Kevin Cronin has responded to REO Speedwagon fans who criticized him for not honoring Bruce Hall.
The controversy started when Cronin shared a post on Facebook about the late Quincy Jones. He reflected on his time with the producer and posted a picture from when they worked together. However, Bruce Hall was missing from the photo, so fans started asking questions about it.
One fan commented, “I wish the band could stay together, but I can’t wait to see what’s next!” Cronin replied, “The band you saw in Bloomington has every intention of staying together.”
Another fan asked why Cronin doesn’t ‘honor’ Hall, writing, “Why can’t you honor your brother Bruce Hall?”
Cronin responded, “Or maybe the question is, why can’t he honor me?” When another fan asked where Hall was, Cronin added, “Maybe you should ask Bruce…”
These comments came after Bruce Hall spoke out about the ‘ugly mess’ that caused the band’s current situation. In an interview with Eubanks Reality Check, Hall explained, “I’ve worked really hard trying to do what I can to get back in there, talking to the people and all this stuff. 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 went on, “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,” he added. “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.”
Cronin later posted on social media that the issues within the band were more complicated than they seemed.
REO Speedwagon’s farewell tour is still going. It will end at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 21.
