From Todd

[styxfanNH]

Drummer friends,

Here's hoping your summer is in full swing and that you all are playing, gigging and having fun. I'm out through the fall with Styx and Def Leppard with Foreigner joining us on many dates. I'm most likely beginning production on my DVD in November and I'm really excited to finally get this project off the ground! So please keep an eye out for it sometime in '08.

"Lullagoodbye" by Taylor Mills came out a month or so ago. It was perhaps the most rewarding project I've been involved with and I feel it represents who I am musically more than what I get to show on the road with Styx. I hope many of you check out TaylorMillsMusic.com to hear clips, place an order, or you can do so at CDbaby.com or iTunes internationally. Tommy Shaw and Brian Wilson lend their talents and it's a tremendous honor to have them on board for the project!

You can also check out Toddsucherman.com for random video clips---lots of content there.

Thanks for your consideration and support--
Wishing you all health, happiness, and gigs!

Cheers,
Todd Sucherman

[styxfansite]

Thanks for the post. I was out looking at some "Dear Todd" comments on his site and found a response towards Chuck's and Sterling's Book.

Hi Matt,

I just finished Chuck's book and I think he did a great job. It's HIS story, not a Styx story, and I'm very happy for him. It was well done!

I haven't read Sterling's book as he has not sent me a copy, and I don't suppose that he will. He did send me some emails with various chapters but that was a long time ago. What I said, Glen said, what anybody said I can't really remember as it's not fresh in my mind. The women were around in those early re formation years but that hasn't been the case in recent years. And remember that HIS woman was not around and that bugged him I guess. I love Glen like a brother and would hug him and kiss him on the cheek if I saw him tomorrow---but he's a conflicted and complicated guy with some issues and that's why he's not around anymore. He often would take out his frustrations easily and verbally, so I'm not surprised he said whatever he said. When it's not "your" band, well, that's the gig. He never really got that which is too bad. But all things happen for a reason and I'll always have nothing but love for him and respect for his musicianship. Again, I can't remember what was said so I can't comment on how accurate Sterling's take was. I remember getting a touch of the idea that I was helping someone who ultimately was going to do us no good and I became uncomfortable with my participation, but I'm a man of my word so I continued. I felt very much like I was telling my side of the story to a huge Dennis DeYoung fan and supporter and that didn't put me at ease. Ultimately, none of this means crap, you know? There are more important things and meanings to life then the squabblings of a rock band. It doesn't mean a thing. We all have bills, insurance, gas and electric, water, phone, mortgage, cable, and we pay those by playing music for appreciative audiences. Not a bad thing, huh?

In any case, I hope you decide to check out Taylormillsmusic.com and pick the record up. Thanks in advance for your support and interest!

Thanks a lot for your note and take care,
Todd

[piecesofeight]

He'll be happy and ok when Styx is done. JY will be left out in the cold with nothing.
Look for Dennis, Tommy, and Glen.

[Grotelul]

He'll be happy and ok when Styx is done. JY will be left out in the cold with nothing.
Look for Dennis, Tommy, and Glen.

Yeah and pigs can fly.

[Rockwriter]

Thanks for the post. I was out looking at some "Dear Todd" comments on his site and found a response towards Chuck's and Sterling's Book.

Hi Matt,

I just finished Chuck's book and I think he did a great job. It's HIS story, not a Styx story, and I'm very happy for him. It was well done!

I haven't read Sterling's book as he has not sent me a copy, and I don't suppose that he will. He did send me some emails with various chapters but that was a long time ago. What I said, Glen said, what anybody said I can't really remember as it's not fresh in my mind. The women were around in those early re formation years but that hasn't been the case in recent years. And remember that HIS woman was not around and that bugged him I guess. I love Glen like a brother and would hug him and kiss him on the cheek if I saw him tomorrow---but he's a conflicted and complicated guy with some issues and that's why he's not around anymore. He often would take out his frustrations easily and verbally, so I'm not surprised he said whatever he said. When it's not "your" band, well, that's the gig. He never really got that which is too bad. But all things happen for a reason and I'll always have nothing but love for him and respect for his musicianship. Again, I can't remember what was said so I can't comment on how accurate Sterling's take was. I remember getting a touch of the idea that I was helping someone who ultimately was going to do us no good and I became uncomfortable with my participation, but I'm a man of my word so I continued. I felt very much like I was telling my side of the story to a huge Dennis DeYoung fan and supporter and that didn't put me at ease. Ultimately, none of this means crap, you know? There are more important things and meanings to life then the squabblings of a rock band. It doesn't mean a thing. We all have bills, insurance, gas and electric, water, phone, mortgage, cable, and we pay those by playing music for appreciative audiences. Not a bad thing, huh?

In any case, I hope you decide to check out Taylormillsmusic.com and pick the record up. Thanks in advance for your support and interest!

Thanks a lot for your note and take care,
Todd

Hmmmm . . . I feel compelled to answer this post, so I'll address Todd's points more or less in order.

First, at the time this posted to Todd's web site (some time last month) I had not sent him a copy of the book, for the same reason that I had not sent anyone else who gave interviews a copy - I had not yet received my bulk author's copies at that time. A few weeks ago I finally got them, and Todd was one of the first I sent one, along with Allan from Styxcollector and several others. So it's not as if I sought to deny Todd a copy, it's that I didn't have one to send yet.

Second, Todd had basically read most of the book in its finished form prior to its publication, since he was one of several people with whom I shared the manuscript in its pre-publication form. I did so in order to get some feedback, from various perspectives, on the finished work before it saw publication on the one hand, and to let people see for themselves how their quotes were to be used in context on the other hand. I knew that Todd was not entirely happy with the way the post-1999 era came off overall, because we had a couple of e-mail disussions about it, and in fact I even re-wrote a couple of small passages in response to a couple of his comments that I thought were valid.

Third, as far as this being something that would do the band no good, well . . . it's an unauthorized biography, not a press release or a promotional article that I was writing to provide exposure for a new product. When you're doing an interview with someone for a new piece of work they are releasing, it's understood on all sides that you are kinda providing a framework of questions that will allow them to say what they want to about their new work. It's rarely much deeper than that. But with a book, especially in a scenario where there has been a lot of debate and controversy, you're obliged to ask people much harder questions, and that includes pressing them on some of the particulars and points that they might not like to see in print. That's journalism. I could tell as the process went along that Todd was upset about certain questions, and he seemed particularly upset to see certain things in print about the post-1999 lineup - those things that were not entirely positive. Simply put, he is in the band now, and he takes exception to musical or personal criticism of Tommy, JY or Gowan. Hey, he's friends with those guys, as well as bandmates. It's a natural reaction. From my perspective, it seemed like Todd perhaps expected the book to be more of an expose of Dennis' faults and that it would conclude with the notion that the band was well rid of him and that the current band is better than ever. I obviously can make no such finding; I can only present differing points of view. So I quoted Todd extensively about how great the new band is, and I quoted Glen extensively with a somewhat mixed point of view, and I quoted some longtime Styx observers like Bill Traut in saying the new band is great, the best ever, while quoting Bob Garcia as saying that he hasn't been such a fan of the new band's recorded works. That's balance, and I can understand why that's a frustration for someone who's actually on one side or the other, but there's not much I can do about that.

As far as my being a huge Dennis DeYoung fan and supporter, well, I'm a writer writing a book about Styx - a group that Dennis co-founded, spent three decades with, and in which he wrote and sang lead on the largest slice of the biggest hits. All of the work that the average person associates with this band has something to do with him and springs from that era, so yes, certainly I set out to write a book that reflects that contribution. To do otherwise would be to fail to tell the story completely. Same goes for Tommy, JY, everyone else. You might as well accuse me of being a huge Tommy Shaw fan and supporter, which I am, incidentally. We wouldn't have one without the other and they are tied together in the public perception for life, whether they like that or not. I also want to say, as tactfully as possible, that I would be very, very surprised if Dennis or anyone in the Dennis camp feels my book slants favorably toward Dennis. I can't help that, either.

I just want to end by saying that I like Todd a lot, I really enjoyed his interview, and I assert that I treated him with the utmost respect and consideration from start to finish. It's not remotely unusual for any interview sbject to object to something somebody else said, because human beings see ourselves one way, while others see us differently. That's something I live with in this job all the time, and it's business as usual. I'm not angry at Todd and I don't think he's angry at me, either, as far as I know. In this instance we will just have to agree to disagree. No big deal, really.


I hope everyone is well.


Sterling

[rajah2165]

Thanks for the post. I was out looking at some "Dear Todd" comments on his site and found a response towards Chuck's and Sterling's Book.

Hi Matt,

I just finished Chuck's book and I think he did a great job. It's HIS story, not a Styx story, and I'm very happy for him. It was well done!

I haven't read Sterling's book as he has not sent me a copy, and I don't suppose that he will. He did send me some emails with various chapters but that was a long time ago. What I said, Glen said, what anybody said I can't really remember as it's not fresh in my mind. The women were around in those early re formation years but that hasn't been the case in recent years. And remember that HIS woman was not around and that bugged him I guess. I love Glen like a brother and would hug him and kiss him on the cheek if I saw him tomorrow---but he's a conflicted and complicated guy with some issues and that's why he's not around anymore. He often would take out his frustrations easily and verbally, so I'm not surprised he said whatever he said. When it's not "your" band, well, that's the gig. He never really got that which is too bad. But all things happen for a reason and I'll always have nothing but love for him and respect for his musicianship. Again, I can't remember what was said so I can't comment on how accurate Sterling's take was. I remember getting a touch of the idea that I was helping someone who ultimately was going to do us no good and I became uncomfortable with my participation, but I'm a man of my word so I continued. I felt very much like I was telling my side of the story to a huge Dennis DeYoung fan and supporter and that didn't put me at ease. Ultimately, none of this means crap, you know? There are more important things and meanings to life then the squabblings of a rock band. It doesn't mean a thing. We all have bills, insurance, gas and electric, water, phone, mortgage, cable, and we pay those by playing music for appreciative audiences. Not a bad thing, huh?

In any case, I hope you decide to check out Taylormillsmusic.com and pick the record up. Thanks in advance for your support and interest!

Thanks a lot for your note and take care,
Todd

Hmmmm . . . I feel compelled to answer this post, so I'll address Todd's points more or less in order.

First, at the time this posted to Todd's web site (some time last month) I had not sent him a copy of the book, for the same reason that I had not sent anyone else who gave interviews a copy - I had not yet received my bulk author's copies at that time. A few weeks ago I finally got them, and Todd was one of the first I sent one, along with Allan from Styxcollector and several others. So it's not as if I sought to deny Todd a copy, it's that I didn't have one to send yet.

Second, Todd had basically read most of the book in its finished form prior to its publication, since he was one of several people with whom I shared the manuscript in its pre-publication form. I did so in order to get some feedback, from various perspectives, on the finished work before it saw publication on the one hand, and to let people see for themselves how their quotes were to be used in context on the other hand. I knew that Todd was not entirely happy with the way the post-1999 era came off overall, because we had a couple of e-mail disussions about it, and in fact I even re-wrote a couple of small passages in response to a couple of his comments that I thought were valid.

Third, as far as this being something that would do the band no good, well . . . it's an unauthorized biography, not a press release or a promotional article that I was writing to provide exposure for a new product. When you're doing an interview with someone for a new piece of work they are releasing, it's understood on all sides that you are kinda providing a framework of questions that will allow them to say what they want to about their new work. It's rarely much deeper than that. But with a book, especially in a scenario where there has been a lot of debate and controversy, you're obliged to ask people much harder questions, and that includes pressing them on some of the particulars and points that they might not like to see in print. That's journalism. I could tell as the process went along that Todd was upset about certain questions, and he seemed particularly upset to see certain things in print about the post-1999 lineup - those things that were not entirely positive. Simply put, he is in the band now, and he takes exception to musical or personal criticism of Tommy, JY or Gowan. Hey, he's friends with those guys, as well as bandmates. It's a natural reaction. From my perspective, it seemed like Todd perhaps expected the book to be more of an expose of Dennis' faults and that it would conclude with the notion that the band was well rid of him and that the current band is better than ever. I obviously can make no such finding; I can only present differing points of view. So I quoted Todd extensively about how great the new band is, and I quoted Glen extensively with a somewhat mixed point of view, and I quoted some longtime Styx observers like Bill Traut in saying the new band is great, the best ever, while quoting Bob Garcia as saying that he hasn't been such a fan of the new band's recorded works. That's balance, and I can understand why that's a frustration for someone who's actually on one side or the other, but there's not much I can do about that.

As far as my being a huge Dennis DeYoung fan and supporter, well, I'm a writer writing a book about Styx - a group that Dennis co-founded, spent three decades with, and in which he wrote and sang lead on the largest slice of the biggest hits. All of the work that the average person associates with this band has something to do with him and springs from that era, so yes, certainly I set out to write a book that reflects that contribution. To do otherwise would be to fail to tell the story completely. Same goes for Tommy, JY, everyone else. You might as well accuse me of being a huge Tommy Shaw fan and supporter, which I am, incidentally. We wouldn't have one without the other and they are tied together in the public perception for life, whether they like that or not. I also want to say, as tactfully as possible, that I would be very, very surprised if Dennis or anyone in the Dennis camp feels my book slants favorably toward Dennis. I can't help that, either.

I just want to end by saying that I like Todd a lot, I really enjoyed his interview, and I assert that I treated him with the utmost respect and consideration from start to finish. It's not remotely unusual for any interview sbject to object to something somebody else said, because human beings see ourselves one way, while others see us differently. That's something I live with in this job all the time, and it's business as usual. I'm not angry at Todd and I don't think he's angry at me, either, as far as I know. In this instance we will just have to agree to disagree. No big deal, really.


I hope everyone is well.


Sterling

Sterling, I wouldn't pay attention to Todd. He is going to say whatever is good for him personally and right now he is being paid by JY and Tommy and so is going to stick up for his bosses.

But I think this definitely shoots the theory of "Glen left because he wanted to be with his family more" out of the water...

[stabbim]

But I think this definitely shoots the theory of "Glen left because he wanted to be with his family more" out of the water...

It's not a "theory" (he had already been making statements to that effect for quite a while) but I don't think most folks ever believed it was the only reason that he quit.

[styxfanNH]

But I think this definitely shoots the theory of "Glen left because he wanted to be with his family more" out of the water...

It's not a "theory" (he had already been making statements to that effect for quite a while) but I don't think most folks ever believed it was the only reason that he quit.

Just the spin, just the spin...

[DarwinNebraska]

Todd's just protecting his meal ticket.

I'm ordering Sterling's book immediately. Sounds like a good read!

[DarwinNebraska]

Ordered from Amazon.com!

[LordofDaRing]

Maybe not "everything is cool in the land of the brave new world".

[AnnieOprah]

Todd's just protecting his meal ticket.

I'm ordering Sterling's book immediately. Sounds like a good read!

Is your avatar Dennis DeYoung or Brad Delp of Boston? It could pass as DDY during like Crystal Ball, but it really looks nothing like him!

[Grotelul]

Todd's just protecting his meal ticket.

I'm ordering Sterling's book immediately. Sounds like a good read!

Yeah..you will probably put it down when you read something negative about your hero.

[DarwinNebraska]

Todd's just protecting his meal ticket.

I'm ordering Sterling's book immediately. Sounds like a good read!

Yeah..you will probably put it down when you read something negative about your hero.

Whatever... Mr. "I have to jump into every thread and add something negative about Dennis".

P.S. The avatar is Dennis.

[styxfanNH]

Those that have to jump into every thread to add something negative about Dennis are counterbalanced by those that have to jump into every thread about Styx and add something negative about them