minute set, although the crowd, those who showed up early, seemed more interested in drying out at that point. Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant started strong with "Rockin Into the Night" and "20th Century Fox," followed by "Back Where You Belong," "Wild Eyed Southern Boys" and 'Fantasy Girl." The band tried to cram as many songs as they could into their short set, including a medley of 80s hits that included "Teacher, Teacher," "Rough-Housin'," "Stone Cold Believer," "Like No Other Night" and "Second Chance." Van Zant tried to play cheerleader as he worked the crowd from all sides of the stage. The always steady Larry Junstrom held down the bass beat from the back of the stage. The band ended with crowd pleasers "Caught Up In You" and "Hold On Loosely." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br> Before their concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Sunday night, REO Speedwagon lead guitarist Dave Amato, top left, and vocalist Kevin Cronin take in a ballgame at Coors Field and greet Rockies hitting coach Don Baylor. ( David Zalubowski, The Associated Press )</br> </br>When the season began, the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez was the scariest monster in the National League West. Ramirez, who is currently suspended for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy, has since been supplanted by Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.</br> </br>Gonzalez's strength, power and hitting skills left the Rockies impressed after he jacked a three-run homer Saturday and repeated the feat Sunday.</br> </br>"What he's doing so well right now is covering the whole plate," said Rockies starter Jason Hammel, Saturday's victim. "You have to be able to make him uncomfortable on the inside corner or he'll get you."</br> </br>Gonzalez's 20 home runs lead the majors and his 15 road homers also are the most in the majors.</br> </br>No looking.</br> </br>New manager Jim Tracy made it clear after Sunday's loss he's tired of Rockies batters watching strike three go by without a swing. It happened four times Sunday, the most egregious time when pinch-hitter Seth Smith didn't swing the bat in the fifth inning. Troy Tulowitzki was attempting to steal third and was thrown out on Smith's strikeout pitch.</br> </br>catcher Henry Blanco with a clear view to throw out Tulowitzki, Tracy explained he was trying to make something happen against Padres starter Chad Gaudin, who was dominating the Rockies.</br> </br>"We have to come to an understanding that when we have two strikes on us, we have to move the bat," Tracy said. "Nothing is going to happen with the bat sitting on your shoulder."</br> </br>Injury update.</br> </br>Reliever Taylor Buchholz was encouraged by his simulated game Saturday. He threw 20 pitches, seven curveballs, against batters as he tested his injured elbow.</br> </br>"It felt good to go against hitters again," Buchholz said. "Something is missing when you can't throw against somebody."</br> </br>The Rockies hope Buchholz will return in early July.</br> </br>Catcher Chris Iannetta continues rehabbing his strained right hamstring.</br> </br>"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "I'm going through all the modalities. I've been running, stretch, working out in the pool."</br> </br>He's missed seven games and is not eligible to come off the disabled list until June 8.</br>
http://admin.superstarmedia.com/client_data/reospeedwagon/gallery/thumbs/20090531__20090601_B05_SP01REO~p1_200.jpg Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br> They are staples on every classic-rock radio station in the country. Between them, they have enough hit singles and platinum-selling albums to open their own record store.</br> </br>On Saturday, three big names in rock, .38 Special, Styx and REO Speedwagon, will play the second-ever concert at Rio Tinto Stadium.</br> </br>REO frontman Kevin Cronin spoke last week to the Deseret News by phone from a studio in California, where he said he was working on a "top secret" project he wasn't ready to reveal yet. The personable Cronin graciously took time out from his work (as well as putting his beloved Lakers on hold just as they were tipping off) to answer a few questions.</br> </br>Cronin said he enjoys playing all venues, whether they're stadium or theater shows.</br> </br>"There's pros and cons for all of them. When you're in a theater, you get a nice intimate feeling. But when you play a larger venue, there's nothing like standing up there. And with our kind of music, it's built for big rooms. I just like when it's full."</br> </br>Cronin helped drive REO to its huge success in the 1970s and 1980s with anthems such as "Take It on the Run," "Keep on Lovin You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling."</br> </br>Despite all of that success, he said he's still learning, even today, how to be a better vocalist.</br> </br>"I enjoy (performing) more now than I ever have. I feel really fortunate that I'm still having fun and still doing what I love to do," Cronin said. "It's amazing. Having written those songs has brought me so much joy."</br> </br>He still remembers REO's first show in Utah in 1972. The Illinois-based band, he admits, was a little worried about playing in the Beehive State, based on what they had heard about the stereotypes of the residents.</br> </br>"There's going to be women in ankle-length dresses, everyone will be totally sober … we're going to get booed out of this place," he recalled was the worry. "But the people went crazy. They had the prettiest girls we've ever seen in our lives. We learned. We were happily surprised."</br> </br>REO's songs have had a profound effect on people across the country. The band's ballads provided the soundtrack for many first and romantic kisses at dances and weddings ("Just don't call me if it doesn't work out," Cronin joked).</br> But sometimes, Cronin's songs have had an impact on people in ways he never could have imagined when he wrote them.</br> </br>He received one e-mail from a U.S. soldier who operates a tank in Iraq and who talked about how he had "Riding the Storm Out" playing in his tank as they were in battle. Another woman told Cronin she listened to "Keep Pushin' " in her headphones as she underwent chemotherapy.</br> </br>"It really helps me through these horrible sessions," the woman wrote.</br> </br>"Things you never expected for one of your songs. To have that kind of effect ... it's amazing," Cronin said.</br> </br>For as much success as REO has had, they fall into the conundrum that many classic-rock bands face...getting new music played on the radio. Classic-rock formats keep their music alive and give them a living. But Cronin admits it's frustrating when program directors say radio listeners only want to hear the older material.</br> </br>"All they want to do is listen to 'Stairway to Heaven' five times a day. How many times can you listen to 'Freebird' before you puke? It's really difficult (to get new material played)," he said.</br> </br>Currently, REO has a new single recorded with their longtime friends and touring partners, Styx, called "Can't Stop Rockin'." It's a song that's generating steam, and one that both bands will perform together at the end of the Saturday's concert.</br> </br>"No two other bands in the world could pull this off," Cronin said, encouraging everyone going to show not to leave early. "Pay the baby sitter the next buck-and-a-half. You gotta stay for the very end."</br> </br>If you go...</br> What: .38 Special, Styx and REO Speedwagon Where: Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S. State When: May 30, 7 p.m. How much: $29.50-$75 Phone: 1-888-451-7328 Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>Both are mainstream rock bands that hail from Illinois. Both reached their commercial apex in the early 1980s. And both continue to perform more than 100 concerts a year.</br> </br>So it makes some sense that Styx and REO Speedwagon decided to pair up for a co-headlining, recession-busting tour across North America during the current summer concert season. The tour (with ticket prices as low as $14.25) comes to the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Sunday �" along with support acts .38 Special and the Greg Kihn Band, two other bands that came of age during the '80s.</br> </br>REO Speedwagon vocalist Kevin Cronin acknowledges that this tour is geared toward giving fans more bang for their buck during financially challenging times.</br> </br>"We are going through some troubled times here," Cronin says. "We've done what we can to keep ticket prices affordable while still presenting a five-star production. With .38 Special you're really getting three headlining bands."</br> </br>The merging of Styx and REO Speedwagon for this tour is more than just sound business. Cronin says members of the two bands became good friends when they first toured together in 2000.</br> </br>They even recorded a single together �" "Can't Stop Rockin' " �" that is being used to help promote this tour. During each concert, the two groups will converge on stage to perform this melodic rocker.</br> </br>The video game Rock Band also is involved in promoting the tour and single. Fans can download "Can't Stop Rockin' " as well as other Styx and REO Speedwagon songs for use in the popular game.</br> </br>Styx keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan says music-oriented video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero have played a key role in attracting increasingly younger fans to his band.</br> </br>"It's not just the loyal fans who are showing up to our shows," Gowan says. "The age of our audience really keeps skewing younger and younger. There are many, if not more, people under 30 that are seeing the band than those over 30. I would attribute that to the resurgence of classic rock through things like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.</br> </br>"Also, Styx has been referenced in so many movies, from Adam Sandler's 'Big Daddy' to 'Sex and the City' and 'The Simpsons.' People get curious and they want to check us out."</br> </br>The halcyon days of big hits may be in the past for both bands, but Cronin and Gowan say their respective groups are having more fun playing music today than they ever did.</br> </br>Cronin says he is a better singer than he was 20 years ago. He also doesn't take things for granted as he did in his youth, growing to appreciate every moment. He feels an increased responsibility to deliver his best performance every minute he's on stage.</br> </br>For Styx, its current sense of contentment stems partly from overcoming the internal strife that marked the band in the past. Even during its commercial heyday, there were serious artistic disagreements.</br> </br>Former Styx keyboardist and vocalist Dennis DeYoung favored heavily theatrical concepts and a softer sound, while guitarist-vocalist James Young and guitarist-vocalist Tommy Shaw were unabashed rockers. After DeYoung left Styx in 1999, he sued the remaining members over the rights to the band name.</br> </br>Styx released a studio album called "Cyclorama" in 2003, an album of '60s covers called "Big Bang Theory" in 2005 and some scattered singles. But the new millennium mostly has been about touring and playing the old hits.</br> </br>"The one problem the band has had is trying to find the time to make studio records," says Gowan, who enjoyed a successful solo career in his native Canada before joining Styx. "There's such an insatiable appetite for this band to play everywhere, and we're enjoying that so much that we don't feel all that much pressure to suddenly go and make a full studio album."</br> </br>Cronin, however, still relishes the idea of making albums even as digital singles have increased in popularity while CD sales have declined dramatically. REO Speedwagon released the album "Find Your Own Way Home" in 2007. Cronin is excited about the band's next album, even though he is reluctant to talk about the details.</br> </br>"It's going to be a different kind of record," he says. "If it turns out the way it should, it will be quite an accomplishment. But I don't want to jinx it by talking about it too early."</br> </br>Styx and REO Speedwagon didn't cross paths much when the two bands were star acts. But Cronin vividly remembers his late-'60s high school band in Chicago playing in a battle of the bands competition with a group called TW4. TW4 would later evolve into Styx.</br> </br>"REO and Styx really didn't have much contact until about 10 years ago when we toured together for the first time," Cronin says. "Since then, we've really established a great relationship."</br> </br>Styx and REO Speedwagon</br> </br>With: .38 Special and the Greg Kihn Band When: 6 p.m. Sunday Where: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View Tickets: $19.50-$79.50. Packages of lawn tickets are also available for $14.25 each. www.live nation.com.</br> Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- There's a bit of a trend brewing this summer concert season -- put together a couple of big-name acts for a nationwide tour, then record a song together to promote the event.</br> </br>It started with classic rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx, with their "Can't Stop Rockin' " tour and single of the same name.</br> </br>Now Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire are getting on the bandwagon.</br> </br>The two horn-heavy bands have recorded three songs especially for their joint 30-city summer tour. It's part of a charity campaign to benefit food banks across the country -- "Three Songs for Three Cans or Three Dollars."</br> </br>Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire team up on the new song "You." The bands also take a stab at each other's material, with Chicago recording Earth, Wind & Fire's "I Can't Let You Go" and Earth, Wind & Fire covering Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here."</br> </br>"The fact that the artists and bands, in this case, are touring together builds excitement with the possibility of the live performance that is exclusive to the tour," said Bruce Burch of the University of Georgia's Music Business School.</br> </br>It's "sort of a 'once in a lifetime' type of attraction that helps to sell concert tickets, merchandise and, hopefully, CDs and downloads."</br> </br>Concertgoers who contribute three cans of food or donate at least $3 will get a download card to access the tunes. People who don't make the shows will be able to donate online and download the songs at www.ewfandchicago.com. The Web site is expected to launch in early June.</br> </br>"This is a dream come true," said Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey, who came up with the three-songs promotion.</br> </br>"We want to invite everyone to help us do our small part to help feed America," added Chicago's trumpeter Lee Loughnane.</br> </br>Artists jamming together on stage is nothing new, and occasionally the songs are released as singles -- U2 and B.B. King's "When Love Comes to Town," from the 1988 album and film "Rattle and Hum," for example.</br> </br>Of course, duets promoting two hot artists or bands are hardly new either.</br> </br>Remember Josh Groban and Charlotte Church on "The Prayer" or "Almost Paradise" by Ann Wilson of Heart and Mike Reno of Loverboy from the "Footloose" soundtrack?</br> </br>"Hip-hop artists have been using duets for some time to reach audiences of both artists," Burch said. In some cases, more than two artists collaborate.</br> </br>"Even before that, country artists used this means to reach a larger audience for both artists," he said, noting the collaborations between George Jones and Tammy Wynette, and Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.</br> </br>The new songs for the 2009 tours flip conventional wisdom. For decades, groups have recorded albums, then gone on tour to promote them. Specifically recording songs to promote a tour featuring a pairing of acts is a new idea -- and possibly one whose time has come, given the re-emergence of singles in the digital download age.</br> </br>Of course, it all depends on the success of the song.</br> </br>In the case of REO Speedwagon and Styx, they've scored a hit with their new tune. It's been riding near the top of the classic rock charts -- the biggest original hit by either band in years.</br> </br>"The jam .... is just plain, old-school, rock 'n' roll fun," REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin said on the band's Web site.</br> </br>Should other bands follow suit and score hits, it might prompt other classic pop artists to join forces not only on tour, but in the studio as well.</br> Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin has lived the life of the rock star. He's had gold records, topped the Billboard charts, played to sold-out arenas, partied with the best of them, just about everything imaginable.</br> </br>Now, he's even played Broadway. And the idea that he would be interested in that isn't a real surprise, at least not to him.</br> </br>"I get asked a lot if there are dreams that I've had that have not come true," he said. "I've pretty much done everything I hoped to do when I was a 13-year-old jumping around in front of my parents singing. But I grew up around Broadway music. I listened to "Bye Bye Birdie" and "West Side Story," all those things. It hadn't occurred to me until I got the offer to work on Rock of Ages."</br> </br>"Rock of Ages" is the Tony-nominated Broadway show ---- which happens to be directed by Murrieta Valley High School graduate Kristin Hanggi ---- that features an arena-rock love story told through the hits of '80s bands.</br> </br>And May 21, three of the bands that featured prominently in that era, REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special will perform at Ontario's Citizen's Bank Arena.</br> </br>"We'd been a part of it from the beginning and it has got great reviews," he said.. "Tommy (Shaw) and I went on stage with the band after one of the shows. It was a trip. Here we are in a Broadway theater playing and they are serving beer to the people in the seats and rocking out. It was like they turned a Broadway theater into the Whiskey."</br> </br>It has been a long journey for Cronin and the band.</br> </br>"I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show," he said. "I was in junior high and I saw them and that was it. I was born in the perfect time."</br> </br>The legendary journey for REO is well known ---- playing tons of small clubs, selling just enough records to keep a recording contract until the phenomenal success of 1981's "Hi Infidelity," which sold more than 10 million records and featured the chart-topping song "Keep on Loving You," as well as live standards "Don't Let Him Go," "Tough Guys" and "Take It On The Run." Since then the band has played to soldout venues all over the world.</br> </br>With songs such as "Only the Strong Survive," "Keep Pushin', and "Ridin' the Storm Out," the music seems just as vital today as it did when it was recorded.</br> </br>"The songs like 'Keep Pushin'' are therapeutic," Cronin said. "We all go through periods where you feel like giving up. Things happen in a personal and occupational level. I write them to deal with it and then others find meaning in it for themselves. If someone is true to himself then words ring true to others."</br> </br>In a way it helps that there is no longer massive pressure from a record company to release albums that will sell 10 million copies and songs that will race to No. 1.</br> </br>"I think our last record ("Find Your Own Way Home") is one of the best records that I've ever done," he said. "It is nice not having an A&R man breathing down our necks telling us what we need to do. We did that record the way we did it in the old days, for the joy of it."</br> </br>Actually, the album almost never made it out.</br> </br>"Everyone liked the songs, but it wasn't until we made the deal with Wal-Mart that it got out," he said. "The only tension that was there was when we were recording it and that was a good musical tension you get whenever you do a song."</br> </br>Speaking of new songs, Cronin and REO are still at work, collaborating with Tommy Shaw for the song "Can't Stop Rockin'."</br> </br>"I still enjoy the process of writing the songs," Cronin said. "Tommy is a great guy and so talented. We've both written songs that each other likes. We were friends before this but you get to know people even better when you write with them."</br> </br>And even though the song began as just a few notes, it came together quickly.</br> </br>"When Tommy and I got together, it started with me having a few chord changes and within three weeks we had it done and both bands in there recording it," he said.</br> </br>Both bands will be performing the song onstage as well.</br> </br>"We're performing the song with both bands and the techs are freaking out trying to figure out how they are going to get both bands on at the same time," he laughed. "Not only that, but there are going to be four contest winners and they get to come out and sing with us."</br> </br>Looking back at REO's journey, Cronin is both fascinated and nostalgic about the band's music.</br> </br>"It's very cool hearing your songs," he said. "I still remember the first time I heard one of my songs on the radio. Now, I'll be going through the airport and one of our songs will come on. You hear it and it takes you back to when you wrote it and what things were going on."</br> </br>It's a very possessive thing for Cronin.</br> </br>"I don't care how many times you've heard it ---- and thousands are hearing it at the same time ---- no one knows the song better than the person who writes it," he said.</br> </br>And Cronin can be very critical, to the point ---- and this may stun many of REO's devoted fans ---- that he thinks the songs could be better.</br> </br>"Every single record I make I want to make again," he said. "I took my wife to see 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' and 'Keep on Loving You' is all over the movie. I was just crouching in my seat embarrassed at how it sounded. I think I sing songs so much better now."</br> </br>Of course, the "original" versions have more than a few fans since classic and satellite radio regularly feature such songs as "Roll With The Changes," "Time for Me to Fly," "Can't Fight This Feeling," and "Back on the Road Again," as well as the hits from "Hi Infidelity."</br> </br>It seems that all of the songs are focused on coping with life issues, whether being strong in tough situations, dealing with relationships or just having a good time.</br> </br>"These are troubled times but that leads to hope, hope leads to change and change to recovery," he said. "People can dig down and make it through whatever they have to deal with and realize they are not alone. There is strength in numbers."</br> </br>And for REO Speedwagon, there is a connection to the everyman.</br> </br>"The great thing about the Internet is that fan mail comes in email now, and I try to respond to all of them," he said. "And I get them saying, 'You had to have written this song for me.' I tell them I did, and that is really true. It's for the spirit in all of us."</br> </br>REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special</br> When: 7 p.m. May 21 Where: Citizen's Business Bank Arena, 4000 E. Ontario Center Pkwy, Ontario Tickets: $13.50-$75 Info: (800) 745-3000, ticketmaster.com Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>"Keep on Loving You" makes people sing.</br> </br>If you've never joined a bunch of people in a bar in spontaneous song, well, then you've never joined a bunch of people in a bar in spontaneous song. But if you have, you know it is an experience. One minute you're listening to pool balls clack and shot glasses hit the tables and then suddenly everyone is singing, arms around shoulders, and the treble is making the vodka bottles tremble up on the top shelf. Kind of a beautiful thing.</br> </br>At least if you know all the words, but that's a whole other matter. And when it comes to sing-along bar songs, we have to go with "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon as the ditty mostly likely to get bar patrons to stop whatever they're doing and join in. The 1981 hit possesses powers unknown, but we're going to guess it's that "sleep/keep" rhyme in the chorus that gets people juiced. It is just solid.</br> </br>If you've now got that song in your head, and you want to keep on "Keep on Loving You," Reo Speedwagon is rollin' into Ontario on May 21 and the Nokia Theatre on May 22. Along with Styx and 38 special. Oh yeah. This puts a rainbow over a tall sailing ship in our hearts.</br> </br>And we'd be remiss not to mention our runner-up in the bar song category: "Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton. We love this song, and we especially love this lyric: "Here you come again, looking better than a body has a right to.." Thank you, Dolly. Thank you.</br> </br>Copyright NBC Local Media </br> Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>FRESNO, Calif. "Kevin Cronin recently spied his son Josh walking down the hall singing "Rock You Like a Hurricane.."</br> </br>This is noteworthy because Josh is 9, nowhere close to old enough to remember 1984.</br> </br>But there the kid was, singing like the Scorpions.</br> </br>In Kevin Cronin's world, this is a victory" not just as a dad, but as a singer for a classic-rock band.</br> </br>"When you're 9, you have no concept of what's cool on MTV; you don't know when a record was released," says Cronin, lead singer for '70s/'80s rockers REO Speedwagon, which has embarked on a "Can't Stop Rockin' " tour with Styx and .38 Special. The tour will stop on July 4 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.</br> </br>"All you know when you're 9 is that you like a song or you don't like a song. These young kids, they're into REO, they're into Styx, they're into all my buddies' music, and they have no prejudice."</br> </br>And these young kids Cronin talks about are discovering the music in a way that's original to their generation.</br> </br>Games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are introducing button-tapping players to the music their dads grew up on.</br> </br>It's why "Rock Band" is the main sponsor behind this "Can't Stop Rockin" tour.</br> </br>Classic rock, believe it or not, is cool again.</br> </br>"The truth is games like 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' have definitely introduced the young audience to classic rock," says Carter, the program director and on-air personality at Fresno classic rock station KJFX-FM.</br> </br>"We have youngsters calling in all the time requesting specific songs that they're hearing in 'Rock Band.' The cool thing is that it's tying the kids and the parents together, because it's the music their parents grew up on."</br> </br>One such youngster is 18-year-old Lacey Stevenson of Fresno.</br> </br>"I had grown up listening to a lot of classic rock from my dad, but I never grew to appreciate it," she says.</br> </br>She lists the artists she listens to, putting Lady Gaga next to Heart and Demi Lovato next to Bon Jovi.</br> </br>"People are starting to go back to the older classic rock," Stevenson says. "It's kind of cool that you can go back and listen to a lot of stuff that a lot of people aren't listening to."</br> </br>As for video games, those help her and others her age appreciate the music in a different way, too. She plays guitar and sings(myspace.com/laceystevenson), so the musical video games appeal in that way, too.</br> </br>"The game helps you realize all that goes into playing the guitar and playing the drums," Stevenson says. "You really appreciate all the work that it takes to put that together."</br> </br>Cronin sees playing "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" as the musical equivalent of dipping your foot in the swimming pool.</br> </br>"I hope kids will get the experience of how cool it is to play in a band, and that will motivate them to take guitar lessons or drum lessons," he says.</br> </br>Or, if nothing else, come to a concert.</br> </br>"At one of our shows recently there was a group of kids who looked like they were at a Disturbed concert or something," Cronin says. "They're in the front row. I figured they were there to heckle us or something. As the show went on, I noticed they were singing along to every song, and I realized these kids are into it."</br> </br>So he got them backstage passes and asked why they were there.</br> </br>The answer? They listen to classic rock radio and dig the music.</br> </br>It's a combination of video games, radio, parents' influence and whatever else.</br> </br>"There's a Broadway show called 'Rock of Ages,' it's all classic rock music," Cronin says. "It's television commercials that use songs and use other classic rock songs. For whatever reason, and I certainly don't know the secret, this music has become like country in a way" it just lives on."</br> </br>And with that comes another new life for classic rock bands like REO Speedwagon.</br> </br>"I just like the fact," Cronin says, "that young people are open-minded enough to check out our music."</br> Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>Tough times call for teamwork and positive thinking, so that's just what classic rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx plan to do this summer. The two bands have joined forces for a string of summer dates, and a new song--"Can't Stop Rockin'"--that is featured on a new package of tunes for the Rock Band game platform.</br> </br>The tour, which starts May 13 in Albuquerque, NM, will also feature classic Southern rockers .38 Special, and budget-friendly ticket prices that will start at $13.50 in most markets. Styx and REO are also co-sponsoring a Rock Band contest, through which a grand-prize winner at each tour stop will take home an instrument bundle for the game, an electric guitar autographed by both bands, five tickets for the show, and the opportunity for the winner and four friends to go on stage and sing background vocals for the bands' performance of "Can't Stop Rockin'."</br> </br>REO frontman Kevin Cronin spoke with LiveDaily about writing the new song with Styx's Tommy Shaw, staying balanced, and his son's fondness of Scorpions.</br> </br>LiveDaily: What's the inspiration behind the new song?</br> </br>Kevin Cronin: Tommy and I talked, and, you know, you write about whatever you're feeling at the time. So we looked at the world around us, and we're in troubled times, obviously, and people are going through it--and we have to make it through this. There's no such thing as giving up, and everyone's positive energy is an integral part of creating this force that brings the pendulum back. We felt like that was something that would be a good thing to write about, and also the fact that, while you're at it, in the process, you've got to be able to go out and have some fun. You've got to leave the craziness of the world right now behind every once in a while. So that's what we wrote the song about.</br> </br>You both have penned a lot of hit songs; what was the chemistry like working together?</br> </br>The camaraderie between the two of us is great. When you write a song with someone, it's a pretty intimate act. Songwriting is a strange thing. There are no guarantees. You can get together with someone where you would never expect it to work, and you get a great song. Or you can get together with someone you expect great things to come from it, and you get nothing. It's a vulnerable position to put yourself in. We were able to complement each other in ways that made the sum of the parts better than what we'd be able to do individually.</br> </br>How old are your kids, and do they play Rock Band?</br> </br>My boys are totally into it. I've got nine-year-old twins. It wasn't long ago that little Josh was walking down the hallway, and I hear him singing softly under his breath, "Rock you like a hurricane." Dude, nine-year-old is into the Scorps.</br> </br>Here's what's great about Rock Band: a nine-year-old has no concept of hipness. No concept of whether something is new or old, if the artist is new on the scene or someone that's been out for 40 years. They don't know anything about it, and don't care. They either like the song or they don't.</br> </br>That's a really good point, because in the 1980s, many thought MTV placed too much emphasis on how people looked, over musicianship and songwriting ability. And while Rock Band has its critics, it's true, kids don't care if the band has too much eye-black on or wears flannel. A good song is a good song.</br> </br>Exactly. It's all about the music. There are a lot of things responsible for this resurgence of the music that REO, Styx, and a lot of bands like us, have made, and the games are a part of it.</br> </br>The last time you and Styx toured together extensively was around 2000 for "Arch Allies." Had you crossed paths before then?</br> </br>Strangely enough, before that tour, we really hadn't. We've played with practically every other band on earth, pretty much. Styx was one of the few we hadn't toured with. There was a bit of a rivalry that was played up by the record companies and press, but we really didn't know those guys.</br> </br>The first time Tommy and I sat down and talked, it was interesting. They were going to go on tour without Dennis DeYoung, and, of course, he was an integral part of their sound. And we were going to go out on tour without Gary Richrath, who was an integral part of our sound. They were missing their singer, we were missing our guitar player. I don't know, there was just some strange synergy between our situations. Tommy and I kind of hit it off and it's been a great ride ever since.</br> </br>How many shows does REO do a year?</br> </br>My wife has it figured out to the day, she reminds me of it all the time. [laughs] We usually play between 85-110 concerts a year, depending on how much we want to be away. We're fortunate that there's a demand for our band, so it's pretty much up to us how much we want to work. I think the Styx tour, the first leg is about 40 shows, then we'll take a little time off--I'm actually taking my family on a summer vacation for the first time in nine years. Then we gear it up again in the fall and hopefully do another 20-30 shows.</br> </br>Do you take the kids and family on the road?</br> </br>I've known guys who try to bring their kids on the road. I don't think it works out to the kids' advantage. Obviously, we miss each other when I'm traveling, but I think kids are better off at home with their buddies, playing on baseball teams, sleeping in [their own] beds every night. I don't want to drag them around. Even though I miss them horribly, I think it's in their best interest to just stay home and have a normal upbringing.</br> </br>There's still a lot to balance when you hit the road.</br> </br>It really is about balance, balance between the band and the family--and, actually, my band is a family, too. I spend almost as much time with my rock-and-roll family as I do with my genetic family. I think the genetic family has to be the priority and the rock-and-roll family has to understand that. Luckily, in our band, we have a good understanding and that doesn't become a problem. There are some bands where there are problems, where the guys that don't have kids want to tour more, and that causes stress. We know we've got a good thing going, and we don't take it for granted for one minute. If we didn't have kids, could we tour more and put more money in the bank? Probably, but that's not what it's about. It's about keeping a balance between family and career, and going out there and being in a good state of mind to put on a good show.</br> </br>[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]</br> </br>Can't Stop Rockin' Tour with REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special</br> </br>May 2009</br> 21 - Ontario, CA - Citizens Business Bank Arena 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre 23 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor Amphitheatre 24 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre 27 - Seattle, WA - ShoWare Arena 29 - Billings, MT - MetraPark Arena 30 - Sandy, UT - Rio Tinto Stadium 31 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre</br> </br>June 2009</br> 4 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre 5 - Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino 6 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre 7 - Woodlands, TX - Woodlands Pavilion 16 - Boca Raton, FL - Sunset Cove Amphitheatre 18 - Orange Beach, FL - The Amphitheatre @ The Wharf 21 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 23 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion 26 - Atlantic City, NJ - The Borgata 27 - Gilford, NH - Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion 28 - Mansfield, MA - Comcast Center </br>July 2009</br> 1 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun 2 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort Casino 3 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain 4 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center 9 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre 10 - Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island 11 - Maryland Heights, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre</br> Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>Kevin Cronin recently spied his son Josh walking down the hall singing "Rock You Like a Hurricane."</br> </br>This is noteworthy because Josh is 9, nowhere close to old enough to remember 1984.</br> </br>But there the kid was, singing like the Scorpions.</br> </br>All you know when you're 9 is that you like a song," says REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin, center, whose music is enjoying a renaisssance through music video games. REO joins Styx and 38 Special in a concert Sunday at Save Mart Center.</br> </br>IF YOU GO</br> </br>Can't Stop Rockin' tour with REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special.. 7 p.m. Sunday at Save Mart Center. $43-75. (559) 347-3400. ticketmaster.com</br> </br>ABOUT THE BANDS</br> </br>Styx</br> </br>History: The band that would become Styx formed in Chicago in the 1960s. Upon changing its name and signing with a label, Styx became hit-makers throughout the '70s and into the '80s. Biggest hits: "Come Sail Away," "Lady," "Mr. Roboto."</br> </br>Latest news: Styx's last album was 2005's "Big Bang Theory." The band recorded the recent single "Can't Stop Rockin'" with REO Speedwagon.</br> </br>.38 Special</br> History: Formed in Florida in the '70s, .38 Special found success throughout the '80s by merging Southern rock and arena rock. Biggest hits: "Caught Up in You," "Hold on Loosely" and "Second Chance." Latest news: The band recently toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. Its last album was 2004's "Drivetrain."</br> </br>REO Speedwagon</br> </br>History: Formed by students at University of Illinois in 1967, the band achieved its biggest success in the late '70s and early '80s. Biggest hits: "Keep on Loving You," "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Take it on the Run." Latest news: The band released the 2007 album "Find Your Own Way Home" and recorded the recent single "Can't Stop Rockin' " with Styx.</br> </br>For Kevin Cronin, this is a victory -- not just as a dad, but as a singer for a classic-rock band.</br> </br>"When you're 9, you have no concept of what's cool on MTV, you don't know when a record was released," says Cronin, lead singer for 70s/80s rockers REO Speedwagon, which is bringing its Can't Stop Rockin' tour with Styx and .38 Special to the Save Mart Center on Sunday.</br> </br>"All you know when you're 9 is that you like a song ... . These young kids, they're into REO, they're into Styx, they're into all my buddies' music, and they have no prejudice."</br> </br>And these young kids are discovering the music through video games. Games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are introducing button-tapping players to the music their dads grew up on.</br> </br>It's why "Rock Band" is the main sponsor behind this Can't Stop Rockin' tour and why in two years an REO/Styx tour pair has moved from playing at a local casino to Fresno's biggest arena.</br> </br>Yes, classic rock is cool again.</br> </br>"The truth is games like 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' have definitely introduced the young audience to classic rock," says Carter, the program director and on-air personality at classic rock station KJFX (FM 95.7), Fresno.</br> </br>"We have youngsters calling in all the time requesting specific songs that they're hearing in 'Rock Band.' The cool thing is that it's tying the kids and the parents together, because it's the music their parents grew up on."</br> </br>One is 18-year-old Lacey Stevenson of Fresno. "I had grown up listening to a lot of classic rock from my dad, but I never grew to appreciate it," she says. She lists artists she listens to: Lady Gaga, Heart, Demi Lovato and Bon Jovi.</br> </br>"People are starting to go back to the older classic rock," Stevenson says. "It's kind of cool that you can go back and listen to a lot of stuff that a lot of people aren't listening to."</br> </br>As for video games, those help her and others her age appreciate the music, too. She plays guitar and sings (myspace.com/laceystevenson), so the musical video games appeal in that way too.</br> </br>"The game helps you realize all that goes into playing the guitar and playing the drums," Stevenson says. "You really appreciate all the work that it takes to put that together."</br> </br>Cronin sees playing "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" as the musical equivalent of dipping your foot in the swimming pool.</br> </br>"I hope kids will get the experience of how cool it is to play in a band and that will motivate them to take guitar lessons or drum lessons," he says. Or, if nothing else, come out to a concert.</br> </br>"At one of our shows recently, there was a group of kids who looked like they were at a Disturbed concert or something," Cronin says. "They're in the front row. I figured they were there to heckle us or something. As the show went on, I noticed they were singing along to every song and I realized these kids are into it."</br> </br>So he got them backstage passes and asked why they were there. The answer? They listen to classic rock radio.</br> </br>It's a combination of video games, radio, parents influence and whatever else.</br> </br>"There's a Broadway show called 'Rock of Ages;' it's all classic rock music," Cronin says. "It's television commercials that use songs and use other classic rock songs. For whatever reason ... this music has become like country in a way -- it just lives on."</br> </br>And that gives another new life to classic rock bands.</br> </br> "I just like the fact," Cronin says, "that young people are open minded enough to check out our music." </br> Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>The economy started its downslide in 2008 just as Kevin Cronin, singer for REO Speedwagon, and Tommy Shaw, of Styx, and their respective bands began talking about a tour for this summer.</br> </br>"Neither Tommy Shaw nor myself are economists or accountants by any stretch of the imagination, but you don't have to be a math wizard to realize that these are tough times," Cronin said in a recent telephone interview.</br> </br>To combat the recession, the bands are offering what they dubbed the "rock 'n' roll stimulus package," with tickets starting as low as $13.50 in most markets, including the tour's stop at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on Thursday. Southern rock act .38 Special is also on the bill.</br> </br>"Rock 'n' roll has always been a beacon of hope," Cronin said.</br> </br>Bursting from Illinois in the 1970s, both Styx and REO Speedwagon came through with big hits, such as "Come Sail Away," "Lady" and "Mr. Roboto" for Styx, while REO Speedwagon had "Take It on the Run," "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling."</br> </br>Cronin said the band's music is all the more relevant now, with songs such as "Keep Pushin' " and "Roll With the Changes" reflecting the sentiment of soldiering on, despite what's going on.</br> </br>A new track, "Can't Stop Rockin,'" a collaboration between Styx and REO Speedwagon, and the title of the tour, follows in that vein.</br> </br>Cronin had been messing with a chord progression at sound check and it bloomed into the song when he started working with Shaw.</br> </br>"This is the time to get together with your friends and support one another and pool your resources and work together, which is exactly what this tour was about between our friends and also acknowledging that times are tough ... and at the end of the day, at least once in a while, you've got to dig out your blue jeans and come out and party a little bit," Cronin said.</br> </br>"We've always felt that Styx's music and REO's music has always been the kind of thing that makes people feel good."</br> </br>Both bands will be onstage together during the show to perform "Can't Stop Rockin'," and since the video game Rock Band is sponsoring the tour, each stop will have a competition to sing background vocals for fans on stage.</br> </br>"It's gonna be wild," Cronin said.</br> Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>"The Styx/REO combination is a magical thing that works on so many levels," REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin said in a phone interview. "And Tommy (Shaw) and I thought, "We've got a tour coming up. Why don’t we do something special? Let's raise the bar." So the fantasy was to write a song together.</br> </br> "We imagined going in the studio, tracking it with both bands and going out and playing it live every night. If the stars are really aligned and we can pull this off, let's do it."</br> </br> Bull's-eye. The two friends knocked out the single over 10 days and released their collaborative effort, "Can't Stop Rockin'," to adult-oriented rock stations across the country in March.</br> </br>You know, Tommy and I have known each other for a long time and our bands have played together a lot, but writing a song is a whole other animal," Cronin said. "You never know if the chemistry is going to be right." </br>It's a stretch to envision these two classic arena rock mega groups, who owned the latter part of the 1970s into the early 1980s with their nonstop flow of Top 10 hits and No. 1s, would have a hard time making the pieces of the puzzle fit. But Cronin said the songwriting process was challenging.</br> </br>We found our groove, though; there was one day out of the week and a half during which the songwriting kind of screeched to a halt. So we sat down and I said to Tommy, "It's not like either of us have written a bunch of songs that people haven't liked."</br> </br> Cronin said once they were able to wrap their heads around that and adjust to the new chemistry "because I'm used to getting my way and Tommy is used to getting his way," it was smooth sailing.</br> </br> The two lyricists and guitarists have just wrapped up a press junket tour in New York that entailed a cluster of television outings, including a stop at the CBS "Early Show" to perform “Can’t Stop Rockin’ ” acoustically as well as playing the song on Broadway last Monday. </br> </br> The tune, which brings to light the troubled times we live in and how people need to acknowledge it, still carries a carefree, buoyant spirit about it, something Cronin and Shaw imbued in many of their own songs.</br> </br> REO Speedwagon and Styx </br> .38 Special opens </br> WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 13 </br> WHERE: Sandia Casino Amphitheater, I-25 and Tramway NE </br> HOW MUCH: Tickets are $65, $70 and $75 at Ticketmaster outlets (883-7800) or at www. ticketmaster.com </br> Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br> Where would classic rock stations be without REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special? the three bands carried heavier pop rock through the 1970s and 1980s and are still regulars on radio. Sure, it's easy to remember songs like "Lady" by Styx or "I Can't Fight This Feelin''" by REO Speedwagon, come on, we all know all the words. The three will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, in the first show of the summer at the Sandia Casino Amphitheater, I-25 and Tramway NE. Tickets are $65, $70 and $75 at Ticketmaster outlets (883-7800) or at www.ticketmaster.com. Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>Rock stars Tommy Shaw from STYX and Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon will make their Broadway debuts April 27 when they perform their new single, "Can't Stop Rockin'," immediately following the evening performance of Rock of Ages, the new musical at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.</br> </br> </br>The performance of the new song, co-written by Cronin and Shaw, "celebrates the rockers' recently announced Can't Stop Rockin' 2009 tour, which kicks off on May 12."</br> </br> </br>The new musical comedy Rock of Ages will open on April 7 after previews from March 17.</br> </br> </br>Rock of Ages, starring Constantine Maroulis ("American Idol"), "is an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, STYX, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more."</br> </br> </br>The show is written by Chris D'Arienzo, directed by Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine.</br> </br> </br>Tickets for the musical and the STYX/REO Speedwagon live performance of "Can't Stop Rockin'" (at no extra charge) on April 27, 2009, can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com or at (212) 307-4100 or in person at The Brooks Atkinson Box Office (256 W. 47th Street).</br> </br> Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:00:00 PDT </br>Classic rock fans will have an opportunity to tap into a recession-relieving concert with the 2009 Can't Stop Rockin' tour, featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx and 38 Special. Ticket prices will be available for as low as $13.50 in most markets.</br> </br> Presented by VH1 Classic and Rock Band, the tour begins May 13 in Albuquerque, N.M. In acknowledgement of the tour, Styx and REO Speedwagon teamed up to record a new single, "Can't Stop Rockin'," co-written by REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin and Styx’s Tommy Shaw. "Can't Stop Rockin'" makes its radio debut in March and will be available for download.</br> </br> In a prepared statement, Shaw called the tour a 'rock 'n roll stimulus package." REO and Styx toured together nine years ago on the Arch Allies tour. Tickets will be on sale through a variety of outlets, including Ticketmaster, tickets.com and livenation.com, depending on the date. American Express early onsales opportunities will be available for most tour dates.</br> </br> The tour has also teamed up with I Love All Access, a division of Front Line Management, to offer a variety of VIP ticket packages. REO are managed by Front Line, Styx by Alliance Artists, and 38 by Vector Management. All three acts are booked by Creative Artists Agency.</br> </br> CAN’T STOP ROCKIN' Tour Dates:</br> </br> May 13: Albuquerque, NM (Sandia Casino Amphitheatre)</br> May 15: Phoenix, AZ (Dodge Theatre)</br> May 16: Las Vegas, NV (Thomas and Mack Center)</br> May 17: Fresno, CA (Save Mart Center)</br> May 21: Ontario, CA (Citizens Business Bank Arena)</br> May 22: Los Angeles, CA (NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE)</br> May 23: Kelseyville, CA (Konocti Harbor Amphitheatre)</br> May 24: Mountain View, CA (Shoreline Amphitheatre)</br> May 27: Seattle, WA (ShoWare Arena)</br> May 30: Sandy, UT (Rio Tinto Stadium)</br> May 31: Morrison, CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)</br> June 4: Kansas City, MO (Starlight Theatre)</br> June 5: Thackerville, OK (Winstar Casino)</br> June 6: Oklahoma City, OK (Zoo Amphitheatre)</br> June 7: Woodlands, TX (Woodlands Pavilion)</br> June 16: Boca Raton, FL (Sunset Cove Amphitheatre)</br> June 18: Orange Beach, FL (The Amphitheatre @ The Wharf)</br> June 20: Roanoke Rapids, NC (Carolina Crossroads Amphitheatre)</br> June 21: Atlanta, GA (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)</br> June 23: Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavillion)</br> June 26: Atlantic City, NJ (The Borgata)</br> June 27: Gilford, NH (Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion)</br> June 28: Mansfield, MA (Comcast Center)</br> July 1: Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun)</br> July 2: Verona, NY (Turning Stone Resort Casino)</br> July 3: Scranton, PA (Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain)</br> July 4: Saratoga Springs, NY (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)</br> July 9: Clarkston, MI (DTE Energy Music Theatre)</br> July 10: Chicago, IL (Charter One Pavilion At Northerly Island)</br> July 11: St Louis, MO (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)</br> </br> Additional dates and ticket on-sale information will be announced shortly.</br>
http://admin.superstarmedia.com/client_data/reospeedwagon/gallery/thumbs/Outlook.jpg Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST <br/>In the early 1980s, three bands reigned as the kings of stadium rock -- Styx, Journey and REO Speedwagon. But with its chart-topping hit "Keep on Loving You" from the 1980 album "Hi Infidelity," it was REO that brought the power ballad to its loftiest height.<br/> <br/> Anyone who has attended a stadium rock concert would recognize the cues for the power ballad, the concert's emotional apex.<br/> <br/> The lights dim, the keyboard or guitar begins a solemn, pensive cadence, cell phones wave. Even before the singer begins, we know the words that will recall a heroic tale of struggle and revelation. Nobody did it better than REO.<br/> <br/> And the band will do it again tonight at the State Theatre in Easton.<br/> <br/> Neal Doughty on keyboards -- the only original member -- will be joined by lead vocalist and guitarist Kevin Cronin, lead guitarist Dave Amato, bassist Bruce Hall and drummer Bryan Hitt. They'll rock the theater with hits such as "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Take It on the Run," and "One Lonely Night" -- and maybe some new material as well.<br/> <br/> It's been more than 40 years since a pair of University of Illinois students -- keyboardist Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer -- formed REO Speedwagon in 1968. It was Doughty who came up with the name, while sitting in a class on the history of transportation. On the blackboard were the words "REO Speedwagon," referring to a flatbed fire engine made by the R.E.O. Motor Car Co., whose initials stood for Ransom Eli Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile.<br/> <br/> It has not always been an easy road for REO Speedwagon. Starting out in a beat-up Chevy station wagon, REO played bars all over the Midwest throughout the 1970s.<br/> <br/> The group released nine albums with mixed success before hitting it big-time with "Hi Infidelity," which went on to sell more than 9 million copies, and became the biggest-selling rock album of 1981.<br/> <br/> That was followed by Top 10 albums "Good Trouble" in 1982 and "Wheels Are Turnin'" in 1984.<br/> <br/> However, by the end of the 1980s, the band's popularity had waned and it began to disintegrate. <br/> Gratzer retired, and guitarist/songwriter Gary Richrath was asked to leave over disagreements with Cronin regarding musical direction. <br/> But in the late 1990s, a wave of renewed interest in classic rock bands resulted in REO launching successful co-headlining tours alongside such acts as Styx, Foreigner, Peter Frampton and Journey.<br/> <br/> And tour they still do, attracting cheering, screaming, cell phone-waving crowds -- although back in the day it was a Zippo lighter that provided the illumination.<br/> <br/> With 90 shows last year, and a world tour with Styx and 38 Special planned for this year, the band has attracted a whole new generation of fans, and has no plans to hang it up.<br/> <br/> "There are people who come to our shows for the 1980s nostalgia -- that's cool, but there's also a younger crowd who are there because their parents listened to us or they're just not into a lot of today's music," says Cronin, 57.<br/> <br/> "So they listen to classic rock radio, they like what they hear, and come to a concert. There's nothing like hot 20-year-old babes in the front row grooving to our music -- makes you feel good."<br/> <br/> Cronin joined REO in 1972 for the album "R.E.O/T.W.O.," then left the band over creative differences, and rejoined in 1976. He wrote many of the band's greatest hits, including "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling."<br/> <br/> One of the things that endears the older crowd to REO is that the band came to fame the hard way, paying its dues in the bar circuit, back when downloading MP3 tracks, MySpace, and YouTube were still science fiction. There was no Disney machine to launch careers such as those of Britney Spears or the Jonas Brothers.<br/> <br/> But Cronin bears no grudge. "Hey man, say what you will about Britney, she's a talented force to be reckoned with. And my 12-year-old daughter's got Jonas Brothers posters plastered all over her walls. She's totally into the Disney Channel -- it's an awesome thing they've got there," he says.<br/> <br/> "There's all kinds of new ways to get out there now. Personally, I think the way we did it was the most real way -- we started playing bars, and when we couldn't fit any more people in we went to small theaters, and so on. It was more organic, more grass-roots. But if I were a young artist today, I would look for whatever path was available to me."<br/> <br/> REO remains old-school, even in the way it promoted its newest album, "Find Your Own Way Home," released in 2007. But a modern SUV replaced the wretched Chevy.<br/> <br/> Says Cronin, "When the album was first released, a couple of us and our tour manager rented an SUV and hit the road. Man, I think we went to 75 radio stations throughout the country -- one day we hit nine stations in two states. We'd walk in with just acoustic guitars and sing a few songs." <br/> But some stations took some convincing. "There was this alternative rock station in Cleveland, where the DJ was always ragging on our music. So we walked in and I said, "Dude, I'll tell you what, here's our new CD. Play a minute of the first cut -- if you think it sucks, we'll split," says Cronin.<br/> <br/> "Sure enough, they put it on, and the phones started ringing off the hook. The kids listening to this alternative rock station were going, man, we didn't know REO had cool music like this."<br/> <br/> The new album is more gently acoustic than previous releases, but with melodies and harmonies that manage to create the feel of the early 1980s REO.<br/> <br/> It's been more than 10 years since the band released an album, and the recording industry is much different now -- there's more pressure, more cost and greater risk. But by producing the disc themselves, they could do it the way they wanted.<br/> <br/> "We did this album the way it was meant to be done -- no record company breathing down our backs, no release deadline. I'd say the songs were written out of emotional necessity, as opposed to trying to fulfill a contract. We're extremely proud of the CD -- it's probably our best ever," says Cronin.<br/> <br/> Some of the new stuff might find its way into tonight's concert. "The majority of our show is the hit favorites from over the years. Of course, there are certain songs that we'd better play, or there's going to be an angry mob around our tour bus after the concert," says Cronin. "But depending on what the vibe is that night, we'll sneak in a couple of new songs. I always have a couple of acoustic guitars with me."<br/> <br/> "You know, the R.E.O. Speedwagon was kind of a flashy-looking truck renowned for its durability and dependability," Cronin says. "We've kind of fulfilled the prophecy that name threw out there for us. So here we are, almost 40 years later, still having fun, still going strong. But hey, we work really hard at it."<br/> <br/> Steve Siegel is a freelance writer. <br/> Copyright © 2009, The Morning Call Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST <br/> Kevin Cronin has been the lead singer of REO Speedwagon since 1971. While he is not the original, he is the singer of some of their best-known hits, including "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." Cronin and the band will be playing at Assembly Hall on Friday at 7:30 p.m.<br/> <br/> DI: How has the live show evolved to what it is now?<br/> <br/> KC: Our live show has got a core of around 10 songs that if we don't play those songs every night, there is a pretty good chance there will be an angry mob outside of the tour bus. Unfortunately those were songs that were big hits for the band, but we still love to play them. We love playing "Ridin' the Storm Out," "Take It on the Run," and "I Can't Fight This Feeling." People identify with the songs, and we know what people want to hear. We also play two or three songs from (the 2007 album) "Find Your Own Way Home." Those are the newest and freshest, and they are always fun to play live.<br/> <br/> Then the third category is audibles. It comes from a pool of songs that we used to call album cuts. They were not really hit singles, but fan favorites. They vary in different regions, different parts of the world, so we vibe out the situation and pick them out.<br/> <br/> In Champaign, being a very special town for us, we'll be playing some songs like "Golden Country" and "Son of a Poor Man" where a lot of other parts of the country may not be familiar with it. They can be songs we played at the Red Lion Inn in the early '70s.<br/> <br/> In Champaign, we have just so much history. I wrote "Golden Country" sitting on the Quad. I used to sneak into the music building, and sneak into the piano studio. The whole campus area is a really fertile ground for us.<br/> <br/> DI: You are from Evanston, Ill., but the rest of the band is from Champaign. What kind of connection do you feel with the community?<br/> <br/> KC: The band kind of accidentally heard about me when they played up in Chicago. I moved to Champaign when I joined the band. I went from being a folk singer to being in a rock band. REO Speedwagon were rock stars, the kings of Champaign. I was thrust into that role,<br/> <br/> I lived right near campus and hung out on Green Street. Also at Red Lion Inn, if we didn't play there, we were hanging out there.<br/> <br/> There is a connection. Every night, I mention Champaign, Ill., because that's our roots. Without students of U of I and Champaign, we wouldn't be where we are.<br/> <br/> DI: Is there any way to prevent the band from becoming a nostalgia act? How do you as musicians try to fight that feeling, if there is a feeling at all?<br/> <br/> KC: We're vigilant about that. There is a part of what we do that is nostalgia, and any band from the '70s or '80s that denies that is a fool. The majority of the people are coming to hear those songs from the '80s that we love. We have no problem with that, we love singing those songs.<br/> <br/> Still, if we strictly go out there and regurgitate the '80s, I would be bored still - couldn't do that. Continuing to write and record is essential, but I know I'm realistic. When we released "Find Your Own Way Home," it was definitely one of the best albums we have ever made, but I have to understand it's not going to sell 10 million copies. But it's important to continue to make them.<br/> <br/> Music is a living breathing art form, it evolves. I walked into a bar in Indiana accidentally, and a tribute band for us was playing. Their trip is to listen to the old records and mimic them precisely. I thought that was horrible. Hopefully we've improved on that a little bit. To hear someone sing it the way I sang it 30 years ago is like looking at an old high school yearbook.<br/> <br/> DI: How do you feel about your songs being used in films and commercials?<br/> <br/> KC: I think it's great, fortunately we have control over it. Anyone who wants to use our songs has to first get our permission. We are very protective of our songs - they are our children in a way.<br/> <br/> We like it to be something we relate to. "Can't Fight This Feeling" was in "Horton Hears a Who." It was cool to hear Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett, and sang the song as Dr. Seuss characters. I have three little kids, so we went to the premiere.<br/> <br/> DI: What is one thing you would like to accomplish as a band before your time is up?<br/> <br/> KC: I think for me, I want to be the last guy standing. I look at a guy like Tony Bennett, one of the great singers of all time, and as time has gone on, his contemporaries have stopped singing. I see that with my contemporaries. I think that as time goes on, maybe the fact that we are still doing it will cause people to take another look and give us a chance.<br/> <br/> That's what keeps me going, to exceed people's expectations.<br/> <br/> DI: What are you listening to these days? <br/> KC: I love the latest Foo Fighters record, and I am just starting to get into the new Metallica record. I just bought the new Randy Newman record, and it's wonderful. I put this record on and it makes me smile, he is such an amazing writer. There's a little bit of a political undertone, not overt, but he's just so clever with his wordplay.<br/> <br/> Also, with an 11-year-old, do you think I haven't heard The Jonas Brothers? <br/> Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT ROCK GROUP REO Speedwagon will share the musical spotlight with singer Rick Springfield and Vertical Horizon, hailed as one of the best new rock bands in years, in one of this country’s biggest concert events tomorrow night at the Queen’s Park Oval.<br/> <br/> This is the third triple bill concert to be presented by International Concert Events following Air Supply/ Richard Marx/Christopher Cross in May 2007 and Peter Cetera/Jon Secada and John Waite last June 28.<br/> <br/> Over the past five years, REO Speedwagon has been selling out stadiums and co-headlining tours with Def Leppard and Journey. With a new album and two new singles, the group is currently on a world tour! Some of their tour dates include Aruba, Santo Domingo, Panama and Puerto Rico.<br/> <br/> This is their a second visit to TT since their unstoppable performance in the early nineties.<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon - Kevin Cronin (lead vocals, guitar), Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums) - rolled into 2008 full throttle with their brand new album Find Your Own Way Home, their first studio collection of new material in more than a decade.<br/> <br/> The band will be performing all their greatest hits such as "Can’t Fight This Feeling" "Keep On Loving You," as well as the classics "Roll With the Changes, "Time for Me to Fly," "Take It On the Run" "In My Dreams" and "Here With Me".<br/> <br/> Music critics noted that REO had "kept their standards extremely high," and were "thrilling their fans night after night with their incredible power, sheer energy, and songs that will live forever".<br/> <br/> With the release of Find Your Own Way Home, the band feels its energy rekindled and its purpose renewed. This is not an ending at all - rather a new beginning.<br/> <br/> Eighties heartthrob Rick Springfield is back on the music scene with his highest charting album debut in more than 20 years.<br/> <br/> Springfield’s 17th CD, Venus in Overdrive, came in at No 28 on the Billboard in early August. The Australian native, who found fame on the US soap opera General Hospital in 1980 and then followed with his song hit "Jessie’s Girl" in 1981, has sold more than 19 million albums over his career and has over 17 top 40 hits under his belt.<br/> <br/> Last year, the actor returned to General Hospital as Dr Noah Drake, as well as Drake’s alter-ego, a rocker named Eli Love. Springfield performed his new single, "What’s Victoria’s Secret?" in character on the popular daytime drama.<br/> <br/> Springfield’s thrilled that he’s developing a new audience.<br/> <br/> "There are a lot of people who were fans when they were little kids. They’ve grown up and are bringing their kids, and women are bringing their husbands," he says.<br/> <br/> But the women still make their presence known. Thanks to the new single (whose title was inspired by the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain), "I’m seeing more underwear on stage," says Springfield.<br/> <br/> Vertical Horizon was formed in 1990, by Georgetown University undergrads Matthew Scannell and Keith Kane. After graduation in 1992 the duo relocated to Boston and, in 1992, self-released their debut album There and Back Again.<br/> <br/> In 1996, with Matt and Keith joined by Ed Toth on drums and Ryan Fisher on bass, a live album, Live Stages, was released at the end of the year, featuring more of an emphasis on electric guitar. Also, by this time, the band was explicit in their intent to find a major record label; band members have said that it was no accident that the first track of Live Stages opens with the sounds of a large cheering audience. Their wishes came true, and the band was signed to Sony BMG Music Entertainment/RCA Records.<br/> <br/> Fisher had never intended to join the band permanently and left in mid-1997. Seth Horan took up bass duties for the rest of that year. (Horan had previously played with Toth in the Miami-based funk/rock band, Jennifer Culture.)<br/> <br/> In 1998, Matt, Keith and Ed held auditions for their next bassist. Their first audition was Sean Hurley, and everyone liked him immediately. There were many more auditions, but they eventually came back to Sean, and he officially joined Vertical Horizon.<br/> <br/> The band’s first effort with RCA was 1999’s Everything You Want. The first single, "We Are", made some impact with fans. The second single, "Everything You Want", skyrocketed to the top of the charts, and became one of the most played songs on the radio in 2000.<br/> <br/> A third single, "You’re a God", also did very well and was released as a live performance on the charity album Live in the X Lounge III. It also features in the movie Bruce Almighty. The fourth single, "Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)", also generated a lot of airplay on radio.<br/> <br/> The band, which had been touring constantly since the album was released, continued touring until well into 2001. They then took a break, and came back to the studio to record their follow-up, which they hoped would be released soon enough to take advantage of the huge popularity of Everything You Want.<br/> <br/> It was announced that Go their next album would be released in September 2003. A larger tour started in August, leading up to the release of the album. The album generated two singles "Forever" and "I’m Still Here". The song "Goodbye Again" is also played quite often in episodes of Smallville.<br/> <br/> Tickets for this mega concert are on sale at all Pizza Boys outlets; all Ruby Tuesday restaurants; leading Francis Fashions outlets; Caribbean Jewellers’ outlets; BM Electronics, Long Circular Mall; Cleaves, Port-of-Spain; Crosby’s and Sound Research North and South; Xtra Foods, Grand Bazaar; Video Tronix, Valpark; SAG Trading, Trincity Mall; Food Masters Western Union, Tunapuna; Bee’s, Chaguanas; Ramsingh’s, Couva; MS Food City, Debe; Crown Pharmacy, San Juan; and Maraj Grand Foods, Sangre Grande.<br/> <br/> For VIP information call 729 -2321, 748 -8686, or 385-3655.<br/> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT With the onslaught of new bands and music coming, some older and established bands have found themselves at the wayside. If an older band isn't the Rolling Stones or U2, chances are it won't find a lot of radio play. Even then, when was the last time a new Rolling Stones tune was heard on a station other than the ones in Satellite Radio?<br/> <br/> And with the way radio has treated instrumental music in the past decade, it seems that the only way people can hear great contemporary instrumental composers is to rummage through their own personal collections.<br/> <br/> Sometimes people forget how good a band or artist is because of the lack of radio play.<br/> <br/> However, three recent DVD releases aim to get the audience back. <br/> <br/> And before anyone disses these older musicians, they need to watch, listen and learn.<br/> <br/> FIRST UP IS REO SPEEDWAGON. Yep, the band from the '70s who hit the charts with "Ridin' the Storm Out," "Keep On Lovin' You" and "Roll With the Changes" is still making albums and touring the world.<br/> <br/> The Illinois-based rock band took time out to film a show for the Chicago-based "Soundstage" PBS program.<br/> <br/> The band's "Live in the Heartland" episode is now on DVD, released by Koch Vision.<br/> <br/> And the DVD contains the full concert that shows the band - lead singer Kevin Cronin, bassist Bruce Hall, keyboardist Neal Doughty, drummer Bryan "the Hitt Man" Hitt and guitarist Dave Amato - pushing it up a few notches with energetic performances of the aforementioned songs. The only complain is the fact that sometimes the camera ignores the musicians playing solos.<br/> <br/> Also on the list is "Keep Pushin'," "Take It on the Run," "Time for Me to Fly" and "157 Riverside Avenue."<br/> <br/> One highlight is "Golden Country," which Cronin originally wrote after the fall of Saigon, that still is pertinent today.<br/> <br/> Among the older hits, the band throws in four songs from its most recent CD, "Find Your Way Home." And if those songs are any indication, the band still has the hooks, the chops and the energy to continue rocking in the future. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT PITTSBURGH - If Chris Dickerson plays like this every night, people will be saying "Adam who?" before long.<br/> <br/> But nobody plays every night the way Dickerson did Thursday. <br/> <br/> He went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a triple in the Reds' 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night before a crowd of 35,439 at PNC Park. <b>(The game was the opening act for REO Speedwagon and a fireworks display.)</b><br/> <br/> Dickerson drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the sixth inning. He scored the insurance run after tripling in the ninth.<br/> <br/> "I'm kind of speechless," Dickerson said. "I felt really comfortable tonight. I think I worked the jitters out. I got good pitches to hit."<br/> <br/> Dickerson is one of those players who adds energy.<br/> <br/> "He's young; that's what young players do," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "They add speed. It was fun watching him run around those bases."<br/> <br/> Johnny Cueto (8-11) pitched five innings of one-run ball for his first win since July 9.<br/> <br/> His outing was abbreviated but effective. He went five innings, allowing one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out seven.<br/> <br/> Cueto had a rough start. He gave up hits to the first two batters he faced and allowed a run in the first inning.<br/> <br/> "We got to get him a 1-2-3 first," Baker said. "No telling how long he could go if he did that."<br/> <br/> Javier Valentin tied it in the third with his second home run in as many starts.<br/> <br/> The Reds wasted a big opportunity in the third. Dickerson led off with a double. He moved to third on a groundout by Jeff Keppinger.<br/> <br/> But he was left stranded.<br/> <br/> The Reds cashed in on a similar opportunity in the sixth - in spite of themselves. Corey Patterson led off with a double. He went to third on Paul Bako's groundout. The Reds sent Andy Phillips up to hit for Cueto.<br/> <br/> Phillips hit a grounder to third, but Patterson broke on contact. He was caught in a rundown. Phillips managed to get to second. Dickerson eased the pain of the blunder by doubling Phillips in. <br/> <br/> "I took a couple of deep breaths," Dickerson said. "I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself."<br/> <br/> It was Dickerson's first career RBI.<br/> <br/> Nick Masset replaced Cueto. He pitched a scoreless sixth. But he gave up back-to-back hits to start the seventh. Bill Bray came in and gave up a bunt single to Nate McLouth to load the bases. <br/> <br/> Bray struck out Adam LaRoche. The Reds then brought on Gary Majewski to face Andy LaRoche.<br/> <br/> Majewski delivered a 4-6-3 double-play ball.<br/> <br/> "That's just what you want from your sinker baller," Baker said.<br/> <br/> Dickerson tripled in the ninth. Keppinger got him in with a perfect suicide squeeze.<br/> <br/> "Kepp's a great bunter," Dickerson said. "I knew that was an automatic run."<br/> <br/> Francisco Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 220th career save. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT PITTSBURGH - There were 35,439 in PNC Park - <b>most of them there to see the postgame REO Speedwagon concert and fireworks.</b><br/> <br/> The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates do not draw 35,439, and what does it say when a 1970s-early '80s rock band nearly packs the place?<br/> <br/> Back in the 1980s, whenever Reds pitcher Mario Soto recorded a strikeout, the scoreboard flashed: "Mario Speedwagon."<br/> <br/> Some believe that Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto might eventually morph into a current Mario Speedwagon, if he can figure out how to reduce his pitch counts.<br/> <br/> One of REO Speedwagon's hits, "Keep Pushin,' " could be Cueto's theme song these days, and that's certainly what he did Thursday night, Aug. 14, to finally get a victory, 3-1. In six previous starts, he was 0-3.<br/> <br/> Cueto held the Pirates to one run and four hits, but as REO Speedwagon sings, he had to "Take it on the Run" after only five innings because he needed 107 pitches to get there.<br/> <br/> He turned a 2-1 lead over to the bullpen, and Nick Massek, Bill Bray, Gary Majewski, David Weathers and Francisco Cordero held the Pirates to no runs and four hits over the final four innings. Cordero's 1-2-3 ninth earned him his 200th career save.<br/> <br/> "We have to get Cueto out of that first inning with a lower pitch count," manager Dusty Baker said. Cueto needed 27 in this first inning, giving up one run, after using 26 in the first inning of his previous start.<br/> <br/> "That's like pitching two innings in the first inning," Baker said. "And their lineup rolls around quicker, and you face the big boys again in the second or third instead of the fourth.<br/> <br/> "If he has as 1-2-3 first inning, who knows how deep he might go into a game," Baker added. "I'm just glad he got the win because he has been pitching great.<br/> <br/> "This guy is a competitor - he competes, he wants it," Baker said. "It is refreshing to see him on the mound, and he is controlling his emotions a little better, and I'm excited for him and us and his future."<br/> <br/> Javier Valentin homered in the second to tie it 1-1, Chris Dickerson doubled in the second run, and then Dickerson tripled and scored the third run on Jeff Keppinger's suicide squeeze bunt.<br/> <br/> "He brings in energy," Baker said of Dickerson. "That's what young people are supposed to do. And he brought some speed - the way he covers ground and runs the bases."<br/> <br/> Dickerson, who has four hits in his last two games, three doubles and a triple, was nearly speechless after the game.<br/> <br/> "I'm kind of speechless, so bear with me," he said. "It was so exciting. I just don't know what to say. I felt really comfortable and worked out all the jitters."<br/> <br/> Dickerson was happy he caught the suicide squeeze sign from third-base coach Mark Berry for an insurance run in the ninth.<br/> <br/> "We have a little verbal confirmation, and at the time Berry didn't know if I understood what he said," Dickerson said. "I got the sign from the git-go, and I was geared up because I know Keppinger is a good bunter. As soon as he made the call, I knew we'd get an automatic run."<br/> <br/> And hitting?<br/> <br/> "I got good pitches to hit, and that's all you can ask for," he said. "I was able to put a pretty good swing on things."<br/> <br/> There was one game-saving escape in the seventh when the Reds led 2-1, but the Pirates filled the bases with no outs.<br/> <br/> Bill Bray struck out Adam LaRoche, and Gary Majewski came on to coax an inning-ending ground ball double play out of Andy LaRoche.<br/> <br/> "Play of the game was when Bray struck out a tough hitter in (Adam) LaRoche and then Majewski threw up that double play, which is what you want out of your sinkerballer, throw up a ground ball to give you a chance," Baker said. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT <i>A record crowd came out to watch REO Speedwagon perform at Sterlingfest on Aug. 2. Officials estimate between 15,000 and 18,000 people attended the concert.</i><br/> <br/> People were still talking days later about the sheer multitude of festival-goers who showed up for the last day of the annual Sterlingfest Art & Jazz Fair in Sterling Heights last weekend. <br/> <br/> "I know we had a record turnout," the city's Community Relations Director Steve Guitar said. "It was a tremendous success."<br/> <br/> The highlight of the festival, which took place at Dodge Park July 31 through Aug. 2, was the Saturday performance by classic rock group REO Speedwagon. <br/> <br/> "It was a sea of people," Sterling Heights Police Public Information Officer Lt. Robert Henigan said. <br/> <br/> Since Sterling Heights is celebrating its 40th anniversary as a city this year, officials decided to splurge and brought in the group that began its musical career at about the same time. The group, which has 17 critically acclaimed albums and 13 Top 40 hits, played its popular tunes "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Take it on the Run" and "Keep on Loving You," along with songs from its new album, "Find Your Own Way Home." <br/> <br/> Although the final numbers on the entire weekend's attendance haven't been tallied yet, Guitar said official estimates for the number of people who stood and watched REO Speedwagon range between 15,000 and 18,000. <br/> <br/> "I think REO is a huge group," Guitar said. "We knew it would be big, but we didn't anticipate it would be quite that large." <br/> <br/> Last year, approximately 125,000 people meandered through the festival during the whole weekend and initial projections have this year's attendance well beyond that. Whether it was the economy or the event itself that drew people in, the larger crowds brought in more money to Sterlingfest. <br/> <br/> "The food vendors had record numbers," Guitar said. "The carnival did record numbers on Saturday - that was the biggest day they ever had. We just want to continue the success." <br/> <br/> Even with the larger-than-usual gathering, police said people were behaving themselves.<br/> <br/> Henigan said there was one arrest for disorderly conduct and a couple of minor citations, but no one was injured in any of the incidents. <br/> <br/> However, traffic surrounding Sterlingfest posed some issues - particularly on Saturday evening. Utica and Dodge Park roads were severely backed up, and parking lots were full, causing many people to turn around because they couldn't get close to the festival. Henigan said officers eventually shut down Utica Road from 17 Mile Road and began diverting traffic. <br/> <br/> Guitar said the city received about two calls pertaining to traffic complaints. "The police department did a great job getting people through," Guitar said. "For the most part, I think people realize this is a 3-day festival that happens once a year. It's the city's homecoming celebration and it's a chance to showcase the city in a fine light." <br/> <br/> A resident who lives on Dart Drive across from Stevenson High School said he was not pleased with the traffic situation. The man, who preferred to withhold his identity, said the backup wasn't so bad on Thursday or Friday, but was troublesome Saturday. <br/> <br/> "If there was an emergency, there would be a hard time getting through the street," he said. "That's my main beef. I can handle the noise." <br/> <br/> He said he has nothing against REO Speedwagon, but didn't go to the festival because it was too crowded. <br/> <br/> "I think 10,000 to 20,000 is a lot of people for this little area," he said. "Why don't they think about shutting the side streets down and not let anyone down them?" <br/> <br/> Henigan said officials will talk about the traffic issues when planning next year's festival. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT Imagine there's no heaven <br/> <br/> It's easy if you try <br/> <br/> John Lennon <br/> <br/> John Lennon wrote "Imagine" for his second solo album. It was released in 1971, the same year Kevin Cronin landed a job with REO Speedwagon.<br/> <br/> Around that time Cronin had been hanging up posters advertising his "musician's referral service" in his hometown of Chicago. One day he got a call from REO guitarist Gary Richrach. Did Cronin know anyone who would make a good frontman? <br/> <br/> He sure did. <br/> <br/> And in 2008, REO's frontman - between flights at an airport - would prefer to imagine there is a heaven. Rock 'n' roll heaven, that is. <br/> <br/> Imagine, says Cronin, a meeting with Lennon in which he has a chance to prove himself with one record. <br/> <br/> Cronin, of course, will break out some vinyl from the heart of REO's commercial career. Perhaps "Hi Infidelity," the 1980 release that sold nearly 10 million copies and includes Cronin's No. 1 hit, "Keep on Loving You." This was the album, after all, that placed REO firmly within the pantheon of arena-rocking 1980s power-balladeers. <br/> <br/> Wrong. <br/> <br/> Cronin says he would choose 2007's "Find Your Own Way Home," REO's first album in 11 years. As of May, the title track was No. 23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. <br/> <br/> "This is the one I would play," Cronin said. "That's how strongly I feel about the record." He is not plugging the album, either: He is serious. <br/> <br/> As it happens, Cronin considers "Find Your Own Way Home" a follow-up to "Hi Infidelity." The sound, for one, goes back to what made the band popular: mega hooks, ultra-clean production, soaring guitar solos, melodrama (that tender side behind those enormous backstage riders). The title track, for one, is so unmistakably REO that one might be duped into believing the album was produced in 1981 and locked away in a vault for a later release. <br/> <br/> According to Cronin, what really link the albums are the conditions under which they were created. <br/> <br/> In the time following REO's 1997 release, Cronin had reached a tranquil place in his personal life. The band's tours were steady, and when he returned home he wanted to be with his young daughter as opposed to grinding away in the studio. <br/> <br/> By 2003, however, as it was in the lead up to "Hi Infidelity," Cronin's life was suddenly "spinning out of control." Spinning out of control in a way that puts his writing in proper focus. <br/> <br/> "My goal for the future," Cronin said, "is to the find a way to write songs when I'm happy."<br/> <br/> In 2003, a tour with Styx was in full-swing, no doubt grossing millions. <br/> <br/> The backstage, however, was a "perfect storm of dysfunction" ... a "rolling Dr. Phil show," and while Cronin does not divulge many details, he did put forth that three members of the five-piece band were going through divorces and that the drummer, Bryan Hitt, stayed clear of it all. Enough said. <br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon was formed in 1968 by keyboardist Neal Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer, students at the University of Illinois. The band took its name from the REO Speed Wagon flat bed truck, which was manufactured by the REO Motor Company. After a couple years of tearing through the Midwest, Richrath, bassist Greg Philbin and singer Terry Luttrell recorded the eponymous debut album. ("Hi Infidelity" was the group's ninth.) <br/> <br/> Cronin replaced Luttrell in 1971, was dismissed for a couple years and then rehired in the late 1970s. <br/> <br/> The current lineup includes the founder Doughty as well as Cronin and bassist Bruce Hall (who joined in 1977). Lead guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Hitt, Cronin jokes, have "only" been with the band for 20 years. <br/> <br/> In other words, when the drama storm rolled in, this 21st-century nucleus of REO did not sever. It became tighter. <br/> <br/>"It was guys talking about something other than basketball and politics," Cronin said. "We counted on each other for support." <br/> <br/> As Cronin began to pump out new material, REO began to test the songs out onstage, often after only a few run-throughs. That would seem a gutsy move for a band whose current value has more to do with nostalgia than of resonance in modern times, but Cronin said the enthusiastic response from the crowd provided some of the impetus to get in the studio. <br/> <br/> For its 15th studio album, REO took its time. The project took about four years. <br/> <br/> "Over the years we made records and became part of this big business machine," Cronin said. "You lose sight of the whole process. It was refreshing. It was life affirming like it was in the good old days." <br/> <br/> Imagine that. <br/> <br/> In the '90s, REO lost its commercial viability; lineup changes ensued, two albums sold poorly and the future appeared bleak. And in the 21st century, in the aftermath of the classic rock revival of the late '90s, albums remain a tough sell, but tours for groups the likes of REO, Styx and Journey remain lucrative. <br/> <br/> Meanwhile, REO's "Ridin' the Storm Out-Floods of 2008 Relief Concert" in Altoona, Iowa, raised about $300,000, and the Polk County government agreed to match the figure. <br/> <br/> "We're Midwest boys," Cronin said. "So when something goes haywire in the heartland we want to try and help out. You can't expect Bono to help everyone all the time - I'm half kidding, of course. But these are our people. I consider it a privilege to be able to help out. We can't get out there and throw sandbags around but we can do this. ... The Midwest has a work ethic. We were brought up to take care of business first, and when it's done, it's time to party." Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT <b>Band to play free concert at Sterlingfest Aug. 2</b><br /> STERLING HEIGHTS - Kevin Cronin knows what the audience wants out of REO Speedwagon's performance at Sterlingfest Art & Jazz Fair Aug. 2 - and he plans to deliver.<br/> <br/> Cronin, lead singer and guitarist for the Midwestern rock group, joked that band members have learned an "angry mob" will form if they neglect to perform certain classics.<br/> <br/> "There's a core of songs that have been hits or favorites of ours over the years," he laughed. "We're smart enough to know those songs."<br/> <br/> That means Saturday night's set will include those cherished favorites, such as "Take It on the Run," "Ridin' the Storm Out," "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling," along with selections from REO's most recent album, "Find Your Own Way Home," which dropped in April 2007, said Cronin.<br/> <br/> "We're really proud of that record," he said. "We'll slide three to four new songs into the mix."<br/> <br/> Comparing himself to a quarterback assessing the game and changing strategy mid-stride, Cronin said he'll also likely pick some songs on the fly - usually songs people know, but weren't necessarily the huge radio hits - based on what seems to fit the situation.<br/> <br/> Click <a href="http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2008/7-30-08/HF-REO.asp" target="_blank">here</a> to read the full article. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT Fresh off raising nearly $300,000 for Iowa flood victims -- at the aptly named benefit concert Ridin' the Storm Out -- the Midwest rock stalwarts in REO Speedwagon swing through the east side for a headlining performance at the free Sterlingfest Art & Jazz Fair. The band leads a three-day bill of local acts that includes '80s cover band the Square Pegz (7 p.m. Thursday) and a Friday double bill with '70s throwback the Spirit of 76 and modern rockers the X-Generation (7 p.m.). REO's set starts at 8 p.m. Saturday. Dodge Park, 40620 Utica, Sterling Heights. 586-446-2700. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT Soul Food and Essential Music are extremely proud to announce the third UK DVD release in the Soundstage series, the top quality television show featuring live performances by world-class artists. REO Speedwagon - 'Live In The Heartland' captures the band's current line-up of Kevin Cronin (lead vocals, guitar), Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums) performing in front of adoring fans on their home turf in 2007.<br/> <br/> The spectacular 16-song set, recorded in awe inspiring High-Definition and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the hit PBS concert series Soundstage, spans REO's celebrated 35 year career.<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon have sold over 40 million records worldwide and 'Live In The Heartland' takes you on a journey from their 1980 UK top 10 hit "Keep On Loving You" to 1985's "Can't Fight This Feeling" and then on to tracks from their 2007 album release "Find Your Own Way Home".<br/> <br/>Follow link below to read full article. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT PRAIRIE MEADOWS, Altoona, IA-Jack Bishop, Prairie Meadows Chairman of the Board, and John Mauro, Chairman of the Polk County Board of Supervisors,<br/> <br/> are pleased to announce that $275,000 has been collected to date from the "Ridin' the Storm Out Flood Relief" effort to benefit Iowa flood victims.<br/> <br/> Polk County has agreed to match, dollar-for-dollar, the total funds raised, which will bring the flood relief funding to date to $550,000 between Prairie Meadows and Polk County.<br/> <br/> Polk County will be the distributor of those funds.<br/> <br/> Flood donation collection barrels will remain throughout the Prairie Meadows facility through the weekend for those wishing to make contributions to this cause. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT As natives of the Midwest, members of REO Speedwagon are doing their part to help aid victims of the ongoing floods in Iowa. <br/> <br/> The veteran rock act will donate time between tour stops to headline the Ridin' the Storm Out-Floods of 2008 Relief Concert, to be held July 16 at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. <br/> <br/> "When [a natural disaster] happens in your backyard, you say, 'Wait a minute, this is our responsibility,'" band frontman Kevin Cronin tells Billboard. "We can't sit back and wait for Bono to save everybody-he's doing plenty as it is."<br/> <br/> Cronin first learned of the devastating Iowa floods during a recent European tour in support of REO Speedwagon's most recent album "Find Your Own Way Home." <br/> <br/> "I turned on the TV one day and saw a video of a house basically being washed away into a river -- it was terrible," Cronin recalls. "The Mississippi River is pretty much the epicenter of where all of our fans are and where we play most of the time."<br/> <br/> Tickets for the relief concert are on sale for $20 via ticketmaster.com. To support the cause, Ticketmaster has agreed to waive convenience and handling charges. Additionally, the Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino will match money raised through ticket sales, according to Cronin. <br/> <br/> All proceeds from the benefit show, which also features the Little River Band and others, will be distributed to flood victims via the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation.<br/> <br/> "Unfortunately, we can't be there filling sandbags, but we can play our music," Cronin says, noting that additional benefit concerts are in the works. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT REO Speedwagon became a household name in the early '80s with memorable songs like "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling."<br/> <br/> The tracks hit No. 1 on the radio charts, sending the guys on worldwide tours and making REO Speedwagon arena rock legends.<br/> <br/> Kevin Cronin is the guy behind those hits.<br/> <br/> "I had a special feeling about those songs when I wrote them," said the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. "Sometimes you write a song and when you finish it, you get the feeling it will resonate with other people, as well."<br/> <br/> Like many passionate, emotion-driven songwriters, Cronin uses personal experience as a writing tool.<br/> <br/> "I tend to write about specific people and events and then try to disguise it somehow to protect the innocent or the guilty, whatever the case will be," Cronin said.<br/> <br/> "If you're going out with a songwriter, be careful," he added, laughing. "Let's say you and I were dating and something went wrong. If I were to write a song, it would be from my point of view. I'm going to look like the good guy, but objectively, who knows?"<br/> <br/> Cronin is speaking by cell phone, boarding a plane at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport. The band, which includes Cronin, keyboard player Neal Doughty, lead guitarist Dave Amato, bass player Bruce Hall and drummer Bryan Hitt, just wrapped up a three-week European tour, and is heading home to L.A.<br/> <br/> So, the million dollar question - what is it about REO Speedwagon that still has them selling out shows?<br/> <br/> "I think it's the fact we still have fun doing it, and the fact that people still want to hear those songs," said Cronin. "It's also that we continue to write new songs. We're still creative."<br/> <br/> As for new songs, last year the band released its fifteenth studio album, Find Your Own Way Home.<br/> <br/> And REO Speedwagon still plays with a youthful soul.<br/> <br/> "Even though we're not in our 20s anymore, we still think we are in our own heads, and I think people like to see that," Cronin said. "We are still doing what we love to do, and we get a lot of joy from the whole experience. So we try to share the joy we feel from still being about to do what we love." Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT Originating out of the Summer of Love, two bands conceived (among many other things) in '67 found their way to a sun-soaked, beer-saturated crowd Tuesday night at Heritage Landing.<br/> <br/> As Father Time would have it, Blue Oyster Cult was down to "Two" Oyster Cult, and REO's original member was joined by Bruce Hall and Kevin Cronin from the hit days. The rest of the band's members played admirably, but for the purist, or those who remember the glory years, a little of the spice was missing.<br/> <br/> Starting the evening off, B.O.C. strolled onto the stage in front of a large standing front section, which expanded to 100 feet deep by the end of the concert.<br/> <br/> Buck Dharma, the familiar voice on "Burning for You," led on vocals on this third song of the night, and hands were in the air. Richie Castello came off keyboards to play some searing guitar, and bassist Rudy Sarzo was all over the stage.<br/> <br/> It was riveting, progressive rock from a now warm-up band that has seen its day, and named after a "collection of aliens collected secretly to guide earth's history." Their list of credentials is worthy, but one got the feeling the crowd was waiting for Summer Cel's third performance by REO Speedwagon.<br/> <br/> Named after a flatbed fire truck, though REO is but a shell of its former self, it has found the pieces to endure. Dave Amato (formerly of Ted Nugent) put on a dazzling demonstration on an array of guitars, and Bruce Hall displayed a smooth, powerful voice, leading on "Back on the Road." Bryan Hitt was ... hmmn ... hitting the drums so hard you could literally feel it through your skin.<br/> <br/> Mostly the camera was on the conversational Cronin, who gave out tributes to soldiers on "Golden Country," tributes to love on "Find" ("The best love is tough love, but ya gotta find it!"), and a tribute to everyone who's been stepped on in "Smilin' in the End."<br/> <br/> Then came those familiar radio power ballads. Cronin stepped down to the young girls in front on "Can't Fight This Feeling," and their squeals and shrieks could be heard over his mic. Ah, love......<br/> <br/> The fervent lightshow lit up the welcoming evening, while the volume was painfully and unnecessarily loud at some points.<br/> <br/> Victorious, the band ended its regular set with "Roll With The Changes," while the spotlights hit the back of the audience -- standing and clapping with glowsticks in hand. The standing crowd in front, left to their wiles, enjoyed body surfing, while girls were sitting on top of shoulders.<br/> <br/> Called back for an encore, clear back by the vendors, the band reappeared to the "bong" of a gong and Cronin cried out, "Let's get this party started!" before the band hit their last number "157." In between, he acknowledged the time gap that existed with his band and the audience, saying, "Many of you weren't even a dirty thought in your parents' mind when we started!"<br/> <br/> After the show -- to the delight of the crowd -- the band stayed, spraying them with picks, drumsticks and autographs.<br/> <br/> It was a guitar driven evening with the Boys of Summer, circa 2008. Though many former members have long gone, you could still hear the sound and beat of a very different day, back in the recesses of memory -- or if you weren't a dirty thought yet, on your local rock channel.<br/> <br/> <b>Blue Oyster Cult</b><br/> <br/> - Attendance: A near sell-out 17,000.<br/> <br/> - Number of songs: 15.<br/> <br/> - Concert high: Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma, after trading vocals all night, combined forces on "Godzilla," and the rest of the band joined in on the chorus. During an improv, bassist Rudy Sarzo tore into some riffs from his old bands, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne. It was a classic (rock) touch.<br/> <br/> - Concert low: Unless you're a (true) Blue Oyster Cult fan, you wouldn't have recognized the songs between their few hits.<br/> <br/> - Opening acts: Battle of the Bands.<br/> <br/> <b>REO Speedwagon</b><br/> <br/> - Number of songs: 16, including "Can't Fight this Feeling," "Keep on Loving You" and "Roll With the Changes."<br/> <br/> - Concert high: The band lit the fuse early on the second song, "Take it on the Run." The beach balls came out, camera phones were in the air, and Brian Hitt was standing and wailing on the drums. An energenic Kevin Cronin appealed to the crowd, "Western Michigan, baby, that's where it's at!"<br/> <br/> - Concert low: Lone founding member Neal Doughty, relatively inconspicuous during the show, hit maker and former guitarist Gary Richrath was MIA, and the absence of REO favorites "In My Dreams" and "Here With Me."<br/> <br/> - Opening acts: Influential hard-edged rock band Blue Oyster Cult, whose "umlaut" was intact, a letter found in a Jacaltec language and later copied by Motorhead, Motley Crue and Queensryche. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT REO Speedwagon and special guest The Little River Band will perform at the "Ridin' the Storm Out" benefit concert July 16 at Prairie Meadows racetrack and casino in Altoona, Iowa. All proceeds from the $20 admission will go to Polk County victims of this summer's flooding. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT As the sports schedule slows down in summer, TV networks - especially ESPN -become more unbuttoned. So maybe it's not too much to hope that finally we might be able to see, say, rockers play Take Me Out to the Ball Game and then smash their guitars.<br/> <br/> But you won't see it from ESPN analyst Peter Gammons, who will play Ball Game on-air Sunday (7 p.m. ET) in a sort of homage to the late guitar legend Bo Diddley: "It's how Bo Diddley would have played it."<br/> <br/> And ESPN's Baseball Tonight on Monday will begin airing music videos from nine musical acts - including REO Speedwagon - playing the 100 year-old anthem. (FYI: Lyricists Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer never went to a baseball game - and weren't even interested in the sport. Art needn't imitate life.)<br/> <br/> The idea, says ESPN producer Jay Levy, is to create a battle of the bands decided by online voting, starting June 29, with a winner announced July 13: "Personally, I'm a huge American Idol fan, so I figured why not have our own little American Idol."<br/> <br/> Other contestants: Jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli, bluegrass band Punch Brothers, rhythm-and-blues singer Lloyd, rockers The Cab, country singer Gretchen Wilson, Latin and salsa hip-hop group Ozomatli - "they're fabulous," Gammons says - as well as saxophonist Branford Marsalis and rockers Candlebox.<br/> <br/> But just so the pros would be represented, ESPN should also include a ballpark organist. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT Styx, REO Speedwagon and Journey were the three biggest arena rock acts of the early '80s and they were hardly friends at the time. But 20 years and hundreds of concerts later, the three bands are on the road forging both musical and personal bonds as "The Main Event," a tour coming to Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena on Wednesday.<br/> <br/> "Tommy Shaw (of Styx) and I did a little workout this morning," REO front man Kevin Cronin said via phone recently from his hotel room in Denver. The excesses of the '80s -- groupies, binge drinking and the legendary drug use -- are things of the past. Now the rock veterans spend their time working out, eating salads and shopping for gifts to bring home to the kids.<br/> <br/> "I did a little shopping earlier," Cronin said. "We have a break in a couple of days and there had better be some surprises in my suitcase when Daddy gets home. All three of these bands are on their best behavior and playing our a---- off," he said. It's true that with age comes wisdom, Cronin said. "In the '80s we were so popular and it was such an amazing time, but I took it for granted," he said. "Now I just appreciate everything more. "I see people in the audience and I understand the concept that they have spent their hard-earned money to see us. A lot of those people have seen us before and they are coming to see us again because our music means something to them. It gives me goose bumps."<br/> <br/> Cronin said the groups are chomping at the bit as the tour wends its way toward the Midwest. "The Midwest is what we look forward to," he said. "That's where we started. We're Midwest boys." Although he now calls Los Angeles home, Cronin grew up in the Chicago suburb of Evanston and has fond memories of vacationing on the Michigan side of the big lake. "I spent every summer of my life in Grand Haven, Ludington and places like that," he said. "I may live in L.A. now, but I'll always be a Midwest boy."<br/> Sun, 08 Jun 2003 00:00:00 PDT Comments: Saturday night, May 9 was anything but ordinary for REO Speedwagon' fans gathered at the Ameristar Casino for what was to be a brilliant show. Anticipation was high, and fans were on their feet the moment REO took the stage. It is hard to believe that this group of musicians is approaching senior citizen status. The energy and enthusiasm of the band combined with the always impeccable voice of lead singer Kevin Cronin made it more of a party atmosphere then simply a "concert."<br/> <br/> REO fans have come to expect their favorite band to play all the great hits from the '70s, and as always, they didn't disappoint. Hits like "Don't Let Him Go," "Keep Pushin'," "Golden Country," kept fans on their feet for the duration of the show. Also included in the set list were favorites from their latest release "Find Your Own Way Home." The cuts from this CD, surely to become an REO classic, are fresh but still have that "REO" sound that is imitated but never duplicated.<br/> <br/> Just before playing one of their most beloved classics, K.C. reminisced about the night in 1979 when they headlined the show held at Kansas City's Arrowhead stadium. The sky was dark and a storm was approaching fast, but they were determined not to let the fans down and came out anyway to play "Ridin' the Storm Out." Guitarist Dave Amato was unquestionably at the top of his game tonight. The guitar solo during "RTSO" rocked the house. Even fans of legendary guitarist Gary Richrath, former REO lead guitarist had to admit this guy is the bomb.<br/> <br/> One of the greatest things about seeing REO live is how obvious it is these guys LOVE what they do. The excitement and energy, the smiles and on stage antics set them apart from other "veteran" bands. They came to please and from the comments made by fans after the show, they definitely succeeded. The meet and greet held after the show was especially memorable for those lucky enough to be a part of it. It is so refreshing to see that these are "regular guys" who put on their pants one leg at a time like the rest of us.<br/> <br/> There was no arrogance or super egos to contend with. These guys love their job and love and appreciate their fans. It was definitely a night to remember.<br/> <br/> Band:<br/> <br/> Kevin Cronin: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar Dave Amato: Lead Guitar, Vocals Bruce Hall: Bass Guitar, Vocals Neal Doughty: Keyboards Bryan Hitt: Drums, Percussion<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon Set List:<br/> <br/> Don't Let Him Go<br/> Take It On The Run<br/> Keep Pushin'<br/> Find Your Own Way Home<br/> That Ain't Love<br/> Building The Bridge<br/> Golden Country<br/> Can't Fight This Feeling<br/> Dangerous Combination<br/> Sone Of A Poor Man<br/> Smilin' In The End<br/> Time For Me to Fly<br/> Back on The Road Again<br/> Keep On Lovin You<br/> Roll With The Changes<br/> Ridin The Storm Out<br/> 157 Riverside Avenue Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT The Zoo Amphitheatre is a favorite summer stop on REO Speedwagon driver Kevin Cronin's touring map for several good reasons - not the least of which is the feminine scenery. Categories...<br/> <br/> "There's a lot of outdoor amphitheaters, but most of them are like these kind of shiny new amphitheaters that look like they got dropped from outer space and landed in the middle of a cornfield somewhere," the band's lead singer, rhythm guitarist and chief songwriter said from his Southern California home last week. "They all look the same, and you don't know whether you're in Irvine, Calif., or St. Louis. They're all kind of made out of the same mold.<br/> <br/> "And the Zoo Amphitheatre has just got, I don't know, it's just real. It's funky. The dressing rooms have got a vibe to 'em. Even just the amphitheater itself, you know, with the rock and the natural (grade) of the land.<br/> <br/> "And, I don't know what it is, and I don't know if this happens to every band that plays there, but every time we play there - and maybe it has to do with the weather when we come to town -but all I can tell you is that the women of Oklahoma are very generous with their ... with, uh ... with displaying themselves to us when we play onstage at the Zoo Amphitheatre. And it's much appreciated, especially by the road crew. But I must say the band appreciates the gesture, as well."<br/> <br/> The feeling is mutual between REO and the Zoo, said Innervisions President Howard Pollack, who runs the venue during the months that permit music under an open sky.<br/> <br/> "He always likes to come back, and REO has pretty much become the house band at the Zoo," Pollack said. "We have them every year. They have the greatest time, we always have big crowds, and this year it's the first outdoor show of the season."<br/> <br/> REO will perform with fellow '70s-'80s hit-maker Night Ranger at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, kicking off a summer concert series that will include a powerful double-header May 29: The Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker.<br/> <br/> "Everyone knows about Steve Miller," Pollack said, "but Steve Miller and Joe Cocker together, what a great show."<br/> <br/> Early MTV-era new wave chanteuse Cyndi Lauper just wants to have fun June 23 when she brings her all-star "True Colors" tour to the Zoo, with guests including the newly reunited B-52s, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Andy Bell of Erasure, Girl in a Coma, fashion savant Carson Kressley and comedian Margaret Cho.<br/> <br/> "It's an all-day thing," Pollack said. "So, if you're wanting to come out and see a great show, Cyndi Lauper, you know, what a great performer."<br/> <br/> Boston and Styx bring back late '70s and early '80s arena rock memories June 25, followed July 19 by the second annual Soul Food Festival, featuring Peabo Bryson, The Whispers and several other acts to be announced soon.<br/> <br/> "The Soul Food Festival is something unique to a city," Pollack said. "The people we're working with are doing it in a few key cities - Atlanta being one of them and Houston being another - and they chose Oklahoma City. It has soul food, it has soul food music.<br/> <br/> Classic rock station KRXO-FM 107.7 throws itself a birthday bash July 23 with the triple-threat hard-rock lineup of Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick.<br/> <br/> Then alternative takes its turn at the Zoo on Aug. 2 with Stone Temple Pilots, featuring singer Scott Weiland back in the fold after a misfire stint with Velvet Revolver.<br/> <br/> "I think there'll be some new twists that the audience will see at that show," Pollack said. "Nothing I can talk about yet."<br/> <br/> The Midwest meets the South when Kid Rock teams with Lynyrd Skynyrd Aug. 8. Then contemporary music continues to hold its own Aug. 16 when singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow performs under the stars with special guests James Blunt and Toots and the Maytals.<br/> <br/> On Sept. 20, the Cross Canadian Ragweed Family Jam returns with special guests Buckcherry, mixing straight-ahead rock with Red Dirt as Randy Rogers and Jason Boland & The Stragglers join a total of 10 acts playing from two stages during the all-day affair.<br/> <br/> And as the schedule currently stands, the country duo of Montgomery Gentry rounds out the season Oct. 17 as the weather begins to cool again.<br/> <br/> But Pollack promises more major-show announcements as the summer progresses. Meanwhile, he's urging everyone to turn out for the REO/Night Ranger show Sunday - and to bring their mothers.<br/> <br/> "It's Mother's Day," he said. "It's going to be a great day, fun in the sun with REO and your mother."<br/> <br/> Cronin agrees.<br/> <br/> "We always have a great time," Cronin said. "The people of Oklahoma, man, you know, we've been playin' Oklahoma City for 35 years. When we come back to what we call the classic REO country, we just feel like we have a lot of gigs that feel like hometown gigs.<br/> <br/> "And the great thing is, a lot of the people that come and see us are over 40; they've seen us 15 times over the years. But there's just as many people who are high school kids, college kids, who either have heard our music through their parents or they listen to classic rock radio, or one way or the other they hear our music, and they're relatin' to it and they're diggin' it."<br/> <br/> And then there are those female fans who are really digging it.<br/> <br/> "Yeah, we look forward to comin' back for all kinds of reasons," Cronin chuckled.<br/> Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT It was a brisk evening chock full of 1980s power band nostalgia as the Zoo Amphitheater kicked off its summer concert series Sunday night with Night Ranger and REO Speedwagon.<br/> <br/> Night Ranger opened the show with "This Boy Needs To Rock." Clad in patriotic flag-bearing holey jeans and a matching red plaid shirt, Jack Blades tore through the band's short but memory provoking list of hits including "When You Close Your Eyes,""Don't Tell Me You Love Me," and "Sister Christian" which was really more of an audience karaoke moment.<br/> <br/> Toward the end of their set, Night Ranger knocked out a version of "Can You Take Me High Enough," a song Blades co-wrote with Ted Nugent and Tommy Shaw.<br/> <br/> The band members, three of which are originals, sounded as good as ever especially considering the, well, longevity of their careers in rock and roll.<br/> <br/> Then REO Speedwagon hit the stage with "Don't Let it Go," just one of several power ballads they had in store for their Oklahoma City audience.<br/> <br/> To an audience tribute of raised cell phones and blue smoke hovering in the brisk spring air, the band pumped out tunes from their plethora of past albums and their newest album, "Find Your Own Way Home."<br/> <br/> Two of the biggest crowd pleaser's were "Take it on the Run" and "Keep on Loving You."<br/> <br/> Both bands showed that after thirty-something years of cranking out rock and roll hits and filling arenas with eager fans, their careers are still in full swing...<br/> <br/> Though the night air was chilly, Oklahoma City audience was amped to the point of a few fist fights for the rock classics REO Speedwagon and Night Ranger, proving that not only can you still rock in America, you can still rock in Oklahoma City. Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT Comments: Saturday night, May 9 was anything but ordinary for REO Speedwagon fans gathered at the Ameristar Casino for what was to be a brilliant show. Anticipation was high, and fans were on their feet the moment REO took the stage. It is hard to believe that this group of musicians is approaching senior citizen status. The energy and enthusiasm of the band combined with the always impeccable voice of lead singer Kevin Cronin made it more of a party atmosphere then simply a "concert."<br/> <br/> REO fans have come to expect their favorite band to play all the great hits from the '70s, and as always, they didn't disappoint. Hits like "Don't Let Him Go,""Keep Pushin", "Golden Country" kept fans on their feet for the duration of the show. Also included in the set list were favorites from their latest release "Find Your Own Way Home." The cuts from this CD, surely to become an REO classic, are fresh but still have that "REO" sound that is imitated but never duplicated.<br/> <br/> Just before playing one of their most beloved classics, K.C. reminisced about the night in 1979 when they headlined the show held at Kansas City's Arrowhead stadium. The sky was dark and a storm was approaching fast, but they were determined not to let the fans down and came out anyway to play "Ridin' the Storm Out." Guitarist Dave Amato was unquestionably at the top of his game tonight. The guitar solo during "RTSO" rocked the house. Even fans of legendary guitarist Gary Richrath, former REO lead guitarist had to admit this guy is the bomb.<br/> <br/> One of the greatest things about seeing REO live is how obvious it is these guys LOVE what they do. The excitement and energy, the smiles and on stage antics set them apart from other "veteran" bands. They came to please and from the comments made by fans after the show, they definitely succeeded. The meet and greet held after the show was especially memorable for those lucky enough to be a part of it. It is so refreshing to see that these are "regular guys" who put on their pants one leg at a time like the rest of us.<br/> <br/> There was no arrogance or super egos to contend with. These guys love their job and love and appreciate their fans. It was definitely a night to remember.<br/> <br/> Band:<br/> <br/> Kevin Cronin: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar<br/> Dave Amato: Lead Guitar, Vocals<br/> Bruce Hall: Bass Guitar, Vocals<br/> Neal Doughty: Keyboards<br/> Bryan Hitt: Drums, Percussion<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon Set List:<br/> <br/> Don't Let Him Go<br/> Take It On The Run<br/> Keep Pushin'<br/> Find Your Own Way Home<br/> That Ain't Love<br/> Building The Bridge<br/> Golden Country<br/> Can't Fight This Feeling<br/> Dangerous Combination<br/> Sone Of A Poor Man<br/> Smilin' In The End<br/> Time For Me to Fly<br/> Back on The Road Again<br/> Keep On Lovin You<br/> Roll With The Changes<br/> Ridin The Storm Out<br/> 157 Riverside Avenue<br/> Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT Journey, Styx and REO Speedwagon took fans on a rock 'n' roll road trip to the past on Wednesday, via Salt Lake City's Delta Center. This trio of classic rock radio bands topped the charts in the '70s and '80s with such hits as "Lights,""Renegade" and "Roll With the Changes," respectively. A near-capacity crowd heard those hits and more as the bands evoked yesteryear with a litany of fan favorites.<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon took the stage first with lead singer Kevin Cronin belting out "Ridin' the Storm Out" and "Don't Let Him Go" and such ballads as "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." He proved he still has the vocal tenacity to get the job done and added a commentary about how the bands have as much power today as they did yesterday. The crowd responded with avid applause, after which bassist Bruce Hall showcased his vocals on "Back on the Road Again." Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT The members of REO Speedwagon were rehearsing in a Los Angeles studio when they got two unexpected visitors: the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. Grohl and Hawkins took seats while REO Speedwagon members rehearsed for their Classic Rock Main Event tour. But they didn't just sit there. They rocked out. The two younger, hipper musicians traveled back in time to when they were teenagers and the members of REO Speedwagon were the kings of arena rock.<br/> <br/> If the Foo Fighters are the judges, it seems the Speedwagon is still rolling. "As far as gauging how we sound," says REO's Kevin Cronin, "if the Foo Fighters can hang, I think we're probably doing pretty well." It's not just the Foo Fighters who get to relive the REO Speedwagon experience. Anyone can. The Classic Rock Main Event hits the Selland Arena on Thursday with REO and arena-rock buddies Journey and Styx. "It's not a nostalgia tour," Cronin says. "There's a certain degree of nostalgia, but we're playing [the music] like it's new. The common thread between us is that anyone who's still in any of these bands right now is here because we want to be here."<br/> <br/> . . .All three bands have been through changes. It was the same for REO Speedwagon, when Dave Amato replaced original guitarist Gary Richrath. "It was a real challenge for whoever was going to step in," Cronin says. "Either the band was going to stop, or someone had to take those songs and find the balance between re-creating the parts and feeling creatively challenged and fulfilled. "I really respect his ability to find that balance. There are certain things that Dave has to re-create. There are certain guitar solos that people know. They can hum them." Fri, 09 May 2003 00:00:00 PDT Music fans in at least 40 cities are excited about the upcoming triple-headline tour featuring Journey, Styx and REO Speedwagon. However, not everyone is happy about the '80s nostalgia rockfest - especially Josh and Shane Cronin, the 3-year-old twin sons of Kevin Cronin, singer, songwriter and guitarist for REO Speedwagon.<br/> <br/> "That's really the toughest part of the gig for me these days," said Cronin, who also must leave his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Holly, 6, at home in California. "When the boys see the big metal suitcase coming down the stairs and the car pull up in front, they are not happy. It's a heartbreaker."<br/> <br/> Cronin lives two very different lives. "When I'm home, they have me pretty much full time. But when I leave I'm gone full time. And they're getting to the age now where they can tell by the size of my suitcase how long it's going to be." Cronin said he is fortunate that his wife was a longtime music publisher with David Geffen so she understands the business. And she's as loving a mom as a child could want, Cronin said.<br/> <br/> When he's on the road, Cronin taps into his creative side. That's also where he tends to stay. "I try to stay as isolated from the business side of it as possible," he said. "I want to know what cities we're playing, but what I really love is putting the whole thing together and creating a concert experience that is fun for us. Because if it's fun for us, it more likely will be for the audience too<br/> <br/> . . . Cronin said, all three bands look forward to the challenge. "Oh yeah, there's nothing like playing with a couple other bands that are going to kick ass every night to raise the bar," he said. "I'm really looking forward to that motivation. We know those guys will be in the building every night. And do I want people to walk out of the building thinking REO was the strongest act on the bill? Absolutely. Does Tommy Shaw want everyone thinking the same thing about Styx? Does Neil Schon want everyone thinking that about Journey? Of course. So there's a level of competition there. But it's a good kind of competition."<br/> <br/> . . . Now it's a pretty cool thing because so many bands have fallen by the wayside. We've all been through a lot of adversity, yet we're still here. So there's a certain camaraderie we feel because we're survivors. I have a lot of respect for all three groups." Perhaps the most difficult decision in regard to the tour is figuring out what songs to play. "Actually, our (problem) probably is trying to figure out which songs to leave out," Cronin said. "Sometimes we do 'An Evening With REO' where we can play for three hours and dig deep. That's one kind of tour. This is a different kind of tour. This is like load them, blast them away, take this show and just jam-pack it with energy. We have got to break a sweat in the first two minutes to make this concert happen and that's exactly what we're going to do." Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 PDT Journey, Styx and REO Speedwagon duked it out in the Delta Center Wednesday night. REO won. Singer Kevin Cronin's rants and Dave Amato's led guitars soared during Don't Let Him Go,Keep on Lovin' You,In Your Letter and Take It on the Run, all from the 1980 album High Infidelity.<br/> <br/> In My Dreams was stripped to its acoustic bones as keyboardist Neal Doughty squeezed an accordion and drummer Bryan Hitt settled for a tambourine and shaker.<br/> <br/> Bassist Bruce Hall pounded out Back on the Road Again just before Roll With the Changes. The band's encore was 157 Riverside Avenue. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT REO Speedwagon singer Kevin Cronin is experiencing a lot of personal energy these days. It's not surprising since REO is in the midst of a popularity resurgence. Turn on the radio and chances are an REO Speedwagon song will be on soon. If Keep On Lovin' You isn't flowing through the airwaves, Styx or Journey might be instead. It's this three-band concert Thursday June 12 at Joe Louis Arena that's causing the buzz (originally the show was scheduled for DTE). Prime seats cost as much as a Lollapalooza or Pearl Jam ticket and they're selling steadily.<br/> <br/> On a break from playing with his young twin sons in California last week, Cronin talked about the tour that he calls an experiment.<br/> <br/> "We've played with Styx in the past and we're friends with the Journey guys," Cronin said. "But when you have all three bands playing one concert. . .you have a great mixture of competitiveness, friendship and positive energy where everyone just plays better. It will be very interesting to hear." Cronin said he's very sincere when he says the Detroit show is a highlight. "Every show is going to be different, but Detroit? C'mon...it's Detroit. Detroit is a rock n' roll town and every band out there knows it. It's not a cliche when they say it. It's the audience that gives us such great energy and it's the fantastic radio there that helps it all along. Detroit is always a city that bands look forward to."<br/> <br/> ". . .We'll be hitting the gas every single night the whole way through way," Cronin said. And he isn't tired of singing Ridin' the storm out.<br/> <br/> "Believe it or not I'm still trying to improve it," he said. Fans will hear songs like Roll with the Changes and That Ain't Love by REO.<br/> PERSONAL Cronin knows REO songs were personal for teenagers who grew up listening the band -- those songs personal for him too.<br/> <br/> "It's embarrassing to admit, but I was more honest in my music than I was in my real relationships...those songs helped me through a lot growing up...and I hear they impacted others. Some songs are timeless if the lyrics are honest." Still some of the hits might sound different when performed live. "I could do an acoustic version of That Ain't Love if it seems appropriate for the moment. We can take a song that everyone knows and discover something brand new, sometimes it can take years for a song to grow up. They evolve if you let it happen."<br/> <br/> As for the future of REO: Cronin isn't ready to discuss it. The band has been rolling for 30 years and this tour is taking on its own wild life that will probably be extended beyond the currently 45 scheduled shows. To maintain serenity from the tour REO travels with a bamboo plant, named Lucky, whom Cronin says has helped their lives fall into interesting places. Cronin's eclectic feelings about Lucky the Bamboo can be visited on www.speedwagon.com. And at the concert look hard because Lucky might even be seen somewhere on REO's stage. When the tour is over, Cronin will take time to be alone with his family. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT Classic rock fans, get ready to raise those lighters high.<br/> <br/> REO Speedwagon<br/> Kevin Cronin looks out from the stage and likes what he sees. "It's really surprising. We're getting a lot of young fans," said Cronin, REO Speedwagon's lead singer and principal songwriter. "I see these beautiful 20-year-old girls just dancing and rocking out." Cronin is overwhelmed by the success of the tour, and there's talk of extending it through August, he said by phone from Boise, Idaho, where he was working out at a gym.<br/> <br/> More than 30 years after the release of its first album, REO Speedwagon continues to play to packed houses across the country. Its most recent release is 2001's "Live: Plus."<br/> <br/> The band's other members are keyboard player Neal Doughty, bass player Bruce Hall, guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt. REO Speedwagon has produced 17 albums and numerous Top 40 singles, including "Can't Fight This Feeling,""Keep On Loving You,""Roll With The Changes,""Ridin' The Storm Out" and "Take It On The Run."<br/> <br/> Their landmark 1980 recording, "Hi Infidelity," sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. The secret to the band's longevity, Cronin said, is the universal themes in the songs. "They're stories about people, about what people do, how people feel," he said. "That's been the core to our success. . .<br/> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT WILKES-BARRE TWP. - The First Union Arena wears many hats. It's a hockey rink, a football field, and has hosted everything from circuses to rodeos and ice shows.<br/> <br/> On Sunday night, it was transformed into one giant radio, with its dial firmly set to big hits from the late '70s and early '80s. REO Speedwagon, Styx and Journey were on the bill, and they brought more rock classics and prom songs than even the crowd of 6,000 could have expected.<br/> <br/> REO, which went on first, wasted no time kicking up the memories with sturdy performances of "Ridin' the Storm Out,""Keep Pushin"' and "Can't Fight This Feeling." . . .Kevin Cronin's. . .voice. . . was still strong and solid and his delivery of ballads such as "Keep on Lovin You" and favorites like "Take It on the Run" came with conviction.<br/> <br/> At one point, Cronin told the crowd that the three groups had been on tour since May 1 and because there was only one more show left before its conclusion they planned to "leave everything they had on the stage." Journey's vocalist Steve Augeri joined the band for a torrid rendition of "Roll With the Changes" and the set ended with a fiery brand of rock and blues.<br/> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT Classic Rock's Main Event the VH1 Classic-sponsored triple-bill tour featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx and Journey, is officially underway. Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon wrote on his band's web site that they've all been throwing out an energy level that's beyond belief, which seems fitting considering the enthusiasm he had for the tour in the first place. I just appreciate the fact that we're out here doing it, man. We're doing what we love to do, you know. And you know, we've earned it, I mean, we've been doing it for a long time, and we've kept our standards high, and we still have fun doing it. . . Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT REO Speedwagon may have opened the sold out show with Def Leppard at the Mohegan Sun on April 8. But the veteran rockers didn't play like openers. And the set was more appropriate for a headlining act, which isn't surprising for a band that has crafting hits as long as they had.<br/> <br/> The band entered the stage at just after 7 and they didn't leave until close to an hour and a half later.<br/> <br/> And during the time where they captured the stage, the performance was full of high energy, polish, and, great musicianship.<br/> <br/> The band's which includes singer Kevin Cronin, keyboardist Neal Doughty, bassist Bruce Hall, lead guitarist Dave Amato of Massachusetts,and drummer Bryan Hitt - definitely, gave fans their money's worth and proved that they still have passion for what they do. You could tell the band has had more than a few gigs under its collective belt. More than three decades worth. In those years, REO Speedwagon clearly learned how to be showmen as well as rockers.They were definite crowd pleasers. They ran across the stage. They mugged for the fans and the video cameras that projected their images overhead. They shared stories with the crowd. And they made sure every minute they were on stage counted. REO opened with "Don't Let Her Go" and the hits kept coming -"Keep On Loving You,"Take It On The Run," "Can't Fight this Feeling," "Roll With The Changes," and more. The band closed with its classic rocker, "Riding the Storm Out," which brought the night to a fever pitch. The band also made sure the fans realized that are not just an oldies act. They offered a couple of tracks from their latest CD,"Find Your Own Way<br/> <br/> Home," which fit in nicely with the classic hits and showed the band still knows how to put together great music.<br/> <br/> The band is definitely older than the rockers making the covers of magazines.There was plenty of gray hair on stage (and in the audience). And the band is not ignoring its veteran status.Cronin made several comments throughout the night about the band's age. He noted they have been around since 1971. He also commented on a magazine article that claimed human beings peak intellectually,physically, and sexually at 29 - and then made it clear that his band is not ready to play dead yet. And REO Speedwagon demonstrated throughout the night that they intend to - and deserve to - to keep on rocking for many years to come. I give REO Speedwagon 3 out of 4 stars Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT After Ace Frehley, Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer rocked the House of Blues Thursday night, '70s and '80s nostalgia weekend continued Friday night at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa with a triple bill of REO Speedwagon, Styx and Def Leppard.<br/> <br/> Before Borgata came to town, these three acts would easily headline on their own. In other words, the fans got their money's worth Friday night.<br/> <br/> The sold-out concert may have been the biggest arsenal of hits released on Atlantic City in one night. Of the 33 songs performed, not only were 23 of them hits, they were absolute smashes.<br/> <br/> Instead of unnecessarily prolonging the night with obscurities, openers Styx and REO both played tight 50-minute sets - mostly full of Top-10 charters.<br/> <br/> The evening began with REO, which proved it hasn't lost a thing when it comes to mastering the rock ballad.<br/> <br/> Starting with "Don't Let Him Go" and eventually offering classic rock radio staples like "Take It On the Run," "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Time for Me to Fly" and "Keep on Lovin' You," REO sounded phenomenal, particularly lead singer Kevin Cronin's crisp vocals, which haven't diminished at all. Even "Find Your Way Home," from the band's latest album, sounded great in an Eagles kind of way.<br/> <br/> Like most bands, REO's songs rocked harder live, propelled by guitarist Dave Amato's stellar fret work.<br/> <br/> Anyone who arrived late certainly missed out.<br/> <br/> Not as impressive but entertaining nonetheless was Styx. No longer touring with founder Dennis DeYoung, guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw has assumed leadership of the band, which showed off a diverse setlist ranging from the funky "Renegade" to the progressive "Grand Illusion" to the poppy "Too Much Time On My Hands." A very over-the-top group when it comes to performing, Styx really had the crowd going with a theatrical rendition of "Come Sail Away," but "Miss America" certainly fell flat.<br/> <br/> After a quick set change, Def Leppard took the stage for a 17-song performance that had the crowd standing throughout.<br/> <br/> With a great light show and three large video screens behind the band plus two more on the side, the production was top-notch, but a tad too loud.<br/> <br/> Seeing a Def Leppard concert is like attending a giant '80s singalong. Nearly every song is a rock anthem, including the opener "Rocket," "Armageddon It," "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Animal."<br/> <br/> Def Leppard's setlist mostly featured songs that ruled the charts at one time or another, including "Let's Get Rocked," "Foolin'," "Bringin' On the Heartbreak," "Photograph" and "Hysteria." But the band did pull out some tunes for diehard fans, including "Mirror Mirror," an acoustic version of "Two Steps Behind" and the instrumental "Switch 625," which showed off the fine abilities of guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen, who has one of the coolest guitars on the planet, featuring Bela Lugosi's image.<br/> <br/> Def Leppard even played its new hit single, "Nine Lives," off the band's forthcoming album, "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge." While not an instant classic, it is a solid tune.<br/> <br/> Lead singer Joe Elliott remains a great frontman despite the fact that his voice sometimes cannot hit the notes it used to. He really struggled on "Rock of Ages" and "Love Bites." Luckily, the band's abundance of flawless harmonies covered some of the singer's deficiencies.<br/> <br/> The promoter who put this tour together knew what he was doing. All three acts seemed very appreciated by the crowd, a concert rarity. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT Disco proved the downfall for REO Speedwagon lead singer Kevin Cronin during his appearance last week on the celebrity edition of the Fox game show "Don't Forget the Lyrics!"<br/> <br/> Cronin, who managed to pull in $350,000 for the MusiCares charity, was tripped up by the intro section of Donna Summer's "Last Dance."<br/> <br/> "They have nine categories ... when I saw disco, I said I know I'm going down on disco," Cronin says. "It was the only category left. I got brought down to my knees by Donna Summer."<br/> <br/> His veteran group - along with Styx - opens for Def Leppard on Friday, April 4, at the Borgata and has been more fortunate in its ability to survive changing musical times.<br/> <br/> Perhaps best known for its power rock ballads, REO Speedwagon, now well past its mid-'80s commercial peak, continues to perform regularly and make the occasional new record.<br/> <br/> The group is touring behind its 2007 release, "Find Your Own Way Home," its first collection of new material in more than a decade.<br/> <br/> Besides Cronin, the current lineup includes founding member Neal Doughy (keyboard) and longtime members Bruce Hall (bass), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums).<br/> <br/> "We didn't just try to make a fan record to sell at the swag stand," Cronin says. "We bared our soul in this record. It's difficult to do at this stage of the game, but that's the only way I know how to write. There's a lot of emotion in these songs."<br/> <br/> While REO's live show will include some new tracks, the performance is built around its eight to 10 big hits, including "Take It On the Run" and "Time to Fly."<br/> <br/> "If we don't play those, there's going to be an angry mob ready to beat us up outside the tour bus," Cronin says. "We know where our bread is buttered."<br/> <br/> Although a rock band at heart, REO Speedwagon has enjoyed some of its greatest chart success by slowing the proceedings down on songs like "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Loving You."<br/> <br/> But back in 1980, when chief songwriter Cronin tried to get his bandmates to try out the latter tune, they resisted.<br/> <br/> "I started playing the song for the band, and they looked at me like I was from another planet," he recalls.<br/> <br/> Cronin persisted, and soon what had started as a "folk ballad" morphed into an REO-style rock song.<br/> <br/> "It was important to me," he says. "When I write a song, I can't just sit down and make something up. It comes out of something I need to express - it's more like therapy for me."<br/> <br/> Similarly, Cronin is thrilled that the band's newest CD has struck a chord, not just with diehard fans but with radio stations, too.<br/> <br/> It's a form of validation for the LP format, he believes, as well as the band.<br/> <br/> "It kind of proves when you go in and play from the heart, that music will find its way to people's ears," he says. "It's really been rewarding on that level. There's no other way it would have happened. It's not like the radio stations are clamoring for the new REO record. If they want to play REO, they have plenty of REO to choose from."<br/> <br/> <b>Def Leppard</b><br/> <br/> This veteran arena rock band - and tour headliner - is set to release "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe) on April 29. The record, the band's first album of original material in six years, features the single,"Nine Lives," a duet with country star Tim McGraw. The CD was recorded in 2007 at lead singer Joe Elliott's studio in Dublin. Elliott describes the release as having a "great '70s feel" with a hint of New Wave thrown in.<br/> <br/> <br/> <b>Styx</b><br/> <br/> <br/> The '70s rock era lives on through this veteran band's catalog, which includes "Babe," "Come Sail Away" and "The Best of Times." The group, which went on hiatus from 1984 to 1996, is touring with veteran members James "J.Y. Young" on vocals, guitars and keyboard, and Tommy Shaw on vocals, guitar and mandolin, as well as newer members Lawrence Gowan on vocals, keyboard and guitar, Ricky Phillips on bass, and Todd Sucherman on drums and percussion. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT