Fooling Yourself: A New Beginning and a Return to Paradise

By Doug Fox

Observant Styx fans knew they were in for a different experience before the first note was played at each of the 26 dates on this summer’s Windy Cities Tour with Chicago.

For starters, audiences were greeted with an intriguing, well-produced walk-on video offering the perspective of a dashboard radio where every new station played a portion of a Styx standard as the needle seductively zigged and zagged across the dial.

But the real indication that something unprecedented was unfolding occurred as the band took the stage and guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw emerged with an acoustic guitar strapped over his left shoulder. What in the name of the ageless and timeless Dorian Gray was going on here?

The answer to that question revealed itself as the band launched into the readily recognizable opening to “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).” In the 49 years since its recording, the Top 30 hit had never once kicked off a Styx show. This time around, the band thought it would make a fitting opening statement, immediately capable of bridging the musical gap between the Styx and Chicago fanbases.

“I think it’s been successful connecting with the audience,” said drummer Todd Sucherman, the man who originally put forth the suggestion. “It immediately and thematically announces that Styx is on stage and the show has begun. And if you’re getting your beer or coming back from the bathroom, you better run!”

I had the opportunity to sit down with members of the band on site at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah, in the tour’s final week. Items of discussion included their admiration of tour mates Chicago, the all-in decision to open with “Fooling Yourself,” and the fast-approaching second edition of “Rockin’ in Paradise With Styx + Friends” in Miramar Beach, Fla.

‘Feelin’ Stronger Every Day’

Admittedly, when the Windy Cities Tour was first announced, there might have been a bit of an odd couple feeling as it relates to the two bands. But the Styx contingent could not have been happier with how things unfolded throughout the nearly two-month tour.

“It’s one of those things on paper, for all intents and purposes, you’re wondering if it’s going to work because you are crossing genres,” said guitarist and band director Will Evankovich. “But good music is good music. And I think that’s what people are getting out of this.”

When asked how the tour was going from his perspective, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan responded with his trademark humor.

“The worst! Absolutely horrible!” he laughed. “There’s way too many people coming to the shows and way too many excellent songs!”

Despite the obvious difference in musical styles, Gowan said the two fanbases quickly found common ground over the course of each evening. 

“In the first two or three shows, I realized the audience was pretty 50/50. I could tell immediately, not just by the T-shirts, but I could tell there were Chicago fans that were possibly seeing Styx for the first time and there’s Styx fans possibly seeing Chicago for the first time,” Gowan said. “But by about the fourth or fifth show … it seemed like the audiences had pre-united because it seemed to have gone away. It was like 100% support right off the bat. In the first two or three shows, I felt like, ‘We’re going to have to win over some of these Chicago fans’ — but I haven’t felt that for the last 20 shows, probably.”

While recognizing the musical diversity between the two bands, bassist Terry Gowan chose to focus on the similarities.

“The commonality, it turns out, is there — and it’s well-written songs,” he said. “It’s an amazing night of music for the audience because it’s not one band that sounds a little bit like the other. We don’t sound like the other, yet it’s all great, tuneful songs you can sing along to. These are songs you take to the bed and to the shower with you.”

Shaw said touring with Chicago has really turned the clock back for him and his bandmates.

“We’re like kids,” Shaw said. “We can’t believe we’re working with these guys. We’ve always been big fans of theirs. We love them. They are our idols. We’re nervous around them!”

“I’m just a huge fan,” admitted Evankovich, noting that, as a 2-year-old, “Chicago II” was the very first record he ever held in his own hands. “They couldn’t be a nicer bunch of guys and I think it’s just a really diverse musical night.”

That musical diversity didn’t just make for an interesting pairing. It also influenced how Styx approached its own show — beginning with the very first song. 

‘Take Your Best Shot and Don’t Blow It’

Moving “Fooling Yourself” to the top of the setlist was first floated while the band was in Las Vegas for its residency earlier this year. Setlist considerations for the summer were being bandied about and it was Sucherman who convinced the others the acoustic number would be a hit in the opening slot.

“My idea behind that initially was, ‘Let’s start the show with something that we’ve never started with before,’ ” Sucherman said. “I think that the keyboard intro and the intro section in 12/8 is a quintessential Styx moment, and it announces it’s us.”

He said the choice also emanated from the challenge of immediately winning over Chicago fans who may never have seen a Styx show before.

“Musically, it’s a complex moment,” Sucherman said. “It’s not like starting with ‘Blue Collar Man,’ which is a great song, but it’s a little bit more like bonehead blues rock in comparison to the complexity of the beginning of ‘Fooling Yourself.’ So I thought that that would entice Chicago’s audience and sort of remind them, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s right, these guys are good musicians too. It’s just not the band I came to see.’ And, yeah, I also thought that it would surprise the core fan base and do something that has never been done before.”

Looking at things from a historical standpoint, it’s easy to understand why “Fooling Yourself” had never taken an opening bow. Like most bands, Styx has gravitated toward songs that are an immediate adrenaline push with an upbeat, harder edge. As such, “Fooling Yourself” has typically been nestled among the momentum builders in the latter stages of the main set. 

“You’d think because maybe it’s not as ‘punch-you-in-the-face,’ it probably didn’t make sense before,” Evankovich said. “But it’s such an epic, giant song and a hit, that we felt it would be a nice change to do something different. That was Todd’s brainchild and it’s been great opening with it.

“I think it works with this audience because we don’t just come out and go crazy rock on them. We just play something very familiar and not as rambunctious, I guess, as most opening songs are.”

Shaw pointed out that the participatory nature of the song — especially when the audience joins in on the “Get up, get back on your feet” exhortation — is something that naturally pulls everyone in.

“I think lyrically they hold that song dear to them, so they relate to it,” Shaw said. “So, they’ve liked hearing it up front. And we’ve liked playing it up front like that because that’s emblematic for us. That’s kind of who we are.”

“It sets the tone right off the bat,” said Lawrence Gowan. “The fact that you’re hearing synths immediately and acoustic guitars right up there — that contrasts with what you hear from Chicago, you know, with the brilliant horn section and the traditional classical instruments.”

He also called out the video display for the song, with its colorful palette of paint splashing all over the main video board.

“It just seems to tie so effortlessly with what the music sounds like,” he said. “Sometimes when you have a great visual counterpart, especially at the top of the show, it really connects with people. That’s why you’ll see me turn my keyboard immediately because I love looking at that as I’m locking in with Todd, and just the whole explosion of color — it’s a tremendous counterpoint to what the music’s doing.”

Fans can definitely color Terry Gowan impressed.

“I love it — I don’t know how we ever top it,” the bassist enthused. “It’s the greatest opening, definitely since I’ve been here. You know what it feels like? It feels like going to see any band of our youth that we came up with. There’s that moment they hit the opening chord and, bam, you go, ‘That’s them! That’s them!’ When we’re backstage and we’re about to go on, I always think, ‘I can’t believe we get to walk out and I get to hit that opening chord. Yeah!’ ”

It also doesn’t hurt when the first vocal an audience hears is Shaw’s ageless voice cutting through the mix with the song’s opening line: “You see the world through your cynical eyes, you’re a troubled young man, I can tell.”

Crystal clear perfection.

Return to Paradise

Styx has been off the road since the Windy Cities Tour tapped out on Sept. 6 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. That all changes this weekend as the band begins a trio of tuneup shows leading into the second edition of “Rockin’ in Paradise with Styx + Friends” in Miramar Beach.

Whether or not they keep “Fooling Yourself” as the opener through the run of fall dates remains to be seen — but fans will get to experience it at least once more during one of Styx’s two upcoming appearances at the “Rockin’ in Paradise” vacation event.

As for the “Friends” part of the equation, there’s a loaded roster of talent joining the festivities this year. Appearing on Styx’s two headline nights are Tesla, The Marshall Tucker Band, .38 Special, Jefferson Starship and The Outlaws. Yacht Rock Revue headlines the festival’s middle night, along with Don Felder, Edwin McCain and The Band Feel.

Having experienced the inaugural event last year, Sucherman is heading back to Florida with a better idea of what awaits.

“I’m looking forward to a few days on the beach,” said Sucherman. “I think it’s going to be a lovely affair. It’s a cool lineup of bands. We had a great time last year, but now I sort of know what the drill is. I think I’m going to be even more prepared to have a good time.”

The Miramar Beach venue has undergone extensive renovations since last year’s event and everyone is looking forward to checking them out. Look for a Stygian Chronicles preview of the event in the coming days. 

“They did a great job with the festival last year,” said Shaw, “so I’m sure it’s going to be another fun one.”

And he’s not fooling himself.