It's time to roll with the changes!

I am thinking often these days about change. It seems to be the one thing that continues to strike fear in the hearts of millions of people. We all face the reality that the world has changed dramatically, and it will continue to change. The scary part for me is not knowing when those changes will come to some sort of end. After days (and nights) of trying to understand things that will never be understood, I have changed. Not as much as I would like to think I am sure. But I have changed what's in my headspace...and...more importantly how I respond to change. It is really one of the only things I can control, and music has continued to be a guide!

If you have never seen this album cover then just take a moment and drift over the simplicity and humor of a true symbol of cool in 1978. REO Speedwagon is a band that stands today as one of the only true American Bands to whether the test of time. Over the past few days I kept hearing this album in my distant teenage mind as I thought about change and the impact it is having, and will continue to have on the psychological well being of humans around the world. Yes on one hand it is the quintessential late Seventies gritty mid-western guitar rock that one would expect. Yet layered in between the crashing snare, the heavy fading guitar rifs and a screaming organ begging you to dance; there are lyrics that remind us of what fortitude and desperation sounds like. Emotionally charged, wrecked by love, washed ashore and abandoned, these songs are a tour de force of the human spirit and how we move forward.

My Father is what young people today call a serial entrepreneur. In the early days of Fatherhood he was trying many things to support his family in a burgeoning capitalist country twisted by the Vietnam War and wresting with a counter-culture of sex, drugs, rock-n-roll and protest. Though my Father was always a music fan, he was one of the country stripe...the likes of Tom T Hall, Willie, Mac Davis and on. He knew that the undertones of revolution lives in the hearts of youth and if there is nothing for the youth to do in a little country town, well...you never know what could happen. So he went into the rock-n-roll business and started producing shows at our little civic center. Bands like The One Eyed Jacks, Ted Nugent and yes...REO Speedwagon played out little country town in the late 60's. A well know Chicago DJ Larry Lujack swung by the house after one of the shows for my Mom's scrambled eggs and a beer, while I slept in my crib in the kitchen.

It's fascinating when you have the realization that the story of your parents adventures gave you so much, and in some ways mirrors your own experiences. My Dad worked with an agent out of Champaign, Illinois by the name of Irving Azoff. Forty years later I worked for Live Nation and was in LA for a meeting and met Irving for a brief moment...but he's not a small time agent from Champaign anymore..just FYI. The rock-n-roll road definitely led Irving long into the night, but my Dad got out of the business after a handful of shows. But people in my hometown love my Father and he has a cult following of Baby Boomers who remember those rock-n-roll shows from long ago. I bump into them from time to time and have the honor of hearing some of the stories at the roadside bars and Legion Hall of my hometown.

Like where they come from, REO is a hard working, hard rocking, tough band that delivers honest, sweaty music in a way that can punch you in the face on one song then hold you in their arms on the next. For many of us who were not around to see my Dad's shows, this album was our intro to REO. I have an older brother who was always bringing home the pick of the week album and this one landed on the turntable often. It was REO's first jump into the top 40, peeking at number 29. This album sets the template for many of their albums that combined hard rocking thoughtful songs along with power ballads and staying true to their roots, blending a bit of country and soul in the fades.

"Roll with the Changes" defined a way of thinking for many of us. For others it was just really kick ass rock. But it plays today with some renewed sensibility because it says you have to be "ready" to roll with the changes. You can turn the pages, you can lay it all on the line, but you have to be "ready"....and the Hammond B3 walks right up to you and looks you in the eye, but the ringing of Gary Richrath's (RIP, 2015) guitar puts its arm around you and you feel ready to roll. But man...then you are stealing love, watching your life pass by with tears and laughter all over the place. Essentially though it tells a tragic story that maybe change is not possible. That the only way to survive is to leave...to leave it all behind very matter of fact. I love the end with the haunting guitar and then an a rattling declaration and it is over. On "Running Blind" it's an all out bum-rush for change. "No more running" and change is happening no matter if you are ready or not.

Then my personal favorite, "Blazing your own trail" kind of flows over you like the touch of your Grandmother's hand on a Sunday morning. Life is messy, life presents us with many problems and things don't always work out the way we planned. But it's how you respond that matters. It may take some time, and it is not always clear on how to move forward, but you can do it. This song tells us that change is good and that it is going to happen, but we have control on what trail we walk down.

The last four songs bring us the ups and downs of love and lies them at our feet. In "Lucky for you" are we lucky the lucky ones or is the singer? This was the first time I ever heard cowbell in a song...but it would not be the last! The guitars rip your heart out in "Do you know where your woman is tonight" while the melodic vocals just kind of make you want forget about her. Then you hear the power of this band. Just pure rock, roll, soul, and a keyboard that is bleeding while the drum back-beat keeps the changes rolling, but the guitar is on the roof getting ready to jump. Turn this up loud...like LOUD and by the end you'll be exhausted...but don't jump! On "Say you love me or say goodnight", the choice is obvious, but man the excruciating squeal of the keyboard keeps you nervous...but then the guitar cuts thru the headphones and now you think she is leaving for sure! Hands clapping, keys blaring, a whaling sax and a screaming guitar tells us clearly that in 1978 things are changing for this humble, hardworking band from Champaign, Illinois. I hope now you are truly ready to roll with the changes!