Hey, Renegades! For what is now Styx Featured Fan Story, Chapter 15, we promised you a video answer from Ricky, so here goes... and a big thanks and congrats goes to Bob Larson for asking this question:
"On a couple of songs on The Mission album (Locomotive and Red Storm) you play some really cool bass parts up high on the neck. How did you go about coming up with those? And do you use any effects when you play or do you go with just the bass?"
Styx and Kevin Cronin, the iconic voice and writer behind REO Speedwagon's greatest hits, have one of the strongest brotherly bonds spanning 25 years, especially since they’ve crossed paths on the North American concert trail along with the occasional joint festival concert. Fittingly, next summer they’ll join forces for the sixth time for their “Brotherhood of Rock” tour, along with special guest Don Felder (a former lead guitarist for the Eagles), that will kick off May 28, 2025 in Greenville, SC at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
It wouldn’t be summer without a live celebration of some of the greatest Rock anthems of all time, including “Renegade,” “Keep On Loving You,” “Come Sail Away,” “Can't Fight This Feeling,” and “Hotel California.”
The official trailer for the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour can be seen on Live Nation’s YouTube page.
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 on-going tour.
General tickets for the trek, produced by Live Nation, will go on sale starting Friday, December 13 at 10am local time on LiveNation.com. Styx and Kevin Cronin will be offering VIP packages via their own exclusive pre-sales beginning Tuesday, December 10 at 10am local time, as well as at LiveNation.com.
Citi is the official card of the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the U.S. beginning December 9 at 10am local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details, visit www.citientertainment.com.
Canadian fans who are American Express® Cardmembers can get Front Of The Line presale access to purchase tickets to the Toronto show before the general public beginning December 9 at 10am local time at https://www.ticketmaster.ca/americanexpress/94.
“The winter of 1975 I had returned home to Montgomery, Alabama after accepting the fact that there was very little, if any interest from club owners for seven-piece rock bands who played their original songs, (some of which were 10 minutes long) and we’d finally accepted the reality that people wanted disco music hits to dance to,” says STYX singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. “A musician friend from home called me about a steady gig he and two other local musician friends had in the lounge of the local bowling alley. There was no dance floor, only tables and chairs, and they were playing music from bands like the Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, etc. and singing three-part harmony to locals who were loving it and not wanting to dance. And a steady weekly paycheck! I joined them and spent the rest of that year playing whatever we liked, bought a modest house, bought a used car, and was relieved to be off the road after two years of night club managers who wanted us to play disco. Thinking I’d found a secure life in my hometown, I got a call from a guy named Jim Vosecek, who’d introduced himself to me and the band at a club in Chicago. He explained that he was tour manager of the rock band STYX, that they had just released a new album called EQUINOX, and they were scheduled to embark on their first national tour when a member suddenly quit and left the band. He said to get on the plane they’d booked and come audition. Arriving at O’Hare airport, I met Kevin Cronin who was returning to rejoin his band, REO Speedwagon. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship that finds us back on the road together, this time under much different circumstances! The BROTHERHOOD of ROCK is stronger than ever!”
“I remember seeing Tommy’s seven-piece funk/rock band at the Rush Up club in Chicago, during my mid-‘70s REO hiatus, and then bumping into him at O’Hare Airport a few weeks later,” remembers Kevin Cronin. “In no time I was back in REO Speedwagon and Tommy had become the newest member of Styx. REO and Styx dominated the Billboard charts in 1981 with HI INFIDELITY and PARADISE THEATRE, but for reasons unknown we had never toured together. So in the year 2000, Tommy and I decided to give it a shot. The ‘Arch Allies’ tour was a smashing success, and a life-long friendship was formed. Now, here we are 25 years later, having always had each other’s back, and psyched for our bands to join forces once again for the ‘Brotherhood of Rock’ tour. A lot has changed since that chance encounter at the airport in 1975, but our brotherhood has only become stronger through the years, as the songs of Styx and REO Speedwagon have found a place in the hearts and souls of people all across America.”
“I’m so excited to be hitting the road this summer with my friends Styx and Kevin Cronin,” declares Don Felder. “It’s such a great line up full of hit songs and lots of ROCK AND ROLL!!! We have so much fun together both on stage and off stage that it’s hard to find a more wonderful combination of great music and great friends. This is one show you won’t want to miss. See you soon.”
PICTURE DISC AND
LIMITED-EDITION INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED SILVER VINYL
AVAILABLE AT ALL TOUR STOPS STARTING JUNE 11
AND SELECT RETAIL JULY 12
“Cold As Ice,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Renegade” and more! Nothing sounds more like the soundtrack of summer than STYX’s and FOREIGNER’s biggest hits. Recently announced as inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, FOREIGNER hits the road in June co-headlining the “Renegades & Juke Box Heroes” trek with STYX and special guest John Waite. Adding to the excitement, STYX and FOREIGNER announce RENEGADES & JUKE BOX HEROES, a very special limited-edition companion album, available exclusively at tour stops starting June 11 and at select retail on July 12.
This must-have collector’s album, available as a picture disc or in elegant silver vinyl, features both bands’ greatest hits and was mastered for vinyl by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound with lacquers cut by Joe Nino-Hernes. Tracks include FOREIGNER’s most beloved hits including “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice”, and the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” alongside STYX massive hits “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade,” and more.
Just 1,000 copies of the picture disc and only 5,000 individually numbered copies of the silver edition are available. With many tour dates already selling out, demand is sure to be high. When they are gone, they’re gone for good! A 13-track CD featuring all three artists and including the vinyl tracks is also available. The songs are available on all digital outlets. The picture disc will be available at https://foreigner.merchmadeeasy.com/products/renegades-jukebox-heroes-picture-disc and the silver edition will be available on Amazon on July 12.
The “Renegades & Juke Box Heroes” tour is set to launch June 11 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena. John Waite’s #1 songs, “Missing You” and “When I See You Smile” will help ensure a summer evening of feel-good anthems. Tickets are going fast, available at LiveNation.com. For more information, please visit www.foreigneronline.com or www.styxworld.com.
Enter for a chance to win a Styx merch pack ft. Tour Tees, Vinyl and more! Be sure to come back daily to earn more entries. Good luck! Styx "Rocktober" Giveaway
Styxworld Exclusive! Styx discuss the making of The Same Stardust, the band’s first-ever official EP release that comes out exclusively on 12-inch vinyl today in celebration of Record Store Day on June 12, 2021.
STYX has just released a video for its classic hit "Too Much Time On My Hands", filmed from the band's home studios in support of the Pittsburgh #SteelersNation and their game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Check it out below!
White Castle®, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been an inspiration to artists and bands for decades. The home of The Original Slider® celebrated titans of the music industry by inducting three extraordinary Cravers into its exclusive Cravers Hall of Fame.
STYX singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw, renowned concert promoter Danny Zelisko, and the late singer-songwriter John Prine join fellow legends in the Castle halls of Crave. John Prine very sadly passed away in April 2020 due to complications caused by COVID-19.
Reserved for the most devout fans, White Castle's Cravers Hall of Fame has been inducting legends from main street to the main stage for nearly 20 years. Among the well-known honorees are rock icon Alice Cooper, the late comic pioneer Stan Lee, and the stars of "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," John Cho and Kal Penn.