REO Speedwagon’s Bruce Hall shared his thoughts on Kevin Cronin and sent him a message about the ‘ugly mess’ that caused the band’s end.
“I’ve worked really hard trying to do what I can to get back in there, talking to the people and all this stuff,” Hall said in a new interview with Eubanks Reality Check. “Kevin’s the one who’s made up his mind. I’m trying to get him to change his mind for some reason, but what if this is going to be the end and it should be? I think we’ve done this a long time and we’re still capable of putting on a good show.”
He continued, “It’s time to say goodbye, it’s a farewell time and that would be the right way to end the band instead of like this. This is just an ugly mess and it’d be a perfect time to go out. It wouldn’t take maybe a year to hit all the good spots and say goodbye and thank you everybody for being so wonderful to take care of us this long. Then we could go home and KC could do whatever he wanted to do with his life after that, but the way he’s splitting like this now is not it’s not the right way to go.”
Just a week ago, Hall commented on the band’s future without Cronin. In response to a fan suggesting he tour without Kevin, similar to Pink Floyd without Waters, Hall replied, “I just don’t want to be in another band. REO is our band and Kevin is our singer. We all deserved a farewell tour.”
Another fan asked if being vocal about his issues with Cronin might affect chances for a reunion. Hall responded, “It was important for me to make sure the truth is told. Fans need to understand I won’t be performing at the final shows. There also was a lot of mistruths and rumors getting started. Like, I need to sit on a stool to play, my surgery wasn’t successful, I’m hooked on painkillers or started drinking again.”
“My sobriety is of upmost importance to me. I take no pain medication at all. I don’t need a stool to perform. I never ever wanted to cut anyone’s pay. I just wanted my band to keep on rolling….with me as the bassist,” he added.
The band recently played their first show of the farewell tour. Their next show is set for November 6 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
