Mike Reno (Loverboy)

Hey, today on the show, we've got Mike Reno from the band Loverboy. So many hits with this band working for the weekend turned me loose. The kid is hot tonight, so many more. And he's here to talk about his new single release that the band put out really catchy song. They've got a tour with sticks and REO Speedwagon. And of course, lots of great stories from the past. So it's all coming up right now.

Great, thanks, Chuck.

Um, I was gonna ask, Oh, how's your ankle? Did you break your ankle? Was that recent? I heard you talking about I don't know how recent that was, though.

You know what, I broken it three times. And it's usually always related to falling, you know, stairs breaking or the stage broke or something. Anyway, so that it's always rock and roll related. And it's, you know, it's, I can work on it. It's not like crazy. It's not broken now. But when you get a little older, these old injuries come back to haunt you.

That's tough. So then you have to like tape it up, or something I heard you say is the way I deal with it.

Judo football players, they tape up pretty well before a game, we're gonna be kind of like that.

Okay, nice. So as long as you're Yeah, I remember one time I saw this band and their bass player just had her appendix out. And so she sat down, but she still played. So as long as you can still sing.

Yeah, you know what it is? It's just you know, I think a lot of us in the bender in our 60s. And we tend to all the things that happened in the early days come back to haunt you. So we're going to be there. We're going to be rockin we're going to be having a good time. It's a crazy bunch of shows we've got this year. I can't even believe I accepted all

Yeah. So what is 85 shows with sticks and REO Speedwagon. I mean, that's quite a package.

You know, there's a lot of shows here. I don't know if it's 85. But there's a lot of shows here. Going to the pretty much the end of September. Okay,

what you usually do is about 85 shows a year in America plus worldwide tour. I mean, that's a lot of shows.

Yeah, we do a lot of shows generally. However, Chuck, we haven't played for two years, you know, together. You know, we all on our own and stuff like that. But we haven't been together for two years up until March 9 is going to be the first show and the end of that last two years.

And you how many rehearsals do you have to do before that first show? Or is it like you've already done it's like riding a bike?

It's kind of like riding a bike. But we're definitely going to get together for at least one full day before before the show on the night in close to Pittsburgh.

Okay, and so the setlist I mean, of course,

Yeah, we just do that for fun. It's kind of in the middle of one of our songs, we just break away and then we come back to ourselves. I don't know if we're going to do that. Still, we might. But we did record a new song recently, we might throw that one in. And we kind of did it a whole different way. We used to record all in the same room this time we record it in different houses sent.

Yeah. And email it to each other. Exactly. The release song right. The song is so good. It's in my head. Actually, it's on my head right now just listening to it and saw the video.

Thank you. Thank you appreciate it. Yeah, that's how we did it. You know, I Paul and I put it together at my place. We and I sang it. After that. We sent it to Doug, he played keyboards, we sent it to Matt, he played drums, we send it to Spider a bass player. And this is you know, going from one city to the other. And isn't the internet a wonderful thing?

Yeah, it's amazing. So way who did the production on though because it sounds so like high quality production? Like in the 80s. This would have cost you $5 million to make the song I would think

yes. Close. You won't. I thought you stopped exaggerating 6 million years ago. Just know it. You know what Paul produced it. He spent some time in. And he's kind of a stickler for for good sounds. And so we're really proud of them. Thank you, Paul, if

you're listening. Yeah, that sounds amazing. It'll it's like I said, it's just a really catchy song. So is that just you guys, we're just going to be doing singles. Now you're not going to make a full album just because the way the music business is then,

kind of, you know, I've said it a few times in different interviews I've done. It's kind of hard these days when everybody's just so interested in, you know, instant gratification. They have the attention span of about, you know, five minutes, and then everybody wants something different. You want something new you want to in one hour, you want to hear 14 different records. So I think a single down again is the way to go. But that's just my my personal

what about you as a music fan? Do you still try to buy the albums if there is albums coming out? Or do you listen to these streaming services? Or how do you listen to music?

Alexa, like Steely Dan. That's how I listened to music.

Is that how you do it? Yeah, it does make it easier with that. I mean, I guess there's pluses and minuses, but I do feel bad for artists. I mean, at least you have you still have the royalties and all the movie and TV stuff that you get commercials and things you get paid paid for.

You know, it's okay. We're doing okay, that way. It's just the last two years kind of took a little wind out of our sails. I mean, I can't wait to get back. Personally, I think it's going to be fun. It's going to take a little getting used to again, you know, the two year breaks a nice way to recharge. And I think we're heading into the third year. I think we've all just about had enough of this, Chuck.

Yeah, no, I'm ready to I've already seen some shows that some bands have already started back up. And it's amazing to see live music again. And people, we just saw a concert outside. So I felt like I was like, I think we're gonna be okay, we're outside. It seems safe. And everyone's having a good time.

Yeah. I think this, the COVID thing is going to go around and it's going to go away. It's just like, I think everybody's probably going to get it. And then you're going to deal with it in your own way. Those who are vaccinated probably won't suffer much. And after you got it, it just goes away. And that's the way I look at it.

Yeah, I hope so. Or I mean, to me just, it's kind of weakened enough to where it'll just hopefully be like the flu that most people have it and get over it. And then we'll move on. I'm hoping,

you know, in my lifetime, I have never experienced anything like this.

Yeah, it's strange for me to I mean, gosh, I mean, times have changed even in my lifetime, but your life

Yeah, that's it. I had a big brother that was really great at kind of making me join in. You know, sometimes you want to get rid of your little brother in this case. Yeah. He always he always got me involved. He was older than me. So he played guitar. And I started playing drums and singing background harmonies, it was kind of a nice way to grow up. Yeah, so

when you decided to that you were gonna be a musician full time? Was there somebody that had kind of given you? I mean, there must have been some internal awareness that you were good. But was there somebody that really big that had said, Hey, you got it you're gonna make in this business kid or something like that? Or what? What was it just the internal thing that drove you?

It was really all it was internal. It was, there was never anything else I wanted to do. And I never even thought about doing anything else. Occasionally at the beginning, I would do something to make some money. Because sometimes when you first start out in music, you don't make much money. And you're going to pay the rent like everybody else. So I used to like work on construction crews, or do whatever was necessary, you know, just to

Yeah, no, I thought that was so cool. You're in this band. Moxie, that was one of your first bands. And you left

It's just you know, they were a great bunch of guys. And I did three years with them. And one album. It was the time when I learned how to write songs came right out of a kind of the need to write songs because everybody said, Let's go in the studio and I went well, we better write some songs, see it. So we had some opportunities, and then it just kind of the fire kind of got

so you found it with cover boy originally, or sorry, it was cover boy originally, and then it's Loverboy. But tell me about the your manager, Bruce Allen,

It was very big deal. And Bruce really dug deep for us. He was really hard worker. He started off as managing them BTL. Bachman Turner overdrive, and so he'd been in in the game for about 10 years. And when they decided to kind of hang it up and not tour as much and stop doing records. We were the next choice for Bruce and Bruce took really good care of us. He really did. And he got us a fabulous deal, which today I can say thank thanks very much Bruce out.

For sure. Right. So that because that deal stays the same from that time, does it ever expire? Then you have to reap re up the deal, or how's that work?

Well, you can after 25 or 30 years, and I think we're kind of thinking about doing it right now. Just because, you know, all the debts to our CBS Records, or Columbia Records is basic, they've been paid 10 times over. So it's not like they should get anything anymore. Really, other than the fact that we're all started together. So we're all still in it together. You know, you can look at it that way, too.

That's pretty cool. So I see a lot of musicians are selling their music as they get older is it's kind of like you could sell it the rights to it for I think that's what Neil Young did. They said he sold his music for 50 million.

That's a lot of millions. I mean, how much do you really need in this? Yeah, I'm not I'm not dying to receive a whole bunch of money because all that is which creates tax problems, in my opinion. And so I don't mind the trickle system.

Yeah, the mailbox money as you call I believe, right.

That is what I call it, man. You really kind of know me, don't you, man?

Yeah, no, I love listen, I heard so many of these stories. Like all these questions I had you answered most of them in interviews, I've listened to tell tell my audience the story of you guys opening for kiss when 1979 That

Well, this came kind of right out of the blue. We were just rehearsing songs and recording little demos on a track demo tape machines. And Bruce Allen once again, gives me a call it says, Reno get the guys together. You're playing tonight. I said we're playing where Bruce? I said we don't even have a bass player. He says we'll find a bass player you're playing in the Coliseum warming up for kiss. And I went oh, what are you talking about? He said, Just get it together? I'll see

I thought it was because they didn't have visas or something. It could have been

that too. But we don't actually Canada is never required musicians to have visas to work in Canada. However, I

Oh, okay. What would you how do you change that rule then?

Hire No, just to tell them. It's just an expense. You know, we're down here, what we're down here playing constantly, we play most of our shows the United States, and we pay taxes. So we're paying taxes, we're contributing to society? Why do we have to pay two lawyers to get us these visas? It really doesn't seem fair. If we're going to get paid lawyers to get the visas. How about we don't pay the taxes? You know, say? Well, you

have to you have to pay lawyers to get a visa, I don't understand.

Well, in order to get it all arranged through the government, you got to send an entertainment lawyer takes a few weeks. And then they have to do documents on not only the band, but also the road crew. So there's 10 or 11, maybe even 1314 people on the visa because we have extra, put extra people on it. So it's like, you know, $2,500 per man, per person.

So it's a little more complicated than just showing a regular visa as you cross you have to have a special working visa.

That's right. It's called an O one, or an O two. And it's kind of you know, it's nothing we really deal with technically, you just have a piece of paper and you show it to them and they go okay, but the paying of taxes we've been doing for 41 years. And you know, I kind of wish I had a little little say in a few matters that happened after pay those taxes but

that's how many American movie companies go to Vancouver is because this is a sort of tax break where they can

well here's here's the thing with the with the movie making Shut up city, let's say like Calgary or Vancouver, or Montreal or even Toronto, Winnipeg, they will offer a tax break if you come and do your whole production in their in their community. Yeah. And also, when they have to pay for the production you pay in Canadian dollars with using American dollar so you get about 30% Extra because the dollars your American dollars worth about 30 cents more right? Than the

it all the time. See, I'm from Seattle, I used to go drive up to Vancouver to drink because the only to be 19. But I'd see these movies and they'd say, like, oh, it's in Seattle. I'm like, That's Vancouver. I get so now I get a film in real Seattle.

Well, thank you chuck for noticing. I noticed it all the time, too. So yeah.

Yeah. What is the the Bates Motel I think that was one that was filmed out there that that looked really cool. I wanted to go to that. I think they toured on the stage though. But look for the studio or whatever,

where it was filmed look cool. Yeah, yeah, no, for sure.

There's a lot of those. And then you record a lot in Vancouver. And so you had all these, you know, other musicians

They are amazing. They've had they've done some amazing songwriting over the years. I think in the case of Jeff, it was a song. Basically, they put together and they'd offered it to us. And then we changed it around. And that's how the Colruyt happened. There was a whole section missing that we needed just to give it the Loverboy thing. And so we ended up writing a whole new bridge until it became a call right between those two guys and Paul and I. And that happens a lot

Yeah, so there's that the same way with Jon Bon

Actually, Paul and Richie and John worked that song up together, and then when they came back to Vancouver, I was unavailable. We started recording it and I said, Well, we got to go here instead of there and we made some changes. So very similar kind of idea. Just give it the old Loverboy touch. And that became that became a co write as well.

Yeah, that was notorious and I think you also there was one that went on Paul's solo record, I think that you got a credit for to

a bunch. Paul did a few solo projects in his spare time. He's always writing and recording and having doing all the extra stuff. He just loves that studio work.

Yeah, that's so cool. And then the song Almost

Yep. Never. Never. versus my, I went in full confidence that she would do it. You know, it's kind of one of those songs. When you when I first heard it, I went, That's a smash. I just hit that smash hit. And it was written by

Eric Carmen. Now why didn't he want it for himself?

I don't know. It was a song and it was chosen. The movie company loved it. Eric Carmen's written a lot of songs. And that was one of those guys who writes a lot of songs as well. But when when it was given to me in a bad track, and they said you could pick wherever you want, I just went well, I don't know if you know this, but Hart lived in Vancouver for 11 years.

Yeah, no, I think I did hear some that there. And they were originally from Seattle as well. So but yeah, that makes sense. So there would be a Vancouver that's very close. Very, very cool.

I think they ended up in Canada, too. I think the boyfriends were trying to put the the draft as it were. Oh, it was like saying you're at the age now where you can join the army because joining the army, I'm in a freakin rock band. I'm not joining the army. And I don't blame them for coming. And we love to have them there.

Was there was there a war at the time though? I guess. It was like

getting ready for some shenanigans.

Okay. Yeah, it's like a very common thing that would happen is a go to Canada hideout.

Now that could be that could just be I don't know, I don't even know if that's true. I shouldn't really pass rumors around.

You know, we get headlines we talk about rumors, we talk about gossip. That's how we get the headlines.

True. It's a great town to live in. So I and there was a lot of music venues back then. There's not so much now but there was a lot of music. There was bands playing everywhere. So it was very competitive. And there was a lot of work. And it was kind of fun. You know, Vancouver is a fun town.

Yeah, and it tell me about this then you were recording next to Aerosmith, and Motley Crue. There's gotta be some sort of you gotta give me a Motley Crue story. There's got to be some craziness that happened if they're recording next year, right?

I think I was away during the Motley Crue stuff. They were always in the studio when what happened was we kind of record it there. And when we became very successful people went, where the hell did these guys cut that album? You know? And so they researched it. And then next thing you know, the studio was too booked for us to even go back and do our second album. So we had to do our second album. In the same studio, they cut dream bone Annie by heart, just down the road, a place called mushroom

yeah, so what did you see his talent at that point? I mean, he must have been really good. But he's still being an engineer at the first several years, like three of your three or four year albums, I think,

well, yeah, he was he was twisting the knobs. And that's kind of and I think he learned a lot of his production chops by being in the studio because the studio is a whole different animal. There's nobody really watching you. You know, there's a lot of thought there's a lot of time and you have to be able to kind of pace yourself to

Yeah. And then I think also did did Mark what's his name? Mark Dotson, I think he engineered one of your albums too. And he went on to produce Judas Priest and anthrax and

yah, yah, yah, yah, yah, yah, he was he was an engineer for loving every minute of an album and it was produced

Yeah, that's, that's really cool. I love the story to how Mutt Lange gave you guys that song. So he played it for you over the phone? Did Did he play all the instruments on it? Or who was like singing and doing the guitars and stuff?

Well, it was recorded, recorded project. And to be honest with you, I don't know who recorded it. It was done in England. And so in order for us to get it, he would have had to mail it. Now, I noticed is kind of hard to believe for some of your viewers but email wasn't even there yet. Reverend sending a whole song. You know what I mean? And then so all we had the only way and we needed it really quick because we were finished in the studio by the end of the weekend. I think it

So I love that song. It is but I never knew that the Mutt Lange thing until I heard you talking about it. And then I listened to now I go okay, I could talk because obviously he worked with Def Leppard. I could have hurt her here Def Leppard doing that song as well. I ended up on one of their albums.

Yeah, it would have been a great song.

I think you had a Jamie St. James and Tommy Thayer

there in black and blue? Yeah. Oh, that's cool. That's why I saw it before accept become friends, become friends with Tommy over the years, the different things that we've done, and he's asked me to do some tournaments that he does golfing just to raise money for charity, but I haven't seen him in a while. But he was a great guy. Well, it was one of those things where there's two studios

and you did that on your on living on a prayer you on the backup vocals.

I'm pretty sure I am. Yeah, that's really cool. Somebody I don't know. I did a lot of things like that. I remember and a lot of people did it for us to come in and they'd seen me man it was whoever was.

Credits though is somebody in charge of keeping track Have you get royalties? Or is it just like this a freebie? Whatever, you

just freebies, you just you don't ask for anything. You don't even ask for money. It just you just doing favors for everybody. It's kind of like, you know, a barn racing a good old fashioned barn racing.

Okay, yeah, that's the God you and you guys have toured with so many great bands. Which one stick out to you

I'll tell you one thing. When we first went out, we played with one of the best bands in the world, Kansas. Yeah, I loved the voice of Steve Walsh, and the drums everything was just a great band all the way around. And like every night, I just wanted to listen to the whole set. But we had to leave halfway through the set and drive to the next town because we're on tour. And then with that, for the next tour, we got lined up with ZZ Top now

That's so cool. So and you won. I heard you say you won seven Juno Awards, which is like the Canadian Grammy, but that your wasn't your highlight your highlight was playing

Well, I'll tell you what you read. I don't know American Bandstand isn't even on anymore. But back then. If you hit American Bandstand, you're pretty much guaranteed to sing a song for about 10 million people every Saturday. Maybe? I do. Yeah, maybe even more. I made him undercut it by six times. It could have been 16 million people, for all I know. But American Bandstand was a big deal. So if you played American Bandstand, then you really had something and you knew your life

be a big part of your success, too, is being able to build these relationships with people. I mean, all these bands keep asking you to continue to tour with them. I mean, you guys must be easy to get along with.

You know, we're pretty easy to get along with, you know what they say we just keep our heads down and we do our thing. That's what our managers always told us to do this, play your contracts and move on down the road. We became friends with these guys just because I think it's, you know, a mutual admiration. We love them. They loved us. It was it's next. That's that's how you that's how friendships develop. Right?

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, it's been an amazing

May 31, is when men are with sticks in REO Speedwagon start. March 9, we start up and do about 1822 contracts on our own to okay, you know, there was a lot of this stuff was postponed, and now we're starting to pick up on all the postponements, and we're gonna go back and redo those shows.

Okay, perfect. And then I know you got to get out of here. So but I do like to end each episode with a charity. Is

Yeah, juvenile diabetes is one that we always set the JDRF. Okay, I be this Research Foundation. That That has been something that we've been involved with for about 20 years.

Okay, great. Well put that in the notes along with the Loverboy website and people should check you out. And also the new song release. It's like I said, it's super catchy. So

I appreciate it. Chuck. Thanks. It's been great talking to you. You too. All right. Bye.

Bye. Okay, well, that was a lot of fun. Some questions that I didn't get to so hopefully I can have Mike back on the show. Again, so many great stories. Some things we didn't get to talk about like