This Recession Needs REO Speedwagon - And It's Getting It

What do you do when you're in a famous band way past your prime but still wanna tour and bring in the benjamins lincolns? You find other bands of similar standing and you form a rock n' team worthy of this recession. It's like the old Micky Rooney/Judy Garland "let's put on a show" movies, except with way more wrinkles and lots more long gray hair.

Luckily for Mom Jeans-wearing nostalgists and both ironic and un-ironic hipster fans, two tours set for this summer boast lineups that would knock it out of the park... in the 80s. And, dudes, now!

Take your pick: hair metal kings Def Leppard, who'll be pouring sugar all over North America with Poison and Cheap Trick, or Illinois-bred AOR rulers Styx and REO Speedwagon, who'll be hitting the highways along with wild-eyed southern boys .38 Special.

You know who's excited about hitting the road to rock out? REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin. Check out this blog post, in which KC (that's how he refers to himself) gives us the deets:

I know, long time no see...hey, when you read this letter you will understand...your old buddy, KC, has been a busy guy. Last weekend we played an amazing show in New Orleans with Kid Rock at the Superdome. Our day began with a five hour ride through the streets of the city, on a float, in the Endymion Parade...the biggest of the over fifty Mardi Gras extravaganzas. We threw out beads to thousands of people, young and old, who had gathered along the parade route. The looks on the faces of children, when you make eye contact, and throw them a strand of plastic beads, are priceless. Many of these kids never get anything, and their reactions were so heart warming. I have never smiled for so long in my life.

Mardi Gras with Kid Rock - that ain't so bad. Also, Cronin will be teaming up with Tommy Shaw of Styx to write and record a joint single, "Can't Stop Rockin". What. A. Title. KC also has the lowdown on that:

Meanwhile, Tommy Shaw and I have been holed up at Blue Moon Studio for the better part of February, writing a new song, and recording it with all the members of REO and Styx. You heard right...two drummers, two bass players, two of everything. It's the rock'n roll Noah's Ark. The tune is called "Can't Stop Rockin' ", (a brand new song, even though it shares its title with a song I wrote on Building The Bridge). Wait until you hear this monster: IT ROCKS. Tommy and I sing a duet, and Dave, Tommy, and JY are the new Classic Rock Guitar Army. Speaking of which, we are announcing dates for the upcoming, "Can't Stop Rockin'" TOUR, with REO, Styx and 38 Special. This tour is gonna be full production, hit filled, and as Tommy Shaw says, "Our own little rock n' roll stimulus package" ...in other words, we are keeping the tickets affordable so everybody can come out and join us this summer. So we will be seeing you all very soon...we can't stop rockin'.

Scroll down from that particular post and you'll get a first hand report on what it's like to be in a bathroom line with Clint Black. On an airplane.

These tours are monsters. Kevin Cronin's voice is like a plastic cup of keg beer in the backyard on a steamy summer night (in a good way). That the setlist from every one of these shows is likely to be a who's who of all-star karaoke tracks is merely a bonus. Recessions are no time to be too cool for anything. Just find rock n' roll whenever you can find it. REO Speedwagon may never make the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame, but they should at least get some sort of honorable mention, or a 1983 Plymouth Relient K, or a Dodge Aries-K, or something. They haven't forgotten what they're fighting for.