Loverboy at Chinook Winds: ‘It’s time to have some fun with the boys’

If you like ‘80s rock — hey, who doesn’t? — chances are you enjoy the sounds of Loverboy, one of the most successful bands of that era. It is the group that turned out top-40 hits such as “Turn Me Loose,” “Working for the Weekend,” “Hot Girls in Love,” “Heaven in Your Eyes,” “Notorious” and “Queen of the Broken Hearts.”

Loverboy visits Chinook Winds Casino and Resort Saturday, April 13, for a single concert beginning at 8 p.m. (Buy tickets at etix.com.)

Four original members from the Canadian band have been together since its inception in 1979 — Mike Reno (lead singer), Paul Dean (lead guitar), Matt Frenette (drums) and Doug Johnson (keyboards). In 2000, Ken Sinnaeve (bass) replaced Scott Smith, who died in a boating mishap. Except for a breakup from 1988-91, Loverboy has played together continuously for the past 45 years.

The band dropped four multi-platinum albums through the ’80s. The most successful was “Get Lucky,” which reached No. 7 on the U.S. charts in 1984. In 1981, Loverboy received six Juno Awards — Canada’s top music award — most ever in one year for a Canadian musical group.

I caught up with Reno, 69, during a break from a bike ride at his winter home of Palm Springs (from April to October, he and Catherine, his wife of 20 years, live in Vancouver, B.C.). Reno had ankle replacement surgery on November 14 and has been working to strengthen the leg. “It’s feeling a little stiff and weak,” Reno tells me, “but in another couple of months, I’ll forget I had the surgery.”

KE: I watched Loverboy play Chinook Winds in 2010. Do you remember that show?

MR: Of course. We played there with Eddie Money. We like playing down there. The hotel is right on the beach. Great location. Great place to play.

KE: You grew up in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. What was that like for a kid?

MR: It was like the best. Give you an example. We would strap a .22 rifle on our backs — in case we ran into rattlesnakes — head up to the neighboring rancher’s barbwire fence, borrow a horse and ride for the whole day. We thought we’d get hung by that rancher, but when he caught us one day, he said, “Thanks for giving the horses some exercise.” In the winters, we would snow ski. A great place to grow up.

KE: Four of your band members are celebrating your 45th year together this year. That’s almost unheard of.

MR: Even the new guy has been with the band for 24 years. On one hand, it feels great. On the other hand, it means we’re old. (Laughs). But the people still dig us.

KE: It shows remarkable staying power for five guys who have to spend a lot of time around each other. You guys still get along well after all these years?

MR: We hate each other. (Another laugh.) Just kidding. We have our ups and downs, but we have been so tight together musically for so long. It’s a treat for me to be around the guys. They seem to think I do a pretty good job. We’re happy with each other and we are friends. We enjoy each other’s company. We get in each other’s face sometimes. Some of us are closer than others. But as a five-man group, and a five-man road crew that has been with us forever, it’s a real family.

KE: Is it true that Loverboy has sold 60 million records through the years?

MR: It’s accurate when you consider the soundtrack albums we were part of. On our own, we have sold like 14 million. Add on the “Top Gun” soundtrack and it would be another 27 million. It has been a very successful run.

KE: How did it happen that you named the band “Loverboy”?

MR: Paul and I started the group in the late ‘70s in Calgary. We were sitting around one night watching a movie with our girlfriends at home. They were reading magazines like Cosmopolitan and Vogue and looking at the models and chatting. I said, “We should consider calling ourselves ‘Cover Boys.’ ” That would have been a play on “Cover Girls.” We could dress up a little bit, actually wear some neat clothes and get some notice that way. Paul called the next morning and said, “Dude, I had a dream. How about we call ourselves Loverboy?” I said, “Would that get the s**t kicked out of us or what?” You have to have a lot of balls to call yourselves Loverboy.

KE: Did you get the s**t kicked out of you?

MR: (Laughs) We really did not. That’s the beautiful thing. When we started touring with groups like ZZ Top and Kansas and Journey, we got a lot of respect. The name was a perfect fit. Maybe not now, when we’re all senior citizens.

KE: Your given name was Joseph Michael Rynoski. How did it become Mike Reno?

MR: My given last name was Rynoskovich. My ancestors are half from Poland, half from Ireland. I tell people I’m too stupid to be bad. At some point, my family shortened it to Rynoski. Growing up, everybody called me and my brothers “Reno.” It officially got changed 45 years ago.

KE: How instrumental was MTV to Loverboy’s popularity through the ‘80s?

MR: Are you kidding me? Unbelievably instrumental. We were on the road when we got word that the record company wanted to film us playing some songs. That’s all we knew. So we pulled into Albany, N.Y. We played “Turn Me Loose,” “Lucky Ones”    and something else. We filmed them a bunch of times at this beautiful place called the “Shrine Theater.” After each song, we changed into a new outfit. There were cameras everywhere, and lighting and makeup. We got all this done in a weekend. It was a bit of the pain in the “arse,” but still kind of cool. They edited it and made it neat and flowing and sent it to this music company that was going to play 24 hours of music. They were asking us to send them what they were calling “videos.” We sent those three, and they ran them continuously.

KE: You were there for the creation of a new concept.

MR: In the late ‘70s, you didn’t know what the guys looked like in Supertramp. You might have known one guy (Ian Anderson) in Jethro Tull. Most bands were faceless. MTV put a face on everybody and especially us. We couldn’t hardly go out in public anymore. It was insane.

KE: You have said a big moment was when you were on vacation in Mexico in early 1981 and got the call that Dick Clark wanted you for an appearance on American Bandstand. Why was that such a seminal moment?

MR: We had not been on television at all. We had just put our first record out. Dick Clark heard it. This was before the days of email and cell phones. Our manager, Bruce Allen, called at our hotel and got us dragged off the beach to answer the phone. Bruce said, “Grab the guys. I know they’re down there with you. Head to L.A. today. You’re playing Saturday on American Bandstand.” That’s really when our world changed for the first time.

KE: What was it like when you sang “Almost Paradise” — the love theme from the movie “Footloose” — in a duet with Ann Wilson of Heart? The song reached No. 7 on the U.S. charts and No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart in 1984.

MR: It was a dream come true. I picked her to sing the song with. Heart was in Vancouver for 11 1/2 years. They took up residence there. I think the drummer and guitar player didn’t want to get drafted. We would drive down from the Okanagan to see them play in the (Vancouver) night clubs. They played Led Zeppelin almost as good as Led Zeppelin. When I was presented the opportunity to sing this song, Bruce Allen asked, “Who do you want to sing this with? It’s going to be a big deal.” I said, “Ann Wilson.” It was a real pleasure. She’s such a professional. She sings like a bird and doesn’t hit any wrong notes. We only sang it once face to face (while recording it). Even to this day, the song is a big thing. I sang it with my wife recently at a charity event for St. Jude’s Hospital in Palm Springs. We have been doing it for years. She is really good. We get a kick out of doing it and people love it. Loverboy will play that song if she is on the road with us.

KE: What does it mean for Loverboy to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2009?

MR: It’s a huge honor. It was in Vancouver, with 20,000 people in the audience. The coolest thing was that all these people — including Dick Clark — came on the big screen to give us props. Managers and promoters and record company people … and we were given the award by (music producer) Bob Rock, the sound engineer for our first couple of albums. It was amazing, really, to be recognized like that by your country.

KE: Of all your hits, do you have a favorite?

MR: “When It’s Over.” It is a special song about me and a gal who broke up but wanted to stay friends. It came together emotionally and lyrically. You have to be a real singer to sing that song. People love it. I get the audience to sing along with us when we play it at concerts.

KE: What are your thoughts on the status of rock and roll in today’s music scene?

MR: It’s wonderful. All kinds of great tours going on. The new music scene is pretty cool, too, but I’m part of the classic rock era, and I love it. Two years ago, we toured with Styx and REO Speedwagon. Last year, we toured with Foreigner. I think we did 70 dates in total (in 2023). We have all these friends in the music business. People really love ‘70s and ‘80s music. I love it, too. I’m happy.

KE: That was Foreigner’s “Farewell Tour.” There were 32 shows in all.

MR: It was fantastic. There were a lot of hits on that stage. It’s great hanging out with those guys. They are fantastic musicians. Kelly (Hansen) is such a great singer. I used to tour with Foreigner when Mick (Jones) and Lou Gramm were in the band together. The same things came back to me when we played with them last year. The songs take you to a place that is so magical.

KE: Loverboy embarks a 28-date tour with Sammy Hagar’s band starting in mid-July. Are you excited?

MR: We are actually probably going to play more shows with them than that. Live Nation (Entertainment) hires us every year. Two years ago, their rep came up to us in our dressing room and said, “We have been in the business of promoting concerts for years, and this is the first time we have seen every seat in the house full at 7 o’clock (for the opening act). The fans are definitely coming to see you guys as well.” That was a really big compliment.

KE: Do you enjoy playing concerts as much as ever?

MR: I really do. Our first show of the year is Saturday in Syracuse, N.Y. I’m getting a little nervous. I’m going “whoa.” But I always do. It works for me. The nerves are what get me in the right spot. As soon as the lights come on, the nerves go away. It’s time to have some fun with the boys.

KE: What kind of a concert can the fans at Chinook Winds expect to see?

MR: We’re going to have a ball. We love playing there. We’re not far from home. A bunch of my buddies are coming down from Vancouver for the show. It’s a beautiful place to be. I can’t wait.

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