Wish I had found it years ago.

I was pretty much raised on the music of Styx (a school child of the 70s and early 80s), and if you asked anyone who knew me - Styx was my favorite. With the subject of the forum, it is no surprise that I am a big fan of Dennis. I am also a very big fan of Glen (whom I would have never know if but for Dennis). I have seen Styx in 3 of its line-ups: The most popular iteration from the late 70s in Indiana, With Glen (and not Tommy) in Alaska, and then without Dennis (but pre ricky) in Alabama. I do have plans to see them again next month (I know it isn't the same...but it has been many years since I have seen any member of the once famed group live.

I've never seen any one of them solo (live at least) - though I did see the touring production of Dalmatians this past year.

So now for the opinions:

I loved Styx! WN era, I even thought JC's songs were very good (esp for the time). The band was good pre and post Tommy, though I think the combo of Dennis and Tommy was awesome. Speaking of Tommy - he is better with a collaborator, than just by himself - though I do enjoy his music in and out of Styx. JY (again in my opinion) was best with the James Young Group, but his guitar solos do have a signature sound for classic Styx.

I am not a fan of Gowan (in the band or solo).

I discovered Glen because of Styx, and now like him as much as Tommy.

Dennis really can do know wrong in his song writing or his singing. I remember buying each and every one of his cassettes (and then CDs). He kind of is two stars in one - A Rock genius, and a Broadway style star (as a writer, singer, producer, actor).

I will always wish that Dennis and Styx would get back together - but only if they all got together, and recorded a record where they were all involved in the writing, singing, and recording of it together. Not like BNW where they basically all did their own songs and then recorded their own parts in their own studios and then put it all together. The magic was them putting together the music as a band. If they can't do that, then I am more than happy to see Dennis continue on his own with his current band (didn't someone call them the Dennis DeYoung Group?)

Ok, enough of me and my initial thoughts....off to read more of yours...

Jay (aka Jasedontlie)

Thanks for letting me joing your group. It's always nice to find fellow obsessed, Styx/DDY-crazed fans like myself to share stories with.

I've been around here for a while but ive decided to register and become a real member. My name is Sabrina I'm a freshmen at West Virginia University. I'm a history major with a double minor in Philosophy and religious studies. I have been a Styx/Dennis DeYoung fan for as long as i can remember and Dennis was the only member i liked. They were one of my mom's favorite bands and now one of mine. (Theres a tape of me when i was 3 singing The Best of Times) I have not been to see Styx (when they were together) nor Dennis DeYoung (next time he comes around my mom and i are getting tickets) I have however seen the crap that JY and Tommy and promoting as Styx only because the were on tour with Def Leppard who is who i really went to see. I have all the records on both CD and viynal. And my quiz bolw team in high school's song was Come Sail Away. My favorite song if you couldn't tell is The Best of Times, but i like pretty much anything Dennis sang or wrote. Um... that all i can think of right now but if you want to know anything else just ask.

I'm a healthcare professional who has spent more of her adult life in and out of school than I care to think about. Medical School being among them.

I have an interesting "Styx" story to tell.

My discovery of the band happened in 1981 when I fell in total infatuation with Dennis's voice and the song Best of Times. Ok, I had a GIANT crush on him, fessing up here.. (feeling sheepish).

So...I went out and got EVERY single Styx album my 14 year old pocketbook would allow, and within a year, I owned the whole discography up to that point. I also read every article possible on that band, and found myself HATING Rolling Stone (snobs) and the rest of the Rock Critic Establishment for the constant lambasting they gave the band.

Unfortunately, I missed the Paradise Tour. Living in the San Fernando Valley (Chatsworth), Styx likely came out to our area and had played their concert already by the time I discovered them. Sooooo my first "Styx" concert came in 1983.

By 1983, my ENTIRE room was plastered with Styx memorabilia, and MY favorite member from the get-go was Dennis. Vocals, music, and I thought he was better-looking than Tommy (snicker).

It so happens, that my PE teacher at Chatsworth High School's last name was....Lofrano. Bob Lofrano, the same guy who was my brother's baseball coach, and who I came to discover was Chuck Lofrano's (the guy who helped Dennis write Unfinished Song) cousin, and first cousin to the Panozzo brothers (RIP John). Mr Lofrano knew I was totally obsessed with the band Styx. When the Kilroy tour came out, I was sooo hoping he would help me to meet the band, especially Dennis. Busted my butt in his class too for an "A" in hopes of my "just reward."

But, it did not happen, despite the fact he sat in the row in front of me, said hello to me, and wanted to eyeball my program! I remember his backstage pass pinned to his lapel...I was crushed. Mr Lofrano was still a nice guy, but I was a little mad at him after that:)

Needless to say, I've loved Styx all my life, even if the whole Kilroy debacle wasn't exactly what I had hoped for when I saw them in concert. I love their progressive music years the most. Which is why 100 Years From Now KICKS butt. I wish I could have seen them in 1978...alas, an 11 year old is too young for a rock concert!

Sooo, given my stance as a bona fide DeYoungian, I cannot support that Shaw/Young Freakshow any longer. I believe they (JY more, perhaps) are hypocritical and ungrateful, for the reason they've enjoyed most of their success came via Dennis DeYoung's talent. To this day, I will hope for a reunification of that band. LG can go back to Canada where he's loved for HIS own work.

I got one more story to tell you all. I've only been to Chicago once, on March 27th 2005. My Husband and I were passing through, on our way to the airport, when of ALL things on the radio, we heard an advertisement for Dennis DeYoung playing his Lost Treasures and the Music of Styx, the NEXT evening!!! I could NOT believe it, and so, DH and I had to do one HECK of a lot of rearranging and last minute scrambling so we could go see his concert at the house of blues. It was SO worth it, and so meaningful for me to see him on my ONLY trip to Chicago I've ever made, and lo and behold if he did not sound SPECTACULAR and play EVERY song I've ever loved of his...

To this day, if I could meet anyone in person, Dennis is likely my #1 choice....even all these years later, I'd probably be all shy and stupid too...LOL. I'd like to meet Oprah too, so hey....maybe I oughta move to Chicago:)

So, this is why I am here everyone:)

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far!

I just wanted to say hello to my friends of old and new. Thank you Ron for helping me log in, it's been quite a while.

It took me a long time last night to catch up on posts!!! LOL I'm sure it's going to take me longer in replying, just like my emails But I'll be getting there, you know, within 5 years or so - LOL

Seriously, it's glad to be back and I hope you're all doing good!! There's so many great things/events happening for the DeYoungs and l'm looking forward to many more!!!

:biggrin:

I decided to sign up here because I like the discussion and info here, and I went to the Ft. Lauderdale show on 1/18 (see review section later) and looks like you want to know how it was!

Basically I have been a STYX fan since I was 17. My best friend was a keyboard player and I was learning guitar at the time, when he heard about Dennis because of his progressive use of Synthesizers. He bought the new Equinox Album which we wore out (went through 2 copies!). Mother Dear was our favorite. When Crystal Ball came out, Tommy Shaw has been my idol ever since and I know most of his songs and most all STYX songs - and have avidly followed them since 1976. Back then, I would always go to the record stores every month in hopes that a new STYX album was there.

I first saw them at the Miami Jai-Lai in December 1977 when they kicked off the Grand Illusion tour. Since then, I have been to all the original STYX shows for the albums Pieces Of Eight through the Kilroy Show. They always kicked off their US tours in January at the Hollywood (Florida) Sportatorium. STYX has always been one of the best LIVE shows I have ever seen.

I lived up north between 1984 and 1994 near Chicago before I moved back home in 1994 - and was fortunate enough to attend the STYX show for the Edge Of The Century Tour with Glen in June 1991 at the World Theater in Tinsley Park (just miles from Dennis house). That was the night John got married on stage between the show and the encore. It was cool that Chuck mentioned it in his book, and I was actually there! I also saw Damn Yankees at the Rockford Metrocentre while I lived up there.

I went to the reunion tour STYX shows at the Coral Sky Amphiteatre in West Palm Beach in July 1996 and July 1997 with Todd on Drums. Awesome shows! I saw them again in 2003 for the Cyclorama tour with Lawrence and Glen. While they were good, STYX is not STYX without Dennis, Tommy and JY. I hope they get back together for one last time. Although after seeing Dennis now, he is doing just fine and singing better than he ever has - which is evident on 100 Years From Now which is his best solo work (I think anyway). I got the CD when I went to Toronto last year on a business trip.

Dennis was to perform at the Kravitz Center in downtown West Palm Beach in October of 2005 and was eagerly looking forward to seeing him solo for the first time, however, a storm called Wilma disrupted our lives for two weeks and cancelled the show (we didn't have power for 10 days, thank God we had a generator!).

I guess you could call me a hard-core STYX Fan ...

I think I have rambled enough for now :-)

Rockboy -

Delray Beach, FL

My Intro: So, I am doing some shopping on Amazon a couple weeks ago and am cleaning up my “recommendations” list to keep it from reflecting all the random stuff I bought people for Christmas. I got it cleaned up and lo and behold Caught in the Act is now on DVD and Amazon thinks I might want it! I ordered it, of course. As soon as I added it to my cart, I got a “people buying this item also buy…” and I found there was a new book on Styx, an unauthorized history! As soon as I added that to my cart, I got another “people buying this item also buy…” and it turns out Dennis has a new album out! A Styx Bonanza!

I got the shipment a couple days later and quickly watched the video (I do have the VHS version, but the extra videos were nice), read the book, and listened to the CD- in that order. The book was great and helped me learn more about the band, especially the early days before A&M.

Reading the book, there were several quotes from Andie Denny, who I remember from my early Styx internet days on the original Styx mailing list I signed up for back around 1995. Her quotes about the breakup of the band (version 1999) really hit home and reflected exactly how I felt at the time. The whole Behind the Music issue has scarred me since the night I saw it premier. So, I thought I might see what the internet scene for all things Styx-related was going.

I found this site and a couple others. I was pretty active with Styx on the net until maybe 2000 or so. One could find me on the Styxchat on IRC almost every night for a while. A lot of people are still using the same names, so I “recognized” quite a few people.

Finally, I went over to Dennis’ site and clicked on the “concerts” link not really thinking there would be a show anytime soon or one I could make it to. It turned out that Dennis was doing a show in Clearwater, where a friend of mine lives. This happens to be the friend who went with me to the show in 1996. I ended up flying down there from NC and going to the show with him and his girlfriend.

I’m not much of an entertainment reviewer and there are a lot of reviews of the different shows already, so I don’t necessarily have much useful to say. I will say that Dennis’ show was MUCH better than the non-Dennis “Styx” show I saw a few years back. It was great to see stuff like Castle Walls and Roboto that they didn’t play then I saw the real Styx play back in 1996. Dennis sounded great and did all his normal goofy stuff. He looked good in the suit and I was glad he wasn’t wearing that striped “pirate” shirt, or anything like it, from the 96 tour. It was a song or two shorter than I expected. I was especially disappointed he didn’t do Desert Moon. Just that one more song would have made the set perfect.

I truly believe “Styx” is defined by Dennis AND Tommy AND JY, but if I can’t get that, I’ll take a Dennis show every time. Actually, a Dennis and Tommy show might be nice, but JY is dead to me. He can kiss my Robutto. I’d gladly miss out on the handful of songs of his I like to see and buy an album from a Dennis/Tommy Styx .

Thanks for this site. It is well-done. Balin’s old “Equal Time for Dennis Concern” site was great back in the day when he maintained it. I’m glad someone took the torch and put up another Dennis site.

Recip

David Conrad

Detroit, MI