Artists

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Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield has withstood the test of time far better than most critics would ever have imagined writing and performing some of the best-crafted power pop of the past 30 years. Rick has sold over 19 million records while charting a whopping 18 Top 40 hits to date. Rick's most recent release, a Christmas CD entitled Christmas With You, was released on his own label, Gomer/DKE Records and features 14 elegant arrangements of traditional Christmas favorites and one extremely moving original track, Christmas With You, which was dedicated to all of our fallen troops. He released a concert DVD, Live in Rockford in October 2006 which was filmed live as part of the HDNet Concert Series at the historic Coronado Theatre in Rockford, IL. The Day After Yesterday was released in July of 2005, on Gomer/DKE Records. In December of 2005 brought about Rick's long anticipated return to ABC's daytime hit show, "General Hospital," in the role he originated nearly 25 years ago as Dr. Noah Drake. Having performed for millions of fans over the last three decades, and showing no signs of slowing down, Rick continues to play 100 shows a year, sharing his love of performing, unstoppable energy and his unique brand of crowd interaction with thousands of fans each night. Rick literally wades deep into the crowd at each show.


Kevin Cronin
Formed in 1967, signed in 1971 and fronted by iconic vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon has - for decades - been a confounding blend of consistency and change.

They rode in station wagons, going from tiny gigs to even tinier gigs, just to get the REO name out in the early days. Later they rode the top of the charts with a RIAA certified 22 million albums sold in the U.S. and 40 million around the globe, with a string of gold and platinum records and international hit singles. The 9-times certified Hi Infidelity remains a high-water mark for rock bands.

Make all the "Ridin' The Storm Out" or "Roll With The Changes" cracks you want, but that's exactly what the band has done. REO Speedwagon has that Midwest work ethic.

The band has gone onstage and in the studio and done the work, year after year - dozens of albums, hundreds (or thousands?) of concerts, infinite radio spins. The eyes have always been on the future and on the road - not a year has gone by where REO Speedwagon didn't perform live, thrilling fans with hits like "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling."

And yes, they do roll with the changes. With the modern-day music industry disintegrating, the band members recorded Find Your Own Way Home in 2007 and put it out themselves through Walmart - and personally drove to radio stations across the country to get it heard. Ultimately the album (yes, REO Speedwagon still makes albums, not a bunch of songs) had more success than it would ever see with a record company. Whatever the band members need to do to connect with fans, they do it.

"We're still doing it and still going strong," Cronin says.

Cronin (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) has always cast an eye to the future, along with band-mates Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums). It wasn't a surprise to Cronin to see the industry run aground.

"I think maybe the music industry needed to fall a little bit because it was getting bloated and there were just too many people putting out CDs with one or two good songs on them and eventually that's gonna backfire," Cronin says.

What never backfires is a great live show. In 2009 REO Speedwagon hits the road on the Can't Stop Rockin' Tour with STYX and 38 Special, three of the hardest working bands in America. Sponsored by VH1 and Rock Band, the tour is a recession-buster night of rock 'n' roll, offering the best value this year, with some tickets as low as $13.50.

What do people want to hear these days? Hope. Passion. A reason to do the things we do. And songwriter Cronin is a longtime fan of hope.

"I am an optimistic person," Cronin says. "In every song I have ever written, no matter the depth of darkness from which it was conceived, there has always been a message of hope. My own songs often serve to remind me that in the toughest of times, hope must remain undying."

To that end REO and STYX have teamed up on a new single, "Can't Stop Rockin'," co-written by Cronin and STYX's Tommy Shaw.

When the talk turns to benefit concerts the names that come to mind are George Harrison, U2 and Bob Geldof. REO has quietly done its share, sans self-serving promotional tours, from appearing at the Live Aid concert in 1985, to a benefit for port authority workers after 9/11 and recent MusiCares shows, along with a "Ridin' The Storm Out" benefit concert that raised more than a half-million dollars for Iowa flood relief in 2008.

In what little downtime he has, Cronin stays busy with appearances on shows like Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and his own writing on his blog at KevinCronin.com. He recently appeared on FOX-TV's Don't Forget the Lyrics!

It's a busy life, but it always has been for the band. Formed loosely in the late '60s at college in Champaign, IL, REO (famously named after a fire engine) and its fans quickly realized there was much more going on here than your average frat-party band.

By the early '70s the band's unrelenting drive, non-stop touring and recording jump-started the burgeoning rock movement in the Midwest. It carved a path eventually followed by STYX, Kansas, Cheap Trick and more. Platinum albums and freeform FM radio staples such as "Ridin' The Storm Out" followed, setting the stage for 1980's explosive Hi Infidelity.

The band's younger fans might not realize the sheer impact Hi Infidelity had on music and the culture of rock 'n' roll. Its 9 million in sales was fueled by huge hit singles in "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It On the Run." High Infidelity spent months in the #1 slot, a feat simply unattainable in music today. The strong run continued with hits like "Can't Fight This Feeling" up through the new "Can't Stop Rockin'."

Today it's all about what it has always been - taking good care of the band's legacy while keeping the focus on the future. That may be even more important these days, Cronin believes.

"The world is going through a weird phase, and everybody needs music now more than ever. We all need to join our friends, pool our resources, combine our energies, because there is power in people coming together," he says.


Eric Martsolf
Mr. Martsolf graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle Pennsylvania with a BA in Political Science with honors, emphasizing in mass media politics and constitutional law. His time away form his studies was spent performing in unlimited capacities-choirs, operas, musicals, barbershop quartets, and even a rock band which was proclaimed Harrisburg's best new band. The last decade of Mr. Martsolf's career is nothing short of a testament to his versatility as an actor, successfully completing over 1500 theatrical performances and 2000+ television episodes. These profound numbers stem from his 4 year comic portrayal of the Pharaoh in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, in which he consistently drew in acclaimed reviews from the harshest of nationwide critics, calling him a "mix of Elvis and Stallone-a blend of charisma, muscular framework, and talent to be reckoned with." Mr. Martsolf is most widely recognized for his six year popular portrayal of Ethan Winthrop on NBC's Passions, where in which he claimed numerous accolades from peers and fans alike. He additionally drew in the largest numbers in Directv's original programming history while hosting "Passions Live", the first live call in show for any daytime genre. His comedic adeptness was critically commended in 2007 for his portrayal of L'il Abner alongside Fred Willard for LA's Reprise series under the artistic direction of Jason Alexander. He currently portrays the role of Brady Black on NBC's historic sudser "Days of our Lives." Mr. Martsolf is the proud father of twin sons Chase and Mason, and husband to Lisa Martsolf.


Doug Davidson
Doug Davidson created the role of Paul Williams in 1978 on the Emmy Award winning show THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. With over 3,000 shows to his credit on the number one rated daytime drama, Davidson personally has ranked in the top ten of the TVQ ratings for a decade. Davidson has even acquired the TVQ rating #1 which has marked him as the top daytime performer (including both men and women) based on talent, familiarity and likability. A higher position in daytime television can not be earned. Davidson has also been honored on the SOAP OPERA AWARDS telecasts being the recipient of four nominations and winning all awards he has been nominated for, the latest being voted BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in Jan 1997.


Mark Goodman
Mark Goodman has been in the music biz for 30 years. He started in radio in his hometown of Philadelphia at WMMR. In 1978 he became music director of the station. Then in 1980 he moved to NYC to work at WPLJ the number one rock station in New York. It was 1981 when Mark left WPLJ to join the as yet unknown music video channel called MTV as one of the first 5 VJs. In the late 80's Mark began an acting career that saw him working in film, and TV. Goodman appeared in several films including "Man Trouble" the worst film Jack Nicholson ever made and "Don't Be a Menace To Society When You're Drinking Your Juice In The Hood" with the Wayans brothers as well as Police Academy 6 (yes there were 6!). On TV Mark could be seen in such shows as " Married With Children, The Practice, Superman and others. In 1989 Mark returned to radio in LA at the legendary but short lived "The Edge". Over the next 10 years he worked at stations including KROQ, KMPC-AM and Star 98.7 in Los Angeles as well as Q101 and WLS-FM in Chicago. Through the 90's Mark worked hosting several different TV shows and music specials. In 1999 Mark became SVP of Music Programming for Soundbreak.com. After the dot com crash Mark was offered a position on Sirius Satellite Radio on their Big 80's channel. Since starting there in 2004 Mark has added full time shows on Classic Rewind (late 70's through early 90's rock) and The Spectrum (a lively mix of rock, pop and indy for grownups). Mark was also tapped as music supervisor to help launch the series "Desperate Housewives". Lately he is back on VH1 and VH1 Classic doing interviews and hosting special programs while continuing to broadcast 7 days a week on Sirius Satellite Radio.