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.
Click here for review.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!
Click here for review.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.
Click here for review.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."
Click here for review.by Neil Baron
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."
Click here for review at McClatchy Tribune.
