Dennis DeYoung used an ARP String Ensemble when he was in Styx

[The Real MC]

10 hours ago, Stokely said:

Not sure it still is, that was close to ten years ago.  It was just a surreal experience!

When my current band was just starting out, we played a couple bars in Deltona...Critters and Dizzy Ds, if my memory serves.  It's probably been a good 7-8 years for either.  We do play over in Debary from time to time, and you may know the Oasis in Sorrento....we've played there way too many times  

 

Critters is still there, I pass by it on the way to work.

I moved here two years ago to a new job.  Had kept in touch with a guitar player I've known since high school - two days after I arrived in FL I found out where his band was playing and made a surprise visit.  He put me to work right away.  Been playing infrequently with his band since then, almost anything but bars.  I don't drink so I don't frequent bars.  Getting worn out on classic rock, looking for something refreshing but nothing close to me yet.

[Stokely]

This is definitely the land of classic rock, or one of them.  Our big problem when trying to break out of that is simply that we need subs for bass and drums fairly regularly.  Our regular guys are in multiple bands so they get booked up.  So we have to default to the old standards.  In FL that's a lot of Skynyrd and of course songs like Brown eyed girl and Funky Music.  If I never play Funky Music again I will be happy, and it's a great song.  Gimme 3 steps, same.  

And Sweet Caroline...but no denying that people go bananas when you play it.

But to get back to Styx, when we get our regular guys back then we get to play the more fun stuff, obviously you can't get too "out there" if you want to work.

[zxcvbnm098]

I went back and re-read the original post and thought I'd correct some of the things about him being the "oft feuding" person in the band and hard to get along with. 

 

What I've heard from friends that have worked around the band for a long time is that it's really a matter of priorities of Dennis's being different from the other guys in the band.

 

Dennis is the oldest member, and married young and had a family young. He was a dedicated family man, so tours were always a challenge for him being away from home. If there were breaks in tours he would always fly home for a day or two to see the kids. As one can imagine, this created a bit of a "us vs. him" situation in the group as the younger/other guys wanted to be out all the time and be rock stars. 

 

Of course the Kilroy thing didn't help, but from everyone I know that has interfaced with him, he's a really nice guy. As are the other guys in the band. 

 

I saw them in 1978 at the Forum in LA with The Cars opening. Amazing show....

[Outkaster]

Paradise Theater has some interesting tentacles.  I am a history buff and into old movie houses.  Turns out the Paradise Theater is not the actual one on the album. The Paradise was torn down in 1956.  The artist that did the cover painted the Granada (also torn down) instead and labeled it Paradise not realizing the mistake.  Also the Paradise had one of three 5 manual Wurlitzer organs.  Remember it was build in 1928 when silent films were ending.  Here is the information from the original artist:

 

I am truly amazed at this inquiry. It seems that I painted the Styx
Paradise Theater album cover art an eternity ago. I was 25 years old
and fresh out of art school. Paradise Theater was one of my first jobs.
I was working as an illustrator for an illustration/design firm called
Willardson and White. At that time A and M records was a steady client.
My self and another illustrator (Mick McGinty) would do all of the
illustration work and almost all of the design work. While a movie
poster campaign for Flash Gordon went to Mick, the entire campaign for
Styx Paradise Theater came to me. The project involved not only album
cover art front and back, but also inside art, 45 sleeve art, the
record label art, the round art in the middle of the LP ( which would
subsequently be used as a lazer etching on the LP vinyl). The
lettering and boarder front and back had to be designed and painted as
well as designs and paintings for the outdoor boards. I designed the
cover art in a way that could be altered and used as a 36"x48" poster
as well as a 12"x12" album sleeve (there is much more of the building
in the original art and printed posters) . I painted this project back
in 1980 ( or 81) I apologize as this was so long ago and so very many
paintings ago. I vaguely remember getting a stack of reference on how
the band wanted the feeling of the concept to proceed. I was working
with Chuch Beeson who was art director at A and M at the time, I was
also working with Derek Sutton who was managing Styx. I am sorry and
embarrassed to admit that I am not familiar with Robert Addison nor do
I know anything of the Granada Theater. I was a young man from the
pacific northwest working in Los Angeles with absolutely no reference
to the Chicago area. I was simply given a stack of reference and told
of the attitude of the concept and proceeded accordingly. If samples of
Mr. Addison's work or photos of the old Paradise theater, as well as
other classic theaters were included in that stack... well I just do
not remember as it was 26 or 27 years ago. It is also important to
remember that the band was seeking a feeling or an artistic statement
rather than an exact architectural rendering of a specific structure in
which case I would have been the wrong person for the job. I remember
having fun designing a building facade( based on reference) and all the
gargoyles and the one sheet marquees on the front of the theater. I
remember the band requesting that I put a number 10 above the ticket
window (I think It may have been their 10th album however I'm not
entirely sure of it's significance). They also asked me to design a
one sheet poster marquee for the dilapidated back cover art, "Sparky
The Flying Dog". I was never really aware it's significance. I had my
friend Ted Witus design a black and white solution of the Paradise
Theater marquee which I incorporated and translated to color and
dimension. Ted was one of the leading title designers in Hollywood at
the time designing movie titles for:" Raiders of the Lost Arc", "The
Natural" and a great many others. It was my decision to paint the
figures and vehicles on the front art in a deco style as I felt it
would contribute to the feel and period of the concept. It seems that
the art went over well as A and M printed the art as a limited edition
print minus the title lettering on high quality paper ( an addition of
500 I think, I assume those must be worth something I know that I must
have a few artist's proofs stashed away some where for a rainy day) The
art was also a finalist for a grammy award in the category of "Album
Packaging Design".
I have been intending to delete the Paradise Theater art from my web
site as it was created so long ago and I believe that my painting
skills have improved drastically. But as it turns out yours is not the
only inquiry as of late. I suppose I'll delay it's removal for a little
while longer.

 

 

Here is the article from a site that I go on a lot about the actual theater.  If you check the comments they talk about the album cover:

 

https://cinematreasures.org/comments?page=14&theater_id=344

 

 

 

[Baldwin Funster]

Dennis ought to just go full Broadway and become a theatre actor, singer and producer. If he really believes in that part of himself he should set ambitions of rejoining Styx aside and be the fabulous Dennis DeYoung that he believes he is. JY, TS and the rest want no part of that and don't want to crack the door open even a tiny bit to that idea. How long does Tommy have left to perform in Styx? Maybe 5 or 6 years and those high notes will be a 3rd lower. Why be miserable for his last 6 years feeling tense about DDY.

[o0Ampy0o]

Having viewed Tommy Shaw's appearance on Live At Daryl's House one time I remembered thinking how nervous and awkward Tommy appeared. When I watched it again at a later time I noticed a lot that I missed because I had been so distracted by the awkwardness. Tommy displayed much more strength than I first perceived. With the band the performances sound great. Tommy is singing as good and better than ever in his career.

 

I did not like most Hall & Oats songs but I always liked Daryl's voice. I imagined him singing other music. Although Daryl's singing style and voice is different (more nasally) now I prefer the Live At Daryl's House performances of their material over the original Hall & Oats versions. His contributions to Tommy's Styx songs sound good.

 

Tommy Shaw owns and lives in the house Donna Summer raised her kids in. Donna's daughter Amanda and Amanda's husband Abner were guests on the show as their band Johnnyswim. Daryl with Amanda and Abner did a superior performance of Hall & Oats's Do What You Want. Hall & Oats toured after that episode. I saw a video of them performing Do What You Want from that tour and it lacked so much that was present in the LADH performance including superior keyboard & organ contributions.

 

 

 

 

[Synthaholic]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:46 PM, Stokely said:

I try not to learn too much about artists and authors whose work I really like.  I tend to stay away from documentaries and the like for that reason.  I should probably be better at keeping the two separate but I let one affect the other, so my solution is that of the fabled ostrich

With the recent death of Randy Meisner I was reminded of the Eagles documentary and that he left the band mostly because of Glenn Frey's insistence that he sing the ultra-high ending to 'Take it to the Limit' at each concert. It was too much pressure, and he couldn't always pull it off, causing friction between him and Frey. Because of that and other revelations, I've never looked at Glenn Frey the same way again after that documentary.