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There IS Life Beyond REO
At the personal invitation of Mark White, the illustrious DJ and music director of Bentley's Live, I headed down to Indy's Southside to see RICHRATH on Friday, July 20th. Gary Richrath, for whom the band is named, was the founding member of REO Speedwagon and its lead guitar player for eighteen and one half years. I was late getting there, and because of that, had to watch the show standing up. Despite the cover charge, Bentley's was VERY crowded. White said the crowd was even better than he'd hoped it would be, due to a storm that had been brewing all evening. In fact, the power had gone out twice before I arrived -- first before it was time for RICHRATH to take the stage, and the second time just as they were ready to walk on. After the lights came back on and they began their show, luck was with them, and they didn't find themselves in the dark again. The band looked and sounded really good -- very rich and full. The audience didn't seem to care that it wasn't Kevin Cronin and the rest of REO up on the stage. In fact the response was, at times, pretty deafening. They did a variety of songs, interspersing new original songs with a few of the old REO hits. His singer did a fine job of carrying on the REO covers and didn't insult anyone's intelligence by trying to exactly emulate Kevin Cronin's style, instead choosing to give the songs a flavor all his own. Gary provided an easy banter between songs and his guitar playing was, at times, brilliant. When the band played "Take It On the Run," towards the middle of the set, he encouraged everyone to sing along. Later, they did "Flying Turkey Trot," an REO standout and, at one point, Gary was so lost in a wildly moving guitar solo that the rest of the band left the stage. By this time, the dance floor was full of people. They weren't dancers, either -- but rather Gary's admiring fans who had moved in to get a closer look at his inspired style of playing. After a quickly moving set of various numbers, they did a great version of "Like You Do," which had the crowd on its feet, and then said thank you and exited from the stage. However DJ Mark White wasn't about to let them off that easy. He nearly incited a riot by having the crowd scream "Gar-ee! Gar-ee! Gar-ee!" until the band members filed back onto the stage. They broke into "Ridin' the Storm Out" which, judging by the applause, seemed to be the song everyone had been waiting for. The biggest surprise of the night was the very last tune -- a jazzed up, heavy metal version of "Please Mr. Postman." I know-- it sounds corny, but it worked! They kept the vocal part very melodic, practically the same as when the Carpenters did it, but applied a heavy-duty instrumental background that nearly brought the house down. After the show, I caught up with Richrath's lead singer, and asked if I might speak with Gary for a moment. He was very nice and already familiar with THE CALL MAGAZINE after having read it earlier in the day. "I liked the article on Bowie," he said cheerfully. "Let's see if I can help you get all the guys together." He spoke to them, and they were kind enough to give me a few minutes, so I was able to get the low-down on what they're doing right now. We sat behind Bentley's in the travel trailer they've used to get from town to town throughout the tour, and the first person I spoke to the longest was their keyboard player. "Gary and the band are great," he said. "We all get along wonderfully. We've been on the road, basically, since January -- two months out (touring) two weeks in (at home) and we'll be continuing through September." I asked him if they did the same show each night, and he said that they did their songs in no regular order, other than the one or two they tried to keep somewhere near the middle and the ones they saved for the end. They were beginning to look kind of tired, and as I was thanking them for their time and about to head to my car, Gary showed up. He also looked pretty tired, but suddenly smiled and said, "I can talk to you for a few minutes." We had a hard time keeping the flow of conversation because there were band members knocking on the door every five seconds to change clothes, but he finally told the road manager to keep everyone out and then, at last, proceeded to tell me how he felt about his current situation. "I really like the guys in the band," he said. "They're all Midwestern guys, you know. They love to play as much as I do, and they're great with me. We're playing alot. We're only getting one or two nights off a week, but we get along great." I asked about the night club tour and he replied, "We're doing clubs mainly to finalize the band's performance and to let the people get familiar with our original music. It's the best way to really get a band together. And I mean, hey, if they like us live, they'll buy our records." I inquired about REO and Kevin Cronin. "I loved the years with REO, but that's done," he said. "This band is as important to me now as that one was then. The next step is to get a record deal, which we've already got in the works, and then go on from there. As for Kevin, we're still in touch. It was a friendly parting. Not too long ago, I gave him one of my rare acoustic guitars -- a 1948 Martin. [Valued over $10,000.] It was one of my very favorite acoustics but, you know, I figured he uses an acoustic alot more than I do these days [laughs]. And in return, HE gave ME an 8-track tape deck. [Valued at $10.]" At this point, it was well past midnight, and Gary was starting to look really tired, so I thanked him for his time and wished the band luck. However, after talking with all the guys in the band and seeing how hard they're working, I don't think they really need it! This is a band that obviously knows how to please their fans.