Rock Steady Classic Rockers Tap Into Fan Loyalty Earned The Old-Fashioned Way - Years Of Touring

As baseball guru Yogi Berra once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.” He could have been talking about this summer’s mob of classic rock bands that are playing amphitheaters nationwide.

Suddenly, it’s the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s all over again, as acts from the Moody Blues to Jethro Tull, from Cheap Trick to Styx, from Kiss to Pat Benatar turn up the nostalgia and punch holes in the record industry’s obsession with the youth market. But what did you expect? Did you think baby boomers were going to go away? Some of this summer’s acts no doubt should have - among them Kansas, Scorpions and REO Speedwagon - but some have maintained their chops despite constantly being on the defensive about their age.

Yes, some are old enough to be Alanis Morissette’s parents, indeed, grandparents. But if people follow the likes of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett forever, then why should trendy critics be so harsh on the classic rock revival?

“We’re always asked, ‘Why are you still around?’ ” says singer Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, who performed at The Gorge with the Spokane Symphony in mid-May. “In our case, it’s because people love the music and love the old songs.”

“When every bit of fashion and trend is forgotten, all that remains is the song,” adds singer Dennis DeYoung of Styx, whose group plays at The Gorge with Kansas on Aug. 11.

“Hey, there are new bands that are cool and new bands that stink - just as there are old bands that can still play and some that should go out to pasture,” says Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, which stops at The Gorge Aug. 24 with the band Boston.

While these acts can no longer hope to get on youth-oriented MTV (“The only way we can is if we’re on ‘Beavis and Butt-head,’ ” says Nielsen), they’re kept alive by several key factors. One is the advent of outdoor amphitheaters catering to an older crowd. “Amphitheaters have definitely given these acts a rebirth,” says booking agent Dave Marsden.

Another is the strength of classic rock radio stations. (In Spokane, classic rock station KKZX-FM topped the most recent Arbitron ratings.)

Above all, classic rock bands tap into a fan loyalty gained the hard way - from years of touring. These are not bands that had overnight video success, like so many young bands today.

Such loyalty explains why Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band recently drew 70,000 fans in four New England appearances. And it explains why other classic acts such as the Grateful Dead, Eagles, Pink Floyd, Traffic, the Rolling Stones and Jimmy Buffett have lit up the concert trail in recent years.

Their endurance is in marked contrast to the way many new acts are marketed now.

“There’s not a lot of longevity in the way today’s music is produced, manufactured and sold,” says Buffett. “You don’t have time to build a following that is going to last more than two or three years. That’s what it looks like to me. Then who’s left out there? It’s people that are going to give you your money’s worth for a show.

“I think the music business as a whole needs to take a serious look at that. They are not nurturing bands as lasting acts. Like I’ve said for years, they sell them like Burger Kings. To me, it’s the fault of the record companies more than anybody else, because they’re the ones who have opted for cheap acts and exploiting rap for years and now that’s sort of fading out.”

“I have great sympathy for new artists,” says Styx’s DeYoung. “We’ve had a long career and I don’t know how many of them will have this opportunity. … People who run the record companies are just looking for the quickest sell. It’s more corporate, more bottom-line-driven. They’re not saying the Rolling Stones or any band from the ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s can’t sell records. They just know that audience is harder to reach.”

Many companies are loath to release new albums by classic rockers, preferring to rely on catalog sales or repackaged greatest hits albums or low-overhead boxed sets. The Moody Blues sell 500,000 albums from their catalog each year, so, frankly, they’ve been in no rush to release a new disc. The band instead keeps adding concert dates, because that’s where the demand is.

Then there’s the debate as to whether classic rockers have anything new to say. DeYoung agrees with the notion that most bands make their best music when they’re young, but he’s upset at the way many contemporary radio stations and record labels have decided “that after a certain age you have no validity.” He adds: “Isn’t ageism ever a concern? Somewhere along the line, the politicization of rock music became nauseating.”

If there’s one thing that classic rockers agree on, it’s that they’re mainly on tour to entertain. “If you want white guys singing with high voices, then we’re the ones,” DeYoung says with a laugh. “Our show is not an angst-off. We’re not there to say our lives are more dysfunctional than yours. Our job is to rise above that.”

Some acts, of course, are merely hopping on the bandwagon, which sums up a few package tours this summer. The contrived “Can’t Stop Rock’N” tour with REO Speedwagon, Foreigner and Peter Frampton (at The Gorge Aug. 30) is an example.

Many packages have also seen a curious reshuffling. Chicago, which once toured with the Moody Blues, is now out with Crosby, Stills & Nash (July 13 at The Gorge). The Doobie Brothers, who toured last year with summer perennial Steve Miller, are out this time with Lynyrd Skynyrd. And Benatar, who was with REO last year, is with Miller this summer (Aug. 31 at The Gorge). No wonder some observers are cynical, as if they’re witnessing a bizarre game of musical chairs.

“These bands don’t want to come back with exactly the same bill, but nevertheless want to go out and show the flag again,” says Marsden of the Don Law Agency. “And some of the bills last year just didn’t work, like Skynyrd with Tesla. So that needed to be changed.”

Each act is also trying to do something different onstage, even if nostalgia remains the dominant theme. The Moody Blues have changed their set list, Hayward says, though they’re again playing with an orchestra, perhaps for the last time.

“We know we’ll have to find something else, another angle in the future,” he says.

Cheap Trick is in the unique position of bridging both the classic rock and young “alternative” camps. Cheap Trick is touring with Boston, plus doing some Lollapalooza Festival dates with Metallica and Soundgarden (but not in Washington state). Where some young acts scoff at classic rockers, the Beatlesque Cheap Trick has found support from several young bands such as Metallica and Stone Temple Pilots.

“It was cool to be asked to play Lollapalooza,” says Cheap Trick’s Nielsen, whose group will also release a boxed set, “Sex, America, Cheap Trick,” on Aug. 13.

“We’ve kept playing nonstop all these years. I guess we were either too dumb to quit or we just enjoyed it too much,” says Nielsen. “But I wish music wasn’t so segmented today in this country. I wish it was more like the English pub scene where, next to each other, you’ve got a punk and a guy from the financial district and a coal miner. They’re all listening to a ska band or to Oasis or to Cheap Trick - and nobody is running out of the place because they can’t handle it.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GET YOUR TICKETS Old rock acts coming to the Inland Northwest this summer: The Scorpions and Alice Cooper, July 6, The Gorge. Tickets: $46.50, $36.05 and $30.80, through Ticketmaster. Crosby, Stills & Nash and Chicago perform July 13 at The Gorge. Tickets: $44.65, $39.40 and $31. Ticketmaster. John Kay and Steppenwolf, July 14, Cotton Club in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Tickets: $21 (you must be at least 21 to attend), through G&B Select-a-Seat. Blood, Sweat & Tears, July 20, Silver Mountain Amphitheatre. Tickets: $26.50 and $19.50. G&B. Average White Band, July 27, Spokane’s Masonic Temple. Tickets: $14, $16 at the door (you must be at least 21 to attend). G&B. Styx and Kansas, Aug. 11, The Gorge. Tickets: $34.15 and $23.65. Ticketmaster. Steely Dan, Aug. 17, The Gorge. Tickets: $51.75 and $33.75. Ticketmaster. Boston and Cheap Trick, Aug. 24, The Gorge. Ticketmaster. The Classic Rock All Stars, Aug. 24, Silver Mountain Amphitheatre. Tickets: $18. G&B. Foreigner, REO Speedwagon and Peter Frampton, Aug. 30, The Gorge. Tickets: $42.75 and $28.35. Ticketmaster. Steve Miller and Pat Benatar, Aug. 31, The Gorge. Tickets: $43.60 and $28.35. Ticketmaster. Kiss, Sept. 1, Spokane Arena. Ticket information is not yet available. Ticketmaster: Outlets are at these PayLess Drug Store locations: University City at 10722 E. Sprague, South Hill at 4514 S. Regal and downtown at 112 N. Howard. Or call (509) 735-0500. G&B Select-a-Seat: Available at all regional outlets or call 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT (credit cards only).