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Mike Reno

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Mike Reno
Background information
Birth nameJoseph Michael Rynoski
Born (1955-01-08) January 8, 1955 (age 69)
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
GenresRock. hard rock
Occupation(s)Singer, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, drummer
Years active1978–present
LabelsColumbia

Mike Reno (born Joseph Michael Rynoski; January 8, 1955) is a Canadian singer, musician and the lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He is reported to have played the guitar, being self-taught.[1] He fronted other bands, including Moxy,[2] before helping form Loverboy.

Life and career

While still in school in the early 1970s, Reno joined a cover band called Morning Glory, in which he played the drums and eventually found his way to the cover band Synergy. Later, Reno moved on to a band called Spunk with guitarist Jack Stoltz. After graduating from Penticton Secondary School, Reno moved to Calgary, Alberta, after which he briefly joined the band Moxy for a single album, Under the Lights, released in 1978.[3] It was something of a departure from the previous Moxy albums, partially because of changes in band members as well as Reno's different singing style, and did not sell as well as the band's earlier releases.[4] Eventually Reno was introduced to Paul Dean in 1979 at a nightclub called The Refinery[5] and they immediately got together for a jam session, which led to the formation of Loverboy shortly thereafter. Loverboy released its first album in 1980 and the band went on to tour extensively as well as release three more multi-platinum albums between 1981 and 1985. Loverboy's last full album of original material in the 1980s was Wildside (1987), though they included three new original songs on the compilation album Big Ones (1989).

Reno has also contributed to various film soundtracks. In 1984, he performed a duet with Ann Wilson of Heart, "Almost Paradise", for the movie Footloose. With Loverboy, the band contributed "Heaven in Your Eyes" for the movie Top Gun, in 1986. Reno contributed the song "Chasing the Angels" for the soundtrack to Iron Eagle II in 1988[6] along with the song "Whenever There's a Night" for the movie Dream a Little Dream in 1989.[7] Reno also reportedly recorded a cover of "Never Been To Spain", a song that was originally written by Hoyt Axton and previously recorded by the band Three Dog Night for their album Harmony in 1971. The Three Dog Night version went to #1 on the charts. In a 2003 release, artist Tim Feehan released a solo album Tracks I Forgot About containing a song that features Reno on vocals, "Call of the Wild".[8]

Reno's son, Alex, was born on January 23, 1988.

In the late 1990s, during a VH1 interview, Reno attributed the decline of Loverboy to the rise of grunge bands such as Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

In 2002, Reno released his first solo album titled Renovation. The album is composed of ten tracks closely resembling the sound of his work with Loverboy though some discs contain a bonus track depending on the source. The album was apparently recorded in the early 1990s (reportedly 1992) and was supposed to be released by Sony but they chose instead to indefinitely shelve the project due to changes in the music industry... the changes touched on by Reno in his previously mentioned VH1 interview. Reno eventually proceeded to release the un-mastered recordings from his own archival tapes on his now defunct website but went on to release the album widely on a variety of sources. The main complaint amongst critics and fans is a lack of mastering, overall production and polishing commonly found on finished albums... but hard core fans and critics seem to feel the album is more than worthy of attention in spite of this.[9][10][11][12]

Loverboy had a headlining spot at the 2007 Grey Cup party in Toronto.[13] At the 2009 Juno Awards Reno was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a member of Loverboy.[14] Loverboy also played as a part of the 2010 Olympic ceremonies in Vancouver on Sunday February 21, 2010. This night, otherwise known as "Nunavut night", was co-headlined with the band Trooper. The live medal presentations were in short track speed skating (ladies' 1,500 m and men's 1,000 m), men's 1,500-metre speed skating and men's freestyle skiing ski cross.

As of 2015, Reno continues to tour and play live shows with Loverboy (see the band's official website for currently scheduled concert dates[15]) and has dates already scheduled for 2015. The band's latest full album of all-new material that contains new songs is Unfinished Business. The album was released on July 15, 2014 through Loverboy Music and it is widely available.

References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mike-reno-mn0000491596/biography
  2. ^ Demalon, Tom. "Biography: Mike Reno". AMG. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  3. ^ http://www.canadianbands.com/Moxy_CDs.html
  4. ^ Under the Lights
  5. ^ http://www.loverboyband.com/band.html
  6. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Various-Iron-Eagle-II-Music-From-The-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/4853063
  7. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Little-Original-Soundtrack-Vestron/dp/B00000084C
  8. ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/tim_feehan/tracks_i_forgot_about/
  9. ^ http://bassroutes.blogspot.com/2011/11/mike-reno.html
  10. ^ http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glamcd.cgi?BandNum=2472&CDName=Renovation
  11. ^ http://www.melodicrock.com/reviews/mikereno-renovation.p3
  12. ^ http://www.rockreport.be/review.asp?id=830
  13. ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/L/Loverboy/2007/11/21/4672583.html
  14. ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/L/Loverboy/2009/03/27/8904811-sun.html
  15. ^ http://www.loverboyband.com/home.html
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