April 22, 2025 • 28 mins
Join @thebuzzknight with Kevin Cronin, the iconic lead singer and songwriter of REO Speedwagon. Kevin opens up about his journey in the music industry, the stories behind some of the band's biggest hits, and the inspiration that keeps his creativity flowing after decades on stage. REO Speedwagon and Kevin Cronin have split up due to irreconcilable differences leading to Kevin going on the road with his own band and he opens up about his sadness and frustration behind this decision. From heartfelt ballads to rock anthems, discover the moments that shaped Kevin's wonderful career.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk sat down and I have a little
red Wurlitzer electric piano, and it started playing those chords
for the verses of keep On Loving You, and the
lyric just came. It was about twenty minutes of a
burst of creative energy.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
But I didn't write the chorus.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
A lot of times it happened for me that way,
where I write the verses and then I need to
get away from it a little bit, and then the
chorus comes.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast hosted by Buzz Night,
the podcast where Buzz talks with musicians and gets the
inside stories behind their music. And today we're joined by
a legend who's been serenading us with timeless rock ballads
for decades. Kevin Cronin, the iconic lead vocalist and guitarist
(00:50):
of Reo Speedwagon, has been a staple of American rock
music since the seventies. Kevin's heading out on the road
with the Kevin Cronin Band, the voice and songs of
Rio Speedwagon. Here's Buzz with Kevin Cronin from Rio Speedwagon
on a Taken a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Hey Bobby, Hey, how are you Kevin? I'm good.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm beginning to wake up.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
We're on the West coast here, and I operate on
Rock and Roll Time a little bit, you know, I
got My day revolves around going to work at eight
nine o'clock at night, so it's an early morning, but
it's worth it to get out and spread the word
(01:37):
about what's going on with with Ario Speedwagon and myself
and the music and the song.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
So I appreciate you having me. It's great to have
you on.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And since the podcast is called taking a Walk, I
wanted to ask you if you could take a walk
with somebody living or dead. Doesn't have to be in
the music side of things, but maybe preferably who would
that be and where would you take a walk with them?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Kevin Wow, Well, you know, my musical heroes were the Beatles, obviously,
you know. I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show
in nineteen sixty four and I looked at the TV
screen and I was like, that's what I want to do.
(02:28):
I've been taking guitar lessons for a couple of years
and didn't really know why until that day, but post Beatles,
just I really gravitated toward the music of Stephen Stills,
you know, with Buffalo Springfield with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
As a solo artist, Steven just he just does it
for me. Man.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
He's an amazing singer, amazing guitar player, electric and acoustic,
and his songwriting speaks for itself. So, uh, I would
go for a walk with Stephen.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Uh. I like to walk on the beach. Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And I actually like to walk in the soft sand
because it's just just a better, better exercise and it's
easy on the easy on the body. And and you know,
I used to be a runner, but but since you know,
I just realized that uh, that running what it was
a great part of my life when when I ran,
(03:28):
And but now walking on the beach kind of serves
that same purpose. It just, you know, my mind just
kind of freeze itself and uh and uh, I get
most of my better ideas come uh in a nice
long beach walk.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So but but I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I I kind of manifested meeting Stephen Still's one day.
I I put on that first Crosby Still the Nash record,
and uh played Sweet Juty Blue Eyes twelve times, picked
up the needle twelve times. You know, But I write
about my adventure with Stephen stills in my book, which
(04:11):
I'm still working on, but but yeah, Stephen, Stephen has
played a big part in my life and I owe
a lot to him.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
So we're going to talk about the Brotherhood tour in
a bit. I know you're super excited about that. You
got your your Stick's brothers and mister Felder as well
as part of that tour, and of course you're a
great touring band. But talk about the early days in
Chicago and how did your upbringing really influence you musically.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, you know, I come from from a musical household.
My parents were both deep into Broadway musicals. So I
grew up listening to uh you know, because you put
an album on in the in the living room and
it and with it was a small house, and you
(05:10):
whatever music mom and dad were listening to, that's what
I heard. So I listened to uh, you know, West
Side Story, South Pacific, you know, My Fair Lady, all
these great, uh classic Broadway musicals. But then there was
a musical called Bye Bye Birdie, which was the first
(05:31):
rock and roll UH music, and that the lead character
was Conrad Birdie and he was he was basically Elvis
Presley and uh and and when I heard that, I
was like, whoa that that spoke to me in a
different way. And uh, but but I was encouraged to
uh to play music. It was my dad who suggested
(05:54):
the guitar because he he was like, you know, I
wanted to play drums, but he was like, you know, uh,
you know, the guitar. You can take it anywhere, anywhere
you go. You can bring your guitar with you. And
I'll never forget that when he told me that, because
the guitar has been my constant companion. It's been like
(06:17):
a friend. It's been a vessel for me to express
my emotions. And you know, just you know, the guitar
is is what allows me to write songs. And so
I love the guitar. I've got guitars. If you looked
around this room, there's around our house, there are guitars everywhere,
(06:40):
and it's just a beautiful instrument. And and so yeah,
taking guitar lessons, man, that's where it started for me.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
So you joined Dario shortly after their debut album. What
drew you to the band and can you talk about
that the early days of first joining Rio.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Well, you know, I was I was born and raised
in Chicago, and uh and uh the my my chance
meeting with Gary rich ratht was UH.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
You couldn't have You couldn't have written.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
If I wrote the story uh uh and tried to
turn it into uh to a TV show or a play,
no one would believe it because it's because the uh.
But basically I put I hung flyers in all the
music stores uh in Chicago advertising UH. The the Musician's
(07:38):
Referral Service, and basically the Musician's Referral Service was was
my idea to try to find musicians for my band.
Our our guitar player and our bass player both left
and I, so I needed a guitar player and a
bass player.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So I just thought, well, I'll I'll start this little company,
and I'll be like a conduit for musicians who are
looking for bands and bands that are looking for musicians,
and I'll take the best musicians for my band. But
I soon.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Realized that a lot of people called in and had
great stories, but I couldn't really verify whether the stories
were true or whether you know, every guitar player was
the next Eric Clapton, you know, every singer was the
(08:32):
next Paul McCartney. But so I was the idea kind
of went south, but the Flyers were still up and
one day the phone rang and this guy is telling
me that he's the lead guitar player in a band.
They're signed to Epic Records or getting ready to go
in and make their second album in Nashville, and they
(08:55):
needed a guy who could sing, play rhythm, guitar and
write songs. And I'm like, you know what, I think
I've got the guy for you. I swear to God
that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
And rich Reth came up to I was living on
campus at Loyola University in Chicago, and he came up
and you know, I played the most recent song that
I written.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It was actually my kind of my first real song,
a song called music Man.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
And evidently Gary liked what he.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Heard because next thing I knew, I was in Champagne, Illinois,
on the campus at the University of Illinois, and I
was the new lead singer of Rio Speedwagon.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Pretty crazy story. There's more to it than that, but
that's the gist of it.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I love it, and I also love the fact that
you created like a precursor to like band camp or whatever.
In terms of this networking place for musicians. I think
it's pretty pretty amazing, really great, So keep on Loving.
You can't fight this feeling. Two of the most iconic
(10:08):
songs of our generation. What is it like striking gold
with songs like that to take us into that story?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Wow, it's an indescribable feeling. I can tell you that.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know, songwriting is such an amazing experience, and the
way it usually works for me is I'll just pick
up a guitar and just, you know, just start you know,
no preconceived notion of what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I just pick it up and start playing.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And if something's going on in my heart that needs
to come out, that emotion will will attach itself to
the whatever I'm playing on the guitar, and I'll start
to just sing and and and melodies come out and
words come out. It's it's I can't account for how
(10:59):
it happened, but I write a lot of songs. I
don't play all of them for people, but every once
in a while I'll just fall onto something and kind
of what you said, you kind of do have a
feeling about certain songs, like what I wrote the verses.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
For Keep on Loving, you.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I kind of stumbled down the hallway of my house,
my first little house I had a little home studios,
about four o'clock in the morning, and I sat down,
and I have a little red Wurlitzer electric piano, and
it started playing those chords for the verses of Keep
(11:43):
On Loving You, and the.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Lyric just came.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It was about twenty minutes of a burst of creative energy.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But I didn't write the chorus.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
A lot of times it happens for me that way,
where I write the verses and then I need to
get away from it a little bit, and then the
chorus comes because I don't I've never planned it this way,
but looking back, I noticed that a lot of times,
and keep On Loving You is a perfect example where
the verses are are pretty dark, you know, because songs
(12:19):
are normally my way of kind of unraveling what's going
on inside of me. And the next day I went
into rehearsal and we were working on our upcoming album,
which would become high in fidelity we know it at
the time, and I was just playing the chords for
(12:39):
the verse and just waiting for the chorus to arrive,
and suddenly there it was, and my choruses are usually hopeful,
is what I kind of notice. And so you get
the you get the true, you know, vulnerability hopefully and
an expression of a difficult city situation in the verses,
(13:02):
but then the chorus is the hopeful part. And like
I said, I've never I never planned it that way.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I kind of just realized it recently.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You know, doing interviews, you kind of take a take
a look back at things because people ask you questions,
and uh, that's what I noticed. And so, but that
song keep on Loving You has taken me on a
journey that you know. It was my first number one song,
which as a songwriter, you know, it doesn't get much
(13:35):
better than that. And you know, now you know people
like Keith Urban. You know, I saw someone sent me
a video of Keith Urban coming out for that for
his encore of his show. And I'm a fan of Keith's.
And he sits at the piano and he said to
the full arena, what does he say? Everybody feel like
(13:55):
singing along? And they're all yeah, yeah, and and and
then he plays keep I'm Loving You, and you know,
I just sit there and I go, this is unbelievable.
You know, Keith Urban is playing this song and twenty
thousand people are singing along with him, So it's an
amazing experience. I'm humbled by it. The fact that that
(14:17):
song has gotten into people's hearts and souls is just
amazing to me.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
And I just love playing.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
That song for people and just feeling that energy that
they give back to me when they sing along, and
I'm just I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Well, to quote one of my favorite Ario songs, Roll
with the changes. You are rolling with the changes. You've
announced the end of Rio's touring under that name. Can
you talk about what inspired that decision, what was involved
with it, and what the fans can expect to see
coming to see you on the road in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Well, you know, I am honestly devastated by the fact
that I can't tour under the name Ario Speedwagon because
I've spent my entire adult life of you know, putting
all my energy, all my heart and soul into building
up the concept of Ario Speedwagon and what Ario speed
(15:33):
Wagon stands for, which is you know, hard work, having fun,
positive energy. Even though I'm not permitted to use the
name Ario Speedwagon anymore, no one is.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
But no one can.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Stop me from from playing those songs, and no one
can stop me from from spreading that same Ario Speedwagon energy,
and that's what I'm going to be doing this year.
I'm so happy that Dave a Motto and Brian Hitt,
who played in Ario for thirty six years, they've been
(16:07):
by my side since nineteen eighty nine, and they will
and they're sticking with me. Derek Hillen and Matt Bissonett,
who joined the band in twenty twenty three, they're staying
with me. The entire road crew is staying with me.
The agents, the managers, everybody is sticking with me. And
there was just some there were just disputes. You knows.
(16:31):
Bands are intricate, unique organisms. And Bruce Hall and I
played together for forty seven years, which is a pretty
amazing run, and we accomplished a lot as bandmates. But
things change and people grow up, and as we grow up,
sometimes we get closer. Sometimes we surround ourselves with different
(16:57):
people that influence us in different ways. And I'm proud
of everything that I accomplished with Ario Speedwagon, and as
I say, it's it's gonna be, it's gonna be an
Ario speed Wagon experience when you come and see the
Kevin Cronin band. That's just that's what I'm all about.
I'm all about playing those songs that We're going to
(17:20):
be playing the entire High in Fidelity album in sequence
plus all the other hits. You know, can't fight this
feeling and roll with the change. Is time for me
to fly, keep pushing, and of course all the songs
from High Fidelity, you know, keep on loving you taking
on the run. You know, tough guys, you know, wish
(17:41):
you were there in your letter don't let him go.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We're playing every song, every album cut.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
It's really fun, man, It's really fun to play that
whole album because I was so invested in that record.
I just love that album and I put so much
love into it. And you know, the name High in
Fidelity just kind of dropped into my lap one day,
and I believed in that album and believed in.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Those songs so strongly. And you know, you never know.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
When you're making an album, what kind of a journey
that album is going to take you on. And High
Finality has taken me to places all over the world
that I never would have seen, and I've met people
that I never would have met, you know, through that music.
And even though I can't tour as a Reo Speedwagon,
(18:33):
I'm going to keep that music alive.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Nobody can stop me from doing that.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
I wouldn't try, that's for sure, because you're hell bent
on bringing it to people, and you love bringing it
to people. It's so obvious and you're so passionate about it.
How does it make you feel when you see the
multi generations that are just loving all the music at
these shows.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
It's it's amazing what music the power of music, the
power of music to bring people together, and and you
know you can't you can't duplicate the live concert experience
in any way. It's amazing, you know, for us on
stage to be playing these songs and you know, I'll
(19:16):
play the opening chords of Time for Me to Fly,
and you know, everybody's up on their feet singing along,
and you know, and and I just I'm taken back
to you know, uh, you know, in the case of
Time for Me to Fly, I remember exactly where I
was when I wrote it. You know, I was on
a friend's porch in Boulder, Colorado. Again, you know that's
(19:39):
that song is three chords. It's literally three chords. But
it doesn't matter, man, It's not how many.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Chords it is.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It's it's about the feeling of the song and that
people took it, took that song and so many of
of of my songs, and and Gary rich Rats songs
into their hearts. And you know, Gary and I we
had our ups and downs over the years. We were
brothers and musical partners, and you know, we never really
(20:08):
co wrote in the traditional sense. But Gary's influence on
my songs made my songs better, and I'd like to
think that my influence on Gary songs made his songs better.
So our stink is all over each other's songs. So
when I play any of those songs, whether they're mine
(20:30):
or Gary's, they're Ario Speedwagon songs, and we collaborated on
them in our own way. Sadly, Gary's no longer with us,
but I feel like it's my responsibility to kind of
keep an eye on Gary songs make sure that they
continue to be performed. And I love singing Gary songs.
(20:54):
I feel like they're my own and I'm their caretaker.
So and that's what the Kevin Krohna Band is going
to be doing. We're going to be keeping that music
alive and and playing those songs and respecting those songs.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And you know, I can't remember what the question was.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Oh, it's just the joy of being out there connecting
with the multi generations of fans who love the music,
you know what.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
And you're right that and I see that happening, and
you know, you know, I'm a dad, uh you know,
I love my kids and music has been a bond
between myself and my children. And to see people bringing
their kids to our shows, it's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
And we've always been kind of a family friendly band.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
You know, our songs, our songs that are accessible, they're
they're kind of you know, I look at them as
being kind of rocked up folk songs and you know,
their their story.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Songs there there you can sing along to them.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And to see young people that There was a show
played recently where there was a group of six or
seven kids, in college kids.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
They had to be right in the front row and
we walked.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
On on stage and I was like, oh boy, you know,
I hope these people know the songs, you know or whatever,
And sure enough they were singing along with every song.
And we kind of had a running joke through the
whole show about how young they were and about how
awesome it was that they grew up with their parents
playing O Reo Speedwagon records. And there they were at
(22:34):
the concert, and I think probably mom and dad were
in the crowd somewhere, but the kids were right up front.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Well, you have six kids.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
How do you balance you know, work life and personal
life with your family.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Wow, you know, I didn't realize that I have six kids,
but you know, I've It's a complicated extended family that
I have. I have a I raised my first wife's son,
Chris and uh and we had a son together, Paris,
(23:09):
and then I remarried and Lisa and I've been together
for thirty six years and we have three kids, Holly, Josh,
and Shane. And my wife Lisa was a big part
of both christ and Paris's life too, because they were
they were young at the time, so I think she
did a great job. She's just an amazing woman. She's
(23:33):
beautiful and brilliant and fun and all everything that a
guy could could want in a woman I definitely married up.
But she she raised our kids to have have a
respect for what I do. And but when I'm home,
I'm dad. You know, I'm I'm taking out the garbage.
(23:54):
I'm you know, picking up the furniture when it gets
blown down the hill, when the Santa Anna wins hit us.
And and uh, my children and I are all close
and as far as they're concerned, I'm just dad. And
it's funny because as they've gotten older, they've you know,
started coming to concerts and and kind of have a
(24:16):
better understanding of of of my music.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And but they're well rounded young people and I couldn't
be more proud of them. And uh, and my wife
did an amazing job. I was around, you know a
little bit, but uh, but but but but I give
it up to my wife, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
She did the heavy lifting.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
So in closing, Kevin, how do you want your legacy
to be thought of in the music industry?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Wow? You know, I honestly I've never thought about that.
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I guess I would want to be remembered it as
someone who kept it real, who always stroll to build
on the on the minimal natural ability that that that
I have and make the most of my talent and
and to be an example that no one would have
(25:14):
ever accused me of being most likely to succeed in
high school. But I believed, and I worked really hard
and I kept it real and I I love what
I do. Music has allowed me to to.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Bloom as a human being. Uh.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
With with without my guitar, I don't know where I
would be today. And uh So if I can be
an example of of hard work paying off and just
a an unquenchable thirst for improvement and and a love
of music, and.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Wow, yeah, I don't know that's uh. If I was
going to put it in.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
A nutshell, gosh, I guess I would say that that
I serve the songs and uh And as a musician,
I think that's that's your job. The song is what
it's all about. And it's the songs that that have
taken me on this amazing journey. And it's these songs
(26:25):
that that I love that I'm fortunate enough to have
written and recorded and sung on on records and gotten
into people's hearts and souls.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
And I'm going to continue to.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Bring that music with me and and and the Kevin
Cronin Band, and even though we can't call it Ario Speedwagon,
it's the Ario Speedwagon Experience and uh and we'll be
bringing it to a city near you this summer. The
whole High Infinelity record in sequence cover to cover a
bunch of but should the other hits, you know, roll
(27:01):
up the change, it is time for me to fly
riding the storm out. Can't fight this feeling. Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
You know, so.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
I appreciate you having me on Buzz and allowing me
to kind of spread the word, because that's what I've
got to do. I've got I've got to let people
know that that the Kevin Cronin Band is basically the
Ario Speedwagon experience. And if you want that experience, that
positive energy, if you want to hear those songs played
(27:31):
live by by an awesome band Dave, Brian, Derek and
Matt and sung by the guy that's sang him on
the records, It's not called Ario Speedwagon, It's called the
Kevin Cronin Band, but between you and me, it's Ario Speedwagon.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Thanks for the joy of all the music that you
continue to give us, and thanks for spreading the word.
Kevin Cronin. It's great to have you on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Thank you and I will think about you when I
take my walk later this afternoon. Buzz, good luck to you,
and thank you for keeping the music alive and giving
us a.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Place to go to spread the words. So thank you
very much for having me.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk sat down and I have a little
red Wurlitzer electric piano, and it started playing those chords
for the verses of keep On Loving You, and the
lyric just came. It was about twenty minutes of a
burst of creative energy.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
But I didn't write the chorus.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
A lot of times it happened for me that way,
where I write the verses and then I need to
get away from it a little bit, and then the
chorus comes.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast hosted by Buzz Night,
the podcast where Buzz talks with musicians and gets the
inside stories behind their music. And today we're joined by
a legend who's been serenading us with timeless rock ballads
for decades. Kevin Cronin, the iconic lead vocalist and guitarist
(00:50):
of Reo Speedwagon, has been a staple of American rock
music since the seventies. Kevin's heading out on the road
with the Kevin Cronin Band, the voice and songs of
Rio Speedwagon. Here's Buzz with Kevin Cronin from Rio Speedwagon
on a Taken a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Hey Bobby, Hey, how are you Kevin? I'm good.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm beginning to wake up.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
We're on the West coast here, and I operate on
Rock and Roll Time a little bit, you know, I
got My day revolves around going to work at eight
nine o'clock at night, so it's an early morning, but
it's worth it to get out and spread the word
(01:37):
about what's going on with with Ario Speedwagon and myself
and the music and the song.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
So I appreciate you having me. It's great to have
you on.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And since the podcast is called taking a Walk, I
wanted to ask you if you could take a walk
with somebody living or dead. Doesn't have to be in
the music side of things, but maybe preferably who would
that be and where would you take a walk with them?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Kevin Wow, Well, you know, my musical heroes were the Beatles, obviously,
you know. I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show
in nineteen sixty four and I looked at the TV
screen and I was like, that's what I want to do.
(02:28):
I've been taking guitar lessons for a couple of years
and didn't really know why until that day, but post Beatles,
just I really gravitated toward the music of Stephen Stills,
you know, with Buffalo Springfield with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
As a solo artist, Steven just he just does it
for me. Man.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
He's an amazing singer, amazing guitar player, electric and acoustic,
and his songwriting speaks for itself. So, uh, I would
go for a walk with Stephen.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Uh. I like to walk on the beach. Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And I actually like to walk in the soft sand
because it's just just a better, better exercise and it's
easy on the easy on the body. And and you know,
I used to be a runner, but but since you know,
I just realized that uh, that running what it was
a great part of my life when when I ran,
(03:28):
And but now walking on the beach kind of serves
that same purpose. It just, you know, my mind just
kind of freeze itself and uh and uh, I get
most of my better ideas come uh in a nice
long beach walk.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So but but I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I I kind of manifested meeting Stephen Still's one day.
I I put on that first Crosby Still the Nash record,
and uh played Sweet Juty Blue Eyes twelve times, picked
up the needle twelve times. You know, But I write
about my adventure with Stephen stills in my book, which
(04:11):
I'm still working on, but but yeah, Stephen, Stephen has
played a big part in my life and I owe
a lot to him.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
So we're going to talk about the Brotherhood tour in
a bit. I know you're super excited about that. You
got your your Stick's brothers and mister Felder as well
as part of that tour, and of course you're a
great touring band. But talk about the early days in
Chicago and how did your upbringing really influence you musically.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, you know, I come from from a musical household.
My parents were both deep into Broadway musicals. So I
grew up listening to uh you know, because you put
an album on in the in the living room and
it and with it was a small house, and you
(05:10):
whatever music mom and dad were listening to, that's what
I heard. So I listened to uh, you know, West
Side Story, South Pacific, you know, My Fair Lady, all
these great, uh classic Broadway musicals. But then there was
a musical called Bye Bye Birdie, which was the first
(05:31):
rock and roll UH music, and that the lead character
was Conrad Birdie and he was he was basically Elvis
Presley and uh and and when I heard that, I
was like, whoa that that spoke to me in a
different way. And uh, but but I was encouraged to
uh to play music. It was my dad who suggested
(05:54):
the guitar because he he was like, you know, I
wanted to play drums, but he was like, you know, uh,
you know, the guitar. You can take it anywhere, anywhere
you go. You can bring your guitar with you. And
I'll never forget that when he told me that, because
the guitar has been my constant companion. It's been like
(06:17):
a friend. It's been a vessel for me to express
my emotions. And you know, just you know, the guitar
is is what allows me to write songs. And so
I love the guitar. I've got guitars. If you looked
around this room, there's around our house, there are guitars everywhere,
(06:40):
and it's just a beautiful instrument. And and so yeah,
taking guitar lessons, man, that's where it started for me.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
So you joined Dario shortly after their debut album. What
drew you to the band and can you talk about
that the early days of first joining Rio.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Well, you know, I was I was born and raised
in Chicago, and uh and uh the my my chance
meeting with Gary rich ratht was UH.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
You couldn't have You couldn't have written.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
If I wrote the story uh uh and tried to
turn it into uh to a TV show or a play,
no one would believe it because it's because the uh.
But basically I put I hung flyers in all the
music stores uh in Chicago advertising UH. The the Musician's
(07:38):
Referral Service, and basically the Musician's Referral Service was was
my idea to try to find musicians for my band.
Our our guitar player and our bass player both left
and I, so I needed a guitar player and a
bass player.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So I just thought, well, I'll I'll start this little company,
and I'll be like a conduit for musicians who are
looking for bands and bands that are looking for musicians,
and I'll take the best musicians for my band. But
I soon.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Realized that a lot of people called in and had
great stories, but I couldn't really verify whether the stories
were true or whether you know, every guitar player was
the next Eric Clapton, you know, every singer was the
(08:32):
next Paul McCartney. But so I was the idea kind
of went south, but the Flyers were still up and
one day the phone rang and this guy is telling
me that he's the lead guitar player in a band.
They're signed to Epic Records or getting ready to go
in and make their second album in Nashville, and they
(08:55):
needed a guy who could sing, play rhythm, guitar and
write songs. And I'm like, you know what, I think
I've got the guy for you. I swear to God
that's how it happened.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
And rich Reth came up to I was living on
campus at Loyola University in Chicago, and he came up
and you know, I played the most recent song that
I written.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It was actually my kind of my first real song,
a song called music Man.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
And evidently Gary liked what he.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Heard because next thing I knew, I was in Champagne, Illinois,
on the campus at the University of Illinois, and I
was the new lead singer of Rio Speedwagon.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Pretty crazy story. There's more to it than that, but
that's the gist of it.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I love it, and I also love the fact that
you created like a precursor to like band camp or whatever.
In terms of this networking place for musicians. I think
it's pretty pretty amazing, really great, So keep on Loving.
You can't fight this feeling. Two of the most iconic
(10:08):
songs of our generation. What is it like striking gold
with songs like that to take us into that story?
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Wow, it's an indescribable feeling. I can tell you that.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know, songwriting is such an amazing experience, and the
way it usually works for me is I'll just pick
up a guitar and just, you know, just start you know,
no preconceived notion of what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I just pick it up and start playing.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And if something's going on in my heart that needs
to come out, that emotion will will attach itself to
the whatever I'm playing on the guitar, and I'll start
to just sing and and and melodies come out and
words come out. It's it's I can't account for how
(10:59):
it happened, but I write a lot of songs. I
don't play all of them for people, but every once
in a while I'll just fall onto something and kind
of what you said, you kind of do have a
feeling about certain songs, like what I wrote the verses.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
For Keep on Loving, you.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I kind of stumbled down the hallway of my house,
my first little house I had a little home studios,
about four o'clock in the morning, and I sat down,
and I have a little red Wurlitzer electric piano, and
it started playing those chords for the verses of Keep
(11:43):
On Loving You, and the.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Lyric just came.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It was about twenty minutes of a burst of creative energy.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But I didn't write the chorus.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
A lot of times it happens for me that way,
where I write the verses and then I need to
get away from it a little bit, and then the
chorus comes because I don't I've never planned it this way,
but looking back, I noticed that a lot of times,
and keep On Loving You is a perfect example where
the verses are are pretty dark, you know, because songs
(12:19):
are normally my way of kind of unraveling what's going
on inside of me. And the next day I went
into rehearsal and we were working on our upcoming album,
which would become high in fidelity we know it at
the time, and I was just playing the chords for
(12:39):
the verse and just waiting for the chorus to arrive,
and suddenly there it was, and my choruses are usually hopeful,
is what I kind of notice. And so you get
the you get the true, you know, vulnerability hopefully and
an expression of a difficult city situation in the verses,
(13:02):
but then the chorus is the hopeful part. And like
I said, I've never I never planned it that way.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I kind of just realized it recently.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You know, doing interviews, you kind of take a take
a look back at things because people ask you questions,
and uh, that's what I noticed. And so, but that
song keep on Loving You has taken me on a
journey that you know. It was my first number one song,
which as a songwriter, you know, it doesn't get much
(13:35):
better than that. And you know, now you know people
like Keith Urban. You know, I saw someone sent me
a video of Keith Urban coming out for that for
his encore of his show. And I'm a fan of Keith's.
And he sits at the piano and he said to
the full arena, what does he say? Everybody feel like
(13:55):
singing along? And they're all yeah, yeah, and and and
then he plays keep I'm Loving You, and you know,
I just sit there and I go, this is unbelievable.
You know, Keith Urban is playing this song and twenty
thousand people are singing along with him, So it's an
amazing experience. I'm humbled by it. The fact that that
(14:17):
song has gotten into people's hearts and souls is just
amazing to me.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
And I just love playing.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
That song for people and just feeling that energy that
they give back to me when they sing along, and
I'm just I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Well, to quote one of my favorite Ario songs, Roll
with the changes. You are rolling with the changes. You've
announced the end of Rio's touring under that name. Can
you talk about what inspired that decision, what was involved
with it, and what the fans can expect to see
coming to see you on the road in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Well, you know, I am honestly devastated by the fact
that I can't tour under the name Ario Speedwagon because
I've spent my entire adult life of you know, putting
all my energy, all my heart and soul into building
up the concept of Ario Speedwagon and what Ario speed
(15:33):
Wagon stands for, which is you know, hard work, having fun,
positive energy. Even though I'm not permitted to use the
name Ario Speedwagon anymore, no one is.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
But no one can.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Stop me from from playing those songs, and no one
can stop me from from spreading that same Ario Speedwagon energy,
and that's what I'm going to be doing this year.
I'm so happy that Dave a Motto and Brian Hitt,
who played in Ario for thirty six years, they've been
(16:07):
by my side since nineteen eighty nine, and they will
and they're sticking with me. Derek Hillen and Matt Bissonett,
who joined the band in twenty twenty three, they're staying
with me. The entire road crew is staying with me.
The agents, the managers, everybody is sticking with me. And
there was just some there were just disputes. You knows.
(16:31):
Bands are intricate, unique organisms. And Bruce Hall and I
played together for forty seven years, which is a pretty
amazing run, and we accomplished a lot as bandmates. But
things change and people grow up, and as we grow up,
sometimes we get closer. Sometimes we surround ourselves with different
(16:57):
people that influence us in different ways. And I'm proud
of everything that I accomplished with Ario Speedwagon, and as
I say, it's it's gonna be, it's gonna be an
Ario speed Wagon experience when you come and see the
Kevin Cronin band. That's just that's what I'm all about.
I'm all about playing those songs that We're going to
(17:20):
be playing the entire High in Fidelity album in sequence
plus all the other hits. You know, can't fight this
feeling and roll with the change. Is time for me
to fly, keep pushing, and of course all the songs
from High Fidelity, you know, keep on loving you taking
on the run. You know, tough guys, you know, wish
(17:41):
you were there in your letter don't let him go.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We're playing every song, every album cut.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
It's really fun, man, It's really fun to play that
whole album because I was so invested in that record.
I just love that album and I put so much
love into it. And you know, the name High in
Fidelity just kind of dropped into my lap one day,
and I believed in that album and believed in.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Those songs so strongly. And you know, you never know.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
When you're making an album, what kind of a journey
that album is going to take you on. And High
Finality has taken me to places all over the world
that I never would have seen, and I've met people
that I never would have met, you know, through that music.
And even though I can't tour as a Reo Speedwagon,
(18:33):
I'm going to keep that music alive.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Nobody can stop me from doing that.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
I wouldn't try, that's for sure, because you're hell bent
on bringing it to people, and you love bringing it
to people. It's so obvious and you're so passionate about it.
How does it make you feel when you see the
multi generations that are just loving all the music at
these shows.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
It's it's amazing what music the power of music, the
power of music to bring people together, and and you
know you can't you can't duplicate the live concert experience
in any way. It's amazing, you know, for us on
stage to be playing these songs and you know, I'll
(19:16):
play the opening chords of Time for Me to Fly,
and you know, everybody's up on their feet singing along,
and you know, and and I just I'm taken back
to you know, uh, you know, in the case of
Time for Me to Fly, I remember exactly where I
was when I wrote it. You know, I was on
a friend's porch in Boulder, Colorado. Again, you know that's
(19:39):
that song is three chords. It's literally three chords. But
it doesn't matter, man, It's not how many.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Chords it is.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
It's it's about the feeling of the song and that
people took it, took that song and so many of
of of my songs, and and Gary rich Rats songs
into their hearts. And you know, Gary and I we
had our ups and downs over the years. We were
brothers and musical partners, and you know, we never really
(20:08):
co wrote in the traditional sense. But Gary's influence on
my songs made my songs better, and I'd like to
think that my influence on Gary songs made his songs better.
So our stink is all over each other's songs. So
when I play any of those songs, whether they're mine
(20:30):
or Gary's, they're Ario Speedwagon songs, and we collaborated on
them in our own way. Sadly, Gary's no longer with us,
but I feel like it's my responsibility to kind of
keep an eye on Gary songs make sure that they
continue to be performed. And I love singing Gary songs.
(20:54):
I feel like they're my own and I'm their caretaker.
So and that's what the Kevin Krohna Band is going
to be doing. We're going to be keeping that music
alive and and playing those songs and respecting those songs.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And you know, I can't remember what the question was.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Oh, it's just the joy of being out there connecting
with the multi generations of fans who love the music,
you know what.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
And you're right that and I see that happening, and
you know, you know, I'm a dad, uh you know,
I love my kids and music has been a bond
between myself and my children. And to see people bringing
their kids to our shows, it's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
And we've always been kind of a family friendly band.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
You know, our songs, our songs that are accessible, they're
they're kind of you know, I look at them as
being kind of rocked up folk songs and you know,
their their story.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Songs there there you can sing along to them.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And to see young people that There was a show
played recently where there was a group of six or
seven kids, in college kids.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
They had to be right in the front row and
we walked.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
On on stage and I was like, oh boy, you know,
I hope these people know the songs, you know or whatever,
And sure enough they were singing along with every song.
And we kind of had a running joke through the
whole show about how young they were and about how
awesome it was that they grew up with their parents
playing O Reo Speedwagon records. And there they were at
(22:34):
the concert, and I think probably mom and dad were
in the crowd somewhere, but the kids were right up front.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Well, you have six kids.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
How do you balance you know, work life and personal
life with your family.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Wow, you know, I didn't realize that I have six kids,
but you know, I've It's a complicated extended family that
I have. I have a I raised my first wife's son,
Chris and uh and we had a son together, Paris,
(23:09):
and then I remarried and Lisa and I've been together
for thirty six years and we have three kids, Holly, Josh,
and Shane. And my wife Lisa was a big part
of both christ and Paris's life too, because they were
they were young at the time, so I think she
did a great job. She's just an amazing woman. She's
(23:33):
beautiful and brilliant and fun and all everything that a
guy could could want in a woman I definitely married up.
But she she raised our kids to have have a
respect for what I do. And but when I'm home,
I'm dad. You know, I'm I'm taking out the garbage.
(23:54):
I'm you know, picking up the furniture when it gets
blown down the hill, when the Santa Anna wins hit us.
And and uh, my children and I are all close
and as far as they're concerned, I'm just dad. And
it's funny because as they've gotten older, they've you know,
started coming to concerts and and kind of have a
(24:16):
better understanding of of of my music.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And but they're well rounded young people and I couldn't
be more proud of them. And uh, and my wife
did an amazing job. I was around, you know a
little bit, but uh, but but but but I give
it up to my wife, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
She did the heavy lifting.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
So in closing, Kevin, how do you want your legacy
to be thought of in the music industry?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Wow? You know, I honestly I've never thought about that.
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I guess I would want to be remembered it as
someone who kept it real, who always stroll to build
on the on the minimal natural ability that that that
I have and make the most of my talent and
and to be an example that no one would have
(25:14):
ever accused me of being most likely to succeed in
high school. But I believed, and I worked really hard
and I kept it real and I I love what
I do. Music has allowed me to to.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
Bloom as a human being. Uh.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
With with without my guitar, I don't know where I
would be today. And uh So if I can be
an example of of hard work paying off and just
a an unquenchable thirst for improvement and and a love
of music, and.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Wow, yeah, I don't know that's uh. If I was
going to put it in.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
A nutshell, gosh, I guess I would say that that
I serve the songs and uh And as a musician,
I think that's that's your job. The song is what
it's all about. And it's the songs that that have
taken me on this amazing journey. And it's these songs
(26:25):
that that I love that I'm fortunate enough to have
written and recorded and sung on on records and gotten
into people's hearts and souls.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
And I'm going to continue to.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Bring that music with me and and and the Kevin
Cronin Band, and even though we can't call it Ario Speedwagon,
it's the Ario Speedwagon Experience and uh and we'll be
bringing it to a city near you this summer. The
whole High Infinelity record in sequence cover to cover a
bunch of but should the other hits, you know, roll
(27:01):
up the change, it is time for me to fly
riding the storm out. Can't fight this feeling. Uh.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
You know, so.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
I appreciate you having me on Buzz and allowing me
to kind of spread the word, because that's what I've
got to do. I've got I've got to let people
know that that the Kevin Cronin Band is basically the
Ario Speedwagon experience. And if you want that experience, that
positive energy, if you want to hear those songs played
(27:31):
live by by an awesome band Dave, Brian, Derek and
Matt and sung by the guy that's sang him on
the records, It's not called Ario Speedwagon, It's called the
Kevin Cronin Band, but between you and me, it's Ario Speedwagon.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Thanks for the joy of all the music that you
continue to give us, and thanks for spreading the word.
Kevin Cronin. It's great to have you on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Thank you and I will think about you when I
take my walk later this afternoon. Buzz, good luck to you,
and thank you for keeping the music alive and giving
us a.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Place to go to spread the words. So thank you
very much for having me.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Lynn Hoffman
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