REO Speedwagon Tribute to Gary 3/7/26

[bubs_42]

Josh Thompson from Pekin IL, on Lead Guitar!

Josh not only has his 10,000 hrs on guitar repair, but he also has his 10,000 hrs playing guitar. Second to none in both, and a human being that if you know him, he kinda somehow helps you be a better human. 
unsure if he swapped that bridge pup out for his own special wound Josh Thompson pickup wound by Josh Gravelin. 

 

 

[scottcald]

Great job with it.
Loved Gary’s playing and his sound was unique too.  He’s definitely not talked about enough. 

[bubs_42]

Absolutely! When we first moved to Peoria my wife was doing home health physical therapy. She came home one day and said, I can’t tell you who I worked on today, but I walked into this house in East Peoria, IL. She goes, “All I saw when I looked up was all these gold records on the wall.” , I blurted out “Gary Ritchrath’s Mom! “ I amused her. LOL 

Some years ago just before Gary’s Death he was putting together a band and tapped a Co-Worker of mine Tommy. Sadly Gary Passed before the project got up and going. For the last number of years Tommy and Josh have been in the same bang “Revel in Red”. GREAT BAND, filled with great people. 

[BoogieMKIIA]

I’ve had out of body moments listening to that song. Wish there were more close-ups of the leads. 

[velorush]

12 hours ago, BoogieMKIIA said:

I’ve had out of body moments listening to that song. Wish there were more close-ups of the leads. 

🤣 Exactly what I was thinking! 

Watching that video gave me deja vu of when I was a little kid watching Midnight Special or Don Kirchner's Rock Concert and the lead guitarist was just killing it, but the camera was trained on the bass player or the high hat or some such, then, as soon as the lead was over the camera went back to the lead guitarist. Frustration!  

[Steve Haynie]

So, Kevin Cronin played a gig with his lawsuit adversaries.  Weird.  

[hamerhead]

A great tribute and I've always loved REO, but Kevin Croakin needs to give it a rest. Or go The Eagles route. 

Gary was a huge influence when I was 15-16 years old. The live LP ('You Get What You Play For') was in constant rotation and all the cool kids could recite the break in '157 Riverside Avenue' by heart. Saw them 3 times around then, up 'til 'High Infidelity', when they bogged down in their own sap. Success ruined another good band.

[BTMN]

/\ What he said basically. I was a fan until High Infidelity. Then, not so much. 
Thsnjs Bubs for the remainder on a good old song. 😎👍❤️🏁

[Spinaltap]

I was a fan, they had catchy tunes.

[bubs_42]

6 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

So, Kevin Cronin played a gig with his lawsuit adversaries.  Weird.  

But is it? 😉 

[bubs_42]

I didn’t know the exhibition was going on at the Riverfront Museum. Sorry I missed it, had an enclosed case with a collection of Gary’s Guitars and memorabilia. Richard Pryor has a Statue, Dan Folgerberg  has a memorial, and Gary got a bench in East Peoria on the Riverfront. 

https://www.reospeedwagon.com/gary-richrath-memorial-peoria-il/

[Jakeboy]

6 hours ago, hamerhead said:

A great tribute and I've always loved REO, but Kevin Croakin needs to give it a rest. Or go The Eagles route. 

Gary was a huge influence when I was 15-16 years old. The live LP ('You Get What You Play For') was in constant rotation and all the cool kids could recite the break in '157 Riverside Avenue' by heart. Saw them 3 times around then, up 'til 'High Infidelity', when they bogged down in their own sap. Success ruined another good band.

This x 1000.

I don’t usually bring GR up but his playing on this live album just killed and made a huge impression on teenage me as I wa# learning to p,at. He sounded so aggressive, fast, and fun. And yeah, the 157 break was too cool. Keep Pushin’ such a good tune. And that live version of Ridin’ the Storm Out was definitive.  So much so that I used to know Gary’s solo and fills note-for-note.  He could rip in A on the 17th fret and above….

[bubs_42]

Stadium Rock Guitar: Tom Sholtz, Ritchie Sambora, Gary Richrath in no particular order. 
 

It’s not Van Halen, it’s not Glam, it’s not metal. Just RNR 

[RobB]

Wasn't Gary a champion of Marshall JMP combos like Neil Geraldo?

[RobB]

55 minutes ago, bubs_42 said:

Stadium Rock Guitar: Gary Richrath,Tom Sholtz, Ritchie Sambora, in particular order

FIFY

[bubs_42]

31 minutes ago, RobB said:

Wasn't Gary a champion of Marshall JMP combos like Neil Geraldo?

Yes/No, I believe Gary used 50 watters. Neil used the 100 Watt amps. 

[velorush]

22 hours ago, bubs_42 said:

Richard Pryor has a Statue

Not even kidding: I read your post and as soon as I read that sentence, instantly in my mind I hear Richard Pryor's voice. It was from an album a buddy had snuck out of his parent's collection, "I was born in Peoria, Illinois." and then someone in the crowd yells, "What's that?!" and then Pryor shuts him up really quickly (I won't continue quoting because of Pryor's use of a word that is no longer used, but he berates the guy as being a bumpkin... in a manner of speaking). Hysterical! 

This has been a "why is that still stuck in Jeff's head after fifty years?" moment. Back to your normal programming. 

[Willie G. Moseley]

R.E.O./T.W.O. is the one for me, and it was a Richrath favorite as well. It wasn't an "epic" but was just no-frills, straight-forward, high energy rock. And if "Music Man" or "Let Me Ride" didn't hook an aspiring guitarist, he/she should have had his/her pulse checked. 

"We had such a great time making that record." Richrath told me in early 1993. "We went to Nashville; we were kids who didn't know about royalties, etc. R.E.O./T.W.O. has a tremendous 'live' feel to it."

 

Edited March 11 by Willie G. Moseley

[Kerry Marchman]

Richrath was one of the finest rock guitar players ever.  I was lucky yo see him a few times in his heyday. What a beast! Great tone, great playing, and great guitars! The early stuff still blows me away! ENJOY..