ElmerJFudd Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 Published on Dec 6, 2009 Lady recorded live with a 40 - piece orchestra and the Chicago Childrens Choir. [video:youtube] Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Lawrence Gowan has been with Styx for a really long time at this point, hasn't he? Something like two decades? Yup - I saw Styx in 1999, their first tour with Lawrence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Published on Dec 6, 2009 Lady recorded live with a 40 - piece orchestra and the Chicago Childrens Choir. A wonderful song. Love Dennis on this. Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Not long after I covered him in my Art Of Synth Soloing column, Clonk I got a wonderful, self-deprecating email from him. Thanks to Tom Brislin, who was working with him at the time. Dennis was very sweet and funny, thanking me for making him look smarter and better than he was, and said it would take him 20 years to confirm the accuracy of the transcriptions. LOL It was a kind gesture to reach out and a thrill for me to receive. Like many here, I suspect, I had a sour attitude towards Dennis for "being the cause of the breakup", and the way he was portrayed as the bad guy in the "Behind the Music" Styx episode. And some of it was, no doubt, deserved. Some of the theater elements he was attempting to bring to the band's shows were probably ill-advised. However, a while back I saw him on a PBS pledge-drive show with his new band. Not only did the band completely kill it, but-- and I don't know if this was shown outside the Chicago market or not-- he was live with the fund raisers for local PBS station WTTW in Chicago, and I must say he was completely delightful... self-deprecating, completely unpretentious, funny, very friendly with the staff, etc. Although Gowan is a completely qualified and capable replacement, it made me a little sad that DeYoung and the band couldn't have worked things out. But at this point that ship has no doubt sailed... I think at the end of the day, the differences between the band and Dennis were that they just wanted to tour a lot more than he did. Dennis does tour from time to time, but not at the level of shows Styx does. And as we have been shown time and time again, the reality for touring acts in the 21st century is the brand (in this case "Styx") means far more than any individual member. I'm a huge Dennis fan, but most people who go to Styx shows couldn't name the members. Certainly the songs, but not who was original or not. Foreigner still does good touring business with no original members at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Foreigner is pretty big still here as Lou is from here. I know his brother a little bit. Most of the problems with the old bands have is that people will always say "well they'll never be as good as when (insert original singers name) was with them". I see that with Chicago, Foreigner, Journey, Yes, Boston, Doobies, Styx and so forth. Chicago has gone through two guys since Peter left, Jason and Jeff Coffey. Now they are using a guy from a tribute band now. But there is a lasting quality to what these bands did and the their catalog still speaks volumes which makes them a draw still. Majority of fans are my age and up for these bands but I do see some young people at the shows. Check this interview with Tommy Shaw talking about how they fit in: Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Quinn Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Very cool home video by Mr. DeYoung! I saw Styx In the mid-70"s at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park. They would repurpose the skating rink in the summer for a series of concerts. Tickets were $10. As I recall the opening act, Starcastle, was excellent too. Quote https://alquinn.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devnor Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Chicago has gone through two guys since Peter left, Jason and Jeff Coffey. Now they are using a guy from a tribute band now. Leonid Vorobyev? Just kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Neil Donell a guy from Toronto. I guess he was kind of hanging around the band in Ohio at rehearsals and he was eventually offered the position. It was just in 2018 so fairly recent. Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devnor Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 The few old Styx fans including myself would rather see Dennis in the band. I was at the Roboto show in Dallas - the one Tommy & JY like to talk about. They feared for their lives. It was just a food fight. Haven't they ever been to a soccer game? I can understand their POV. Dennis made them play almost the entire dreadful album save a couple decent tunes, roboto and heavy metal poisoning. They had Shaw dressed up, running around the stage looking for Kilroy. It was quite a bizarre scene for the Texas Jam and I was on LSD.But once all that was over and Dennis played the opening chord to Rocking the Paradise, the show was on. At one point they had 3 keyboard rigs on stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Without a doubt, Dennis has a dramatic voice - with power and range and expression - a great voice for theater, honestly. And what he brought to Styx material and shows was theatrical. I'm still impressed that he can get this sound at his age, we should all be so lucky. Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Yeah, Styx singers know something/ate right/took the right stuff because all three (Tommy Shaw, James Young and Dennis) still sound freaking amazing well into their 60s or 70s. I'm a big live harmonies fan and that was something I really appreciated about Styx, and other bands to be sure. The live Eagles show from '77 on youtube has perhaps the best live harmonies I've ever heard. Funny thing that JY used to sing maybe 80% of their stuff on the first 4 albums...DDY would sing a couple, and John Curulewski (guitarist/singer before Tommy Shaw joined) would have a couple. I think I remember DDY saying in an interview that Lady was the first time he'd really recorded or played (?) a grand piano, he was an accordionist and organist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 The few old Styx fans including myself would rather see Dennis in the band. I would rather see Dennis of Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight in the band. Not the ballad or Broadway DeYoung. I enjoyed that era where guitars and synths rocked out while sharing the spotlight. Styx hasn't had any strong material after they booted Dennis out. All the members agree that the songwriting of earlier days was a team effort and was their best material. As Dennis's ballads became more popular the label with $$$ in their eyes put their focus on DeYoung, and the teamwork diminished. DeYoung became the producer and the dominant member, and the guitar faction became very frustrated as they wanted to rock out instead of playing Broadway or ballads. Tommy was so disillusioned that he wasn't even inspired to write anything. Kilroy Was Here was the boiling point, and the chasms remained even during their brief reunion. Yeah, Styx singers know something/ate right/took the right stuff because all three (Tommy Shaw, James Young and Dennis) still sound freaking amazing well into their 60s or 70s. I'm a big live harmonies fan and that was something I really appreciated about Styx, and other bands to be sure. The live Eagles show from '77 on youtube has perhaps the best live harmonies I've ever heard. I was always impressed by Styx harmonies from the first day I heard Grand Illusion. I can harmonize real well & sing high harmonies, and I always wanted to cover Styx songs in a band. In my current band we have four really good singers and we can pull off Styx, Kansas, Eagles... loving it. Not many bands want to put the work in learning to sing. Funny thing that JY used to sing maybe 80% of their stuff on the first 4 albums Their first four albums weren't that good, sounds like they were trying to be ELP. JY isn't the greatest songwriter. I heard a little bit of his solo album from the 1980s and was not impressed. Styx found their trademark harmonies on "Lady" but didn't capitalize on them until Equinox, then on Crystal Ball they REALLY had good harmonies with Tommy Shaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 The few old Styx fans including myself would rather see Dennis in the band. I would rather see Dennis of Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight in the band. Not the ballad or Broadway DeYoung. I enjoyed that era where guitars and synths rocked out while sharing the spotlight. I'm a real old Styx fan and I agree with this. I've seen Styx live prior to broadway Dennis era, then broadway Dennis era, and now a few times with Lawrence. After seeing the Broadway era Styx with Dennis, I was really turned off. Fast forward a few hundred years, and I saw Styx opening for Journey. It was my first time seeing Styx in forever. It was the tour with Larry on keys, and Glenn Burtnik on bass. Holy cow Styx absolutely lit the stage on fire. I have since seen them live a couple more time with the current lineup and love how they bring it. Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 The current Styx with Lawrence G. sounds terrific.... As does Dennis' current band. It is probably not by coincidence he's playing music from Styx's heyday, faithfully with guitars and no broadway overtones. I can only assume his choice of two blond dudes on guitar is intentional? They look exactly like James Young and Tommy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Tommy performs for his dog. Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Tommy performs for his dog. Well that was cool...and fun! Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Tommy performs for his dog. I always thought that was their best song. Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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