Celebrating three decades as a band, Champaign, Ill., natives REO Speedwagon [ tickets ] are touring in support of the recently released live CD/DVD/VHS "Plus" (CMC/Sanctuary). The live recording was taken from a June 9, 2000 performance at the Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis.

"Plus" features veteran band members Kevin Cronin (vocals/rhythm guitar), Neal Doughty (keyboards), and Bruce Hall (bass), as well as relative newcomers Dave Amato on lead guitar and drummer Bryan Hitt.

Amato replaced Miles Joseph in 1989, who replaced longtime guitarist Gary Richrath that same year. Hitt replaced ex-Santana drummer Graham Lear in 1990, who took over for original drummer Alan Gratzer in 1989.

Originally named after a 1911 fire truck, REO Speedwagon struggled through much of the '70s, touring the Midwest to minimal critical acclaim and paltry record sales. Things started looking up with 1977's "REO Speedwagon Live/You Get What You Play For," which went platinum and featured a live version of "Ridin' the Storm Out," a track which still finds its way to rock radio playlists.

Of course, the band's true rise to prominence came with 1980's "Hi Infidelity," which sold nine million copies, stayed atop the Billboard Album Chart for 15 weeks and boasted four Top 40 hits, including the power-ballad "Keep On Loving You."

REO Speedwagon was the subject of a VH1 "Behind the Music" special that debuted earlier this year. It detailed the drug- and alcohol-fueled excesses of the band through the '80s. The band's move towards ballads and its desire to clean up its act led to the departure of Richrath, who was a principal songwriter for the group until that point.

Lead vocalist and principal songwriter Kevin Cronin spoke with liveDaily about the tour, those blasted VH1 specials, and Richrath-reunion possibilities.

LiveDaily: The idea behind the "Plus" CD and DVD--this was an offshoot of the "Arch Allies" CD from 2000?

Kevin Cronin: "Arch Allies" was a special kind of thing, when we started the tour with Styx last year. When we played together, the response was amazing, and we had so much fun--the two bands--it was everything you could ask for. A really great, supportive atmosphere.

On the original "Arch Allies," there just wasn't enough time to include every song that we did on the CD. So it's a lot of the same performance, plus four extra songs. And the DVD is in 5.1 surround sound, with interview footage and other whistles and bells.

Did you think you'd still be doing this, 30 years later?

Yeah. I did, I really did. It's never occurred to me that I would be doing anything else, and I've been very fortunate in that. Good fortune has definitely been my friend, there's no question. But nothing else really had occurred to me.

After the "Behind the Music" special, I'm sure a lot of your fans are wondering if the band will ever get back together with Gary Richrath. Where do things stand now?

I tell you, I have mixed feelings with Gary. When I watched the "Behind the Music" special, there were a couple times where I got real emotional--there were a couple things that Gary said that really touched me. He was very candid about his comments with his own behavior. You can't help but love Gary. Deep down inside, he's as sweet as they come, and I know that part of Gary, and that's the part of him that I love and miss.

Then there are my other feelings about Gary, that I'm pissed off at him for what he put the whole band through with his choices.

You said on your website that he didn't seem like a changed man.

And he didn't. He doesn't look like a changed man. We started talking about this "Behind the Music" a year ago, more than that. It's like there was ample opportunity for anyone, no matter where they were at, to seize the opportunity to really make an impression. And I didn't see Gary put in the effort that it would take to come on "Behind the Music" and have everybody go, "Whoa! Holy s---, look at the way he's playing and carrying himself." He had an opportunity to really show the world something, whether or not it meant anything to a reunion with this band--just for his own future. In my mind, a lot of the same issues that were there 12 years ago hadn't really changed that much. That's just my impression. I don't know what Gary's everyday life is like, all I can really tell you is my impression. And that's a drag. Gary could be doing much better right now.

I'm saddened and angry by the decisions he's made. I can't even think about what possibilities there might be in the future, until Gary comes to the plate. If he's still basically in the same shape he was 12 years ago, then it's not even worth considering. Now, if Gary shows up in game shape and lucid and confident, and I look in his eyes and I see the Gary Richrath that I knew and loved and made some exciting music with, then there's something to think about. If Gary showed up in that kind of shape, and he sat down with Dave and I with our guitars and we played some music that was inspiring and exciting and took us to a new level--would we consider trying something like that? We'd be stupid not to.

I'm not going to say the door is closed. Gary was in the band--he got me in the band. I'm a firm believer that people can change, but they have to want to change. It's not easy. You can't just talk about it, you've got to want it.