Todd

Maybe I’ll be seen as a jerk for saying all this, but would we really want everyone to get back together again? At this point, really? Rather than look at this situation from the stand point of the nostalgia involved or the memories or the feelings we had for the Classic Styx era when we were all a lot younger...as rational adults, would we really want these folks to move back in with each other? The Shaw/Young band has made crappy albums, edited the band history not to include any mention of Dennis, and even re-recorded the Classic songs to try and erase Dennis’ vocal legacy. Besides, JY can’t sing anymore, Tommy is doing other music projects now, and you’ve got the keyboard monkey and Sucky Phillips permanently entrenched in the band’s structure. Even with Dennis “back in the band” Styx ain’t the old Styx anymore. Never will be. Hasn’t been since about 1999. As Tom Petty said, “It’s time to move on, time to get going...” For me, I just wanna enjoy what’s left in Dennis to do his shows in the Classic Styx style and I want to ignore the Shaw/Young band doing whatever it is they do. I almost look at this as if a couple that was close to you got divorced for 12 years. During that time they married some one else, one said nasty, public things about the other, and each became different people in that time, aspiring (maybe through necessity) to newer highs (or perhaps lows). Would you really, as a friend of these people, want them to ditch their “new” lives now and get back together? On top of that, then rationally expect everything to be the same as before, especially knowing what water under their bridge would undoubtedly be waded through after they did get back together? C’mon, seriously, deep down inside we all know after such a time had passed, things would never really be the same again or even close. It would almost be like these two people (or this band) was simply tolerating each other for some perceived greater good or to meet to the expectations of others (the fans). As I suspect the mid-90's reunion may have ultimately been about. We might have to just (finally) realize and accept that eventually people, as individuals, have to do what they feel is best for them and move past the expectations and demands of others...even if it's not fair to the others. Life isn’t fair and neither is rock and roll apparently. And we can all whine and moan “But we’re their fans! We made them the superstars that they are! They should care about what their fans want!” Blah-blah-blah...in a way, yes, I agree. But we don’t have a lease on their lives forever because they made some music we love and identify with. It’s time to move on, time to get going. And as a friend of mine said recently, “If you’re going to have a hero, pick a dead one. That way they can’t disappoint you.” To which I replied, “Well, at least not until the next E! True Hollywood story episode”. Or in this case an episode of VH1: Behind the Music. Take Care, TCP

I'm hoping they'll do an unplugged version of "Heavy Metal Poisoning" with some bongo drums and a steel guitar or something. That would be a smash hit there!

Maybe DDY and his current line-up should jump on this bandwagon and re-record "Blue Collar Man", "Too Much Time On My Hands", and "Renegade". They could call the album "The Next Generation", "Degeneration", or "Kiss My Ass JY"...something like that. From everything I am reading and hearing DDY and the band sound great doing these songs, so why not?

Well,with no official confirmation, alot of speculation, and some aspects of a conspiracy theory, I actually have a friend who works for a radio station. He does the sound board and sound effects for on-air commercials. He was good enough to indulge me for a little investigation of what is actually whispered. Long story short, he minimized the background noise and amplified the reverberated/repeated whisper. To us it sounded like...drum roll please... Styx, Styx, Styx, Styx, Styx But, I think everyone already suspected that, even without some fancy sound engineering tricks. Anyway, that would be my answer to the question. Take care, Todd

Well, I'm 38 but it seemed like only yesterday that...never mind. I forgot what I was going to say. Old age does that to you. Hahaha. The KWH tour thing is another story. I may be wrong, but it seems to me back then I remember reading or hearing about the tour stopping in either Lexington, KY or Louisville. I begged my mother to take me or let my Dad take me, BUT (this is so funny) she heard about Styx supposedly "backward masking songs" and told me I could not see a rock band that did that "Satanic Stuff". Anyway, I pleaded with her and let her listen to some of the other songs on KWH, but she wasn't having any. Then she asked, "You know what Styx means?" I said not really and she informed me that it is the name of the river in Hades (Hell) from Greek mythology. Until that point I did not know that fact, but to her that was proof enough of the Satanic connection. Fast forward to the late 90's. My mom got a new car with a CD player. She liked some of the music I had...Elton John, Billy Joel, The Eagles, Tom Petty, etc. so she asked me to burn her some CDs of stuff I thought she might like. Dutifully, and with a little spite, I burned her an entire CD with "Come Sail Away", "Paradise", "The Best of Times", "Don't Let It End", "Carrie Ann", "Not Dead Yet", "Babe", "Lady" and some others by DDY. After she had the CD for a couple of weeks, she told me she loved it and thanked me. To which I replied, "Oh, that's fine. Those were all songs by Dennis DeYoung, you know? Remember him?" She said no and I smiled and said, "Well, he's the lead singer for that aweful satanic group Styx you hated me listening to. Remember now?" She claimed amnesia for that whole event, but I could see it in her eyes that she knew. Revenge is swe-e-e-e-t! By the way, I recently burned her DDY's new album and she loves almost every song. I reminded her who he was again then too. I even asked her if she heard the Devil Message in "Crossing The Rubicon"? Hahahaha... Take care, Todd

Sorry I missed this topic when it first came out, but I've been working alot lately. Whenever KWH is mentioned though, my ears prop up like a dog's, because that was MY introduction to Styx. As was mentioned previously, I was the "new" generation of Styx fan. When KWH came out, I was 12 years old. (I've told the foregoing story before on DDYTalk, so I am sorry in advance for boring some of you who have already heard it) I heard "Mr. Roboto" when it debuted in my area on a radio station called 94.7 WMAX (Huntington, WV) back in '83. Then I went out and bought the tape of KWH. Immediately my sister, who was 9 at the time, and I started singing the song in our living room on the family stereo. We sang, "Double All I Got-to Mr. Roboto" until my mother informed us it was actually "Domo Arigato". I was incredibly drawn to DDY because of his voice and I read the liner notes over and over with a little, plastic magnifying glass from a box of Cracker Jacks because the script was in about 2-point font. I understood the concept of the album was that the singers were playing parts in what I learned later was a "rock opera". At 12 years old, I loved everything about KWH, except maybe "Heavy Metal Poisoning". I did not care as much for "Cold War" as I did for "Just Get Through This Night". "High Time" was cool to me, remember I was 12 and there were Robot voices in the middle of the song. I thought "Haven't We Been Here Before" was amazing because I couldn't imagine two guys could sing that high together. "Mr. Roboto" was a staple at the roller rink and at the public pool we used to go to. It was a cool album for kids my age. And for some one who had never heard Styx before, THAT album was what Styx sounded like to us. A few months later, my older cousin let me listen to "Pieces of Eight" on an 8-track player in his car and I thought...well, I thought it sucked. Seriously. But, I was 12, man. Synthasized music and Robot voices were my idea of Styx. About a year after that, I heard "Come Sail Away" for the first time and loved it. Though, at the time, I was unaware of "The Grand Illusion" album as a whole. I did not know about "Caught In the Act" until 1985. I read in a magazine that Styx had released it and, of course, I could not find it anywhere. It was not until about 1989 that I found it, of all places, for rent at a little video store about 3 blocks from my house. I walked in one Sunday evening, decided I'd seen every new movie they had out (by the way, you guys remember Beta machines instead of VHS? I had one) and moved on to look over the "Music" section. There it was sitting on the very end of the shelf. I rented it and ran home to watch. That night, for the first time, being older and realizing what KWH was supposed to be about, I watched the film and the concert. I have made it a point to watch that at least twice a year ever since (of course now I have the new DVD that came out a few years ago). I wish, if I could go back in time, I could have actually seen a concert live for the KWH tour. It is one thing I will always regret not getting to do. Some observations about KWH: I liked "Cold War" better on the CITA concert, because of the Shaw voice-thing in the middle and the long guitar solo. I still don't care for "Heavy Metal Poisoning". I think "Double Life" is JW's best song he ever did for Styx. I do not think, nor ever thought, KWH was the singular event that caused Styx to break-up. I just came to believe the others in the band did not have the foresight that DDY had. (Even "Music Time" was sort of DDY's attempt to change into a music format that suited the times and the early music video era, even though people hate that song. I don't. I still like it and my kids still dance around the house to it) I did not think the concert event for KWH was lame or took away from the band...it told a complete story in one sitting featuring some of Styx's best music up till that time. Overall, for sentimental reasons only, I like KWH the best. However, I think "The Grand Illusion" was their masterpiece. My favorite Shaw song is "Man In The Wilderness". Thanks, Todd

Thomas Dolby was Da Man! I watch the whole video everytime I see it on VH-1 Classics. I loved that song too. Dolby was on some "Where Are They Now" segment on VH-1, but I forgot what it said he was doing. I think he was like a mid-level record producer or something. I dunno. Just kidding about the Shaw/Blades thing from before. I actually like their stuff. By the way, anybody see any of the informercials selling classic rock collections from the '70's lately? They actually have a few songs from Classic Styx represented. Show some snippets of their concert footage too. I wonder if Dennis is getting a cut from that? So far, all the songs I've seen on the collections are Dennis' songs. Take care, Todd

I'd buy their new CD only if they did "Crocodile Rock" or a re-make of "She Blinded Me With Science". hahahaha Todd

This is just something I was thinking about (and we all know how bad that can be). But, since Dennis is really not considered part of Styx's past anymore according to their own site, then let's assume his performing career has only been going on since 2000. Is it not close to accurate to say that he has been a more successful and viable performer than Styx (with their history dating back to let's say 1972) in the last 9 years? I mean, they have 37 years of history, reputation, and music to draw from and a guy that, according to their bio, has only been around for 9 years (and is in his 50's and 60's) has done more than they have in those 9 years. If I am wrong I know some one will correct me and I welcome it, but since 2000, hasn't DDY done better by himself than the Shaw/Young band since 2000? DDY has been headlining shows all over the US and abroad. He hasn't been a warm-up act for anybody (that I know of). He's written a musical and won awards for it. He's been on Starr Academie (spelling?). He's done Celebrity Duets. He's done commentary on VH-1. He's released albums and DVDs that actually have good music on them and have been successful. He's had music in movies and on TV. He's been mentioned in movies and TV. He's made appearances on shows like Bonnie Hunt. He's done different types of music, like the symphony orchestra arrangements and the acoustic/unplugged type of shows. I don't mean to type alot of stuff here that everyone already knows, but is there any question that DDY has, for 9 years, outshone the guys who erased his past and act like he never existed? You can make all the greatest hits compilations you want to and all the re-makes in the world, but it's not the same. Ladybugking said, "It drives them crazy to have to admit it. So they don't." In a way, based on the past few years, I don't blame them. (Well, of course, I blame them, but you catch my drift.) Set me straight, if I'm off-base here. Thanks. Todd

I was about two years too young to have the famous poster of her on my wall. My best friend's brother DID have it though and I remember seeing it in his room. I remember her mostly from J.C. Penney catalogues my mother used to get in the mail. I'm pretty sure she was a spokesmodel for them back in the 70's. And I think she was married for a time to Lee Majors and I remember it because he was my hero when he played "The Six Million Dollar Man". I didn't watch "Charlie's Angels" either. I was a little young for that, but my mom did and she used to talk about how, I think, John Forsyth was the voice of Charlie and my Dad used to disagree. Anyway, that's my random, rambling thoughts about Farrah. She will be missed. Todd

According to the new Styx bio on their site, Dennis DeYoung does not exist. There was apparently never a founder of the band with that name, so I would say no, they did not collect royalties for a man of that name. However, I'm sure if JY was there, he would claim he co-wrote the songs and that any royalties due were for the band. Then again, if any royalties were paid, Obama would have taxed them heavily to pay for his upcoming Universal (Socialist) Government-run Health Care program. Todd

"...a few members of the media could be heard chanting the lyrics to 'Mr. Roboto' and 'Come Sail Away'." I love that the press hacks were chanting lyrics to DDY written songs. That's just too good. This story actually made my day. Todd

Is this the part where the flying monkeys come and take us all away... behind some Castle Walls?

Well done! =))

I agree. I've always thought there is enough of the classic songs and the new/other stuff to satisfy both types of fans at a DDY concert. He says in interviews that his past IS his present when he performs. Todd