Okay, it seems like yesterday that we were all worried that the internet was going to implode and all of our computers would crash on New Years 2000...and REO was booked in Las Vegas for the big night. Well, as it turns out, the Y2K disaster, while never amounting to anything, would be nothing compared to the onslaught of world changing events which actually have occurred during this first decade of the 21st Century. But we survived. I continue to believe in the power of a positive attitude, and its ability to carry us through the most trying of times.
With that in mind, I am looking forward to the coming year. We are finalizing plans for another great touring season in 2010, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the release of our "Hi Infidelity" album next December...yes, it has been thirty years. Unbelievable!
So Happy Holidays to all of you who have been with us on our journey this past year, and this past decade, and these past four decades. We have come a long way together, and we have a long way to go.
Keep pushin',
kc
ps. If you live in Southern California, be sure and tune in to the KTLA Morning Show on channel 5. Dave, Bryan and I will be hanging out, and playing a couple of unplugged songs at around 8:30-9:00 AM on Wednesday, December 16. Also look for us on Extra!
UPDATE ON REBROADCAST OF THE HOLIDAY CELEBRATION ON ICE SPECIAL
What:
Holiday Celebration on Ice
When:
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Time:
6pm (EST), 5pm (CST), 3pm (PST)
Where:
Hallmark Channel (check your local listings for channel information)
There will also be a second rebroadcast after the Holiday on Sunday December 27th at 1am (EST), 12am (CST) and 10pm (PST).
Cast:
Brian Boitano,Elvis Stojko,Jeffrey Buttle,Jozef Sabovcik,Michael Weiss,Steven Cousins,Caryn Kadavy,Shae-Lynn Bourne,Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon.
Musical Guest Stars:
REO Speedwagon & Rick Springfield
Game Facts: More than 70 Game Levels with "Hidden Object" scenes, puzzles, and other mini-games. More than a dozen REO songs used throughout the game. Reach certain milestones in the game and you'll unlock brand new recordings of "CHILDREN GO WHERE I SEND THEE" and a re-recording of the REO classic, "ROLL WITH THE CHANGES".
Click here to BUY the game.
Fan Appreciation Christmas Package
Tis' the season to save!
Hurry Only 1 day left to buy
Special REO Speedwagon Fan Appreciation Gift Pack!
Package includes:
1 Autogrpahed "Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon" CD
1 "No So Silent Night" Tee
(Please see store for pictures of these items.)
This package Makes a great gift for the whole family!
Order now to receive your item's before the Holidays.
REO Holiday Savings & *Fan Appreciation Price: 25.00 + Shipping. *
Retail Value: $45.00
Click here to visit the Store.
Hi Everybody,
Okay, I was scared. Yes, you heard me right. It has been a long time since I have felt real stage fright, but I was shaking in my Beatle boots last Thursday in Little Rock.
We were gathered just off stage left, along with Rick Springfield, and an amazing group of world champion figure skaters, including Brian Boitano and Peggy Fleming. Everyone was buzzing with excitement as the house lights went down. We took the stage, and the skaters took to the ice with such power and grace. When Neal played the intro to, "Can't Fight This Feeling", and I sang the opening lines, I finally felt a wave of calm come over me. We were off and running, or skating in this case, on NBC's Holiday Celebration on Ice...Classic Rock edition. All of the hours of preparation kicked in just in time, and we had a great show. We played some of our hits, and four songs from "Not So Silent Night". Rick sat in on "Roll With The Changes", and by the end of the song all the skaters were dancing around the stage with us. The airdate is Sunday, November 29th, 4PM - 6PM (EST), 3PM - 5PM (CST), 1PM - 3PM (PST).
Click here for details.
But that was not all that went on this past week...the final days of the 2009 Can't Stop Rockin tour...
The week began in Nashville, where two of my favorite country music artists showed up to jam with us on "Roll With The Changes". When we arrived at the Sommet Center, we heard this beautiful voice reverberating through the backstage area. Turns out that Martina McBride, perhaps the purist natural singer in country music, was rehearsing with her band in the sound stage, which connects to the dressing room area. I was told that her and her husband, Johnny, are REO fans, and wanted to meet us. Turns out they are from Wichita, Kansas, right in the heart of REO Country, and have been fans since they were dating. Then, word got around the Brad Paisley was coming to the show, and the buzz backstage was palpable. Dave and I had met Brad at a benefit concert we played together a few years back, so it was cool of him to come down. I really didn't expect it, but both Brad and Martina came up for "Roll", and the audience went wild. Standing on stage in Nashville, with Brad to my left and Martina to my right, the band rocking full tilt, singing that song...it was another unbelievable moment that music has allowed me to experience.
Meanwhile, there is an awesome, on-line video game based on our music, being released on December 3rd. The game is called, "Find Your Own Way Home", and it will be available through all the major on-line outlets. Players search for cool stuff, remix our music, and have a chance to win "Golden Tickets", which get you backstage passes, and even a chance to sing on "Roll With The Changes" in a live concert! Not to mention, we all think our avatars are quite handsome ;-)
Okay, I am exhausted just thinking about this past week, but the best part is that I get to meet up with my family next Tuesday, after over a month away from home. I can't wait to snuggle up and watch "Glee" with my daughter Holly, to shoot hoops in the yard with Josh and Shane, and you can use your imagination on what I can't wait to do with my wife, Lisa!
Have a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday. Watch us on NBC on Thanksgiving Sunday. And, big thanks to all of you who came out to see us play in concert this year. Plans are under way for 2010, as we speak...it's true, we really can't stop rockin'. I'll be in touch...
kc
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from Kevin, Bruce, Neal, Dave and Bryan.
Effective Monday November 23rd the 2009
Fan Appreciation Christmas Package
will be available!Tis' the season to save!
Hurry Only 23 days left to buy our
Special REO Speedwagon Fan Appreciation Gift Pack!
Package includes:
1 Autogrpahed "Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon" CD
1 "No So Silent Night" Tee
(Please see store for pictures of these items.)
This package Makes a great gift for the whole family!
Order now to receive your item's before the Holidays.
REO Holiday Savings & *Fan Appreciation Price: 25.00 + Shipping. *
Retail Value: $45.00
Click here to visit the Store.
TUNE-IN ALERT
What:
Scotch Brand Holiday Celebration on Ice
When:
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Time:
1:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Where:
NBC(check your local listings for channel information)
Cast:
Brian Boitano
Elvis Stojko
Jeffrey Buttle
Jozef Sabovcik
Michael Weiss
Steven Cousins
Caryn Kadavy
Shae-Lynn Bourne
Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon
Musical Guest Stars:
REO Speedwagon & Rick Springfield
Hi Everybody,
Well, many of you may have noticed that "Not So Silent Night", is not so easy to find. We know, but please don't give up. The CD is available at a discount price at Amazon.com, and there are personally autographed copies available through www.reospeedwagon.com . Finding the CD at stores is a bit more of a challenge, and here is why
Basically, in order to have a Christmas album included in the big Holiday displays, or even among the other holiday releases, we would have to have turned the record in to the record company in June. Yeah, June! We had no idea we had to have it ready so early. We turned our masters in to Sony on October 1st. Ooops...missed it by just a tad. Hey, we are a rock band. We are supposed to be late.
So we had a choice to make. We could either wait until next Christmas to release "Not So Silent Night", or we could let Sony rush release the record, knowing we would miss out on the majority of their holiday marketing campaign this year.
After all the work, and all the love, we put into this project. We couldn't imagine waiting a whole year to release the CD. Plus, we have two Christmas TV specials coming out this year, on NBC and ABC, and we will be playing songs from the new CD on both. We thought it would be better to have the new record available to people who heard the music on television, and wanted to play it at home this Christmas.
Sony truly loves this record, and has guaranteed us their full attention...next Christmas. For this year, "Not So Silent Night" is available, but it takes a bit more effort to find it.
But please, ask for it in any store that sells music. If the CD is not available, still inquire if they can order it for you. In general, I am asking you to bug the heck out of the stores that don't have the CD in stock. Then go ahead and order it from us directly, or from Amazon.com.
Meanwhile, "Can't Stop Rockin" continues to burn a path through the American Heartland...Columbus, Ohio, then Cincinnati, Winston-Salem, and on to Nashville, Dallas, and Little Rock. The Night Ranger boys have joined the finale, and we may have a new one for The Guinness Book of World Records...most guitar players on stage at one time: Check www.reospeedwagon.com and see if we are playing somewhere near you...you cannot miss this show.
You guys are the most awesome fans ever. Hope to see you soon...
kc
Hi Everybody,
Well, the REO machine is up and running and full speed ahead. We play three "evening with" shows this weekend, then on to Charleston for rehearsal. We meet up with our brothers in Styx and Night Ranger next weekend for the Fall leg of "Can't Stop Rockin' 2009", and are together right up until Thanksgiving.
I stopped off in Toronto yesterday for the press conference announcing that the five time Tony nominated Broadway musical, "Rock Of Ages", will be opening a second company at the Royal Alexandria Theatre next April. As I have said before, you must see this play. It is way cool. The soundtrack includes all your favorite songs from the 80's, and they transform a legitimate theater into a giant rock bar on the Sunset Strip. A feature film is in the works, as well. We have been involved with the production from the beginning, and I am so happy for these people who took a big risk in staging this play. It is great to see their success.
Meanwhile, "Not So Silent Night...Christmas With REO Speedwagon", will be available in stores any day now, with the official release date of November 3rd. We are all very excited, and can't wait to hear your reactions to the album. We taped an ABC television special called, "Holidays With the Stars", earlier this week. It consists of interview footage and unplugged performances by Dave and me at Blue Moon Studio, and a visit with Lisa and the kids at our home. The airdate is December 6th on ABC. Later in the tour we will be taping, "Holiday On Ice", which will be televised on November 29th, on NBC from 4pm-6pm (EST)...so get ready to set your TiVOs!
It will be great to get back to the "Can't Stop Rockin" tour. The whole awesome production is back, complete with the 40-foot video wall. Check the tour page at www.reospeedwagon.com for details.
Oh yeah, my luggage had such a good time in Toronto that it decided to stay for a while. I, on the other hand, am sitting here in my underwear, praying that the Suitcase Fairy will show up at my door soon. What normally happens in these situations is that my bags will arrive here in Fort Wayne tomorrow, of course by that time I will be in Detroit. Then my luggage will chase me around the country for the entire run. Ah yes, the joys of touring!
Okay, that's it for now...rock on,
kc
Now taking pre-orders for Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon with Original autographs by the band! Will be shipped by November 1, 2009.
After being inspired to create an album unlike anything they have before, original members, Kevin Cronin, Bruce Hall, and Neal Doughty, and twenty-year REO veterans, Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt, were excited to put together the band's first Christmas album. They gave these classics the full REO production treatment, providing a unique spin for the yuletide season. By choosing 13 songs that range from the most traditional carols to some more obscure songs, this album reflects the REO Speedwagon holiday spirit. Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon is poised to be a very special Christmas album that will bring generations within families together to rock the holiday nights away.
Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon
Tracks to Include:
The First Noel
Winter Wonderland
Silent Night
Deck The Halls
Little Drummer Boy
The White Snows of Winter
Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)
Children Go Where I Send Thee
I'll Be Home For Christmas
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
Blue Christmas
Joy To The World
The band is currently on the second leg of their "Can't Stop Rockin'" Tour across the country through November with Styx and Night Ranger, offering recession friendly prices through their "Rock n Roll Stimulus Package."
Tour Dates 2009
October 23: Embassy Theater - Ft. Wayne, INOctober 24: Ford Community & Performing Arts Center - Dearborn, MI
October 25: Kewadin Casino - Sault Ste Marie, MI
Can't Stop Rockin' II Tour
October 29: North Charleston Coliseum - North Charleston, SC
October 30: Ford Amphitheatre - North Tampa, FL
October 31: Cruzan Amphitheater - West Palm Beach, FL
November 1: Columbus Civic Center - Columbus, GA
November 3: Richmond Coliseum - Richmond, VA
November 5: Big Sandy Superstore Arena - Huntington, WV
November 6: Sovereign Center - Reading, PA
November 7: Covelli Center - Youngstown, Ohio
November 8: Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
November 10: Bank of Kentucky Center - Highland Heights, Kentucky
November 12: Lawrence Joel Vet. Memorial Coliseum - Winston Salem, North Carolina
November 13: Viking Hall - Bristol, TN
November 14: Eastern Kentucky Expo Center - Pikeville, Kentucky
November 15: Sommet Center - Nashville, TN
November 17: Allen Event Center - Allen, TX
November 19: Verizon Arena North - Little Rock, AR
November 20: Arkansas State Convocation Center - Jonesboro, Arkansas
November 21: Coushatta Casino Resort - Kinder, LA
November 22: American Bank Center - Corpus Christi, TX
Ho ho ho, everybody, May I be the first to wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2009. It has been Christmas here at Blue Moon Studio since this past February. We had no sooner put the finishing touches on our little REO/Styx "Can't Stop Rockin" recording sessions, when we dove right into "Not So Silent Night...Christmas With REO Speedwagon". Slowly but surely, in between tour dates and during our "vacations", we have been recording this not so secret project. Yup, you guessed it, we are releasing our very first Christmas album, on the Sony/Legacy label, in early November. The reason we kept it a bit secret was that I was never really sure if we were going to pull it off in time for this Christmas. (At the moment, producer Joe Vannelli is chained to the recording console, mixing the tracks. But don't worry about Joe, Dave and I stop in to feed him at least once a day, so he will be fine.) Usually Christmas albums tend to be the type of projects that get thrown together rather quickly...but not us. We got into this record with the same level of intensity that we do on any record we make. As a result, "Not So Silent Night" has turned out to be much more than simply a Christmas album...it is the new REO Speedwagon studio album. We are as proud of this as anything we have ever done. Look for the CD in stores and iTunes in early November. So, hopefully that explains why it has been a while since my last newsletter. We have begun playing some shows over the past couple of weeks, and we are rocking hard as ever. The concerts have been fun, the audiences have been big, loud and rowdy, and we are looking forward to the Fall tour dates. We will be doing some "weekend warrior" dates through September and into early October. Then, in the latter part of October, we will re-connect with our brothers in Styx, and gear up for the Fall leg of the "Can't Stop Rockin" tour. 38 Special kicked major butt on the summer leg, and we have become good friends with those guys. They had some other commitments in November, so we called our buddies in Night Ranger, and Jack Blades and the boys will be joining the "Can't Stop Rockin" tour for the fall shows. I hope to see you then. Okay, it must be getting close to feeding time at Blue Moon...I think I hear Joe howling. Gotta grab a hunk of raw meat and get down to the studio quickly. Over and out... kc "Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon" CD will be in the stores this holiday season! Stay tuned for the release date. Tour Dates 2009 September 18: Riverdome at Horseshoe Casino Bossier City, LA September 19: Midland County Horse Shoe Arena Midland, TX October 01: Central Washington State Fair Yakima, WA October 02: Little Creek Casino Resort Shelton, WA October 04: KLPX Radio Anniversary Festival Pima County Fairgrounds Tucson, AZ October 09: Valley View Casino Valley Center, CA October 10: JW Marriott Phoenix, AZ October 23: Embassy Theater Ft. Wayne, IN October 24: Ford Community & Performing Arts Center Dearborn, MI October 25: Kewadin Casino Sault Ste Marie, MI Can't Stop Rockin' II Tour October 29: North Charleston Coliseum North Charleston, SC October 30: Ford Amphitheatre North Tampa, FL October 31: Cruzan Amphitheater West Palm Beach, FL November 3: Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA November 5: Big Sandy Superstore Arena Huntington, WV November 6: Sovereign Center Reading, PA November 7: Covelli Center Youngstown, Ohio November 8: Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio November 10: Bank of Kentucky Center Highland Heights, Kentucky November 12: Lawrence Joel Vet. Memorial Coliseum Winston Salem, North Carolina November 13: Viking Hall Bristol, TN November 14: Eastern Kentucky Expo Center Pikeville, Kentucky November 15: Sommet Center Nashville, TN November 17: Allen Event Center Allen, TX November 19: Verizon Arena North Little Rock, AR November 20: Arkansas State Convocation Center Jonesboro, Arkansas November 21: Coushatta Casino Resort Kinder, LA November 22: American Bank Center Corpus Christi, TX
