MR

Tommy wrote some pretty harsh stuff today in his Styxworld comments. After reading what he wrote it would appear that Dennis will NEVER share a stage with Tommy and JY again.

Ill just give you one quote, and then you can go and read it for yourself. Talking about Brave New World Tommy wrote" it was at this low point that JY and I realized the only way to save the band was to break it up and rebuild it".

Why did Tommy choose to do this today?? After not even talking about the breakup for sooo long why did Tommy choose to bring the subject up again??

Quite strange! Something precipated this --- but what? He sounded VERY teed off, to say the least. And HUGELY defensive. Almost whiny in his defense of ..... what????

Ah well.....

Bugsy

This made NO sense to me. Why start another riff now?? Saying how bad Brave New World was, then playing 5 songs off that CD in concert makes no sense. Ive got newspaper quotes from Tommy stating how much he loves the record and the songs Witness, Everything Is Cool, Brave New World & Heavy Water are classic Styx recordings that rival songs from The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight.

I know these quotes from Tommy were to hype the CD and tour, but why rip them now, and indirectly rip Dennis and The Grand Illusion ll tour??

This pisses me off!!!!!!

My guess is a need for the current lineup to establish themselves, put distance between themselves and Dennis by reinforcing the need they felt to split. I will not read more into it simply because it just no longer matters. I've long said they shouldn't reunite. Now more than ever, that would seem wise.

In recent interviews, with various band members past and present there appears to have been an acceptance of how things are and a resolve by all parties to put their own work and goals first. As it should be.

Why now, who knows? My I read it as Tommy just trying to give the fans something to read until they are fully touring again, and have their cd released to promote. Marketing plain and simple.

Peace,

Sadie

bugsymalone wrote:Quite strange! Something precipated this --- but what? He sounded VERY teed off, to say the least. And HUGELY defensive. Almost whiny in his defense of ..... what????

Ah well.....

Bugsy

Hugely defensive? Whiny? As opposed to...the VAST self-control that we see on this board by people who know virtually nothing about the situation, you mean? LOL

indeed.!

You guys are reading too much into this.

It reminds me of the note he wrote years ago where he talked about Dennis asking him not to make fun of Babe during DY shows. Here it is, years later, and he reflects back on it. I doubt there is any more meaning behind it, or reason for it, then that. It's simply what he felt like writing about.

Oh, and BTW, in another of those old notes, Tommy said he called Jonathan Cain of Journey to ask for advice on how to handle replacing a lead singer. The entire "save the band by rebuilding it" sounds VERY familiar.

It's a great note and I'm glad he wrote it.

Hugely defensive? Whiny? As opposed to...the VAST self-control that we see on this board by people who know virtually nothing about the situation, you mean? LOL

indeed.!

LOL! Now THAT is funny!

My, my, pieces, aren't you just the visual one lately

Ohh. I got pink all OVER me!

Sorry, just giving my take on the note, nothing more. It was posted for people to read, and react to, I assume.

Glad you liked it Monker.

Love the emoticons, Pieces!

As opposed to...the VAST self-control that we see on this board by people who know virtually nothing about the situation, you mean?

Wow! We must have greater influence here than I realized! And I thought this was just a little ol' discussion board!

As Sadie always says -- Peace

Bugsy

piecesofeight wrote:

I couldn't have posted any better....


DeeJay....

ek88 wrote:My, my, pieces, aren't you just the visual one lately

Just for you my friend ek.....

Maybe we should change the board name to MelodramaticRock.com?

Awesome emoticons, pieces.

The note from Tommy sounds like it was in response to something he has either read or been asked lately.

But I would also say these two things may .....or may not....have something to do about it.

Dennis is reasserting himself into the concert scene and is stepping away from the orchestra concerts.

They have just finished recording this new album and the difficulty he felt they had in making other albums was vastly different on this one and for some reason he compared it to the way BNW was made. He has talked about the making of BNW before, just not in this way.

All of you here know I REALLY like the band now, and I absolutely loved the music on Cyclorama, BUT....... Its VERY VERY hard for me to believe what Tommy wrote, and I think its total bullshi t because:

He stated the band REALLY started drifting apart again on The Grand Illusion ll tour. ( which I happened to see in Houston and thought it was GREAT). If the rift actually did happen on this tour then why did Tommy thank individually all the band members for waiting for him, and allowing him to make Seven Deadly Zens. He thanks them all in print on the CD. Seven Deadly Zens came a year AFTER the Grand Illusion ll tour ended. If there was SUCH a HUGE HUGE problem during their last tour together why would Tommy invite Dennis to show up at 'the bookstore' "Borders" in Chicago and sing and help him promote his new CD??

I dont have near as much of a problem with what JY has said in print, as I do with what Tommy just said. Because, what Tommy just said was either a total lie, or he was just using Dennis to sell and promote Seven Deadly Zens! Either way its horseshi t on Tommy Shaw's part!!!!!!!

One thing to keep in mind - and I'm not by any stretch saying this is "good" or "right".

People say things for different reasons. Many times, you get a big load of smoke up the ass when people thing that things are resolvable. It's unfortunate, but happens more than you might imagine. It's not realistic to expect the "truth" about stuff going on in the band that is negative where there are obligations, contracts and other business things to be resolved.

I know it doesn't make it any easier. Most times it's just the "mature" thing for the artist to bite their tongue and never talk about these things so they don't appear to a) display past inconsistencies, b) tear down memories of what many percieve to be "good times", or c) come off as petty assholes... The guys in Styx have succeeded in doing all 3 at some point in time over the last 6 years and that is unfortunate.

All I'm saying, is you need to put yourself in their shoes. Tommy's mistake is speaking out now. For a while we'd kinda thought that maybe things were mending a bit between shaw and deyoung (although nobody has ever really presented any evidence).... Tommy just needlessly destroyed any hope of these guys getting along again. While I guess it's good not to dabble in illusions, he's responsible for setting us all up only to start with the negativity again.

I really like Tommy... and I like his music... I have been listening to 7DZ for almost a week now and even some of Cyclorama. He's talented and doesn't NEED TO DO THIS. For FUCKS SAKE dude, move on and quit pissing off the old school styx fans.

It reminds me of the note he wrote years ago where he talked about Dennis asking him not to make fun of Babe during DY shows. Here it is, years later, and he reflects back on it. I doubt there is any more meaning behind it, or reason for it, then that. It's simply what he felt like writing about.

I agree wholeheartedly.

move on and quit pissing off the old school styx fans.

In a weird kind of way, his remarks are a reflection that the band has indeed moved on. And truthfully, I think any of the old school Styx fans that this would piss off are already pissed off and have been for quite some time. However, I should also add that I could just as easily lived without these recent remarks.

I really like Tommy... and I like his music... I have been listening to 7DZ for almost a week now and even some of Cyclorama.

It's hard not to like these guys when we limit our perspectives to music

I guess the point of my post was....

Shut up and sing.

Is it any coincidence that this message comes out within days of the Superbowl Ad? For once, a non-Dennis song has been used in a commercial. For the first time in a long time Tommy=Styx was given a VERY large audience. People who have never even heard of Styx saw that ad. Fans who have been away for years saw that ad and yes, we too saw it.

Perhaps this has translated into people checking in on the website for the first time and this is Tommy's way of getting them up to speed as it were.

Something to think about.

Scott

thing is.... I watched the entire superbowl and didn't see the ad.

Ash, the commericial only was seen in a number of tv markets, not all of them. I know in my area it wasn't shown, probably due to the fact that Miller Brewery is in our area and the Milwaukee market didn't want to pay to have the commercial air, or however that works. Also I know some of the markets have commitments to Anheuser Busch and then it wasn't seen in those areas.

Ash wrote:I guess the point of my post was....

Shut up and sing.

Not everyone agrees with that. It's one thing to whine and complain publically; it's another to share insights and lessons and thoughts as they arise. Back in the Great Styx Wars of 2000, if I had a dollar for each time I read the likes of "They're not commenting, so they must be guilty," I'd be a rich woman. Then BTM came out, and those same people were griping that the once silent members were bitter and hateful, and they should keep their comments to themselves. Uhh...sure! LOL

Tommy's note might not have sat well with some people, mostly due (IMO) to the fact that many of these people found the break up very hard to deal with in the first place. But the fact of the matter is, what he wrote is TRUE. The band WASN'T functioning well, and NO ONE was happy. Now, it seems everyone, Dennis included, is happy and successful.

Personally, one of the things I cherish about this band is that these guys even bother to share anything personal with their fans. Some people look forward to reading Tommy's notes, just as some like reading "Dear Glens and Dear Todds." These guys don't have to be bothered communicating with their fans at all. Why try to silence them? It's not like he said, "6 years ago, the wart-hog faced buffoon was keeping us from moving forward, so we kicked his sorry ass to the curb, and now everything's groovy." All he said was that upon reflection, what was a difficult, if not impossible situation, has grown into a prosperous and joyful experience for everyone.

The lesson here is not that Tommy needs to shut up and sing. The lesson here is that through adversity comes the chance to grow learn. And quite often, it's those hard times that ultimately make us stronger. What a jerk!

Zan,

Your wrong! This is coming from someone who loves Styx now, has supported the DDY less band 100%, have seen them 7 times since 1999, loves Cyclorama, and has always believed majority should rule in 95 % of all cases.

What Tommy wrote was the split started happening during their Grand Illusion ll tour. He said the wounds opened again at the end of that tour. These wounds were worse than at the end of the Kilroy tour.

If Tommy is telling the truth, then why the hell did he ask Dennis to come to Borders, hug him like a long lost brother, and thank him personally for waiting to allow him to make Seven Deadly Zens.

Either hes a bold face liar, or hes a user. Take your pick!!!!!!

A couple of my friends (and their friends) and I were just watching Tommy's Chicago Border's video yesterday. A couple people in the room had no clue that Styx even broke up, yes they live under a rock - LOL

Then we watched BTM right after. It's interesting how everyone's views were so different from each other in that room.

Then we watched BTM right after. It's interesting how everyone's views were so different from each other in that room.

I have found the same thing, Suite. One consistency I have found among those who knew/know little or nothing about Styx, and had nothing invested in watching this show (i.e. didn't really know anything about the band or its members), was that the attempt to paint Dennis as the villain was unsuccessful.

Bugsy

bugsymalone wrote:

Then we watched BTM right after. It's interesting how everyone's views were so different from each other in that room.

I have found the same thing, Suite. One consistency I have found among those who knew/know little or nothing about Styx, and had nothing invested in watching this show (i.e. didn't really know anything about the band or its members), was that the attempt to paint Dennis as the villain was unsuccessful.

Bugsy

The show and it's producers had an agenda. BTM was good entertainment at the expense of those in the band. I think that it was slanted. But it made for great tv, which is what you'd want if you were them.

Much of what we see, isn't real. It's a business.

I think it painted Dennis in a less than flattering light. Some of that, deservedly so. But it's pointless to go over this now.

Like Suite said, everybody sees things differently. Just like Tommy's note.

Peace,

Sadie

If Tommy is telling the truth, then why the hell did he ask Dennis to come to Borders, hug him like a long lost brother, and thank him personally for waiting to allow him to make Seven Deadly Zens.

My only thought there, yogi (and this is pure speculation) is that perhaps Tommy did so to avoid washing their dirty laundry in public in the hopes that things would improve. Had he said something at the time, it would have resulted in questions from the media and worked against resolving the band issues.

yogi wrote:Zan,

Your wrong! This is coming from someone who loves Styx now, has supported the DDY less band 100%, have seen them 7 times since 1999, loves Cyclorama, and has always believed majority should rule in 95 % of all cases.

What Tommy wrote was the split started happening during their Grand Illusion ll tour. He said the wounds opened again at the end of that tour. These wounds were worse than at the end of the Kilroy tour.

If Tommy is telling the truth, then why the hell did he ask Dennis to come to Borders, hug him like a long lost brother, and thank him personally for waiting to allow him to make Seven Deadly Zens.

Either hes a bold face liar, or hes a user. Take your pick!!!!!!

Have you ever considered going into detective work?

ek88 wrote:My only thought there, yogi (and this is pure speculation) is that perhaps Tommy did so to avoid washing their dirty laundry in public in the hopes that things would improve. Had he said something at the time, it would have resulted in questions from the media and worked against resolving the band issues.