The Truth About Cheap Trick's Original Lead Singer, Xeno

March 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Before guffawing too heavily over bad calls, it's important to remember that in 1973, Cheap Trick hadn't released an album and didn't look like they were necessarily heading anywhere. In OnMilwaukee, Ron Faiola describes how Cheap Trick were cashing after the then-vogue glam look. For them, this meant less over-the-top-theatrics and more "Carlos would wear all white and Xeno would wear a purple jacket with yellow bananas on it." Apparently, this was still too flamboyant for Wisconsin, as the bar manager complained there were too many gay people in the audience. 

It was during this time that Xeno met Straight Up, Minnesota's glam rock band. According to Xeno, the band wasted no time poaching Cheap Trick's singer: "They showed up in a white limo and offered me $250 a week if I joined their band, which was a lot for a 21-year-old single guy." So he left to join Straight Up for a while before staying with Bad Boys. For the fans of Cheap Trick, this wasn't a catastrophe. As The Chicago Reader quotes in an oral history of the band's early days, Lauree Rohrig, an early Cheap Trick concert goer, preferred Robin Zander: "Robin was a great replacement for Xeno. Both had long blond hair and an androgynous look, but Robin was much prettier and had a better voice." As with Pink Floyd's Bob Klose and Chris Dennis, it seems these early departures are less dramatic and more for everyone's benefit.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2BknJnbG1fqbWmedOrrK2gXZavsMHTZpqhnZGlerW%2ByJyirGWfp7aotc2ao2aklZaxbr%2FIp56eql2tsq%2B7jg%3D%3D