The current lineup that calls themselves Styx just did The Big Interview with Dan Rather recently. It seems that 20 years later they are still spouting some of the untruths, negativity and resentment towards the man who guided the band through their biggest success. This would be the success that allows them to tour now and sell tickets. It prompted me to finally come to some realizations that I feel like expressing here. Some may agree and some may disagree. I'm sad that it's come to this.
The Styx Reunion With Dennis DeYoung Will Never Happen
I consider Styx to be one of my favorite bands all time. One of the things I liked about the group was the optimism expressed in some of their lyrics. The idea that you're okay as you are and that you shouldn't be worried about keeping up with somebody who has a better image. Many times that image is fake anyway.
I came of age in my musical awareness in the era of Cornerstone and Paradise Theater. The latter album remains my favorite of the band, but I went on to discover their entire catalog and enjoy The Grand Illusion very much as well. Their music made me happy.
As a fan, you want to believe that the band is getting along and everything is good with them. However, it's all an image. I've grown to realize that a band becomes a corporation of sorts. It doesn't happen initially. Usually, you get a group of friends together who dream of making it big. One day, they get a record deal if they're lucky. One day, they make a hit song on the radio. If they're really lucky, then they can make a few more hits. When that happens, that's pretty much when they become a corporation.
What I mean by that is they now have an image that means something. The brand name, if you will. Look at it this way, all of the old bands that people enjoyed back in the 1970s and 80s, they aren't getting new music played on the radio anymore. Those days are gone. They can make new music all they want, but it won't go anywhere. People coming to their concerts want to hear the hits from their glory days.
At a certain point, you're stuck playing those old songs. However, many of these old bands realize how fortunate they are to have a musical catalog that people want to hear live many decades later. At some point, through lineup changes and all of that, one or two band members are the ones who own the name. Sometimes, key band members are locked out. It isn't that they have passed away or don't want to be a part of it. They are locked out from the group.
I finally got to see Styx play live when they did their Return To Paradise Theater Tour back in 1996. They sounded better than ever. I felt like the band was on their way to possibly making more hits. At that point in time, I strongly believe they could have done it. Dennis DeYoung was always the one who had the better sensibility about what worked for that band. However, when the opportunity struck, the other band members conspired to kick him out of the band.
If you remember VH1 and the Behind The Music series, you can see the hatchet job the other band members did on Dennis. It was never fun for them all of a sudden. I don't believe that. He was a dictator who demanded things be his way. I don't know about that either. While I do believe Dennis was the guiding hand, I don't believe anybody was forced into anything. Regardless, they kicked him out. They even said he didn't want to tour anymore, which has been proven to be another lie by them.
I did attempt to see the band without him not long after he was kicked out, and I left disgusted. Could they not have at least tried to find a person on keys who did his songs and sounded at least close to how he did? Other bands who have done a similar thing have done a much better job with the replacement member. It's almost as if the other two principal members didn't care who they put there. Just put somebody up there, because we're going to emphasize the music of our guitar player instead. We're going to revise what the history was. Whatever.
I've watched in the years that followed as Dennis has worked very hard to show everybody what he can still do. He recorded a far better album (100 Years From Now) than anything they have done since kicking him out, in my opinion. He is showing people he can still sing and play, and the man is 71 years old. To sound as good as he does is amazing.
My hope was that all of these years later, perhaps the band would have gotten over their attitude. Not saying everybody should become friends, but perhaps they would give us all one more tour. Sadly, I understand now that this will never happen. Maybe this has always been the case, but some of us who were holding out hope are now beginning to realize the truth.
My opinion will not be popular with the followers, and really I don't care. Without Dennis, those guys wouldn't be able to use that name and have it mean anything. Dennis was the guiding force that helped make all of that possible for them. Tommy Shaw wasn't even in the damn band when they had their first big hit.
I realize that Styx as I knew them is over. There's a band calling themselves that now, but that band is dead to me. I really don't care what they make or what they do. When I want to hear the Styx stuff live, I will just look to Dennis DeYoung. He's made a better attempt to create an authentic Styx performance than the band calling themselves that now. I look forward to the new album he's currently working on.
Everybody has to live with the decisions that they've made. Fair enough. But, those guys calling themselves Styx now aren't the noble and wonderful guys they have some people believing. They'll make the music, and people will go see it. They're doing okay financially, so why tamper with their model? They don't need to present the Dennis side of the band's catalog authentically. They don't even have to give fans some of the key hits that they might want to hear.
It's just the reality of the world. Greed runs the world. You think about music in a different light, but ultimately it's still about the money after a certain point. Those guys have the name brand with them, and the name brand allows them to do whatever they damn well please. Sadly, they've taken a name that once meant something and turned it into a tribute band. Good for them. I hope they enjoy their money. But the Styx that many of us would lie to see will never happen.
