Kevin Cronin has set the record straight about Bruce Hall’s absence from REO Speedwagon.
In a new interview with Dean Delray, the rocker clarified the misunderstandings about Hall’s
“Bruce was never fired. I don’t have the right to fire him,” Cronin revealed. “It’s funny because there was a narrative, an inaccurate narrative that was circulating online where that put it in terms of that I somehow quit REO Speedwagon to pursue a solo career. That’s bullsh*t.”
He then mentioned another perspective that was also not true. “Then there was another narrative that I somehow prevented Bruce from touring with the group in 2024 when the truth is I was trying to find a way that he could tour with the band in 2024. What I understood is that he decided to sit the tour out.”
“So I don’t know exactly why, I can’t tell you because he never called and talked to me about it. But he did make some demands of that. He said that he’d be ready to come back in 2025 but he put these demands in place,” he added.
REO Speedwagon decided to stop touring due to a disagreement over bassist Bruce Hall’s return following his back surgery in November.
In December last year however, Hall said Cronin blocked his way back to the band. “I’d set this all up with management so I wouldn’t miss any shows. So I could get [the surgery] done and get back to work. They didn’t want me to play. They were kind of happy with what they had going.”
Though frustrated, he decided to use the extra time to “take it easy for a little bit longer.”
“[He] didn’t like my posture,” Hall added. “He kept coming up with reasons… and it became apparent that he didn’t want me coming back –and why exactly, I couldn’t tell you.”
In Hall’s absence, Matt Bissonette filled in for him.
Cronin announced on December 6 that he will join Styx for a 40-date summer tour titled Brotherhood of Rock. The tour kicks off on May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina, and ends on August 24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Don Felder appearing as a special guest.
