The beginning of Styx......

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This is the article/interview I wanted to find.

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........


And it all began in 1960 on a sweltering summer day in Chicago.

The South Side of Chicago is the baddest part of town, and if you go down there, you'd better just beware of a band called the Trade Winds. In 1960, the Panozzo twins, John and Chuck, were playing music in their house when one of their grade school classmates, Dennis DeYoung, heard their music, poked his head through an open window, told them he liked what he heard and asked if he could bring his accordion and join the band.

"I knew the Panozzos," said Dennis DeYoung. "I didn't know they played instruments, but it was a hot summer day, and at that time nobody had air conditioning, so everybody's doors were open. And I heard this music coming out of their house, and I poked my head in. There were the Panozzos and some kid on the accordion. They were just kids, they were starting out, the kid on the accordion had only been played for a year and a half, and Chuck had just started taking lessons on the guitar. And I had a full eight years on the accordion under my belt, I was a pretty good accordion player. I told them, 'come on over to my basement,' and they brought their stuff over, and that was it. And that other accordion player was gone."

"When Dennis came over and played his accordion," remembered Chuck Panozzo, "I looked at my brother, and John and I agreed this is a guy we could play music with. And we ping-ponged back and forth, sometimes my place, sometimes his place, sometimes outside. And we did this all summer long, instead of going out and playing softball in the street. I'm sure our neighbors were very happy that their houses weren't being pelted with softballs."

The group, along with guitarist Tom Nardini, became the Trade Winds, and played at dances, parties, weddings and get-togethers throughout the South Side. Their stage outfits - black suits with long ties, Dennis with his accordion, Chuck with his Gibson guitar, and John's drum set with a painted palm tree on the front - made them look as professional as any band in Chicago. "The fun part about those times were our parents were so proud of us," said Chuck Panozzo, "because we were doing something constructive. And we were serious about our music. We'd go back and forth with our instruments from our house to Dennis' house to practice. And sometimes we would practice in the front room, and Dennis' grandfather would take his cane and pound it on the ceiling of his basement, and we said 'Oh-oh, it's kinda loud for Charlie.' We were very young men in 1962. Who knew that we would be able to look back at this body of work and all these memories, and it all started here."

In 1965, when another group called the Trade Winds had a hit with "New York's A Lonely Town," the Panozzo-DeYoung-Nardini Trade Winds changed their name to There Were Four ("TW4" for short). That lineup lasted until the late 1960's, when Tom Nardini left the band, and the Panozzos and DeYoung enrolled in Chicago Teachers' College, a division of Chicago State University. Still keeping their musical dreams alive, TW4 sang and performed in the college cafeteria, where their college brethren cheered their every performance. Another student, John Curulewski, played an acoustic guitar in the cafeteria one day, and Dennis DeYoung invited him to join TW4.

At the same time, a guitarist named James "JY" Young was trying to get his band in position for the same gigs TW4 were playing throughout the Windy City. JY, who loved the music of Jimi Hendrix and the Chicago blues scene, was a guitar prodigy since his early days at Calumet High School in Chicago, a few miles from the Panozzo-DeYoung practice basements. "I had Eric Clapton's Crossroads album," said JY, "and I would play at it 16 rpm so that it was in the same key, but an octave lower, and half the tempo, so I could figure out how he must have fingered it to play the part. I grew up probably about five or six miles away from where Dennis and the Panozzos grew up, and we were in rival groups in a sense that we were competing for work as cover bands. But while TW4 were a great cover band, and they'd perform Side A of Abbey Road, my group would be doing a re_arrangement of Creedence Clearwater's 'Born on the Bayou' that we'd heavied up."

By 1970, JY was ready to graduate from college, and he wanted to get his band into a rock festival that summer. After much begging and pleading, JY convinced the concert promoters to put his group on the bill. "We went down there and had to set up early on a Friday afternoon, and there were 8,000 people cheering for our music. But soon thereafter someone came along and convinced the bandmembers that rock music was the music of the devil, and so they went into Jehovah's Witnesses and left the group. So I looked around for a band where I could just go out and earn money with and hone my craft. And TW4 needed a guitarist, and Dennis and the Panozzos both had come over to audition my band with some booking agents they had that was booking them on some shows."

Eventually JY did join the group, and the five-member TW4 forged ahead. To supplement their income, some of the members of TW4 used their college degrees for teaching jobs - imagine a student's school schedule with music theory teacher Dennis DeYoung, band teacher John Panozzo and art teacher Chuck Panozzo.

In 1971, TW4 was the hottest cover band in Chicago. They played concerts for promoter Dex Card in northern Indiana, breaking attendance records with every performance. Each night they honed their chops performing covers in bars, clubs, concert halls, anywhere there was an appreciative crowd and enough power plugs for the amplifiers. Then came the next step - one night after a successful TW4 concert, Bill Traut, a representative from a small Chicago-based record label, Wooden Nickel Records, offered TW4 a chance to record some albums for them.

"A local record company guy from Wooden Nickel came up and saw the band," said DeYoung, "and said to us, 'Hey, wanna make a record?' We were playing Beatles covers at the time, and our goal was not to play the Beatles, but to be in them. We got that record deal, and thought to ourselves, 'here we go.'"

When TW4 signed with Wooden Nickel, the label told the group to drop the name TW4 and come up with something better. The former TW4 scribbled down plenty of nicknames and bandnames. Eventually it came down to three choices - Torch, Kelp or Styx. "TW4 didn't suit the times," said JY. "And fortunately the guys went along with it. Styx was the one name no one hated. Mystical sort of names were in vogue at that time."

[yogi]

Great questions for Styx trivia: Name the kid that Dennis replaced on the accordion when he joined John & Chuck to form the band that later became known as Styx.

Who was the kid DDY replaced???

Question #2 What happened to Tom Nardini

[Babyblue]

Cool beans!

[Everett]

Thanks for this laurie. Although we know what froy is gonna say about this....

[cittadeeno23]

I once had a neighbor in San Jose, Ca. who was originally from Chicago and she claimed to have known Nardini. She said he regretted leaving the band. I pressed her for some info on the band but all she remembered was him telling her that he was in Styx before they were Styx and that he should have stayed in the band for obvious reasons. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ LOL!

[FormerDJMike]

Tom Nardin (No "I" at the end of his name) decided to go to SIU in Carbondale and get a career out of music.

[froy]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

[SuiteMadameBlue]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

For the love of goodness Froy, PLEASE, PLEASE I'm begging you, let this go. I can't even stand reading your posts without going insane.

Omg, Dennis has moved on and in fact is doing pretty darn good with his career, he has the best of a few worlds.

Please, please, please stop!

[cittadeeno23]

Dennis' show is actually very good and a lot like an old Styx show. I was lucky enough to see him during one of the shows he did with Glen In New Jersey. Of course I had to fly across the country to see it! I just wish he would bring his show to northern Cal.
But he is obviously happy just doing his limited amount of shows.

Seriously Froy, I think Dennis is happy now. I'm sure there is a part of him that will always miss being in Styx, but for the most part I think he has moved on. I'm sad about the whole thing too. Nobody loves the Classic version of Styx more than I do, but it is what it is and it's not going to change. So just enjoy his solo show when you get the chance.

[froy]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

For the love of goodness Froy, PLEASE, PLEASE I'm begging you, let this go. I can't even stand reading your posts without going insane.

Omg, Dennis has moved on and in fact is doing pretty darn good with his career, he has the best of a few worlds.

Please, please, please stop!

Thanks for the advice
On we go..

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Dennis' show is actually very good and a lot like an old Styx show. I was lucky enough to see him during one of the shows he did with Glen In New Jersey. Of course I had to fly across the country to see it! I just wish he would bring his show to northern Cal.
But he is obviously happy just doing his limited amount of shows.

Seriously Froy, I think Dennis is happy now. I'm sure there is a part of him that will always miss being in Styx, but for the most part I think he has moved on. I'm sad about the whole thing too. Nobody loves the Classic version of Styx more than I do, but it is what it is and it's not going to change. So just enjoy his solo show when you get the chance.

Which show were you at?

[SuiteMadameBlue]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

For the love of goodness Froy, PLEASE, PLEASE I'm begging you, let this go. I can't even stand reading your posts without going insane.

Omg, Dennis has moved on and in fact is doing pretty darn good with his career, he has the best of a few worlds.

Please, please, please stop!

Thanks for the advice
On we go..

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

[cittadeeno23]

I was at the Morristown New Jersey show in 2006. Really close to the stage. I think about 4 or 5 rows back. Great, Great show.

[bugsymalone]

I was at the Morristown New Jersey show in 2006. Really close to the stage. I think about 4 or 5 rows back. Great, Great show.

Good show! Suite and I were there, too, along with a few others from this board. Good times! Loved hearing "All For Love."


Bugsy

[cittadeeno23]

Yes it was a great show. Having Glen with him really put the show over the top.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

I was at the Morristown New Jersey show in 2006. Really close to the stage. I think about 4 or 5 rows back. Great, Great show.

Good show! Suite and I were there, too, along with a few others from this board. Good times! Loved hearing "All For Love."


Bugsy

Do you remember where we were sitting Bugsy? I have my ticket somewhere.

That was a GREAT show and of course the one in Atlantic City too. YES, loved hearing "All for Love" too, what a treat. I took some pictures of the show, I'll have to look.

[froy]

SuiteMadameBlue

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

Do me a favor don't worry about what I post you your friends everyone.
I have the right to say what I want to say no matter what your friends think
Ok.

[Monker]

SuiteMadameBlue

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

Do me a favor don't worry about what I post you your friends everyone.
I have the right to say what I want to say no matter what your friends think
Ok.

You are wrong. You have no 'right' to post here. Andrew has created a forum and allowed you the PRIVILEGE to post here and what you say is what he allows you to say.

You have the 'right' to start your own forum, or blog, or whatever...and post whatever you want there.

[pinkfloyd1973]

Eventually JY did join the group, and the five-member TW4 forged ahead. To supplement their income, some of the members of TW4 used their college degrees for teaching jobs - imagine a student's school schedule with music theory teacher Dennis DeYoung, band teacher John Panozzo and art teacher Chuck Panozzo.

I know I stated this before...........Dennis taught in the same school district I attended later on


Robin

[ChicagoSTYX]

SuiteMadameBlue

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

Do me a favor don't worry about what I post you your friends everyone.
I have the right to say what I want to say no matter what your friends think
Ok.

Froy, I'll see next Saturday at the Styx concert in Chicago.

[Boomchild]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

While I can agree that Dennis has a right to the band name based on the fact that he was there from the start and his contributions to it, things would not be the same if he had. He would have had to replace all the other members since they did not want to work with him anymore. To me Styx was the efforts of DDY, JY and TS working together. Even Dennis has said that Styx was the efforts of all them not just himself.

[Everett]

SuiteMadameBlue

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

Do me a favor don't worry about what I post you your friends everyone.
I have the right to say what I want to say no matter what your friends think
Ok.

Froy, I'll see next Saturday at the Styx concert in Chicago.

Please take some video of that, i wanna see froy bowing down to larry

[Everett]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

While I can agree that Dennis has a right to the band name based on the fact that he was there from the start and his contributions to it, things would not be the same if he had. He would have had to replace all the other members since they did not want to work with him anymore. To me Styx was the efforts of DDY, JY and TS working together. Even Dennis has said that Styx was the efforts of all them not just himself.

+1

[chickenbeef]

SuiteMadameBlue

I'm trying to tell you in a nice way. I have friends that read this section all the time and they think you have a screw loose or two. I was going to start bringing up the old threads on here just to show you how you were and still are, nothing ever changed.

Do me a favor don't worry about what I post you your friends everyone.
I have the right to say what I want to say no matter what your friends think
Ok.

Froy, I'll see next Saturday at the Styx concert in Chicago.

Please take some video of that, i wanna see froy bowing down to larry

heil LARRY!!

[Abitaman]

SuiteMadameBlue

Here's a little history of Styx for those that don't know how the band STYX started and who was in the beginning of the band STYX ..........

All I can say Is Dennis DeYoung was foolish to not fight in court to keep the rights and name of the band he started.
Everything has been destroyed by the dude who use to play at a bowling alley in Alabama.
Tommy Shaw was a great spark plug for STYX but after all these years his childish attitude and sandbagging ways have killed everything. Drugs, bad decisions, spite and jealousy are what Tommy Shaw is all about,
Big mistake Dennis you should have fought it out

For the love of goodness Froy, PLEASE, PLEASE I'm begging you, let this go. I can't even stand reading your posts without going insane.

Omg, Dennis has moved on and in fact is doing pretty darn good with his career, he has the best of a few worlds.

Please, please, please stop!

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

[pinkfloyd1973]

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

We've lost quite a few people here and a few (including Zan and Laurie, I noticed) that don't post much here anymore because a few trolls ( IE chickenbeef and Froy) who ruin the fun for all of us. And now Andrew had to lock not one but two threads? I'll continue to lurk here from time to time myself but until the troublemakers are either banned or supressed here I don't feel the need to add to the madness or continuing to feed the trolls for that matter


Robin

[Everett]

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

We've lost quite a few people here and a few (including Zan and Laurie, I noticed) that don't post much here anymore because a few trolls ( IE chickenbeef and Froy) who ruin the fun for all of us. And now Andrew had to lock not one but two threads? I'll continue to lurk here from time to time myself but until the troublemakers are either banned or supressed here I don't feel the need to add to the madness or continuing to feed the trolls for that matter


Robin

It's more fun upstairs anyway

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

We've lost quite a few people here and a few (including Zan and Laurie, I noticed) that don't post much here anymore because a few trolls ( IE chickenbeef and Froy) who ruin the fun for all of us. And now Andrew had to lock not one but two threads? I'll continue to lurk here from time to time myself but until the troublemakers are either banned or supressed here I don't feel the need to add to the madness or continuing to feed the trolls for that matter


Robin

We used to have fun discussions even if some of us didn't agree about either camp or members. We didn't cut down people if we didn't care for their opinion, we discussed it.

I can't even post any articles from either camp without someone wrecking the thread, sad!

I came back here for a while, then the chicken troll showed up and wrecked it again for many. I know there were 2 others before him, but that was a while ago.

I guess we still have Facebook to talk on. I still post on another music forum that doesn't tolerate any trolls, it's not as fun as on here but at least there's no name calling.

[chickenbeef]

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

We've lost quite a few people here and a few (including Zan and Laurie, I noticed) that don't post much here anymore because a few trolls ( IE chickenbeef and Froy) who ruin the fun for all of us. And now Andrew had to lock not one but two threads? I'll continue to lurk here from time to time myself but until the troublemakers are either banned or supressed here I don't feel the need to add to the madness or continuing to feed the trolls for that matter


Robin

We used to have fun discussions even if some of us didn't agree about either camp or members. We didn't cut down people if we didn't care for their opinion, we discussed it.

I can't even post any articles from either camp without someone wrecking the thread, sad!

I came back here for a while, then the chicken troll showed up and wrecked it again for many. I know there were 2 others before him, but that was a while ago.

I guess we still have Facebook to talk on. I still post on another music forum that doesn't tolerate any trolls, it's not as fun as on here but at least there's no name calling.

it's you guys that are the trolls. everytime i saw something positive about styx or larry you all start freaking out

[Monker]

Yes Froy, this is gettiold, and one of the reason I don't hang out here much anymore.

We've lost quite a few people here and a few (including Zan and Laurie, I noticed) that don't post much here anymore because a few trolls ( IE chickenbeef and Froy) who ruin the fun for all of us. And now Andrew had to lock not one but two threads? I'll continue to lurk here from time to time myself but until the troublemakers are either banned or supressed here I don't feel the need to add to the madness or continuing to feed the trolls for that matter


Robin

We used to have fun discussions even if some of us didn't agree about either camp or members. We didn't cut down people if we didn't care for their opinion, we discussed it.

I can't even post any articles from either camp without someone wrecking the thread, sad!

I came back here for a while, then the chicken troll showed up and wrecked it again for many. I know there were 2 others before him, but that was a while ago.

I guess we still have Facebook to talk on. I still post on another music forum that doesn't tolerate any trolls, it's not as fun as on here but at least there's no name calling.

Oh, please. It has ALWAYS been like that. The only difference is that back in the days that you are talking about it was any positive thread about Styx that was ruined by froy and the few that agreed with him. Even you joined in on it at times...and argued that it was all in fun. Yeah, it's no fun to have threads ruined by mindless hatred. It isn't now, and it wasn't back then either. The difference for me is, I no longer care so much.