Kevin Cronin, the iconic voice and writer behind REO SPEEDWAGON‘s greatest hits, spoke to the “Let There Be Talk” podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray about his upcoming “Brotherhood Of Rock” tour with STYX during which he will perform REO SPEEDWAGON‘s 1980 album “Hi Infidelity” in its entirety, while STYX will play 1977’s “The Grand Illusion” from front to back. Kevin said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “ Yeah, we’re both doing the whole albums. Both REO and STYX have done several residencies at the Venetian theater in Vegas. And we did the ‘Hi Infidelity’ show three times, and we put together a whole new presentation for the residency, as did STYX for their ‘Grand Illusion’ residency. And so this summer we just thought, ‘You know what? Those shows did so well and people reacted so well to them…’ ‘Cause you play the whole album and then you also do all the hits that people wanna do too. So it’s a cool thing and it’s unique because we’ve never done it — neither band has ever done it — anywhere else except in Vegas. And so we did it as REO SPEEDWAGON three times over the past year and a half, but that same band is gonna be touring this year as the KEVIN CRONIN BAND, because I’m not able to tour as REO SPEEDWAGON anymore.”
Asked why is unable to tour as REO SPEEDWAGON anymore, Kevin said: “Well [laughs], that’s a good question. And it’s a complicated question. God, it’s a tough one because our bass player, Bruce Hall, who, he and I worked together for almost 50 years. I was instrumental in getting him in the band. Any side project I ever did, Bruce was part of it. But over the past several years, things became a little bit of a struggle for us, just musically, personally and physically. And Bruce‘s had back problems for a long time and it finally just gave out on him. And we had a week before the first Las Vegas residency. So he had to go home and take care of his health. And we could have either canceled the residency and the gigs to follow, but I put so much of my heart and soul into that residency show. People plan their vacations. People come to Vegas from Europe and stuff. And I just was, like, ‘If I can pull this off, I’ve gotta try to do it without Bruce.’ We just got lucky that Elton John had retired, and our buddy Matt Bissonette, who had been with Elton for 12 years, was available. He came in with charts for every song, and within two days the charts were gone. He had the bass parts. Then he goes, ‘Teach me the harmony, the vocal harmonies.’ I’m, like, ‘Okay.’ I gave him all the harmony parts. And he’s just an amazing bass player, great singer, good dude, and the chemistry between Dave [Amato, guitar] and Bryan [Hitt, drums], who have been with me in REO SPEEDWAGON for 35-plus years, and Derek Hilland, who took over when Neal Doughty retired in late 2022, the five of us just — something happened, something magical happened. But Matt was subbing for Bruce, and Bruce was… His doctors told him he’d be ready on March 1st of 2024. And he wasn’t; he wasn’t there. And then it got pushed back to June 1st. And meanwhile, I’m thinking by this time, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen. Bruce, he had major back surgery and there were some other issues, musical issues, that popped up. He was supposed to be there March 1st — didn’t do it. And I’m, like, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen here.’ So my thought was, let’s keep Matt in the band so when Bruce joins, it’ll just be a six-piece group. I was working on a setlist where Bruce and Matt could kind of switch off between bass and acoustic guitar. And it was gonna be a little awkward, but at least that we would have the insurance and Bruce would have the security that if, for whatever reason… Because the show is one thing — getting on and off the bus, packing your bags, getting out of hotel rooms, when you have major back surgery at 70 years old, that’s tough. So I needed Matt as an insurance policy. And then, out of nowhere, I understand, through an attorney, that Bruce has decided to sit out the 2024 tour as long as he gets paid in full as if he were touring. And so we didn’t have much choice. That’s what we did, and that’s what he accepted. And we went ahead and finished the 2024 tour with Matt Bissonette on bass, five-piece band. It was the most successful tour we’ve had in 35 years. The band was just on fire, the crowds were crazy and it became this just-good-vibes thing.
“My thing — I’m a lead singer of the band,” Kevin added. “I didn’t run for office, but I became the leader of the band. I’m the guy who pulls it together. And so I just felt that band lifting me up in a way that I hadn’t felt in a long time. And it really felt good. And I felt like I was lifting them up and there was just this positive vibe going on.”
Cronin went on to say that “Bruce was never fired. I don’t have the right to fire him,” he explained. “And it’s funny because there was kind of a narrative, an inaccurate narrative that was kind of circulating online that put it in terms of that I somehow quit REO SPEEDWAGON to pursue a solo career. And that’s bullshit. And then there was another narrative that I somehow prevented Bruce from touring with the group in 2024 when the truth is I was trying to find a way that he could tour with the band in 2024. And he — what I understood is that he decided to sit the tour out. So, I don’t know exactly why. I can’t tell you ’cause he never called and talked to me about it. But he did make some demands. He said that he’d be ready to come back in 2025. But he put these demands in place that — there were a number of demands, but two in particular.
“I’ve kind of stayed above the weeds here on this thing, ’cause I don’t really feel like the fans care to know or need to know,” Kevin continued. “If you’ve been in bands, you know — shit goes on, and it’s a brotherly thing. And a lot of relationships are love-hate, and things get weird for awhile and then things get worked out. But there was a couple of demands that one of them it would have been irresponsible for me to go along with, and the other one, it was impossible for me to go along with. And so we just hit a stalemate. And the way our band is set up, Neal, Bruce and I are the three kind of heritage members. Even though Dave and Bryan have been with us for 35 years, they weren’t there when the records were recorded. So it was a special relationship between the three of us. And there was a kind of a retirement situation that was built in so that if anyone left the band for whatever reason, they were well taken care of, as long as the band continues touring. So, it was a sweet deal, but Bruce, he just feels like if he’s not in the band, then the band, it can’t be REO SPEEDWAGON. And to me, it’s, like, if there’s two guys in a band who can’t work together anymore and one of them has the ability to keep the band going and keep the legacy going and keep playing the songs for the fans who we’ve nurtured over a 50-year period and the other guy can’t do that, well, then it’s incumbent on the other guy to go, ‘All right, maybe my time’s up. Go ahead.’ I mean, that’s what [original CHEAP TRICK drummer] Bun E. Carlos did. When Bun E. and Robin [Zander, CHEAP TRICK singer] couldn’t work together anymore, one or the other of them was gonna leave the band, Bun E. stepped down gracefully. Yeah, ’cause if Robin steps down, what are they gonna do? Robin is the face and the voice of the band. And for whatever reason, Bruce was listening to people that were giving him advice, I guess, to, like, ‘If you’re not in the band, then burn the whole thing down.’
“And at any rate, I’m not gonna stop,” Cronin added. “Nobody can stop me from singing these songs, playing these songs and giving the fans what they want. And if you want the REO SPEEDWAGON experience, there’s only one place you’re gonna get it, and that’s the KEVIN CRONIN BAND. It’s the same band. I’m not going out there and singing a solo album worth of songs. I’m singing the songs that I wrote for REO SPEEDWAGON and the songs that Gary [Richrath] and I worked on together with REO SPEEDWAGON.”
Last December, Kevin told Billboard that he “never quit” REO SPEEDWAGON. He added: “I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and…have to stop calling it REO SPEEDWAGON.” The vote Cronin referred to was a 2-1 decision with Doughty and Hall regarding the use of the REO SPEEDWAGON name.
The “Brotherhood Of Rock” tour, along with special guest Don Felder (a former lead guitarist of THE EAGLES),will kick off May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
STYX and Kevin Cronin (as part of REO SPEEDWAGON) first toured together in 2000 and in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, they came together to form the Rock To The Rescue 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which still collects donations for local charities at every stop on STYX‘s ongoing tour.
General tickets for the trek, produced by Live Nation, are on sale now on LiveNation.com. STYX and the KEVIN CRONIN BAND are also offering VIP packages via their own StyxWorld.com and KevinCronin.com web sites, as well as on LiveNation.com. Citi is the official card of the “Brotherhood Of Rock” tour.
Source: blabbermouth.net
