Dennis Article - Ottawa 04-12-2006

[SuiteMadameBlue]

A wonderful friend found this recent article/interview from Dennis.

I highlighted a few things that stood out to me when I read it.


There is life after Styx
If wasn't Dennis DeYoung's choice to leave the band that made his voice so famous, but he's moved on, he tells Lynn Saxberg.

Lynn Saxberg
The Ottawa Citizen


Wednesday, April 12, 2006



Dennis DeYoung doesn't dispute the view that Canadian rocker Lawrence Gowan does a decent job of filling his shoes in Styx, DeYoung's original band.

But he also knows that when it comes to singing certain Styx songs, it's impossible to beat the grand sound of his own voice. DeYoung's sterling pipes are the defining vocal characteristic in most of the massive Styx ballads -- the likes of Suite Madame Blue, Babe and Lady.

"You know what?" DeYoung asks during a recent phone interview. "There's one thing in this world that I'm absolutely better at than anybody else, and that's being me. Nobody's better at it. Nobody even comes close."

He's right, of course, as you can see for yourself when DeYoung brings his band to Casino du Lac-Leamy tonight and Saturday. Their performance includes the Styx songs that DeYoung wrote, along with some of his solo material.

While Styx has been slugging it out on the nostalgia circuit, DeYoung's career is enjoying a resurgence, thanks to a Chicago promoter who approached DeYoung with the idea of mounting an orchestra performance. A public television executive was in the audience and invited DeYoung to star in a similar production that would be the pilot episode for PBS' relaunched Soundstage series. The concert, featuring DeYoung with his band, an orchestra and the Chicago Children's Choir, is also available on DVD. A separate two-CD set was drawn from a later concert.

During the TV performance, the spotlight is on DeYoung as he unfurls lush, orchestral versions of Styx songs such as Grand Illusion, Lady, Mister Roboto, Lorelei, Babe, Come Sail Away and others. His wife, Suzanne, contributes backing vocals.

The DVD and two-disc set have sold well in the United States and Canada (largely because of Quebec's long-standing love affair with the song Suite Madame Blue). A recent survey showed that French-speaking Canadians rank it alongside monster hits such as Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven and Eagles' Hotel California. DeYoung jokes that he's so well-loved here he could probably make a successful run for prime minister.

DeYoung also delivered a keynote address to Canadian music industry delegates at Canadian Music Week last month, and last year appeared in the Hilary Duff-Heather Locklear movie The Perfect Man, in which he plays the singer of a Styx tribute band.

After weathering a rough patch for the past seven years, the seasoned musician is happy to have a busy schedule again.

"I lost my best friend. I lost my mother, my father, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, who I was very close to. I lost my health and I believe I lost my job," DeYoung says. He and his wife, though, have been together for more than 40 years, and have two adult children.

"I spent every ounce of my energy and my life since I was 14 trying to convince people they should like this thing I was in called Styx and then suddenly it had to be my name -- when I'm in my 50s."

The remaining members of Styx replaced DeYoung a few years back when he was not able to tour. DeYoung was recovering from a mysterious virus that left him ultra-sensitive to bright light, and took months to figure out what it was.

"I was walking around for almost a year trying to figure out why I'm exhausted and I feel feverish," DeYoung says, "then I realized on cloudy days, I felt a little bit better so I started wearing sunglasses.

"The other two guys in the band wanted to go on the road and I said, 'Give me another six months to get better,' and they decided to replace me."

The warm response to DeYoung's orchestral material has given the singer-songwriter the spark to work on a new Dennis DeYoung rock album, his first since 1988's Boomchild.

He's not letting himself be consumed by negative feelings towards what's left of Styx. "What I try to focus on is the music that was created," he says. "I look back at it and I can be proud of it. My feelings about what we did artistically, commercially or however you want to put it, they're awful positive.

"One door closes and this one has opened. I've laid tracks for two or three new songs and they don't suck entirely."

Dennis DeYoung performs tomorrow and Saturday in the theatre of Casino du Lac-Leamy.

Tickets and times, 1-800-361-4595 or www.admission.com.



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