He will be joined by original members Lamm, Jimmy Pankow and Lee Loghnane, as well as guitarist Tony Obrahta, vocalist Neil Donell, keyboardist Loren Gold (The Who), percussionist Ray Yslas, woodwind player Ray Herrmann and bassist Eric Gaines, the newest member of the band.
“The band sounds great right now,” Reyes said. “Eric is a great pocket bass player and singer. I’ve played with a lot of great players over the years in Chicago — Jason Scheff, Keith Howland, Lou Pardini — but Chicago is like a freight train moving down the tracks. And if you’re not ready for the train, it will go on without you. With each job you take, you’re doing a service to whoever hired you and their music. And whatever they want to make their music the best it can be, that’s what you do. And I’m okay with that. The thing about playing in Chicago is that you have to be in shape physically and mentally. Jason Scheff told me early on that in Chicago, we usually work from 5:30 until 11:30. He told me I had to find things to do in those hours in between the shows. Jason was an entrepreneur. He told me to set an alarm, get on a schedule — make the most of my time on the road. I took it seriously — I still do. I made my ‘WallyWorld’ album while I was on the road with Chicago playing percussion.”
