What the future?

[Toph]

This board has been relatively silent and so I'll ask the question..

What is next for these guys? What is Styx going to do after this summer? Are they taking a break? Going on hiatus? Recording a new album? Touring in the fall and winter?

What is DDY going to do? Is Hunchback a one and done type of musical? Or does it have enough legs to get to Broadway? Will we ever see a US version of 100 years and a duet with on the title track with a US singer? Is he going to just fade away? Will there ever be any speaking with JY/Tommy again?

Questions for thought....

[chowhall]

This board has been relatively silent and so I'll ask the question..

What is next for these guys? What is Styx going to do after this summer? Are they taking a break? Going on hiatus? Recording a new album? Touring in the fall and winter?

What is DDY going to do? Is Hunchback a one and done type of musical? Or does it have enough legs to get to Broadway? Will we ever see a US version of 100 years and a duet with on the title track with a US singer? Is he going to just fade away? Will there ever be any speaking with JY/Tommy again?

Questions for thought....

My .02 is that this is the future. Styx will continue to do 100-150 shows a year until Tommy or JY can't anymore. Dennis will continue to do 50 shows a year and play around with Hunchback at various off Broadway locations. No one is interested in new material from either camp except people on this board. Journey has shown the way on new material. Package new songs with a Oldies collection and sell it cheap at Walmart. Styx doesn't have the selling power of Journey so their success will be somewhat less. The only way the 3 guys will get back together is that if there is a lot of money involved and I don't see anyone footing a $10,000,000 bill to make it happen.

[Toph]

This board has been relatively silent and so I'll ask the question..

What is next for these guys? What is Styx going to do after this summer? Are they taking a break? Going on hiatus? Recording a new album? Touring in the fall and winter?

What is DDY going to do? Is Hunchback a one and done type of musical? Or does it have enough legs to get to Broadway? Will we ever see a US version of 100 years and a duet with on the title track with a US singer? Is he going to just fade away? Will there ever be any speaking with JY/Tommy again?

Questions for thought....

My .02 is that this is the future. Styx will continue to do 100-150 shows a year until Tommy or JY can't anymore. Dennis will continue to do 50 shows a year and play around with Hunchback at various off Broadway locations. No one is interested in new material from either camp except people on this board. Journey has shown the way on new material. Package new songs with a Oldies collection and sell it cheap at Walmart. Styx doesn't have the selling power of Journey so their success will be somewhat less. The only way the 3 guys will get back together is that if there is a lot of money involved and I don't see anyone footing a $10,000,000 bill to make it happen.

I think you are right - the Wal-Mart play by both Journey and the Eagles was a brilliant move. DDY by himself can't get that kind of deal and I doubt that Styx, unless there was a full board reunion of the living members of the "classic lineup", could get that type of deal either. Let's face it - Journey and Eagles are in a different league than Styx in 2008. And that is a shame, because I bet if you traveled in time back to 1981 that Styx would have been in the same breath as those two bands. Journey and the Eagles managed their brands better over time. For Styx's accomplishments in the 70s and 80s, their brand has not been able to pass the test of time. Part of the blame goes to a lack of anything post 1983-84 with the exception of a fluke massive hit single in Show Me The Way (I equate it to the Beach Boys Kokomo as being somewhat out of place in the music scene at the time). Part of the blame goes to the egos of the members - especially DDY's unwillingness to do anything with the other members until Edge, when the momentum clearly had been lost. Part of the blame goes to TS, who went with DY instead of Styx (publishing royalties issues or not - his absence made the reunion lose a lot of his luster). But I would assign the biggest blame to A&M/Universal who quite frankly didn't know how to manage a back catalog. None of those classic albums have been re-mastered or re-released. Journey is now on either the 2nd or 3rd reissue/remaster of their classic albums. Airplay on some of Styx's biggest hits in the 70s and 80s in almost non-existant with the exception of classic rock playing 4-5 songs. Even "rock" stations, which used to play Lorelei, Light Up, Suite Madame Blue, Borrowed Time, Renegade, BCM, Foolin Yourself, Grand Illusion, Lady, Too Much Time, Miss America, CSA, Rockin In Paradise, Crystal Ball even Best of Times...now basically only plays Renegade, CSA, Grand Illusion, BCM, and maybe Foolin Yourself and Lady... AC stations used to play Babe, BOT, DLIE, SMTW, CSA, Lady - I never hear those songs anymore. A&M Universal could have promoted the band better after their heyday - much like Columbia/Sony did with Journey, but chose not to. They are the ones to shoulder much of the blame for Styx's failure to conquer the test of time.

[Blue Falcon]

This board has been relatively silent and so I'll ask the question..

What is next for these guys? What is Styx going to do after this summer? Are they taking a break? Going on hiatus? Recording a new album? Touring in the fall and winter?

What is DDY going to do? Is Hunchback a one and done type of musical? Or does it have enough legs to get to Broadway? Will we ever see a US version of 100 years and a duet with on the title track with a US singer? Is he going to just fade away? Will there ever be any speaking with JY/Tommy again?

Questions for thought....

My .02 is that this is the future. Styx will continue to do 100-150 shows a year until Tommy or JY can't anymore. Dennis will continue to do 50 shows a year and play around with Hunchback at various off Broadway locations. No one is interested in new material from either camp except people on this board. Journey has shown the way on new material. Package new songs with a Oldies collection and sell it cheap at Walmart. Styx doesn't have the selling power of Journey so their success will be somewhat less. The only way the 3 guys will get back together is that if there is a lot of money involved and I don't see anyone footing a $10,000,000 bill to make it happen.

I think you are right - the Wal-Mart play by both Journey and the Eagles was a brilliant move. DDY by himself can't get that kind of deal and I doubt that Styx, unless there was a full board reunion of the living members of the "classic lineup", could get that type of deal either. Let's face it - Journey and Eagles are in a different league than Styx in 2008. And that is a shame, because I bet if you traveled in time back to 1981 that Styx would have been in the same breath as those two bands. Journey and the Eagles managed their brands better over time. For Styx's accomplishments in the 70s and 80s, their brand has not been able to pass the test of time. Part of the blame goes to a lack of anything post 1983-84 with the exception of a fluke massive hit single in Show Me The Way (I equate it to the Beach Boys Kokomo as being somewhat out of place in the music scene at the time). Part of the blame goes to the egos of the members - especially DDY's unwillingness to do anything with the other members until Edge, when the momentum clearly had been lost. Part of the blame goes to TS, who went with DY instead of Styx (publishing royalties issues or not - his absence made the reunion lose a lot of his luster). But I would assign the biggest blame to A&M/Universal who quite frankly didn't know how to manage a back catalog. None of those classic albums have been re-mastered or re-released. Journey is now on either the 2nd or 3rd reissue/remaster of their classic albums. Airplay on some of Styx's biggest hits in the 70s and 80s in almost non-existant with the exception of classic rock playing 4-5 songs. Even "rock" stations, which used to play Lorelei, Light Up, Suite Madame Blue, Borrowed Time, Renegade, BCM, Foolin Yourself, Grand Illusion, Lady, Too Much Time, Miss America, CSA, Rockin In Paradise, Crystal Ball even Best of Times...now basically only plays Renegade, CSA, Grand Illusion, BCM, and maybe Foolin Yourself and Lady... AC stations used to play Babe, BOT, DLIE, SMTW, CSA, Lady - I never hear those songs anymore. A&M Universal could have promoted the band better after their heyday - much like Columbia/Sony did with Journey, but chose not to. They are the ones to shoulder much of the blame for Styx's failure to conquer the test of time.

Great posts, and very true. Styx in 1981 was every bit as popular as Journey or the Eagles, and have pi$$ed away all that they gained...well, most of it anyway. They can't go the Journey route and re-record their classic songs with pole-tossing Larry Gowan...if anything that would put a fork in the band's future. His nasally voice just doesn't do DDY's vocals justice, and even the people who like him say that!

Styx did screw up in the 80s...obviously Roboto hurt this band in too many ways, but breaking up for 6 years didn't help, and then they failed to follw up Edge with anything for seven long years. Return To Paradise certainly was a huge step in the right direction, I think. But the old problems came back to the point where they didn't even record the songs for Brave New World in the same studio together...and then DDY was ousted for good, dooming Styx to the oldies circuit.

Styx will keep touring til they drop. It's the only way they can make any income at this point...and yes their record company has totally screwed them up by not remastering their old albums.

[classicstyxfan]

It's almost 2009........there is no future, only nostalgia, with the possible exception of Todd, who may still have his best work ahead of him. Dennis wrote some nice songs but really isnt looking to revive his rock star career, and Tommy's writing block is nearing a decade long now.

Maybe JY's holding out on us, and has some legendary songs in the can, just waiting for the 2nd climb up the mountain to pick up some steam ???????