News

By Daniel Travers - http://101kgb.iheart.com/

Tommy Shaw, James Young, and Lawrence Gowan of STYX stopped by to give the inside scoop on their new album "The Mission" and the influences they had while creating it.

The album was released TODAY, June 16, 2017, and it is their first new studio album in 14 years since 2003’sCyclorama.

“The planets truly aligned forThe Mission, and I couldn’t be prouder,” guitaristTommy Shawsaid in a press release.

The fellas also find out they are not big fans of ALEXA!

Check out the exclusive interview with STYX and The Bob & Coe Show below.

By Mike Mettler, chief information officer of the Global Space Exploration Program (GSEP)

“We can do this.”

This was the mantra undertaken by STYX as the band spent almost two years on and off behind closed doors working on the music that ultimately became known as The Mission, its sonically sweet 16th studio album and most ambitious, most challenging, and most rewarding release to date. And now, right here at the literal stroke of midnight on June 16, 2017, The Mission (Alpha Dog 2T/UMe) has officially lifted off and is available for listening via the format of your choice.

“The planets truly aligned for The Mission, and I couldn’t be prouder,” says STYX vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw, who co-wrote the album’s storyline with longtime collaborator Will Evankovich (Shaw Blades, The Guess Who). Continues Shaw, “It’s our boldest, most emblematic album since Pieces of Eight.” Adds STYX co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, “This album is an incredible artistic expression that resonates with the best parts of our past, but is intended for modern-day consumption. I’m very excited about it.”

Indeed, The Mission is an aurally adventurous 43-minute thrill ride that chronicles the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033. From the hopeful drive of the lead single “Gone Gone Gone” to the pivotal harmonic convergence of “Radio Silence” to the stargazing machinations of “Locomotive” to the rough-riding blaze of glory that permeates the hard-charging “Red Storm” to the elegiac optimism of the closing track “Mission to Mars,” The Mission succeeds in delivering the greater good from a band that continues to fire on all cylinders, 45 years after signing its first recording contract.

In fact, The Mission displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the aforementioned guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist/vocalist Ricky Phillips. These six men have been collectively committed to rocking the Paradise together with audiences far and wide by averaging over 100 shows a year every year since (yes) 1999, and each one of them is fully invested in making the next show better than the last. Founded in Chicago in 1972, STYX has the unique distinction of being the first band in rock history to have four consecutive certified multimillion-selling albums in a row: 1977’s The Grand Illusion, 1978’s Pieces of Eight, 1979’s Cornerstone, and 1981’s Paradise Theatre.

The band’s acclaimed pedigree most definitely infused the recording sessions for The Mission with an even deeper-rooted sense of purpose and duty. “The Mission is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to be a part of something unique and special that’s happening in real time right in front of you,” believes Evankovich, who also produced the album that was recorded primarily at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville. “It is one of those albums that musically and cosmically showed you the next right thing to do every step of the way. I will forever be grateful and proud of what we did to create this body of art.”

Indeed, the extra in-studio elbow grease applied by Shaw, Evankovich, and the entire band on the production side of things clearly paid off with the end results. “Working on The Mission was so fun and so easy,” marvels Jim Scott (Wilco, Tom Petty, Dixie Chicks), the man who mixed the album at his own Plyrz Studio in Nashville. “STYX is so experienced, and so bold. My job was to balance it all and try to enhance and emphasize the dynamics of the actual songs, and the transitions between them. In other words, I concentrated on the obvious, and also made the loud things loud! It was a very pure and simple mostly analog recording, and I mixed it the same way — no samples, and no shenanigans. Each time I listened back to it, I found each song could have other meanings and images separate from the overall space saga.”

The space saga Scott refers to is the crux of the music that makes up The Mission. The storyline was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.

An invigorating combination of freedom and trust is what ultimately led Shaw down The Mission’s highly focused songwriting path. “It’s been so long since we made a STYX album like the ones we did before, because so much has changed,” Shaw acknowledges. “We are rough-edged and badass when we’re out on the road, and we know it. But, to a man, while we were making this record, everyone got very real and dug down deep in unfamiliar territory, and gave the performances you hear. Anything we can do to make the songs better — that’s what we do. It was all hands on deck, and it’s such a cool thing after all these years to still have that together. To have this album come out now, when the brotherhood of the band has never been stronger, well — it’s the sweet dream we never imagined. The truth is, it is a dream fulfilled.”

The Mission also draws from over four decades of STYX’s uninterrupted string of barnburning chart hits, joyous singalongs, hard-driving deep cuts, and wide range of stylistic cornerstones. From the progressively sweeping splendor of “The Grand Illusion” to the hunker-down fortitude of all that is the “Blue Collar Man,” from the majestic spiritual love for a special “Lady” to the poignant rumination on the fleeting nature of fame in “Miss America,” from an individual yearning for true connection as a “Man in the Wilderness” to a soul-deep quest to achieve what’s at the heart of one’s personal vision in “Crystal Ball,” from the regal reach-for-the-stars bravado of “Come Sail Away” to the grainy all-in gallop of that rugged “Renegade” who had it made, STYX continues to draw on an unlimited cache of ways to immerse one’s mind and body in their signature sound — and The Mission only serves to add to an impeccable track record.

The collective strengths of The Mission are not lost on JY. “Tommy likes to say, ‘From a tiny acorn a giant oak doth grow,’” Young recites. “And my genetic material is there too, so I helped birth this child, and if it turns out to be the most successful thing we’ve done — well, that’s why we make STYXrecords. It shows how we work as a team. The skill level of the band has allowed us to go do things we just couldn’t have otherwise in the past. And that’s not a knock on Mr. John Panozzo or Mr. John Curulewski at all [the two original STYX bandmembers who have passed away]. As I’ve said before, I’ve surrounded myself with home-run hitters after the people we’ve lost. I really do love this album, and what we’ve done on it. It’s a great collaboration.”

Gowan loves how The Mission reflects the band’s core identity. “The album feels simultaneously comfortable and new,” observes the keyboardist/vocalist. “It’s both entertaining and charming, and a natural progression of our sound. There’s a tip of the hat to all the great music of that era, which we made sure to highlight by my utilizing all those vintage Oberheim synthesizer sounds. That DNA, quite frankly, is what’s in all those great, classic STYX albums anyway, and I can see all kinds of cross-references that appear on this album. I feel great about it. It’s also been particularly intriguing to hear Tommy mutter a couple of times, ‘This feels like The Grand Illusion.’ I take that as being quite the positive response.”

Sucherman feels the band has struck the right balance for the here and now. “This record has so much great ear candy on it from start to finish,” the drummer notes. “And I think the ebb and flow of it was tailored just right, too. The spirit of how well we all work together is captured here — that overall sense of fun mixed in with the light and shade of the material itself. Plus, the fact that the storyline is rooted in some sort of scientific truth, based on our relationship with the New Horizons team [the NASA scientists who named Pluto’s smallest moon after STYX in 2015], adds a certain warmth and gravitas to it. That just lends even more depth to the space story at hand.”

Phillips is impressed with how harmoniously the album came together. “I’ve done a lot of sessions over the years and played on songs and albums that have had big productions and gone all the way to No. 1, but The Mission was by far the easiest, most seamless recording project I’ve ever been a part of,” the bassist admits. “Everyone was so prepared. That’s the beauty of us having worked together over all these years, and being out there every night onstage and seeing each other more than we see our families. That’s all paid off, because everybody in STYX knows what works in this unit. In fact, I don’t remember us having a single struggle over any of the material at all.”

The band’s all-in sense of harmony has been a STYX hallmark for years and years. “We've all come to a joyful place together, and we've surrounded ourselves with other joyful people,” confirms JY. “Music is this amazing force that comes from a higher place. I'm humbled for this band to have the great success that it has, and I recognize what we have could go away in an instant. This music is channeled through myself and my bandmates, and, along with our crew, we bring this great joy to our stage performance. The audience shows up and they're in a joyful mood too, because they know they're going to hear a joyful performance, and they're reflecting that back.”

As the band prepares to bring the music of The Mission alive onstage for fans both new and old,STYXhopes the wave they’re riding is one that never crests. “We just want to keep on doing this,” asserts Tommy. “We want to let life take its course and let this music continue to be the soundtrack to it. It's like a photo album where you keep adding some new photos of what’s in your house. You know, you’re adding some new furniture, and you’re also building onto the structure of the house, and you’re building the family. And this band’s photo album will continue to evolve as long as we live and play this music.”

Let the final assessment of The Mission go to original STYX bassist Chuck Panozzo, who added his signature low-end tones to “Hundred Million Miles” and is the man both Shaw and Young rightly describe as the “connection to source.” Panozzo has a knack of always being able to find a way to bring the best of STYX past, present, and future all together in one place, as he concludes: “The Mission is a sincere and honest representation of how STYX built upon where we were in the 20th century in order to go somewhere new in the 21st century.” And that’s really the gist of The Mission, STYX’s bold sonic voyage into an exciting new frontier with the goal of discovering how the universe’s mysteries unfold — and then creating the perfect soundtrack to accompany it. Light it up, let’s get this show on the road!

Announcing “Styx: Making the Mission”.

We are so excited to launch this incredible series documenting the creation of “The Mission.” Over the next week new episodes will be uncovered across all different outlets. This behind-the-scenes footage, takes you in the legendary Blackbird Studios, to learn exactly what went into “The Mission.” You’ve got questions, they might be answered here.

Keep your eyes peeled over the next week across the innerweb to discover new episodes. Pre-save our new track “One Hundred Miles from Home” to unlock your first episode.

Details HERE

#StyxTheMission #MakingTheMission

The 2nd single from “The Mission” has landed! Listen now with your favorite music service. We’ve made it easy for you to request the new song from your local radio station and you can even enter to win a Limited Edition Bundle! Follow the link here! http://umusic.global/tweetradiosilence

Tweet your local radio station to request #RadioSilence and join STYX on #TheMission!

by Mike Mettler

photo by Jason Powell

Styx put on a great performance at SiriusXM Radio HQ in Midtown Manhattan on May 15, 2017 for an upcoming episode of Artist Confidential that's set to air between June 16-28 on the satellite radio service's Classic Rewind channel. (Keep an eye out here on Styxworld and the official Styx Facebook page for any potential updates re the air dates.)

The hour-long performance and Q&A was hosted by the one and only Alan Hunter, one of the original MTV VJs. Hunter made a point of noting at the outset of the session, which commenced at 1 p.m. ET, that he and guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw both grew up in Alabama, and he later observed that Styx had the ninth video ever played on MTV when the music channel debuted on August 1, 1981: the live performance clip of "Rockin' the Paradise."

Styx performed a total of seven songs and answered Qs from Hunter about the content and substance of The Mission, the band's upcoming 16th studio album that's being released on June 16 via Alpha Dog 2T/UMe (and can still be preordered right here). Styx played inside what's known as "The Fishbowl" to an intimate audience of about 60 enthusiastic SiriusXM subscribers (including yours truly) and their guests, all seated on a tight-quartered tier of metal bleachers facing the band. Tommy later observed that it may have been the closest they've been to an audience in quite some time, albeit literally separated by a layer of glass.

Even so, the band was clearly energized by the immediate and quite energetic audience response. "It felt great," Tommy said later that afternoon. "I loved it!!"

Yesterday marked the first official live performance of a key track from The Mission, "Radio Silence," which was absolutely stunning, to say the least. Tommy also played a few riffs from and sang some of the lyrics to "Mission to Mars" while answering one of Hunter's Qs about the new album. We won't give away all of the songs the band played in The Fishbowl, but it must also be said original bassist Chuck Panozzo totally nailed his signature bass-riff break during "Fooling Yourself."

As is often the case whenever a band performs in The Fishbowl at SiriusXM, a cavalcade of familiar names and faces will pass by and observe the proceedings, and yesterday was no exception. Among the cognoscenti were Sandra Bernhard, Eddie Trunk, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil (who stopped dead in his tracks to listen to "Radio Silence" with a clear grin on his face), Gary Dell'Abate of The Howard Stern Show, and Hoda Kotb of The Today Show, who briefly joined the audience in the stands and literally sang along to every word of "Too Much Time on My Hands" (verses included!).

We're now only a month away from the release of The Mission, and Styx's upcoming episode of Artist Confidential will be a nice companion to the album, without a doubt. Well done, lads!

Welcome one and all to THE MISSION, STYX’s sonically sweet 16th studio album and its most ambitious, most challenging, and most rewarding release to date. Please take note of the official stardate, as THE MISSION has duly been set for liftoff June 16 on the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Fans can pre-order the album at any of these online retail outlets and Styxworld.com.

The first single, “Gone Gone Gone,” was released today at radio and online retail outlets. A video premiered on Billboard.com and can be seen here.

“The planets truly aligned for THE MISSION, and I couldn’t be prouder,” says vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw, who co-wrote the album’s storyline with longtime collaborator Will Evankovich (Shaw/Blades, The Guess Who). “It’s our boldest, most emblematic album since PIECES OF EIGHT.”

As founding guitarist James “JY” Young continues, “In the 40^th anniversary year of our release of our biggest selling album of all time, GRAND ILLUSION, it just seemed truly appropriate to save our new studio album until this year. Needless to say, I’m very excited.”

“THE MISSION is a deep, conceptual, and cinematic epic that offers listeners a thrilling emotional journey — and all ‘cast’ with impassioned guitar parts and those textured, ‘chill-inducing’ Styx vocals. Guitarists Tommy Shaw and James Young sound like they’re energetic upstarts with something to prove, rather than members of a band with decades of history. This is a truly brilliant soundscape, as well as a tribute to the evocative power of the guitar.” — Michael Molenda, Editor-in-Chief, Guitar Player

“A throwback to the styles of classic Styx records like THE GRAND ILLUSIONand PIECES OF EIGHT, THE MISSION is a wonderful mix of knotty, '70s-era progressive rock madness alongside the melodic power pop the band does so well. Todd Sucherman might be the baby of the group, but he’s an old soul when it comes to finding the right flavor for the new material—and he’s not shy to provide a healthy slab of blazing hand technique, elevating parts to a whole other level of excitement.”

-- Ilya Stemkovsky, Modern Drummer

“Styx have really delivered a welcome addition to their catalog with the arrival of THE MISSION, which wraps in all of the important elements of their much loved classic sound, with a wealth of big hooks, anthemic choruses and most importantly, an album’s worth of really good Styx music.”

--Matt Wardlaw, UltimateClassicRock.com

Indeed, THE MISSION is an aurally adventurous 43-minute thrill ride that chronicles the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033. From the hopeful drive of “Gone Gone Gone” to the stargazing machinations of “Locomotive” to the rough-riding blaze of glory that permeates the hard-charging “Red Storm” to the elegiac optimism of the closing track “Mission to Mars,” the album succeeds in delivering the greater good from a band that continues to fire on all cylinders, 45 years after signing its first recording contract.

In fact,THE MISSION--which was recorded over a two-year period at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville--displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the aforementioned guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.

The new music was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.

“The album feels simultaneously comfortable and new,” observes Gowan. “It’s both entertaining and charming, and a natural progression of our sound.” Concludes Panozzo, “THE MISSION is a sincere and honest representation of how STYX built upon where we were in the 20th century in order to go somewhere new in the 21st century.” And that’s the gist of THE MISSION, STYX’s bold sonic voyage into an exciting new frontier with the goal of discovering how the universe’s mysteries unfold—and then creating the perfect soundtrack to accompany it.

Light it up, let’s get this show on the road!

Here’s the track listing for THE MISSION:

CD/Digital:

1. Overture

2. Gone Gone Gone

3. Hundred Million Miles from Home

4. Trouble at the Big Show

5. Locomotive

6. Radio Silence

7. The Greater Good

8. Time May Bend

9. Ten Thousand Ways to Be Wrong

10. Red Storm

11. All Systems Stable

12. Khedive

13. The Outpost

14. Mission to Mars

Vinyl:

1. Overture (Side A)

2. Gone Gone Gone (Side A)

3. Hundred Million Miles from Home (Side A)

4. Trouble at the Big Show (Side A)

5. Locomotive (Side A)

6. Radio Silence (Side A)

7. The Greater Good (Side B)

8. Time May Bend (Side B)

9. Ten Thousand Ways to Be Wrong (Side B)

10. Red Storm (Side B)

11. All Systems Stable (Side B)

12. Khedive (Side B)

13. The Outpost (Side B)

14. Mission to Mars (Side B)

Interview By: Mark Schierholtx - ITN Magazine

Mark: You've had an incredible 18 year solo career, and this year marks your 18th year with Styx, that’s a pretty outstanding resume.

Lawrence: Yes, I have been very fortunate in this ever changing industry.

Mark: You have the new tour coming up, the United We Rock 2017 Summer Tour, with Styx, REO and Don Felder, that’s going to be pretty exciting.

Lawrence: Yeah, that’s kinda great, we are going to have between 40 and 50 shows for that, some shows have yet to be announced yet.

Mark: So, Styx is going to keep up with doing 100 shows for the year, yet again?

Lawrence: Yes, 100 shows will not be a problem this year, we did 101 shows last year

Mark: What makes the United We Rocks 2017 special, Styx has toured with REO for a long time?

Lawrence: There will be lots of special things along the way, of course, I can’t say what at this time, but, we have had a long history with REO, I think 5 years now, it’s pretty much a slam dunk when you put Styx and REO together, none of can figure it out, except the fact we both have strong shows, and it seems to draw a multitude of people, beyond what we would do individually, something about the combination, that works for people.

Mark: So, now you add Don Felder to the mix, another great musician.

Lawrence: We actually held off for a few years in doing it, just to see if there was still interest, and of course, when Tommy, Kevin and Don put out that video, the response was immediate to it.

People really want to see this again, and adding the Don Felder factor, is a way over the top bonus.

On behalf of everyone here in Styx, I'd like to congratulate our friends in JOURNEY and YES who are among the 2017 class of inductees to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including ELO, Joan Baez, PEARL JAM and Tupac Shakur.

All truly deserving!

Tommy Shaw

Styx reflects on the passing of a rock & roll legend.

by Mike Mettler

Chuck Berry, the guitarist/lyricist/vocalist whom many consider to be the father of rock & roll, died at his home near Wentzville, Missouri (which is about 45 miles west of St. Louis), on March 18, 2017. He was 90 years old.

Needless to say, the man's impact and influence on popular music is almost incalculable. The list of songs Berry wrote and performed in just the mid-to-late 1950s alone serve as the bedrock and blueprint of early American rock music: "Roll Over Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "Rock and Roll Music," "No Particular Place to Go," "Maybellene," "Let It Rock," "Too Much Monkey Business" ("ahh..."), "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," and "Memphis, Tennessee"... to name but a few.

Like most artists born in and of the rock era, Styx cut their teeth on the Chuck Berry canon, and the band collectively mourns his passing.

"His music can be found in the DNA of the music of so many artists who grew up listening to him," observes vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw. "He could rightfully claim paternity as the father of rock & roll music with all those simple, elegant songs that made you want to do that duck walk with your guitar — but nobody ever did it like him. Now he can have that reunion with his old bandmate Johnnie Johnson and play those songs again like they were brand new."

As many of you will recall, Johnnie Johnson, Berry's longtime pianist/accompanist who passed away at age 80 in 2005, has a direct connection with Styx: he played on “Blue Collar Man @ 2120,” which was recorded at the legendary Chess Studios in Chicago on April 28, 2004, and was the final track on Styx's 2005 covers album, Big Bang Theory. The song also features legendary Chicago blues vocalist Koko Taylor.

"The genesis was me driving by 2120 South Michigan Avenue, the old Chess Studios where artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, and Buddy Guy — you name it — recorded," clarifies co-founding guitarist James "JY" Young. "A lot of great records were made there. Ultimately, we got Johnnie Johnson to record with us, which was great. We were aware of him being Chuck Berry’s piano player."

Tommy notes there's an as-yet-unreleased Styx song titled "Hey Mr. Johnson" that was recorded with the pianist during those 2004 Chess Studios sessions, and it's very much in the vein of the aforementioned "Johnny B. Goode," which itself was cut at Chess in 1958 and was a song Berry often said was based on Johnson to some degree. Of the song, Tommy says, "It has a really cool Johnnie Johnson kind of groove to it, and it’s one of those unfinished things I’d like to figure out some more, like maybe rewrite the melodies so it doesn’t even resemble 'Johnny B. Goode' at all." (Incidentally, Styx and Johnnie Johnson played “Hey Mr. Johnson” together at the Vic Theater in Chicago on August 3, 2004, about 8 months before the pianist passed away in April 2005.)

One Styx bandmember also had the good/interesting fortune of backing up Chuck Berry live: namely, bassist/vocalist Ricky Phillips, who played with the man on August 12, 1989 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan while he was still in Bad English, who were on tour there supporting Jeff Beck. "Chuck did his usual thing and showed up without a band," Ricky recalls, "and [legendary Japanese promoter] Mr. Udo asked if I would play bass for Chuck with Terry Bozzio on drums and Tony Hymas on keys. I said, 'No, these are our first shows as Bad English, and I want to focus on that.' But then [Bad English guitarist] Neal Schon said, 'Ricky, it’s Mr. Udo asking, and in Japan you can’t dishonor that request. You’ve gotta take one for the team.'”

There was only one condition, continues Ricky: "I said, 'If Chuck will come in the dressing room and go over changes to the songs, I’ll do it.' Chuck did, and we got on great. Where it went from there is freaking wild! What was my favorite song that we did together? 'Goin' Down.' It brought the house down! It was spectacular."

We'll leave the final word on Chuck Berry to co-founding bassist/vocalist Chuck Panozzo, who says he wholly agrees with the following assessment he saw posted on Facebook: "Chuck Berry was a true icon who created timeless songs and ushered in a uniquely American style."

So roll over Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news: Chuck Berry has been called home, and he's ready to show you all how to lay down some good ol' rock and roll music, any ol' way you choose it.

The second Shaw Blades album, which includes cover versions of 11 of Tommy and Jack’s favorite songs of the rock era, was released on March 6, 2007.

by Mike Mettler

Influence, the second album-length collaboration between Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades outside of Damn Yankees, was released 10 years ago today via the VH1 Classic Records label on March 6, 2007.

The album included heartfelt and quite harmonic acoustic-oriented covers of 11 songs of the rock era that influenced the songwriting duo also known in the liner notes as the Neverleave Brothers, including Seals and Crofts’ “Summer Breeze,” Yes’ “Your Move,” The Mamas and The Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” A bonus track made available only on the Japanese import version of the album from King Records, Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” brought the song total to an even dozen.

A brief tour in the trio format followed in the spring and fall of 2007, including a stop at The Howard Stern Show in New York on October 24, 2007, where the boys played Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” the aforementioned “Summer Breeze,” and “When I See Beth Smiling,” a song that was written in tribute to Stern’s wife.

Oh, I mentioned the trio format in the above sentence, didn’t I? Said trio included a new onstage foil for Tommy and Jack — namely, guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich, who would soon become one of Tommy and Styx’s favored collaborators. Will continues to work with the man and the band to this day, and, as reported here last week, he most recently joined Tommy onstage for an acoustic performance of “Blue Collar Man” at the 9th annual T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Honors Gala event at the Omni Hotel in Nashville on February 27.

For his part, Tommy loved working with Jack again on Influence, and he was especially appreciative of the vibe he found collaborating with Will, his new partner both onstage and in the studio. “Will Evankovich is a man of many hats — guitar player, songwriter, singer, performer, producer, arranger,” observes Tommy. “When he became the third guy in Shaw Blades, he did an incredible job just jumping right in, and he instantly got the feel for what we were doing. He’s just one of those guys — and he’s a great hang, too.” (Your Styxologist can most assuredly confirm that latter point firsthand.)

Will was initially approached by Jack following Mr. Big singer Eric Martin’s suggestion to the Night Ranger bassist/vocalist to go check out Will’s band at the time, American Drag, live. Jack immediately liked what he saw in the band’s performance, and he asked Will to come to his ranch in Sonoma County, California, to see if the two could work together. Will later discovered this move was actually a “secret audition” for him to join the Shaw Blades Influence project, already in progress.

The first two songs the pair played together at the ranch were “Summer Breeze” and “Your Move,” and the game was clearly underfoot. “We started jamming on all these things really fast,” Will recalls. “Jack wanted to see how fast I could play and sing and keep up with him during all of it. I had no idea what he was doing; I just thought we were singing songs.”

Then came the kicker. “At the end of it, Jack stood up, looked at me, and said, ‘How would you feel about playing in an acoustic trio with Tommy Shaw and myself?’ I’m like, ‘Uh, let me think about that,’” Will says with a laugh. “I was so blown away — I had no idea!” (Incidentally, we’ll be exploring more of Will’s connections with the Styx universe in an extensive Q&A with the man here in the News section in the coming days, so stay tuned for that!)

During an interview we conducted in 2015, Jack Blades was quite enthusiastic in recalling those fine Influence days: “I really loved working with Tommy and Will on the Influence album and tour!” I also asked Jack what he would say to the possibility of doing Influence II. “Would I do another covers album with them? If we could ever find the time to fit it into our busy schedules, absolutely!”

Needless to say, if an Influence sequel ever comes to pass, you’ll hear about it first right here on Styxworld! I’ve seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied I’m on my way…

Tommy Shaw and Will Evankovich performed a special acoustic version of “Blue Collar Man” at the 9th annual T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Gala event on February 27.

by Mike Mettler

photo by Rick Diamond / courtesy of Tommy Shaw

“Blue Collar Man” continues to give back to the people. At last night’s 9th annual T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Honors Gala event at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw and frequent Styx collaborator, guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich, performed a touching acoustic version of Shaw’s “Blue Collar Man.” This song, as many of you know, is one of the pivotal tracks on Styx’s mega-multiplatinum 1978 album Pieces of Eight, and it remains one of the linchpins of the back half of every live Styx show. “Yesterday was truly unforgettable,” says Tommy of both the evening’s event and performance.

The T.J. Martell Foundation supports flagship hospitals in the United States and, to date, has raised over $270 million for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS research. Find out how you can get involved at http://www.tjmartell.org/.

The February 27 Gala event was once again hosted by Charles Esten, who plays Deacon Claybourne on CMT’s hit show Nashville (no spoilers here in case you haven’t yet caught up with Season 5), and the evening featured special appearances by the likes of George Strait, Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels, Kelsea Ballerini, and Frankie Ballard.

Continues Tommy, “The event honored several key members of the board for their contributions to the Foundation over the years, with personal tributes and acoustic performances by a select group who all brought their A game. And it was truly an honor to perform ‘Blue Collar Man’ with Will joining me as we celebrated Rod Essig’s Lifetime Achievement Award.” Essig, a well-known and quite popular music agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has been a longtime loyal fixture at many Styx shows over the years. (He’s seated second from the left in the front row in the above photo.)

Tommy (whose hand is on Rod’s shoulder in the photo) adds that the honorable Megan Barry, the new Mayor of Nashville who’s standing in the back row in the above photo between George Strait (in, of course, the black hat) and Will Evankovich, has become a good friend. “She is a powerhouse, and she has a big political career ahead of her,” feels Tommy.

When the time came to perform “Blue Collar Man,” Tommy and Will made an on-the spot gametime decision. “We each went backstage during the awards looking for guitars to warm-up with, and we ended up working out a slightly different version of the song than we’d planned,” Tommy reports.

“It’s so much fun to perform acoustically with Will,” Tommy continues. “He’s such a versatile musician, and I can always count on him to hold down the fort — even if I wander off. Our hours onstage together with Shaw Blades and at last May’s acoustic performance with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra [CYO] in Cleveland gave us so many opportunities for spontaneity in songs like ‘Blue Collar Man.’ You are truly alive in those kinds of situations. They’re one of a kind, never to be repeated.”

Will agrees the night was special for him as well. “It was an honor to be asked to perform with Tommy Shaw last evening,” Will confirms. “There were a myriad of talented performers that made up a special night of raising money for the research of fighting cancer. One of the things I truly love about working with Tommy is that almost every version we do of this song in the acoustic format changes somewhat. It always has a unique improvisational element to it. That constantly keeps things fresh and inspired whenever we do it, and we really enjoyed last night’s rendition. Plus, it’s always a treat to see the audience singing along to the line, ‘gonna be a Blue Collar Man’ at the end of the song!” I’ve got the power, and I’ve got the will…

Styxologist aside: Speaking of power and of Will, we will be posting an exclusive in-depth interview with the esteemed Mr. Evankovich in the Styxworld News space fairly soon, so stay tuned!

NEW DATE ADDED – STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON AND DON FELDER

“UNITED WE ROCK” U.S. SUMMER TOUR

COMING TO SYRACUSE’S LAKEVIEW AMPHITHEATER ON AUG. 19

Rock legends REO SPEEDWAGON and STYX, along with very special guest star DON FELDER—formerly of the Eagles— recently announced they will join forces for the “United We Rock” U.S. summer tour, to kick off in Ridgefield, WA on June 20. The rock legends have now announced an additional tour date to be held on August 19^th at Syracuse, NY’s Lakeview Amphitheater (Syracuse will now play August 19 and not Mansfield as previously announced). Produced by Live Nation, tickets for the newly added Syracuse date will go on sale Friday, March 3 at 10am local time, while other various cities will go on sale today, Friday, February 24 at 10am local time. For more information please visit livenation.com.

Check out this video to learn more about the “United We Rock Tour”: https://youtu.be/_ZbGMz6YGFE

Visit StyxWorld.com to join the Styx Lounge for access to exclusive content and VIP packages, visit REOSpeedwagon.com for information about REO Speedwagon's VIP packages, and visit DonFelder.com for information about Don Felder’s VIP packages.

Midwest rock heroes REO Speedwagon and Styx have a rich touring and recording history together. In 2000, the bands recorded a live album and DVD called Arch Allies: Live at Riverport at Riverport Amphitheatre in Missouri. In 2009, the bands embarked on the “Can’t Stop Rockin’” Tour and marked the occasion with a single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by Styx’s Tommy Shaw and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin. 2012 and 2013, REO Speedwagon and Styx hit the road together with the wildly successful “The Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express” tour.

Most recently, in January, Styx and Don Felder shared the Las Vegas stage for an unforgettable five-night limited engagement, “Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane,” at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas. And, on the Rock Legends Cruise in February, Don Felder invited REO Speedwagon’s Dave Amato up for an amazing performance of “Hotel California.”

engagement, “Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane,” at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas. And, on the Rock Legends Cruise in February, Don Felder invited 
REO Speedwagon’s Dave Amato up for an amazing performance of “Hotel California.”

Check out “United We Rock” at any of the following stops.

DATECITYVENUECLOSER

Tue 6/20 Ridgefield, WA Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Wed 6/21 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre STYX

Fri 6/23 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion STYX

Sat 6/24 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre REO Speedwagon

Sun 6/25 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Tue 6/27 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Thu 6/29 Denver, CO Pepsi Center STYX

Sat 7/1 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STYX

Tue 7/18 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp.REO Speedwagon

Wed 7/19 West Palm Beach, FL Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre STYX

Sat 7/20 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place STYX

Sat 7/22 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheatre STYX

Sun 7/23 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre STYX

Tue 7/25 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre REO Speedwagon

Thu 7/27 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center STYX

Sat 7/29 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion REO Speedwagon

Sun 7/30 Dallas, TX Starplex Pavilion STYX

Fri 8/11 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Ctr. for the Arts REO Speedwagon

Sat 8/12 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Event Center STYX

Sun 8/13 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live REO Speedwagon

Tue 8/15 Gilford, NH Bank of NH Pavilion STYX

Wed 8/16 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater STYX

Fri 8/18 Niagara Falls, NY Seneca Niagara Events Center STYX/REO Speedwagon only

Sat 8/19 Syracuse, NY Lakeview Amphitheater REO Speedwagon

Sun 8/20 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion REO Speedwagon

Tue 8/22 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center STYX

The band officially hit the big time when it sealed a contract with Wooden Nickel Records on February 22, 1972.

by Mike Mettler

One of the most important events in Styx history happened 45 years ago today, when Styx signed its first official record contract with Wooden Nickel Records on February 22, 1972.

Styx proceeded to make four albums with the Chicago-based independent label Wooden Nickel — Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973), and Man of Miracles (1974) — before joining the vaunted A&M Records roster with 1975’s Equinox.

“Within 14 months of my joining the band, we had our first recording contract,” recalls co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young. “And if we can make it that long, I’d like to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that event with a show on 2.22.22.”

And what a perfectly symmetrical date that is, BTW — one that instantly recalls the beauty of the 7.7.77 release date for The Grand Illusion, which itself will turn 40 later this summer. So, fingers crossed, y'all — we’ve only got 5 more years to go…

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the members of Styx at the time of the Wooden Nickel label signing, as seen in the above vintage of-era photo, were, from left to right: bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer John Panozzo, guitarist/vocalist John “J.C.” Curulewski, keyboardist/vocalist Dennis DeYoung, and the aforementioned James “JY” Young.

Two other important Styx-related milestones also happened on this day:

** 34 years ago on February 22, 1983, Styx released Kilroy Was Here. The album spawned a large-scale concept-oriented tour, went platinum, and reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

** 27 years ago on February 22, 1990, Damn Yankees released its self-titled debut on Warner Bros. Records, which was certified double platinum and reached #13 on the album charts. This supergroup consisted of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, Night Ranger bassist/vocalist Jack Blades, guitarist Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone.

Two of that album’s songs, “Coming of Age” and “High Enough,” were re-recorded by the current Styx lineup and appear on 2011’s Regeneration: Volume II. “High Enough” has also appeared in numerous Styx set lists over the years. On occasion, you just might catch Tommy singing a good bit of Damn Yankees’ FM radio hit “Come Again” before going into “Crystal Ball.” And for his recent solo show with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (CYO) in Cleveland on May 27, 2016, Tommy performed both “High Enough” and “Come Again” acoustically in full alongside longtime Styx collaborator, guitarist/vocalist/production wiz Will Evankovich. We'll be posting an exclusive interview with Will here fairly soon, so stay tuned!

Celebrating the resonance of Styx’s most recent full-length studio album, which was released on February 18, 2003.

by Mike Mettler

Styx’s last full-length studio album of all-original material, Cyclorama, was released 14 years ago today on February 18, 2003 by Sanctuary/CMC International. The album was produced by Tommy Shaw, James Young, and Gary Loizzo, and it contains such enduring tracks like “One With Everything,” “Yes I Can,” “Killing the Thing That You Love,” “More Love for the Money,” and “Fields of the Brave.”Cyclorama (which also saw a wonderfully enveloping 5.1 surround-sound mix done by Loizzo for both the DVD-Audio and DualDisc formats, via Silverline) reached #127 on The Billboard 200 Albums chart.

In a Styxworld exclusive, guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw recalls the unique location for recording some of the album’s vocal tracks, the initial and wisely discarded title for “One With Everything,” and the ongoing poignancy of “Genki Desu Ka.”

Tommy Shaw: Cyclorama was a fun record to make. It was a real “California experience” type of record. We recorded some of the vocals standing outside. That was in my home studio up in Beachwood Canyon in Los Angeles, where I lived for quite a few years before moving to Nashville. After we released the album, we went on a great tour with Journey and REO Speedwagon, and sold out arenas all across the country [from May to August 2003].

Lawrence [Gowan, keyboardist/vocalist] had been in the band for 3 years at that point, and it was our first album with him. We didn’t realize it at the time, but Glen [Burtnik, bassist/guitarist/vocalist] would be leaving that year around my birthday in September, and that was when [bassist/background vocalist] Ricky Phillips came into the picture. [Glen’s last show with the band was three days after Tommy's birthday on September 14, 2003 at the Los Angeles County Fair, and Ricky’s first gig as a member of Styx was October 24, 2003 at the Grand Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.]

I remember both Lawrence and me standing underneath a palm tree, getting this great vocal sound outside. It’s something we learned from [Damn Yankees producer/engineer] Ron Nevison, who had told us about recording Paul Rodgers outside singing the song “Bad Company.” So we tried it, and we loved it.

[Styxologist aside: In an interview conducted on June 9, 2014, Paul Rodgers told me about that very recording of the song “Bad Company,” where he was indeed standing outside Headley Grange in England while cutting the song live in November 1973: “When I came to do this vocal, I thought it would be nice to get some atmosphere. We were in an old mansion and we had a mobile unit outside — Ronnie Lane’s Mobile Studio, actually. We stretched the mike leads waaaay across and into the fields out there. I waited until midnight and the full moon, and then I sang it. It was very atmospheric. To me, that’s what music is — creating a mood, and taking the listener to the place that you’re going.”

And when I spoke with Ron Nevison about “Bad Company” on June 28, 2016, he added, “It was up against the wall. It was a really cold night. If you listen to the song as it’s fading, you can hear him sing, 'And the cold wind blows…' And it did! We only did one vocal take. We tried it. It was a house where we had rooms. For me, on a vocal, you don’t want coloration. You don’t want a room to color it. You don’t want the room’s reverb; you have your own, you know? You want as dry a place as possible — and you can’t get drier than outside. As long as, you know, there are no trucks running past, or anything. (laughs) But it was pretty quiet out in the country there.”]

History lesson duly concluded! Shaw continues his Cyclorama narrative:

Tommy Shaw: We had a great time jamming on those songs. “One With Everything” was this amazing song that went through all sorts of changes. It had a different name at first — something crazy, like “My Beautiful Pompeii.” That was one of those songs where my wife Jeanne would come over and I’d say, “Listen to this song!” We’d start playing it and she’d go, “What the hell — ‘Pompeii’? WHAT???” (laughs heartily)

We realized at that point in our enthusiastic joy of creating this great piece of music that we hadn’t really thought about what we were singing! (laughs again) So there was a quick rewrite to “One With Everything” — which actually had a great deal of meaning. And now we play “One With Everything” every chance we get. It’s one of our favorite things, especially because of the great prog middle section in there.

“Yes I Can” was another one of those California-based songs. The imagery is the California scene.

And we still use the song “Genki Desu Ka” as our walk-off music. “Genki Desu Ka” is Japanese — a very polite way of saying, “Do you feel good?”

And speaking of California, our friend Billy Bob Thornton makes an appearance [doing lead vocals on “Bourgeois Pig”], and Tenacious D is in there somewhere too! [Jack Black and Kyle Gass — a.k.a. Tenacious D — appear on the hidden track “The Chosen One,” which follows directly after “Genki Desu Ka.”]

And Cyclorama also had this great Storm Thorgerson album cover, our final Storm album cover. He did Pieces of Eight (1978) as well. We were proud to be associated with him and his great, iconic album covers. [Thorgerson, who passed away on April 18, 2013, is perhaps best known for designing album covers and related artwork for the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin with partner Aubrey Powell in the graphic design firm Hipgnosis.]

Cyclorama was kind of an experimental record, just to see where we were as a band after having reformed in 1999. We were stretching our legs in the studio, and there was a lot of growth and moving forward. That’s how I look at that album. Whenever I think of Cyclorama, it puts a smile on my face.

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 16, 2017) -- Rock legends REO SPEEDWAGON and STYX, along with very special guest star DON FELDER—formerly of the Eagles—will join forces for the “United We Rock” U.S. summer tour, which kicks off in Ridgefield, WA on June 20. Produced by Live Nation, tickets for various cities will go on sale starting February 24. For more information please visit livenation.com.

Styx, REO Speedwagon and Don Felder will be offering direct-to-fan access to the best seats in the house via their own exclusive pre-sales beginning Tuesday, February 21 at 12pm local time, through Thursday, February 23 at 10pm local time. Visit StyxWorld.com to join the Styx Lounge for access to exclusive content, ticket pre-sales and VIP packages, visit REOSpeedwagon.com for information about REO Speedwagon's VIP packages and ticket pre-sales, and visit DonFelder.com for information about Don Felder’s VIP packages and ticket pre-sales. General onsale begins on Friday, February 24 at 10am local time. For more information on tickets please visit livenation.com.

Midwest rock heroes REO Speedwagon and Styx have a rich touring and recording history together. In 2000, the bands recorded a live album and DVD called Arch Allies: Live at Riverport at Riverport Amphitheatre in Missouri. In 2009, the bands embarked on the “Can’t Stop Rockin’” Tour and marked the occasion with a single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by Styx’s Tommy Shaw and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin. 2012 and 2013, REO Speedwagon and Styx hit the road together with the wildly successful “The Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express” tour.

Most recently, in January, Styx and Don Felder shared the Las Vegas stage for an unforgettable five-night limited engagement, “Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane,” at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas. And, on the Rock Legends Cruise in February, Don Felder invited 
REO Speedwagon’s Dave Amato up for an amazing performance of “Hotel California.”

Everyone on the tour is ecstatic to criss-cross the U.S. together again. In their own words:

"I called up Tommy Shaw last summer and we were both thinking the same thing: let's get the boys together, make some music, and have some fun. REO Speedwagon and Styx together is a head first plunge into the fountain of youth, an unstoppable force of nature. Add the amazing Don Felder to the mix and it's a thundering slam dunk!" – Kevin Cronin, REO Speedwagon (vocals, guitars, keyboards)

“Hitting the road with REO and Don Felder is gonna be an unforgettable evening of music for the fans and another chance to hang with these good time friends of ours who love the life as much as we do.” – Tommy Shaw, Styx (vocals, guitars)

“FORGET POLITICS!!! Since music is the universal language, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Don Felder have a SHOUT OUT TO THE UNIVERSE!!! UNITED WE ROCK!!! At a venue near you this summer!!!” – James “JY” Young (vocals, guitars)

“I’m so excited to be spending the summer on tour with my good friends STYX and REO. It’s going to be a ‘ROCKING’ summer filled with hit after hit and tons of fun for everyone. Come on out and party, dance and sing with us this summer. It’s going to be a blast.” – Don Felder

Check out “United We Rock” at any of the following stops.

DATECITYVENUECLOSER

Tue 6/20 Ridgefield, WA Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Wed 6/21 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre STYX

Fri 6/23 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion STYX

Sat 6/24 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre REO Speedwagon

Sun 6/25 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Tue 6/27 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre REO Speedwagon

Thu 6/29 Denver, CO Pepsi Center STYX

Sat 7/1 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STYX

Tue 7/18 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp.REO Speedwagon

Wed 7/19 West Palm Beach, FL Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre STYX

Sat 7/20 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place STYX

Sat 7/22 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheatre STYX

Sun 7/23 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre STYX

Tue 7/25 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre REO Speedwagon

Thu 7/27 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center STYX

Sat 7/29 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion REO Speedwagon

Sun 7/30 Dallas, TX Starplex Pavilion STYX

Fri 8/11 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Ctr. for the Arts REO Speedwagon

Sat 8/12 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Event Center STYX

Sun 8/13 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live REO Speedwagon

Tue 8/15 Gilford, NH Bank of NH Pavilion STYX

Wed 8/16 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater STYX

* Fri 8/18 Niagara Falls, NY Seneca Niagara Events Center STYX/REO Speedwagon only

Sat 8/19 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center REO Speedwagon

Sun 8/20 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion REO Speedwagon

Tue 8/22 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center STYX

by Dr. Nancy Berk

photo by Patrick Gray

"February 11 is National Guitar Day. In honor of the day, let’s revisit some of the coolest guys behind those guitars.

Don Felder

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and former Eagle Don Felder has been rocking the guitar since his garage band days in high school. The 69-year-old Grammy winner (he co-wrote the 1978 Record of the Year Hotel California), will be forever linked to his iconic and magical Hotel California guitar solo with Joe Walsh— which also showcased his award-winning collaborative nature.

Felder’s latest album Road to Forever is a nod to his musical and life journey. Born to rock, Felder maintains a busy tour schedule, most recently working with iconic band Styx in a Las Vegas mini-residency Renegades in The Fast Lane.

“You just love what you’re doing,” he says. “And it’s not about the money, it’s not about the fame, it’s not about the awards on your mantel. It’s really about what you cherish most in life at the time—your obsession. And music has been, literally, one of my first loves and still has yet to betray me or abandon me at this point. Where other loves have come and gone in my life, music has always been there for me. And I have just invested, literally, my whole waking consciousness and probably some of my sleeping unconsciousness in the world of music. And I do it for none of the other reasons other than I absolutely love it.”

Read more of the story on Don Felder. Listen to the podcast on iTunes."

Read more about National Guitar Day onParade.com

Today’s the day Paradise Theatre made history when it was released 36 years ago on January 19, 1981.

by Mike Mettler

Is it any wonder that Paradise Theatre made such a lasting impression when it was released 36 years ago today on January 19, 1981? Paradise Theatre (or Theater, depending on which part of the album sleeve you’re viewing) was Styx’s first album to reach #1, which it did for three non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. It ultimately sold over 3 million copies, making it Styx’s fourth multiplatinum album in a row — the first time any rock band in history had ever achieved that sales feat.

Paradise Theatre was recorded, engineered, and mixed in 1980 at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, Illinois with the late, great Gary Loizzo at the helm.

The album’s tone was set by the wistful bookends “A.D. 1928” and “A.D. 1958” — and, of course, the album’s final 27 seconds, the Vaudevillian piano outro “State Street Sadie” — all serving to frame a concept album that chronicled the glorious opening and eventual glum closing of a fictional Chicago theater. “I know exactly physically what building I was in when I wrote that riff for ‘Rockin’ the Paradise,’” says co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young. “I still drive by it sometimes in the south suburbs of Chicago, where we were rehearsing at the time. Tommy [Shaw] came up with the verse and Dennis [DeYoung] came up with the lyrics, and there it was.”

Adds original bassist Chuck Panozzo, “Paradise Theatre really captured us at our best, when everyone was working towards achieving a common goal. And now I like that we’re able to recreate that feeling of rocking the paradise onstage every night with the people we have in the band.”

Two huge singles emerged from the record. “The Best of Times” made it all the way to #3, and “Too Much Time on My Hands” reached #9. “Too Much Time” remains a crowd favorite and appears in the early part of every night’s live set. “It was kind of like the song was playing in my head,” recalls vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw of writing “Time” on the literal last day of recording. “I heard that riff in my head, but I didn’t have anything to record it on as I was driving to the studio. When I got to the parking lot, I turned the car off, ran inside, got everybody together, and said, ‘Chuck, play this riff, and then this.’ It was like it came together in a package and all the pieces were assembled right then and there.”

Other Paradise classic cuts continue to be performed live today, including the aforementioned “Rockin’ the Paradise” — a song that also has the fine distinction of being the tenth video ever shown on MTV when the music channel debuted on August 1, 1981 — and “Snowblind,” which returned to the live set for the first time in a few years in early 2016 and was also a setlist favorite during the band's recent five-show run alongside Don Felder, Renegades in the Fast Lane, at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas between January 6-14, 2017.

Adding to the Paradise coolness factor was the laser-etching of the band’s name along with some theater flourishes on the labeless Side 2 of the album’s initial vinyl release. (They can also be found on subsequent vinyl reissues.) “That was done to thwart bootleggers, which was a big problem back then,” reveals Shaw.

If you’d like to learn more about the origins of Paradise Theatre and what all six members of Styx think of it now, you can read about it in the exciting multi-part series in our weekly Styxology column that ran for 12 consecutive installments between January and April 2016. Styxology is available to all Styx Lounge Fan Club members. Find out how you can join here — and keep alive the memories of Paradise.

By: Dr. Nancy Berk - Parade

James “JY” Young is no stranger to hard work. With an aerospace engineering degree under his belt, the guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has been credited with steering the multi-million-selling band Styx toward their first recording contract decades ago, continues to play hundreds of shows a year. I caught up with the non-stop rocker and real life renegade for my podcast shortly before he headed to Las Vegas to take the stage with the band and former Eagle Don Felder in their collaborative mini-residency Renegades in The Fast Lane.

According to my calculations, James Young has been a rock star for most of his life. As he gets closer to half a century of keeping fans screaming for more, the Styx band member is as enthusiastic about performing as he was during the early years. In fact, the rock life just might be a factor in keeping Young so, well…young. “Forty-five years of doing this, and to me, it’s the Fountain of Youth. And I may be in my 60s, but when I get on stage I feel like I’m in my 20s,” he says.

The steady stream of hit Styx songs including “Lady,” “Come Sail Away,” the cult-like classic “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man,” and “Babe” continue to resonate with multi-generational audiences today, which keeps Young busy and happy. Fans have always been drawn to the power of Styx ballads, but is he still able to find inspiration within songs that he has sung for so long?

Read more at Parade.com!

Our insider report on the opening nights of the Renegades in the Fast Lane residency, which has gotten off to a rousing start.

by Mike Mettler

photo by Jason Powell

“Viva Las Vegas — as they say in español!”

Styx co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young is grinning ear to ear as he roars the above sentiment before imploring the crowd to “Light up, everybody!” — a command that’s immediately followed by the familiar and welcome sight of a plethora of cellphone camera lights being waved in the air in time with the palpable and exuberant drive of “Light Up.” This forever-classic Styx song, culled from 1975’s breakthrough Equinox album, continues to be a live-set favorite as the calendar has turned to 2017.

Styx is back on the road, y’all!

It’s Night 2 of Styx and Don Felder’s five-show Renegades in the Fast Lane residency that’s taking place from January 6-14 at the storied Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and everyone is already firing on all cylinders. To be sure, Night 1 was an historic event, as — SETLIST SPOILER ALERT! — former Eagles guitarist/vocalist Don Felder joined Styx midway through the show and hit the ground running to front classics like “Take It Easy,” “The Long Run,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Hotel California,” and especially “Seven Bridges Road,” the mostly a cappella five-part-harmony vocal gem that garners the most enthusiastic of audience responses. It also evokes that unmistakable “I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” look on so many faces in the crowd. That, my friends, is testament to the power that’s inherent in undoctored, unmodulated, and purely live vocals.

Felder and Styx have shared the stage a number of times in the past — including as recently as May 15, 2016 in Atlanta — and many of you may also have seen Don’s opening set during 2014’s Soundtrack of Summer tour, which also featured Styx and Foreigner in the rotating headlining slot. On that tour, Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw joined Don and his band onstage to play guitar and sing co-lead vocals on “Hotel California.” Styx drummer Todd Sucherman also came out to play tambourine during “Hotel” on the SoS tour — but now, during this residency, he gets to be behind the kit for the entire song.

During SoS, Felder returned the favor by joining Styx onstage to add his blazing guitar riffage to “Blue Collar Man” — something you can see for yourself on the recently released Live at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas DVD and Blu-ray. And while Don doesn’t play with the guys on “BCMan” this time around, he does stay onstage after “Hotel” to jam along with Styx on “Rockin’ the Paradise” and “Renegade.”

As exciting as Night 1 (January 6) clearly was, the energy was ramped up even more on Night 2 (January 7), thanks to the crowd being allowed to stand throughout the entire show. (Security appeared to have been asking audience members to sit down repeatedly during Night 1.) That level of shared energy is never lost on the band or Felder, who consistently respond to what their audience gives back to them.

“We totally feed off of that energy,” agrees Felder backstage about 10 minutes after participating in the rousing all-in “Renegade” encore on Night 2, still sporting the black David Gilmour live t-shirt he wore onstage underneath his leather jacket. “It just drives us even more to give back as much as we can up there.”

“It’s so much fun playing these songs with Don,” adds Shaw, while leaning on the doorjamb of his dressing room and looking across the hallway at his tourmate and longtime friend, who smiles and nods back with appreciation. “I love that man! Which songs do I like the best? I like ’em all! When you’re onstage playing with Don, you get a guitar lesson just looking at him. He’s got such great technique. I feel like I’m learning something new every night. I’m just trying to keep up with him!”

The aforementioned five-part harmony is but one of the elements that make this show that much more special. The vocal blend between Shaw, Felder, JY, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, and bassist/vocalist Ricky Phillips is such a fine sight to see and hear. It’s especially impactful during the verses of “Take It Easy,” the entirety of the aforementioned “Seven Bridges Road” — your Styxologist’s favorite song in the set, which also has a verse section focusing on the Shaw/Gowan-only blend — “Hotel,” “Fast Lane,” and “Renegade.” Notes Felder, “I’ve always admired the way these guys sing onstage live. They’re masters of harmony.”

Other highlights include — SETLIST SPOILER ALERT, PART II! — Shaw and Gowan’s take on “Hallelujah,” a touching tribute to the late Leonard Cohen akin to their reading of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” during 2016, and the continued resurgence/re-emergence of “Snowblind,” a JY and Tommy-led deep-cut favorite from 1981’s Paradise Theatre that returned to the set in early 2016.

But don’t just take my word for it. Three more shows are left in the Renegades in the Fast Laneresidency coming up on January 11, 13, and 14 — and there are even a few choice tickets left to be had for them, if you’re so inclined to take the ride. Go here for further information, and come join us all in the Fast Lane in Vegas if you can!

By: Edward Burch - WSMV.com

Photo by: Andrew Nelles - The Tennessean

Tourism officials say an estimated 100,000 people braved the rain and cold temps to ring in 2017 in Nashville.

Many New Year’s revelers traded in their cowboy boots and hats, for rain boots and umbrellas.

Lindsey Chastain made the trip from Kentucky.

“You just make the best of it. It's raining, but you make the best of it," she said.

Music City Midnight, New Year’s Eve in Nashville, was put on by the Nashville Convention and Visitor’s Corp.

The event featured six bands taking the stage, including Charlie Worsham, Moon Taxi, Styx and headliner Keith Urban.

Click here to read more and watch the newscast yourself!

Vocalist Eric Boatright on the young Cullman, Alabama band's modern take on a Styx classic.

by Mike Mettler

photo by Sarah Carmody

Considering the path they're now on, Shallow Side is set to retrieve a nice bounty.

The young band from Cullman, Alabama recently released an energetic, kinetic video for their hard-rocking cover of the indelible Styx classic “Renegade,” which has close to 180,000 views on YouTube as of this writing. See it for yourself by watching the video here. Shallow Side's “Renegade” cover will also be found on the band's upcoming album ONE, which is slated for released on January 13, 2017.

Someone who is markedly thrilled with the sound of Shallow Side is the man who wrote “Renegade” himself, Tommy Shaw. “I’m impressed by those guys. Good arrangement, good performance, good video,” Tommy says. “By far, this is my favorite cover of ‘Renegade.’ Eddie Trunk [the noted rock-radio personality and onetime co-host of VH1’s That Metal Show] sent it to me in mid-November, and I played it for the band before we went onstage at Casino Rama in Ontario on November 18. Everyone really liked it. We love the song, love the video, and think the band has a great vibe. They seem like the real deal. They’ve got soul.”

High praise indeed, mama!

To get the full inside scoop on how this awesome “Renegade” cover came to pass, your Styxologist recently talked with Shallow Side vocalist Eric Boatright exclusively for Styxworld about the impact the song continues to have, how they came up with the video concept, and what Styx song they might cover next.

Mike Mettler: So, Eric, I can give you firsthand confirmation that Styx gives you major thumbs up on your “Renegade” cover.

Eric Boatright: Wow, man. Like… wow. Thank you, man. Thank you guys so much. We appreciate what you’ve done for rock & roll altogether, and to have that tip of the hat pointed in our direction — we’ve turned into giddy little girls, all over again. (both laugh) Please extend our gratitude to the band the next time you get the chance.

Mettler: I will. So let’s get right into it. Why did you guys decide to cover “Renegade”?

Boatright: We were trying to find a song to do a cover of, and so many people nowadays cover the current pop hits — why not, right? A lot of people do that. And I was like, “No — we need rock & roll. Rock & roll is missing nowadays, and we need it.” And while we were talking about it, honest to God — in the background, “Renegade” was playing, faintly. It was destiny. It spoke to us right there, so that’s how we actually chose that song.

Another thing that’s been appreciated by us across the board is the musicianship of Styx. After deciding “Renegade” was going to be the one and we began diving deeper into their known catalog, we took to a brand new appreciation of them. When we first started listening to Styx, we were just listeners. Now that we’ve developed into professional musicians, we’re digging into a whole different world. Now it’s not just listening — it’s us becoming the students to them as our teachers. You really don’t appreciate how much knowledge and effort went into creating that catalog until you dig in like that. It’s kind of incredible.

Mettler: Not only that, but they still do an average of 100 dates live every year since 1999, and they sing all of the songs in their original keys.

Boatright: Wow! If nothing else is inspiring, that right there is. They put in the hard work, and are still dedicated to the craft. I love that.

Mettler: You guys are almost essentially from the same neck of the woods. You’re from Cullman, Alabama, and Tommy’s a Montgomery boy —

Boatright: What?? I had no clue about that. I thought they were from Chicago!

Mettler: Well, the band itself is from Chicago originally, but Tommy grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and had played in Chicago a number of times with another band of his in the early ’70s. He was actually playing in a bowling alley in Montgomery in December 1975 when he got the call asking him to come up and audition to join Styx.

Boatright: Wow! Full circle right there! I love that! And that’s crazy to hear that he’s actually from our neck of the woods! That just blows my mind.

Mettler: Just wait until you guys meet in person. You’ll have a lot to talk about.

Boatright: I’m not going to know what to do. Somebody might not understand what’s coming out of my mouth. (both chuckle)

Mettler: I think you'll manage OK. You must have heard “Renegade” when you were growing up as a kid. How long had you known about it?

Boatright: We’re all in our mid-20s, and these kinds of songs were all smash hits for our parents. That’s what was on the radio when we were growing up, and most of us are children of the radio. Whatever was the hit on the radio is what would be playing in the car.

So we heard it from our parents, and then you hear it out in the workforce. If you’re in the factories, building the houses, and fixing the cars, you have the radio on, and that song still plays, to this day. It’s a monster hit, so it not only started with us when we were children, it grew along with us as well. And now that we’re adults, we can appreciate a lot more of the song’s meaning, and the depth that comes with it.

Mettler: And you put your own spin on it, with a 3 Doors Down kinda vibe running through it. What did you guys talk about when you were cutting it to make it different from the original?

Boatright: We wanted it to be honest with our own style of music. We’re all from north Alabama, so I guess when you compare it to 3 Doors Down — they’re from north Mississippi, which is only 2 hours away from us, and I can see how those kinds of sounds intermingle.

But we wanted to keep it honest with ourselves. Music is being created for the creator. After it’s been created, it’s for the listener — after it’s done and on the tape, then it’s sent out to the listener. So we were playing it and making it as much our own as we could because we love the damn song so much. We wanted to make it feel like we had done it all over again. It felt so good.

It’s one of those songs that, when you play it and you’re nailing it and everyone’s on their spots, you can just feel it. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to lay that down in the studio for the first time, back in the day [i.e., in 1978]. I just think the emotions surrounding it when we were doing it had that same vibe.

So that’s where we were coming from. We wanted to make it our own and add a newer vibe to it, and bring some of the new age of rock & roll to it, right there where it left off.

Mettler: Well, you guys have nailed it. This sounds like a total 2016 track to me.

Boatright: Yeah, that was the goal, and, honestly, that was one of my “scare points” for Tommy and the guys, because I didn’t know how they would take it. At first, I didn’t even know if they’d ever even be able to listen to it. I imagine how busy they must be and how much your entire team has going on, so what would make you take time out of your day to listen to it?

But I was thinking, if there was a chance for them to listen to it, I hoped the new spin and newer vibe on it didn’t take away from something they created — and I don’t think it did. I think we did it well. I’m completely humbled that they’ve heard it, and that they like it.

Mettler: That they do. Let’s talk about the video, because that’s pretty cool too. What was the inspiration for it? Who came up with the idea for the storyline?

Boatright: It was one of those deskroom stories, where we all sat around a big table, pitching ideas back and forth. It was our new take on where “Renegade” ended. The first single we released from this album was “Rebel,” and this one picks up where that one left off. One of the taglines in that song is, “I don’t give a f--- if you call me a rebel,” and that same mentality of being on the run led into “Renegade.” That’s where the storyline takes off for the video.

The high-speed cop chase happens, but it wasn’t a bank robber type of getaway — these are just some bad dudes who are out there, going after it. They don’t really give a sh-- because the drummer is slinging beers out of the back window and everyone’s raising hell. (chuckles)

It ends off with a party scene happening with the cops cornering us, and we’re pushing back. There’s a lot of stuff going on in America about the cops and the citizens, and we were trying to add a sense of humor into a sensitive spot. It’s a Dukes of Hazzard type of version.

Mettler: That could be a really touchy approach these days, but the video has just the right amount of humor and drama mixed together.

Boatright: Right, and that was the goal. Ever since we released that video, we’ve had several police officers at our shows, wanting to be a part of it. If we see a police offer in uniform at a show, we make sure to give him our respect. We’ll gladly have our picture taken with him too.

The police officers in the video are really good friends of ours, so it all worked out. It was a good story, a good shoot, and we really got the right balance out of it.

Mettler: Whose Chevy truck is that in the video, one of yours?

Boatright: One of our friends'. We actually put up a few posts, saying, “We want to see what Alabama has to offer — bring out the big toys!” The trucks and the cars that showed up for this thing were incredible!

Mettler: If you had a chance to do a sequel Styx cover, do you have another one of their songs in mind?

Boatright: Hoo! Uh, well, covering Styx is not a very easy job to do. Let’s see. (pauses) I think an acoustic version of “Come Sail Away” — it’s such a beautiful song, and that would be an easy hit! But we wouldn't set it up the same way they do it, so I would like to bring it into an acoustic light. That would definitely take some practice right there, though.

Mettler: There’s a reason why Styx music is as popular as it is — it’s that good. And I’m so glad we’ve got a new generation of younger listeners and musicians like yourselves who recognize this is good stuff, and you don’t care what critics have to say about it. It’s good music, period, and you’re going to let other people know about it.

Boatright: Yeah. One or two guys can have an opinion, but when you start going up against a few million people who like this music, you gotta start questioning things: “Wait a minute — why am I listening to you? All these other guys are all together on it.”

Like I said when we first started our conversation, we needed that handshake into listeners who already listen to good music, and “Renegade”did that for us. We had a firm foothold in saying, “The world needs rock & roll again.” We need to be reminded that there are still renegades on the run!

by Mike Mettler

photo by Jason Powell

Music Aficionado asked me to write an essay titled "Why I Love Styx (and You Should Too)," and I was quite honored to oblige.

Here's a taste of how the essay starts...

"They're one of the best-kept secrets in rock, even though you could say they've been hiding in plain sight since 1972. They're the first band to have tallied four multi-platinum albums in a row. They boast three lead singers, and all — underscore all — of their songs continue to be performed in their original keys.

"Many of their best-known songs sport complex arrangements disguised in the form of easy-to-sing-along-to radio hits. Their live itinerary runs at a pace to rival even the hungriest, road-tested jam band, as they've played over 100 shows every year since 1999 without exception — and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

"What band could possibly have all of this on their C.V.? Why, it's Styx, of course."

Read the entire essay on Music Aficionado — and, by all means, share the link on Facebook and chime in with your own comments!