Loverboy — consisting of Paul Dean, Matt Frenette, Mike Reno, Ken Sinnaeve and Doug Johnson — will visit Fraze Pavilion June 3 for an 8 p.m. show with 38 Special.
Courtesy photob | Mick Rock
By Jim Davis
KETTERING — Music has a way of marking a particular moment in time — forever linking a song to a milestone or event. Hearing that song years down the road often brings it all back.
Rest assured, the artists on the other side of the equation feel it, too.
When asked about that connection fans have to his band’s songs, Loverboy lead singer Mike Reno said he’s flattered by the compliment and reminisced about his own youth when music was a big part of his teenage years.
“I tell you what, it’s a total honor,” Reno said when asked about loyal fans who still connect to Loverboy songs. “When I hear these songs, I have the same memories, but they’re my memories. I heard certain stuff growing up and I remember having a van and sleeping by the beach in the summertime and we’d have an 8-track of Elton John playing all night long. It would loop and keep playing. You would wake up — and it’s still playing — and it’s in your head.”
Same can be said for many of Loverboy’s hit songs, which were radio staples in the 1980s and played in heavy rotation on the MTV music channel.
Rock fans can reminisce in person June 3 when Loverboy joins 38 Special for an 8 p.m. concert at Kettering’s Fraze Pavilion.
“You can expect a lot of hits. 38 Special is a great band, and they play great. I get energized by listening to them. And we’re gonna play every hit everybody wants to hear,” Reno said during a recent phone interview. “After doing it all these years we’ve figured out people really want to hear the hits. We occasionally throw in a newer song, but they want to hear what they grew up with and went to school with, and we’re getting pretty good at playing those after all these years.”
“Working for the Weekend” is one of those songs that people relate to, and it helped push the Canadian rock band to new heights in 1981. It reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart at the start of 1982 and is a big reason why Loverboy went on to sell more than 10 million albums.
“With that great intro on cowbell, you can’t go wrong, and people jump up out of their seats,” Reno said of the song. “Its’ a very exciting song to play. It’s like a locomotive. It gets us going, and it gets the crowd going, too.”
Combined with fan favorites ranging from “Turn Me Loose,” “Hot Girls in Love” and “When It’s Over” to “Lucky Ones,” “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” and “Heaven In Your Eyes,” Reno promised an evening of fun music for fans at the outdoor music venue in Kettering.
“I hope they have fun,” Reno said. “Life is getting a little strange these days and its nice to get away from all the crap and enjoy yourself and listen to music you grew up with.”
For ticket information, visit the Fraze Pavilion website at fraze.com — and to learn more about Loverboy or check out the band’s upcoming tour schedule, go to www.loverboyband.com.
