“The life of a rock star is very, very exciting,” joked Kevin Cronin, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of REO Speedwagon as he was exiting an Indiana Perkins restaurant.

“We have an entire chocolate French silk Perkins pie, and all they (the employees) ask in return is four autographed pictures,” Cronin said.

Cronin joined the band in late 1971, replacing Terry Luttrell on lead vocals.

“I think he had a bad acid trip one night, and from what I understand, he went running offstage into a cornfield and was never seen again,” Cronin said. “I’m not sure if that’s exactly the truth, but that’s just what I heard.”

Tomorrow, REO Speedwagon will play a sold out show at Lantz Arena as the highlight of Family Weekend.

“The main reason we picked REO Speedwagon is because they kind of fit the genre,” said Ben Murphy, University Board’s concert coordinator. “We brought Foreigner last year and it sold out; it was a really good show, and they fit that format pretty well.”

But this isn’t the first time REO has played in the area. The band originated in Champaign in the 1960s.

“We knew that it would sell really well around the area, and parents kind of grew up listening to the music, and students know the songs too, so it’s kind of a good fit for parents and students,” Murphy said.

In April, REO released its first studio album in 11 years, following 1996’s “Building the Bridge.”

“Four out of five of the band members’ personal lives went to hell,” Cronin said. “Usually when there’s turmoil in one’s personal life, that churns the creative juices in an artist; so it hit us all like a tidal wave.

“So I started writing, and the guys were really self-passionate about the songs I was writing ‘because they could relate. We kind of formed a secondary bond in the band, it was very cool.”

As Cronin said, this album is very heartfelt and very emotional, capturing everything the members were going through at the time.

“The songs on the new record really kind of brought us all closer. And when everyone started talking about what they were going through, next thing we knew, the crew guys, we were having conversations that guys usually don’t have,” Cronin said. “You know, guys, we’re talking about music or sports or traveling or whatever, you know?

“But this was actually like Dr. Phil shit that we were talking about, but it was really kind of cool. We were sharing our feelings, and so the record kind of came out of this desire to survive, I guess you could call, a mid-life crisis.”

Cronin said as a songwriter, going through heavy emotional times and new, uninvited feelings bring about new songs.

“It kind of stirs up your soul a little bit. And when you’re in an emotional state to begin with, to me, that always stimulates my songwriting,” Cronin said. “So the more of a mess my personal life becomes, the better songs I end up writing.”

Throughout the years, REO’s music has touched a lot of people, one of whom being Eastern’s director of University Housing and Dining Services, “and REO fan,” Mark Hudson.

“It takes me back to my college days. I was an Eastern student in the late ’70s,” Hudson said. “They started playing Charleston before they got big, and they were just getting big when they came here, and that’s when I started getting aware because they were just getting popular and I just always liked their music.”

Their song, “Riding the Storm Out,” has always meant a lot to Hudson, since he was a student.

“I think the message about hanging in there just has a good perseverance message to it. When I was a college student, I had this tradition,” Hudson said. “I was an RA for three years at Eastern, and after my last resident would check out, I would take REO Speedwagon’s ‘Riding the Storm Out’ and cue it up on my record player, and I would crank it up cause there was no one else there, and I would pull my beanbag chair out in the middle of the lobby and sit there and listen to ‘Riding the Storm Out’ and think about what a great year it was and how much fun it was and after the (last) song would be over, I would go to work.”

As for tomorrow’s performance, UB anticipates a great show.

“I can pretty much guarantee that REO Speedwagon is going to put on a great show,” Murphy said. “We sold out really quickly, so I hope it’ll be just as good as last year’s.”

Hudson has seen the band perform live on one occasion.

“I saw them in Terre Haute. I had the records; they would be playing on the radio all the time of course, because they were just a popular band at that point,” Hudson said.

Other possibilities to play this year’s Family Weekend were Journey and Styx, both of which fit the classic rock trend UB goes for.

“Those would be the top three bands,” Murphy said. “It was REO Speedwagon, Journey and Styx and throughout the whole process, the most realistic possibility through prices, availability and popularity was REO Speedwagon.”

UB goes through a committee to select which bands play Family Weekend.

“I deal directly with Ceci Brinker, who is the director of student life, and she deals with Dr. Dan Nadler (vice president for academic affairs),” Murphy said. “We go through the administration and we take ideas from them about what kind of artists they might want to see here for family weekend, see what they want, (and) then break it down into realistic possibilities.”

After breaking it down, UB comes to a choice, and through the committee and administration, they pick a band.

There will be no opening act tomorrow and REO is scheduled to take the stage at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.

“Most of it is going to be the hits people have grown up with. We’re not fools, we know that’s what people come to hear,” Cronin said. “We’ll probably play four songs off the new record and then a couple of classic album cuts that people might not be expecting and then of course all the hit songs.”

REO’s set will last anywhere between 90 minutes and two hours.

“You hear terms like ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘geezer rock’ and all that crap, but I think people are pretty surprised when they see us,” Cronin said. “We’re still pretty young for our age we have a lot of fun when we play live.”