News

by Mike Mettler

photo by Jason Powell

Founding Yes bassist Chris Squire passed away at his home in Phoenix, Arizona on June 27 of acute erythoid leukemia. He was 67.

“My heart is broken over the news of Chris Squire's passing,” Styx vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw says exclusively to Styxworld. “His driving bass was the backbone and the motor of Yes music, and his style is instantly recognizable. He was a true powerhouse.”

Styx and Yes joined forces for a 22-date summer tour in 2011 that was dubbed the “Progressive U.S. Tour.” On the 2007 Shaw Blades Influence album, Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades covered “Your Move,” one of the most indelible and enduring tracks from Yes’ seminal 1971 release, The Yes Album. In the liner notes toInfluence, Tommy wrote, “This is a combination of tipping our hat to the original, separating it from the second half of Yes’ version, and book-ending it with the original composition.”

Tommy tells Styxworld, “When we toured with Yes a few years ago, Chris became very comfortable with our relaxed backstage vibe. We shared meals and a lot of laughs. But the sweetest thing was seeing him coming out on our stage on the last night of the tour [on August 3, 2011, at the Shoreline Amiptheatre in Mountainview, California] to dance with his little girl near the end of our set.

“What a sweetheart,” Tommy concludes. “It's just unthinkable, him not being on this earth. God speed, Chris Squire.”

Styx co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young shared his thoughts: “Very sad to hear of Chris’ passing. Along with John Entwistle of The Who, Chris was at the top of my list of great British bass players. His sound was powerful, unique, and he, along with Entwistle and to some degree Jack Bruce, brought the bass out to the front of the mix. It was an honor for Styx to share the stage with Chris and Yes in 2011 as we toured across North America. I cannot say I got to know him well, but it was incredible to hear him every night up close and personal. His hands were so strong that when he high-fived me on stage on the last night of our 2011 tour, he nearly took my hand off! He will be missed.”

On his Facebook page, Styx drummer Todd Sucherman wrote, “Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Chris Squire. We toured with Yes in 2011, and it was so much fun. He came out and danced with his young daughter during our set on the last night of the tour. Condolences to his family and bandmates. RIP, musical giant.”

Styx vocalist/keyboardist Lawrence Gowan posted a photo of one of Squire’s famed basses and added, “I took this photo (fuzzy though it appears due to a shaky photographer) of Chris Squire’s bass as it lay side stage awaiting his hands during our tour with Yes in 2011. Standing alone next to Chris’s bass that day, I stared at it a long time, realizing how much I revered him and this relic. Since I was a teenager dreaming of a life in music, all the wondrous magic he’d conjured from this instrument had made such an impact on my life! Thank you, Chris Squire. May your music live forever!”

Yes’ official statement about Squire’s death stated, “For the entirety of Yes’ existence, Chris was the band’s linchpin and, in so many ways, the glue that held it together over all these years. Because of his phenomenal bass-playing prowess, Chris influenced countless bassists around the world, including many of today’s well-known artists. Chris was also a fantastic songwriter, having written and co-written much of Yes’ most endearing music, as well as his solo album, [1975’s] Fish Out of Water.

“Outside of Yes, Chris was a loving husband to Scotty and father to Carmen, Chandrika, Camille, Cameron, and Xilan. With his gentle, easy-going nature, Chris was a great friend of many … including each of us. But he wasn’t merely our friend: he was also part of our family and we shall forever love and miss him.”

On March 26, 2014, Squire and your Styxologist were discussing Yes’ Heaven & Earth album and how much he admired his father for building the family’s hi-fi system when he was growing up in the Kingsbury area of London, England, and said, “He was ahead of his time, actually.” So were you, Chris. Yours is no disgrace. Rest in peace.

by Mike Mettler

photo by Jason Powell

“It’s very toasty up there,” says Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, after having gone sidestage to watch Tesla play their first opening set of the big summer tour. (Tesla was unable to perform on opening night in Tampa on June 23 because of the 90-minute showtime delay due to inclement weather.) “Tesla had a great set,” Tommy continues. “Right when they go on, you have people standing up with their arms thrusting into the air. They weren’t playing to empty seats either — their fans were there, our fans were there, and Def Leppard’s fans were there. On a three-act bill, for everybody to be there for the first band is really a testament for Tesla and their fans. And they sounded great!”

Things were indeed a bit soupy at the Coral Sky Ampitheatre in West Palm Beach on June 25 — the venue had recently changed back to its original name after being known as the Cruzan Ampitheatre for a number of years — but the three bands were quite cool as they fired on all cylinders for a trio of rousing sets. (Styx plays a full-length solo show at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville tonight before they resume with Tesla and the Leps on Saturday at the Oak Mountain Ampitheatre in Pelham, Alabama.)

During the set change, the men of Styx gathered in between some large gear boxes behind the stage, stretching their limbs and strumming random chords before getting their onstage cue. Tommy harmonizes aloud along with the chorus to Chicago’s classic “25 or 6 to 4,” which is playing over the PA, while ever-agile keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan bobs and weaves in and out of view from behind a tall road case. And then, following the brand-new walk-on music composition titled “Overture” (more on that in a bit), Styx takes the stage for an energetic 54-minute set. Founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young tears through “Miss America,” as Tommy sits on a riser in front of Lawrence Gowan’s spinning keyboard perch, with Lawrence strumming the strings down near the pickups on Tommy’s Les Paul (with additional over-the-shoulder chordal supervision from bassist Ricky Phillips). The crowd remained standing for “Lady,” the song making its strong summertime debut after having been pulled from the truncated Tampa set. And it’s always a powerful site seeing JY, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, Tommy, and Ricky line up left to right in front of Todd Sucherman’s custom drum kit during the hard-driving denouement to “Renegade.”

Joe Elliott, Def Leppard’s lead vocalist, continues to be impressed by his tour mates. “It’s always good to have these guys around because they’re good guys, they’re funny guys, and they’re great musicians to tour with,” Joe says as we attempt to seek shelter from the backstage heat. “It’s kind of like a comfortable pair of shoes! I haven’t seen them in 7 or 8 years, but it’s like 7 or 8 minutes, you know? It’s like nothing had happened, but a lot of stuff has happened! Those guys don’t look any older, which is scary — they must have an elixir of some kind,” he laughs.

Joe feels all three bands fit together on the bill perfectly. “Yeah, I absolutely do,” he nods. “We’re three generations apart, with Tesla in it. We’re like the middle. You can see a growth factor, with the influences passed down from generation to generation. And I think the audience can pick up on that too.”

Tommy concurs. “I think the tour is off to a fantastic start. Everybody’s giving it the thumbs up. The shows have sold really well, and they continue to sell, right up to showtime. It’s nice to be on a tour with such a good buzz — again,” he smiles.

Joe Elliott loves how Styx puts together a show and how deep the band’s catalog goes. “It’s great, it’s really cool. I just saw their set list from the other night, and I’m going, ‘You can’t really argue with that.’” What are the Lep man’s favorite Styx songs? “Ahhhh, ‘Renegade’ for sure! And ‘Miss America,’ which I know they didn’t get to play the other night, but we get it tonight. The Grand Illusion album itself is a great record. I like to think we’re the same kind of way with our songs — it’s hard to pick one. If you’ve only got one or two songs, like Ram Jam with ‘Black Betty’ or Wild Cherry and ‘Play That Funky Music’ — those guys have only one song and that’s it, with all due respect to those bands. Bands like us or Styx, U2, or Bon Jovi — you can put that song listing on a cover without any embarrassment. We all have greatest hits. And you can’t really go wrong with any of them.”

Riding on the tour bus to Jacksonville, Tommy Shaw reflects on Night 2 — or, as he puts it, “Show number 1.5.” Says Tommy, “We had a great time tonight. The audience was on its feet the entire time. We didn’t think it was as hot as the night in Tampa, but, actually, it was right up there heatwise, so we were all sweating pretty good!

“We basically climbed aboard Def Leppard’s tour, and we’re already warmed up from our shows down in the Bahamas,” he continues. “So now we’re merging into their tour, and now it becomes our tour with them. All that said, it was awesome! We had such a great time. We were totally in our comfort zone. And we’re really good at playing on the fly. We really thrive on that sort of thing. Our crew is so good, you never see anybody up there having a fit because someone isn’t trying to figure out what’s going wrong. Before you even get to the side of the stage, they’re already standing there with replacement parts. My battery pack went down in the middle of a song tonight, and by the time I got over there, two of my guys were standing there, and they knew what it was. It takes a lot to rattle us. Once we set things in motion, we’re not stopping until we’re through.”

Besides getting the chance to take in some of Tesla’s opening set, Tommy also got to check out the headliners. “I walked over to listen when Def Leppard were playing ‘Love Bites,’ which might be my favorite song of theirs,” he reflects. “It just reminded of how much I love those guys. They’re always on and so dedicated, and so cool. It’s kind of a déjà vu from 8 years ago. Their music is so good, and they sound so good. Those songs really resonate.”

As mentioned earlier, “Overture” is Styx’s brand-new walk-on music. “It’s new, but it sounds vintage. We’re in a vintage state of mind, I guess, and that music kind of reflects that state of mind,” Tommy explains. “It’s fun. We used all-vintage synthesizers, and more vintage-sounding drums. It only runs about 1 minute and 24 seconds. There are six hits, and then there’s a cue. It goes from a G sharp, and after the sixth hit, we play a Gsus [chord], and then it fades out, and we take over live at that point. It’s intended as an overture, because it’s the beginning of something. And it also sounds like something that could have been on The Grand Illusion.”

So, in other words, you’re heading for the skies?

“Well, we always shoot for the stars,” Tommy chuckles. Two dates into the summer tour, and it’s already one for the ages.

More on-the-spot reports from the road are coming soon to Styxworld, so stay tuned!

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT SIZZLES THIS SPRING WITH

STYX

LIVE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA LAS VEGAS

~ CD AND DIGITAL AUDIO~

~July 24, 2015~

New York, NY (March 11, 2015)—On July 24, 2015, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas from Styx on CD and Digital Formats.

Recorded on July 25, 2014, Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas is a sonic showcase of Styx’s live prowess and razor-sharp musicianship. This show features Tommy Shaw (vocals/guitar), James “JY” Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Todd Sucherman (drums), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Ricky Phillips (bass, backing vocals), and Chuck Panozzo (bass guitar) performing a set list packed with hit songs, classic tracks, and fan favorites, including “Lady,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Renegade,” and “Suite Madame Blue.” The evening also held a special surprise when Don Felder – a former Eagles guitarist – took the stage to join the band on “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)”.

Formed in Chicago in 1972, Styx played a key role in defining the AOR genre, and established themselves as one of America’s greatest rock bands. Their blend of soaring melodies, hard rock guitar, and prog-rock elements led to millions of global record sales and numerous platinum and multi-platinum albums. With over 40 years of rockin’ under their belt, the band isn’t slowing down any time soon, and will embark on a national tour this summer with Def Leppard and Tesla. See below for dates.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 40 multi-platinum, over 80 platinum and over 144 gold discs, worldwide. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Paris and Hamburg.

Track Listing:

1) The Grand Illusion

2) Too Much Time On My Hands

3) Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

4) Lady

5) Suite Madame Blue

6) Light Up

7) Crystal Ball

8) Superstars

9) Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)

10) Come Sail Away

11) Rockin’ The Paradise

12) Renegade

Summer and Styx are beginning to be synonymous.

The veteran rockers are back on the road with a newly launched tour that pairs them with ’80s radio monsters Def Leppard, with whom they toured in 2007, and opener Tesla (Styx lands in the middle performance slot) and visits Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on Sunday.

Guitarist-singer James “J.Y.” Young said the band’s hourlong set will include the classics from Styx’s record-setting string of four consecutive triple-platinum albums between 1977 and 1981. That means you’re certain to hear “Renegade,” “Come Sail Away” and “Too Much Time on My Hands.”

Young, who resides in Chicago, and singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw, now based in Nashville, Tenn., lead the lineup, which includes drummer Todd Sucherman (since 1995), singer Lawrence Gowan (since 1999), bassist-guitarist Ricky Phillips (since 2003) and often, founding bassist Chuck Panozzo when his health allows.

Talking on consecutive mornings last week from the Bahamas, where Styx was performing a few shows before kicking off the tour with Def Leppard, Shaw and Young, both self-proclaimed fans of sunrises at this point in their careers, chatted about the band’s extensive career.

Their memories of playing Atlanta:

Shaw: “It was at the Fox where we had our first gold album presented to us, for ‘The Grand Illusion.’”

Young: “I think the first time we played Atlanta was at the Electric Ballroom. We were opening for Joe Cocker in some out of the way places, but we had a night off in between so on our night off we played the Ballroom. We also did a Toys for Tots benefit show in 1976 (at the Omni) with Boston. It was the time when Boston had broken out and (yet) we were headlining. Our goal was always to knock off the headliners (laughs)!”

Read more at MyAJC.com!

Photo by Jason Powell

by Mike Mettler

photos by Jason Powell

Neither torrential rain nor persistent thunder could derail the kickoff to Styx’s big summer tour with Def Leppard and Tesla, which got underway in fine fashion at the MidFlorida Ampitheatre in Tampa, Florida on June 23. While inclement weather delayed the start of the show for almost 90 minutes (and ultimately prevented Tesla from performing at all last night), it did nothing to dampen Styx’s enthusiasm once the band hit the stage at 8:25 p.m. “When you’re playing outdoors, there are a lot of things you can control, but you can’t control the weather,” guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw says backstage, shortly after the band wrapped a rousing, set-closing gallop through “Renegade” at 9:07 p.m. “You do everything you can. We waited for the lightning to pass, and we found our window. I feel bad Tesla didn’t get to play, but we’re playing a lot of shows on this tour, and we’ll be glad to see them rock it in West Palm Beach [on June 25]. We were also prepared not to play so Def Leppard could play longer, but they said no. So we shortened our set just for tonight only, and we were doing things on the fly. We live for stuff like that!”

The audience, which had waited patiently through the quite lengthy rain/lightning delay, was on its feet the whole time, right from the minute Styx hit the stage. “We have some good fans in this part of the country,” Tommy grins. “It sure looked pretty great out there.”

Styx co-founder guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young heartily agrees. “Even under some of the most adverse conditions that could be, it was a joyful moment for our band being out onstage tonight,” he says after the set, standing just outside the band’s dressing room while the rain, as if on cue, resumes its downpour to serve as a rhythmic background to our conversation. “Tesla, unfortunately, didn’t get to play, and they’re such a great band. But there are lot of shows to come where we’ll see them in action — plus, we’re in Tampa, which is the lightning capital of the planet.”

Def Leppard was quite glad to see Styx perform such a great set in Tampa, and they’re looking forward to sharing a long, fruitful summer ahead. “It’s always nice to hook up with old friends and tour together, because we already have a special vibe,” observes Phil Collen, Def Leppard’s lead guitarist. (Styx and Leppard last toured together in 2007.)

JY, in turn, also has a deep respect for the headliners. “We love playing with Def Leppard,” he affirms. “Joe Elliott knocked on our door, and we hugged like old friends, like we hadn’t missed a beat in 8 years since we had last seen each other. Phil Collen also came over and hugged me, and their crew treated our crew so well. There’s a very dear spot in our hearts for them, and vice-versa. I sense that these bands belong together more than every 8 years, so 3 or 4 years down the line, we’ll do this once more, at the least.”

The godfather of Styx is encouraged by the diverse audience mix he saw while looking out at the crowd in Tampa. “I saw at least half of the people singing along with our songs,” JY reports. “I mean, I can’t see very far, and maybe they snuck up to the front, but nonetheless, there’s a resonance with them. Their fans and ours are a little bit different, but it’s good for them, and it’s good for us. Def Leppard is completely a class act. They’re a phenomenal band, and we’re a phenomenal band. Hopefully, we’ll convert some of their fans, and they’ll come back to see another Styx show. These days, for a classic-rock band, this is how we rebuild our audience.”

Concurs keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, “Def Leppard are such a fun and affable group of people to be around. Who wouldn’t be excited about touring together with them? It’s a great show, and it’s diverse enough between the two musical styles. You cast the net wider to play to people who wouldn’t normally get the chance to see you. Also, they’re Brits, so they have a great sense of humor. They don’t take stuff too seriously.” (It’s true — as he approached a group of us standing backstage, Joe Elliott sang a few guttural syllables and then added, “or words to that effect,” before he sauntered down a ramp, headed directly to the stage to commence Leppard’s headlining set.)

Earlier in the afternoon, it was quite clear Styx was already firing on all cylinders during an hour-long soundcheck, which came across as a full-on, balls-out rock show for an audience of maybe a few-dozen. Tommy, sporting a gray Johnny Cash t-shirt and knee-length shorts, leaned his head back in elation near the outset of “The Grand Illusion,” original bassist Chuck Panozzo nailed his spotlight bass-riff break while Ricky Phillips carried the low-end fort in “Fooling Yourself,” a flickering video-backdrop panel was replaced with ease during a gritty “Blue Collar Man,” and the high harmonies were right on point when Lawrence and Tommy shared the microphone during the denouement of “Lady.”

After that run-through, the band huddled together near guitar tech Jimmy “JJ” Johnson’s station on Tommy’s side of the stage as JY and drummer Todd Sucherman offered some insightful technical suggestions and tweaks. Before heading off to his dressing room, Tommy assessed the rehearsal. “It’s nice to be in a big house again,” he says with a big grin. “It feels awesome! I mean, we just played a really good show! Playing in the heat like that also helps grease the chute.”

During said sweltering rehearsal, Lawrence was able to recognize some adjustments that would be needed due to the nuances of the venue. “It has a concave roof, so the sound takes its time to waft down,” he explains as we settle into the tour bus lounge. “The house sounds a little bit indistinct from the stage, but with a whole lot of bodies in there, it’ll all work its way out. Gary [Loizzo, the band’s longtime live sound mixing engineer/producer] particularly knows how to fine-tune our vocals live.”

Lawrence feels last week’s string of shows in the Bahamas helped the band prep for the summer run. “The good thing about the warm-up last week was we were in close quarters,” he points out. “The stacked vocal harmonies, particularly in the choruses — if we’re hitting those at full stride, it’s really powerful and it has an impact that’s quite unique to this band. Styx harmonies hit like a horn blast, so hopefully all those things we fine-tuned last week will be captured here in the larger venues.”

One new thing you’ll immediately notice about Styx’s live set is that the music they walk onstage to has officially changed. “We’re calling it ‘Overture,’” explains Tommy of the brand-new composition. “We used ‘Drastic Measures’ for about 10 years, so it’s the right time to have a new intro.”

Another new element is what you’ll see appear on the big screen behind the band. “They’re not able to use the full-on show that I usually do for them since they’re not headlining,” explains the band’s veteran video coordinator/director, Steven A. Jones. “Charlie [Brusco, Styx’s manager] determined they needed to have something that represented the records they’ve done in the past — the album cover artwork. But we had to build them to fill this giant screen that Def Leppard supplied. I also did a new blue logo for them, which matches the set piece — cold steel, and rivet steel.

“We changed some stuff up,” Jones continues. “We had to modify the artwork, and the album covers needed some enhancement in terms of the richness of their colors. We beefed them all up and filled out some of the pieces on the sides. For example, The Grand Illusion’s got that whole forest, and that’s now widescreen.”

So is it any wonder we got a great opening night set from the band, despite the hurdles Mother Nature put in the way? Well, not really. Take it from sound master Gary Loizzo: “How awesome was that? They’re such a great live band — they can pull off anything.” It is the Styx way, after all.

We’ll have another show review posted right here the day after Styx perform in West Palm Beach on Thursday, June 25, so stay tuned!

It’s a testament to the staying power of a band when the 17-year member is considered “the new guy.” In the current lineup of the legendary multi-platinum group Styx —Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitars), James “JY” Young (vocals, guitars), Todd Sucherman (drums) and Ricky Phillips (bass), along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo. Lead vocalist and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan joined the band in 1999, replacing Dennis DeYoung.

Styx is headlining a select number of summer dates including Jacksonville on June 26 at the Florida Theatre in the midst of a tour with Def Leppard and Tesla. “Fans are going to get a longer Styx experience,” says Gowan. The show will include the band’s catalog of hit songs, classic tracks, and fan favorites, including “Lady,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Renegade,” and “Suite Madame Blue.”

In a recent interview from a stop in Ontario, Canada, Gowan expressed gratitude to the band’s longtime fans for sticking around and to the new generation that is younger than the band’s biggest hits. Comfort is part of the beauty of longevity but space still exists for Styx to stretch out creatively. Gowan says the band is always working on new music even if it’s not immediately released, changing up set lists and dusting off some of the more obscure tracks, which aren’t really obscure at all because the album’s have long since been absorbed in their entirety.

Read more at EUJacksonville.com!

by Mike Mettler

photo by Kevin Westenberg, courtesy of Universal Music

Legendary blues guitarist B.B. King passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas at age 89. Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw shares the following memories of one of his prime influences:

I’m listening to B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel,” and it’s reminding me of growing up in Montgomery, Alabama and playing that song as a teenager. It stirred something in me that I was just beginning to figure out how to call upon. Later on, “The Thrill Is Gone” would serve as the last song of the evening in a band called MS Funk, and by then, I had really gotten a handle on that thing that “Sweet Little Angel” had awakened.

We never met, but as a muse, he always reminded me to keep it simple and straight from the heart. He also showed how important live performing was for the spirit of those who found that joy in it, and that there was never an age limit to tapping into that joy. Thank you B.B. King for the great music, and influence. God Speed...

Tommy Shaw

Styx are gearing up to hit the road in June with Def Leppard for a summer full of rock ‘n’ roll at outdoor venues across the U.S. The two bands sealed a bond when they previously toured together in 2007 and, as Tommy Shaw tells Ultimate Classic Rock during a rare interview recently, he has fond memories of the trek and can’t wait to do it again.

“We just loved those guys. You know, we didn’t know them,” Shaw admits. “But from day one when we met them, they put our minds at ease and their dressing room doors were always open. They were in our dressing rooms and it was just a very funny, happy place, but very professionally run.”

“Then there was the music, good God, they are so f–king good! My daughter was in her early 20s when we toured with them and she came out and she flipped,” he recalls. “She had no idea they were that good and she became an instant Def Leppard fan and still is.”

The music of the Chicago-bred band has endured for more than four decades and their songs have survived the trends that have come and gone. “We had the insurance policy of being in what became classic rock status,” Shaw says. “We didn’t used to call it classic rock; it was just rock.”

As he looks out into the seats each night, he sees an audience that continues to get younger and younger.

Read more at UltimateClassicRock.com!

Photo courtesy of Terry Wyatt, Getty Images

Like or not, "Renegade" became the fight song for the Steelers defense, putting Black and Gold fans in a special rung of the Styx fan club with such luminaries as Adam Sandler and Mr. Eric Cartman.

That means Styx playing in the shadow of Heinz Field, as it did Friday night at Stage AE, is likely a bigger deal than most stops on its spring tour. And rather than the 50-minute Styx sandwiched between a few other classic rock acts -- this summer it's Def Leppard and Tesla -- this two-and-a-half-hour "Evening With..." was Styx with too much time on their hands (if you only like the hits) and just the right amount, if you like a few deep cuts.

Styx made it known repeatedly that it likes Pittsburgh as much as Pittsburgh likes Styx.

"This is a fantastic spot on the planet Earth," singer Lawrence Gowan said, "between the Warhol Museum and the stadium."

Gowan is the guy who took Dennis DeYoung's job back in 1999, and ran with it. Although he continues to say he would love a reunion, it isn't happening any time soon for the former singer who is in the theaters looking like a symphony pops act doing "The Music of Styx." Gowan is a fine musician/singer and rousing entertainer, who's mastered the spinning keyboard. Whereas watching most rock keyboardists tends to be unexciting, you never know where's going to be with that thing, including on top of it.

Read more at post-gazette.com!

Photo courtesy of Scott Mervis/Post-Gazette

It’s another busy year for classic rock artist Styx. Currently in the midst of headlining dates, including an outdoor show at The LC on Thursday night, the band hooks up with Def Leppard and Tesla this summer for a run of dates in arenas and at state fairs. They’ll also be doing some cruise dates in June.

While many interviewers may not consider Styx worth interviewing if they can’t talk to one of the original members (James ‘JY’ Young, Tommy Shaw), I was very excited to have a chance to speak with bassistRicky Phillips who has performed with Styx since 2003. Phillips has a long and storied music career including being a member of The Babys, Bad English, Coverdale/Page and Elements of Friction (a 2001 studio project which featured former MSG vocalist Robin McAuley and former Ozzy drummer Tommy Aldridge).

I had a chance to do a phone interview with Phillips recently. Here’s what he had to say.

Do you have a chance to do stuff on tour or is just ride the bus to the next city, roll into the venue for soundcheck and the show and then to the hotel after the show?

I like to play golf, get away from hotels and backstage and concrete – always have and have done it in almost every band I’ve been in. Not a lot of people in this organization get that, but our sound man will definitely sneak away with me and we’ll get a round of golf in. Lawrence Gowan will know something about a city or have read something so he wants to go see whatever that place is. Todd Sucherman goes straight to the music store to do a clinic. Tommy’s big on jumping on a bike and riding through parks and along rivers and getting out into the fresh air. It’s just whatever it is you need to do to keep your sanity on the road. It’s important to not just lock yourself into your hotel room and surf the net and get bored to death.

This is the first band I’ve ever been in that all hangs together. Everybody is hysterically funny. There’s a lot of humor involved in this band and I think that’s an important factor in getting along. We see each other more than we see our own families.

Read more at ColumbusCalling.com

Ricky Phillips has been a rockstar almost his entire adult life. He was in “The Babys”, he worked with Ted Nugent, he was a member of Bad English and now he’s a member of 80s rock icons “Styx.” Ricky Phillips is a bass guitarist who is living his American rock n’ roll dream. He was relaxed and it was a pleasure to shoot the breeze with this veteran musician. He was a guy who appreciates where he is at and the journey he’s been on. He shared some of his adventures and stories of some of the amazing people he’s crossed path and made music with. Trust me. I think one days this guy’s going to be able to write a great book. Make sure you catch Styx on tour this summer and you can learn more about the band by visiting www.styxworld.com and on assorted social media.

Chris A: Styx has been around since 1972 and continues to draw great crowds. What do you chalk up Styx continued success to?

Ricky: Probably diversity. Styx started off as a real kinda gritty rock band then shot into some prog and stayed there for quite awhile. As they went through their changes, even if it was a poppy kind of song with a lot of Top 40 airplay, there was never another band that sounded like them. What happens in music is that to get airplay bands homogenize and start sounding like everyone else. To get on the radio back in the 80s you really did have to sound a certain way, I experienced that when I was in Bad English. You want to get on MTV and on the radio and have a successful record but it got to the point where you had to follow a formula. Styx seemed to always have their own sound. I remember when I was in The Babys, John Waite and I would go down front during our tours with Styx and watch them. There was three lead singers which was unusual. It’s hard to explain Styx. There were different voices between the singers and then the guitar sounds created between James Young and Tommy Shaw when he joined the band in ’75. There was a sensibility in the band between the main song writers and a lot of bands don’t have that. That sensibility has done well for me for 12 years. When I discovered I was going to be in the band I studied every lick that Chuck Panozzo played. James Young led the band to where it is today, and makes sure we stay true to the original songs. If there is a note that is expected that people want to hear, we play that note. There are plenty of places in the catalog to stretch are legs and show off our musical skills but we do it in the appropriate place and don’t impact the song. We are very careful to stick to the original recordings but we have room to move. I really never play the exact same licks from night to night except on those “must play” notes.

Read more of this interview at HardrockHaven.net!

Photo by: Chris A.

Since May of 1999 he's been the lead singer of Styx. Prior to Styx he enjoyed a successful solo career. So, how do you make the transition? We put that question and more to Mr. Lawrence Gowan, Styx's lead singer.

Q - How does it feel to be the face, and since you're the lead singer of Styx I'm calling you the face, of what Rolling Stone magazine once called "a faceless band"?

A - (laughs) It's very self-effacing. I don't think it's possible to be faceless since everyone's carrying a digital camera now. If a band plays over a hundred shows a year, as Styx does, and there's a few that do that from our era, you can try as hard as you want to remain faceless, but your face is out there whether you want it to be or not. I think what they were referring to back then is that in the '70s, as the genre of the Classic Rock album was being perfected by the bands of that era, the spotlight was being shown on the band as whole and what the band was able to bring to the arena. After all, that's the era when that was kind of perfected, the whole idea of Arena Rock. In the arena back then you were a little, tiny thing on stage making a great big noise. What really mattered was that sound you were making. So, the focus on image was for less an individual thing and much more to do with the band as a whole. What did Styx look like? What did Yes look like? What did Genesis look like? It really came down to what the spirit of that name represented. You could be a different thing to everyone. The little details of the Pop star faces was really not of any significance.

Q - Styx wasn't the only group to be referred to like that. There was Foreigner, Journey, REO.

A - I remember meeting Roger Rodgson one day in Toronto. I'm from Toronto and grew up in Toronto. I remember I met him in the street. I knew what he looked like. I stopped the car 'cause I was playing a Supertramp record. I put the window down. He stuck his head in and said, "I must say you have wonderful taste in music." I knew it was Roger Rodgson, but no one stopped him on the street. Now today, the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, everything's concected to a face. It's a different era. To be one of the faces in a faceless band is quite an irony, isn't it?

Q - You were born in Scotland. How is it you found yourself in Canada? Was your father in the military?

A - My dad was in the British Navy, but that's not how we came to Canada. In the late '50s there was a large influx of particularly British immigrants. We lived in Glasgow, Scotland. My mom and dad just wanted to see... they were actually on their way to America, but on their way they stopped in Toronto, or my did initially. It felt right to him. Something just spoke to him and he decided to stay there. He got a job at I.B.M. That was during the time when you could get a job for thirty-five years, (laughs) and a great pension. That's how he decided Toronto was the right place for us. So we moved from Glasgow, Scotland to Toronto and I grew up there and still live there.

Read more at classicbands.com!

Interview by: Gary James

Photo by: Jason Powell

A band with 40 years of experience and big hits is back on the road and rolling into Southwest Louisiana this weekend.

Rock act Styx is performing at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 25, inside The Grand Ballroom of the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, La. for ages 21 and older only. Tickets are $40 - $65 at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Saturday’s concert is only the third date of the current trek, which began Thursday, April 23, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. It’s not a full-blown tour, as the group has no other shows until May 7 and May 8. The group will perform four dates in mid-June in Nassau, Bahamas, before kicking off its massive U.S. summer co-headlining tour with Def Leppard and opening act Tesla.

“We never take too much time off between shows,” said Lawrence Gowan, keyboardist and vocalist for Styx. “It’s only been three weeks since our last show at the end of March. This isn’t a full tour either, but we just like to make sure to keep the rust off the edges.”

Read more at OrangeLeader.com!

Photo by: Tommy Mann Jr.

Sessions X is the new online music series. Having just launched April 16, 2015, this free service has paired with your favorite artists to bring you exclusive video! Artist sessions include a six song live set, and behind the scenes footage of their session. Visitors to Sessions X can watch an entire session or cruise around the site to view other performances.

Check out Lawrence Gowan's set at series.sessionsx.com.

James "JY" Young was one of the founding members of Styx when they signed with Wooden Nickel Records in 1972. Over the course of their career, the band has released 15 studio albums and eight live albums.

Styx became the first band to receive four triple-platinum RIAA Certified albums in a row: “The Grand Illusion” (1977), “Pieces of Eight” (1978), “Cornerstone” (1979), “Paradise Theater” (1981). They are one of the few groups who have achieved Top 10 singles in three different decades under four different presidential administrations.

Take us back to the beginning. What inspired you to pursue a career as a musician and form Styx?

The origins of Styx began on the south side of Chicago where Dennis DeYoung and The Panozzo brothers [John and Chuck] lived across the street from one another. I grew up about 5-6 miles from them. I had my own band called The Monterey Hand and we were doing quite well for ourselves. The first rock festival in Illinois was at Kickapoo Creek the year after Woodstock in 1970. My band did quite well and got a standing ovation playing there.

Anyone who has ever seen The Pittsburgh Steelers defense rally in the fourth quarter knows just how much “Renegade” plays a role in the way the team surges under pressure. Since January 2002, the Steelers have regularly shown a video compilation of its defense in action with “Renegade” as the soundtrack on the JumboTron at Heinz Field whenever the team needs a boost. During a recent event, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, star running back for the Steelers from 1996-2006 (he retired after the team won Super Bowl XL) and a 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, exclusively told Styxworld how special the song has been to him and his former team.

“I want to let those guys know how important it was to me as a player, because sometimes, they don’t know the impact they make,” says Bettis. “‘Renegade’ is a song that has taken on a life of its own, and as a football player from Pittsburgh, I just wanted to let those guys know I appreciate it — the fact that they allowed us to play that song, because it brought us so much joy. But it also brought some wins. It helped the defense pick it up. It made a difference with us, and those guys need to hear it from me how important that was.”

Is there one game where Bettis feels “Renegade” made its biggest impact? “I remember one good one, when we were playing The New York Jets in Pittsburgh, and it was a playoff game [the AFC Divisional playoff on January 16, 2005],” The Bus recalls. “We were losing that game. They played ‘Renegade,’ and I’ll never forget seeing those towels — The Terrible Towels — all waving at us, and it was amazing. I would definitely attribute that song to making a big difference in that game. It was like the 12th man. It was huge.” The Steelers ultimately tied the Jets in the fourth quarter and then won the game in OT, 20-17, with a field goal. Bettis ran for 101 yards in the game and scored a touchdown.

Bettis’ heartfelt words are not lost on the creator of “Renegade,” Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw. “I'm completely blown away by this,” Tommy says. “I wish Jerome knew how much that means to me as the songwriter, and I’m sure the rest of my bandmates feel the same way. I wrote that song in my living room on my piano back when I lived in Michigan. Nobody else was around, and for it to become something like what Jerome described is so surreal to me!”

On January 11, 2009, Styx was in Pittsburgh to perform our National Anthem and sing some of “Renegade” at Heinz Field before the team’s AFC Divisional playoff game with The San Diego Chargers — a game the Steelers won, 35-24.

Bettis, 43, is the NFL’s sixth all-time leading rusher with 13,662 yards, and he currently works as a studio analyst for ESPN. More information about The Bus can be found at his website, wwww.thebus36.com.

by Mike Mettler

photo courtesy of thebus36.com

Styx fans have a new concert special to look forward to on March 15 — but you don’t have to wait until Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas premieres on AXS-TV to get an exclusive glimpse of the show.

Ultimate Classic Rock presents this live rendition of “Renegade,” a Styx classic culled from the set list for Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas. Directed by Larry Jordan, who helmed the band’s 2012 live DVD The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live, the film captures the band on its Soundtrack of Summer package tour, which featured co-headliners Foreigner and special guest Don Felder.

After making its March 15 premiere on AXS-TV, Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas will head to stores on May 26, when it’ll make its debut on DVD and Blu-ray — adding a bonus interview with Styx’s current lineup — as well as CD and digital formats.

Read more at UltimateClassicRock.com!

A jovial lunch conversation with the incomparable Lawrence Gowan of Styx that covers Canada, Princess Diana, and The Monkees. The gracious vocalist is just as entertaining off the stage as he is on.

StageShottz Magazine: On your bio page there is a line that says “My large head introduced itself to the world in 1956 and has been doing it daily ever since.” I’m just curious to know what you meant by that?

Lawrence Gowan: (Giggles) I think first of all it means I have a big head! And it came into the world on that day, and it’s still in the world. Every morning I wake up and it is reintroduced to planet earth.

SSM: So every day it just says “hey! I’m here!”

LG: Exactly!

SSM: You have been in the music industry for quite some time and I read once where you said the biggest hurdle was transitioning from the 80′s to the 90′s and that it took you years to figure out how to realign yourself. What part of you felt you need realignment and when did you feel you had achieved it?

LG: That’s a great question and people in the states probably wouldn’t be as familiar as to what I was referring to as people in Canada would be. In Canada in the 80′s I had quite a successful run there. The videos were really the centerpiece of how we promoted our records. I had a song called Criminal Mind and I had a character on there. I had one called Strange Animal and I played a character in that. There was one in 1987 called Moonlight Desires where I was on top of a Mayan Pyramid conversing with the ancient spirits. You know, all that over the top 80′s production that I really look back on extremely fondly now because I love that it was very much larger than life and speaks very loudly of the classic rock dream which was the unapologetic rock God! However, it seems at the turn of every decade there is a seismic shift. Suddenly in the 90′s with the grunge movement and simultaneous to that was the acoustic kick back to the overblown 80′s stuff, I realized I couldn’t rely on that video image anymore. So over the next 3 years I transitioned. I am a piano player but I thought “I’m going to have to take a completely different approach to be relevant in this next decade of music.” So, I began to play the acoustic guitar and take a more straight forward approach to singer/songwriter songs and videos accordingly. That transition was tough because I didn’t want to be completely out of step with the times and I feel like I am a good enough musician to not be relegated to that video image entirely.

Read more at StageShottz.com!

Photo by Jason Powell

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT SIZZLES THIS SPRING WITH

STYX

LIVE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA LAST VEGAS

~DVD, CD, BLU-RAY, AND DIGITAL FORMATS~

~MAY 26, 2015~

New York, NY—On May 26, 2015, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas from Styx on DVD, Blu-ray, CD, and Digital Formats [Pre-book Order Date May 1, MSRP TBA]

Filmed in High Definition on July 25, 2014, Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas is a sonic showcase ofStyx’s live prowess and razor-sharp musicianship. This show features the band, backed by huge video screens, performing a set list packed with hit songs, classic tracks, and fan favorites, including “Lady,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Renegade,” and “Suite Madame Blue.” The evening also held a special surprise when Don Felder – former Eagles guitarist – took the stage to join the band on “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)”.

In addition to the live set, Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas features a bonus interview with band members Tommy Shaw (vocals/guitar), James “JY” Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Todd Sucherman(drums), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Ricky Phillips (bass, backing vocals), and Chuck Panozzo(bass guitar).

Formed in Chicago in 1972, Styx played a key role in defining the AOR genre, and established themselves as one of America’s greatest rock bands. Their blend of soaring melodies, hard rock guitar, and prog-rock elements led to millions of global record sales and numerous platinum and multi-platinum albums. With over 40 years of rockin’ under their belt, the band isn’t slowing down any time soon, and will embark on a national tour this summer with Def Leppard and Tesla. See below for dates.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 40 multi-platinum, over 80 platinum and over 144 gold discs, worldwide. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Paris and Hamburg.

Follow Eagle Rock Entertainment at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EagleRockEnt

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EagleRockNews

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/eaglerocktv

Track Listing:

1) The Grand Illusion

2) Too Much Time On My Hands

3) Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

4) Lady

5) Suite Madame Blue

6) Light Up

7) Crystal Ball

8) Superstars

9) Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)

10) Come Sail Away

11) Rockin’ The Paradise

12) Renegade

Photo by Jason Powell

There were plenty of highlights for Styx during last year's The Soundtrack of Summer Tour with Foreigner and Don Felder. But chief among those was the return of "Light Up," a fan and radio favorite from 1975's Equinox album, to the show. That will be chronicled on Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas, the band's new AXS-TV concert special debuting 8 p.m. ET on March 15.

" 'Light Up' was not part of our set for the longest time, for a variety of reasons," guitarist James "J.Y." Young tells Billboard. "But with the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, it seemed sort of appropriate again, and timely, and we always look for tracks we can resurrect that are good to play live. We know we have to play 'Come Sail Away' and 'Renegade' and 'The Grand Illusion' and 'Too Much Time On My Hands' and 'Fooling Yourself' and a few others, but it's fun to bring in some others. And 'Light Up' is a song of celebration and it's a fan song people can participate in, and the crowds really responded to us. It succeeded mightily on stage last year."

Young adds that he and his bandmates also feel "Light Up" was a visual plus in the show. "We prided ourselves on doing these junior Pink Floyd things with the visuals in our production," he explains. "The spectacular visuals which we were attempting to create, and I feel we succeeded in creating on this last tour, are best captured in my judgment in our performance of 'Light Up' and how the visuals all went and the lights and what have you. It was really captured absolutely fantastically."

Read more at billboard.com!

There is never a time when the Styx juggernaut isn’t forging ahead at breakneck speed to accomplish ever new and marvelous acts of musical grandeur. This year has barely even begun and already the band has an incredible set of adventures mapped out all the way into October! By the end of March, they will have wrapped up their current tour and appeared on AXS TV. And shortly after that, they will embark on their summer extravaganza with Def Leppard and Tesla. Yesterday, AXS had the privilege of speaking with the spectacular showman Lawrence Gowan (keyboards and vocals).

“We really are a constantly touring act, and we have been for the past 16 years that I’ve been in the band,” Lawrence acknowledged. “That was part of the mandate when I joined. As a band, Styx felt that it had under-toured in previous years and the members wanted to commit themselves to the new reality of the music world, which takes into account the fact that playing live has become of a far greater significance now then it ever has before. In the past, some bands could survive and almost never tour, but now, it is such a vital component of the whole experience that it has become central to our existence.”

Styx has a powerful and lasting magic that has kept the band both thrilling and relevant in a live setting for over four decades.

Read more at axs.com!

By Allen Foster

Photo By Jason Powel

Styx garnered a mention on the hour-long series finale of the long-running CBS comedy Two and a Half Men, which aired at 9 pm EST on Thursday, February 19.

The namecheck occurred during a scene at a kitchen table where Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) and Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) were discussing a possible revenge plot by Alan’s brother Charlie Harper. Charlie had been presumed dead 4 years ago, but was actually being held against his will in a well in a basement dungeon by his mentally unstable stalker-cum-wife, Rose (Melanie Lynskey) before he escaped through a window. Charlie was, of course, played for 8 seasons by Charlie Sheen until his infamous meltdown over a conflict with Men creator Chuck Lorre, leading to his being fired from the show in March 2011. (Spoiler alert — Sheen never appears in the finale himself.)

“I’ll say it one more time,” Alan pleads to Walden. “Resort hotel until the cops find him. We can be in Vegas in 2 hours. Styx is playing Mandalay Bay!”

As all good Styx fans know, the band has played Mandalay Bay a number of times, most recently at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 22, 2010. Prior Styx gigs at Mandalay Bay occurred in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2007. Most recently in Las Vegas, the band played at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort on January 18, 2015. And a sold-out Styx concert filmed at the Orleans Arena at the Orleans Hotel & Casino on July 25, 2014 will begin airing as an AXS-TV special on March 15 at 8 pm EST.

This final Men episode — number 262 of the show’s 12-year run — was written by Chuck Lorre, Lee Aronsohn, Don Reo, and Jim Patterson, and can be viewed on demand, on the CBS Mobile app, or through the CBS All Access service. The Styx mention occurs about 46 minutes into the hour-long show.

Written By: Mike Mettler

Photo Courtesy Of CBS

SAN ANTONIO – The rock gods are smiling down on the Alamo City.

It’s been three years since multi-platinum rockers Styx have performed at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. And the band can’t wait to hit the stage on Friday.

“It’s great playing in San Antonio, but the rodeo audience is a little different,” Styx keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan said during a recent phone interview. “You’ll have your diehard Styx fans, but you’ll also have fans that might not know a lot about your music. I take it as a challenge. It’s a good chance to give those music lovers a little insight to a different way of life.”

Styx, featuring Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Todd Sucherman, Ricky Phillips, Gowan and occasionally a surprise appearance by original bass player Chuck Panazzo, has been gearing up for another year of bringing their multi-platinum hits - and some surprises - to the masses.

“We’ve been busy preparing for the 2015 onslaught,” he said. “We spent two weeks working our way up the California coast. That is a great area this time of year. We get to do longer shows and scope out what will make the set when we go on the road this summer with Def Leppard.”

Read more at news4sanantonio.com!

By: Chris Hoffman

Photo By: Jason Powell

February 24, 2015 – It’s been over two years since a full STYX concert was broadcast on national TV (“Styx: The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight Live” DVD, which aired on VH1 Classic and the Palladia HD channel). Now comes time for a brand new live event that’s set to premiere on AXS TV on Sunday, March 15 at 8pm Eastern Time/5pm Pacific Time.

The band’s show was filmed at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV in front of a sold-out, adoring audience during last year’s “The Soundtrack of Summer” tour. STYX performed many of their greatest hits, including “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” and “The Grand Illusion.” They even dug deep into their catalog for such fan favorites as “Light Up,” and were joined on stage by tour mate and former Eagles guitar legend Don Felder for “Blue Collar Man.” Felder’s show earlier that same night was also filmed for AXS TV, which will air immediately following STYX’s special. Felder’s special culminates with special guest STYX guitarist Tommy Shaw trading vocals and the classic electric guitar licks on “Hotel California.”

Meanwhile, as STYX’s headlining tour continues to work its way across the U.S., the legendary Rock band has confirmed a massive summer tour supporting another legendary Rock band, Def Leppard, along with Tesla. The three-month trek will launch in June and conclude October 4 in Bismarck, ND at the Bismarck Civic Center. Combined, STYX--Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitar), James “JY” Young (guitar, vocals), Chuck Panozzo (bass), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Ricky Phillips (bass) and Todd Sucherman (drums)--and Def Leppard have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

“Our 2007 tour with Def Leppard forged a friendship that's never wavered,” proclaims STYX singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. “It was such an unforgettably fun experience for us. We've all been waiting for the planets to align so we could do it again. Well friends, they have indeed aligned! And this time, those soulful bad boys from Sacramento, Tesla, will be there, too. What a night of music this will be!Is summer here yet? Come on!”

Guitarist James “JY” Young is equally as excited. "The mutual admiration society between Styx and Def Leppard began in the UK in 1978 when Joe Elliott attended Styx's first-ever performance in Def Leppard's home town of Sheffield, England,” he says. “Both bands having emanated from working class beginnings, either on the South Side of Chicago, or the Steel Town of Sheffield, England, there is a natural camaraderie and synergy amongst them. I feel like these guys are long-lost brothers of mine. It's going to be Guitars A-blazin' and Drums A-poundin' regardless of who’s on the stage, featuring arguably the most successful rock band of the late 1980's, paired with one of the most successful bands of the late 1970s, early 1980s. The ingestion of too much sugar can lead to illness, but ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ is a recipe for healthy smiles and a fun night for everyone!!!”

Check out STYX at any of the following stops (with more to be added in the coming weeks):

STYX Headlining:

Thu 2/26 Tulsa, OK The Joint/Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa

Fri 2/27 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

Sat 2/28 Fort Worth, TX Billy Bob's Texas

Thu 3/12 N Myrtle Beach, NC House of Blues

Fri 3/13 Cherokee, NC Harrah's Cherokee Pavilion

Sat 3/14 Orlando, FL Universal Studios Florida - Music Plaza Stage

Fri 3/20 Norman, OK Riverwind Casino

Sat 3/21 Mulvane, KS Kansas Star Arena

STYX With Def Leppard and Tesla: