Ron Onesti: Romance rock 'n' roll style

As an entertainment producer, a common question I get is: "What is the toughest part of your job?" Between the constant quest I embark upon to book quality acts, combined with the countless details we have to manage, the toughest challenge above all that I must face is actually selling tickets.

There is a science to the booking of acts with a formula combining the right amounts of personal relationships, reputation and industry knowledge. Then comes the preparation, marketing and execution of the show. But still, the hardest part is getting those tickets sold.

If you think about it, just imagine the number of block parties, festivals, clubs, theatres, arenas and outdoor venues all competing for your entertainment dollar. So many venues, especially within the Chicago-area market, are vying for market share of the ticket-purchasing public. So creativity is essential. The experience must be over the top and great customer service is a must.

Take this past Valentine's Day, for example. As with any holiday, entertainment venues try to come up with cute hooks to get you to spend your day with them. Free roses to the ladies, drink specials, dancing … all ticket add-ons to make you join them on that very competitive day.

So what could I do? Should I consider not doing anything on Valentine's Day this year? It was on a Saturday, so I really SHOULD do something! Wait a minute … look at all the competition! Fleetwood Mac, Barry Manilow and a host of others were ALL in town on that day this year. This would be tough.

Then I thought Heart would be a cool band to have on this day dedicated to love. But they are way too expensive for my 9,000-seat venue. As I was putting my creativity cap on, I recalled a show we had just a few months ago with The Romantics. Now that could make sense!

At their recent show, their megahit "What I Like About You" got the entire audience on its feet and turned the Arcada Theatre into a rockin' dance hall of the 1980s. But since they were with us recently, I would need something else to make it a bigger show.

So I started my trek home that night, of course, jammin' to the classic rock station, as I always do. Zeppelin, Floyd, Beatles … God I love that stuff. Then Loverboy comes on and I am yelling at the top of my lungs, "Everybody's Workin' For The Weekend." LOVERBOY and THE ROMANTICS … That's it! Perfect for Valentine's Day!

The guys showed up and actually were just as excited about being at The Arcada. Wally Palmar, original lead singer of The Romantics, came right up to me and said "Congratulations! You are the only one who capitalized on the fact that we were actually formed on Valentine's Day. That's why we named the band what we did! You really did your homework!"

I responded with, "Uh, yeah. I sure did!"

Of course, it was just a lucky shot for me and I had no idea about that, but I wasn't going to tell him that! It was a cool "Backstage" tidbit nonetheless!

Then I welcomed Mike Reno and the boys from Loverboy. As many of the bands do when they come to the Arcada Theatre for the first time, they took a tour of the historic dressing room area, custom designed with musical instruments as lighting fixtures, each room painted a different bright color. The group could not have been any more gracious, answering my ever-growing list of questions I, as a fan, have always wondered about the Canadian band.

I wanted to get the lowdown on two of the "rumors" about Loverboy; both were about the band's lead singer, Mike Reno. First, it was thought that group was named after Reno because of his extensive "stable" of female fans. Actually, the name came from a dream the band's guitarist, Paul Dean, had after the guys all went to the movies with their girlfriends. The girls were thumbing through a magazine and Paul saw an ad for "Cover Girl" and suggested "Cover Boy" as the name for the new band. But later in a dream he had, the name "Loverboy" came to him and the rest is history.

Their biggest album, "Get Lucky," the one that featured the smash single "Everybody's Workin' For The Weekend," had what seemed to be a male posterior (specifically, thought to be Mike's) in tightly fitting red leather with a hairy male hand making a peace sign up against it.

Turns out it wasn't Reno's "good side" after all. It was the 13-year-old daughter of the photographer and HIS hand making the peace sign. The red leather pants that was sent for the shoot was way too small for any of the guys in the band so they recruited the young girl to model them!

I used to walk around with a red headband all the time, the way Mike Reno did. He said he wore it to keep the sweat off his face, but I know the truth. Wearing that thing was a confidence-building tool that proclaimed the essence of "cool" the way it did for Olivia Newton John. Boy, I am officially embarrassed now!

So this rock 'n' roll lovefest was a huge sellout, with couples singing and dancing and reminiscing about the fabulous '80s. As Mike was leaving, he gave me a hug and said, "Your venue is a very special one." Then he handed me the headband he wore at the show that night.

So I went home, put on some spandex pants, half shirt and high-top gym shoes with sweat socks bunched up at the ankle, sported the headband and sang "Turn Me Loose" into a hair brush in a full-length mirror. I thought I was embarrassed before …

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp. and The Historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.