REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin blurts out "I love Tucson. It's one of my favorite places."
Sure it is, Kevin.
What connections does the lead singer of one of the biggest '70s bands have with our desert berg?
Well . . .
• "It's the first place I had Mexican food," Cronin says. He can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it had strolling mariachi, "authentic Mexican food" and they served the quesadilla on a pizza tin in the center of the table, he recalled in a phone interview last week from Los Angeles. (OK, that describes the MO of 90 percent of the city's Mexican restaurants.)
• "A bunch of my friends from Chicago moved to Tucson in the early 1970s." Among them, he says: his ex-wife.
• "We used to play at a place called the Two High Club in Tucson back in the '70s. It was just a wild, wild place. There was a group of friends we had, one of whom actually was the first one to utter 'you can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish' at a party late one night. I'm not sure what the context was, but when I heard him say that we were in the midst of making that album (1978's 'You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish'). I kind of thought, wow, that would be a cool title for this album. I don't remember his name, but his nickname was 'Pineapple.' "
• "In fact, the girl who inspired me to write the song 'Can't Fight This Feeling' " — one of the band's biggest power ballads — "I actually met in Tucson."
Alrighty then. Kevin Cronin qualifies as an honorary Tucsonan.
"It's just such a cool place," says Cronin, who hasn't been here since his band's last Tucson show in 2001. "I just love the Saguaro National (Park). That's such a trippy place. I love the fact that it can be, like, 105 degrees in Tucson and then you drive up to Mount Lemmon and you're, like, it's wintertime up there."
During a phone call from Los Angeles, Cronin talked about the band's longevity, its forthcoming first Christmas CD and how he plans to spend a free day in Tucson when REO Speedwagon headlines KLPXfest at the Pima County Fairgrounds.
You're releasing "Not So Silent Night" on Oct. 27, the band's first-ever Christmas CD. Why now?
"We have a new crop of REO kids popping up (Cronin has a 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old twin sons). We're all kind of getting that family Christmas state of mind. . . . It started out really casual; we didn't really take it that seriously. But as the project started taking form, we started getting really enthralled by the whole thing."
With a title like "Not So Silent Night," is it a head-banging romp?
"No, not at all. It's our interpretation of these songs. Some of them rock. There's one that's kind of country flavored. A couple are gospel. Our version of 'Silent Night' is a gospel waltz."
Any plans to do shows around this album?
"We're actually doing a show in Little Rock that will be taped for an NBC special ('Holiday Celebration on Ice'). It's a bizarre concept: REO Speedwagon, Rick Springfield and a group of ice skaters led by Brian Boitano."
You said you get here on Saturday. What do you plan to do with yourself?
"I don't think I've had a Saturday off in 27 years. . . any ideas?"
You could hang out at the fairgrounds and catch KFMA Fall Ball.
"Oh, I would love that."
Or head downtown for a monster taste of Tucson's music scene at Club Crawl.
"Sounds like we're coming there on a good day."
Is there anyone you'd like to look up from the old days?
"There was this guy, Bob Meighan. He had a great voice; he had a great vibe. His band was fantastic."
You're headlining a classic-rock show. Did you ever think you would be referred to as "classic rock"?
"No, but, honestly, I don't mind it. A lot of my friends who are put in that genre really hate that term. . . . A lot of people think it dates the band" — which got its start in 1967 — "but . . . this is who we are and it's a type of music that has become timeless."
If you go
• What: The 30th Anniversary KLPXfest.
• When: Gates open at noon Sunday.
• 1 p.m. — Great White.
• 2:20 — Ratt.
• 4 — Eddie Money.
• 5:45 — War.
• 7:30 — Styx.
• 9:10 — REO Speedwagon.
• Where: Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road.
• Tickets: $30 through www.klpx.com or at the gate.
