JY makes excuses for Cyclorama's lackluster sales... Funny!
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:17 amfrom (http://www.lawrence.com/news/2004/may/04/qa_with/)
Who selected the music for the anthology?
It was a combination of Universal -- a guy named Bill Levinson who's really kind of in charge of these things went through and listened to everything and made suggestions -- and Tommy and I went through and also moved a couple thing around. So it was the band and the record company kind of working together on it.
So Dennis didn't have any input despite almost sixty percent of the record being his music?
I know that he certainly had a say so. Tommy and I didn't agree with some of his choices, but he's incredibly well represented on here. And as part of the settlement of the lawsuit where he sued us back in the year 2000 -- and then he asked that it be settled before it got to trial -- he agreed to basically have no say so. Except in one small area here. And he's incredibly well represented here on this.
Even the title of the anthology is one of his songs.
Yeah, that's one of his songs that's the title of it. So the reality is that Dennis -- yeah, he and I were different people to start with, and we've always been very different, and it was the middle ground for the first 10 years, where we were able to compromise, that great things happened. And just his own, in my judgment, unwillingness to compromise -- which really kind of, certainly started to, in 1984 if not earlier -- is just the reason we're not together now. In his mind it's all about him -- and that's a personal observation -- and he was very significant to the development of the band, as we all were, and he sees it differently than I do, and he sees it differently that Tommy does, and right now Tommy and I have the power, and I think that we've wielded that power in and evenhanded way.
It seems that maybe you were victims of timing. The songs that people wanted to hear, and that were the reasons that people bought Styx records, were Dennis's songs. The same thing happened with REO. Gary Richrath wanted to a rock band, but the world wanted Kevin Cronin.
The irony is that record companies are guilty of being for-profit businesses, and many times it's manager's job to protect the long term because there's lots of economic incentives for people in the sales and promotions staff, that if the record sells this many copies... They're thinking of the record that's in front of them because there's no guarantee in the wacky world of rock and roll music that the next record is gonna ever be there, and so they take the path of least resistance, and if the think they can get the pop radio and make something a big hit, which in the short term certainly generates sales -- but there's a saying many people said, "You live by the single, you die by the single."
Does the new line-up feel real to you? Does it feel like Styx?
Absolutely. For me, this is the best lineup that's ever taken the stage in this band, and no disrespect to anyone that came before, but there's and amazing enthusiasm and vitality about this lineup, and God rest John Panozzo's soul, but Todd is truly brilliant and Lawrence is truly amazing, and it's an inspiration to be next to them onstage. And Ricky is rock solid and quietly brings a lot of things to the table that are not immediately obvious, and an incredible internal strength, which is good for a touring band; we need to have people on an even keel out here. So in my judgment this is the best incarnation of Styx, and there's numerous people in radio that believe that not only is this the best live incarnation of Styx, but also that "Cyclorama," the first studio album with the new lineup that we've ever done, and the first Styx album of the new millennium, is the best Styx album that was ever recorded. "The Grand Illusion," sales-wise of course, has dramatically outdistanced it, as have most other records, for all the reasons that exist for bands that have been around for as long as we have. It can be hard to gain traction and hard to get attention at radio that plays current music.
Who selected the music for the anthology?
It was a combination of Universal -- a guy named Bill Levinson who's really kind of in charge of these things went through and listened to everything and made suggestions -- and Tommy and I went through and also moved a couple thing around. So it was the band and the record company kind of working together on it.
So Dennis didn't have any input despite almost sixty percent of the record being his music?
I know that he certainly had a say so. Tommy and I didn't agree with some of his choices, but he's incredibly well represented on here. And as part of the settlement of the lawsuit where he sued us back in the year 2000 -- and then he asked that it be settled before it got to trial -- he agreed to basically have no say so. Except in one small area here. And he's incredibly well represented here on this.
Even the title of the anthology is one of his songs.
Yeah, that's one of his songs that's the title of it. So the reality is that Dennis -- yeah, he and I were different people to start with, and we've always been very different, and it was the middle ground for the first 10 years, where we were able to compromise, that great things happened. And just his own, in my judgment, unwillingness to compromise -- which really kind of, certainly started to, in 1984 if not earlier -- is just the reason we're not together now. In his mind it's all about him -- and that's a personal observation -- and he was very significant to the development of the band, as we all were, and he sees it differently than I do, and he sees it differently that Tommy does, and right now Tommy and I have the power, and I think that we've wielded that power in and evenhanded way.
It seems that maybe you were victims of timing. The songs that people wanted to hear, and that were the reasons that people bought Styx records, were Dennis's songs. The same thing happened with REO. Gary Richrath wanted to a rock band, but the world wanted Kevin Cronin.
The irony is that record companies are guilty of being for-profit businesses, and many times it's manager's job to protect the long term because there's lots of economic incentives for people in the sales and promotions staff, that if the record sells this many copies... They're thinking of the record that's in front of them because there's no guarantee in the wacky world of rock and roll music that the next record is gonna ever be there, and so they take the path of least resistance, and if the think they can get the pop radio and make something a big hit, which in the short term certainly generates sales -- but there's a saying many people said, "You live by the single, you die by the single."
Does the new line-up feel real to you? Does it feel like Styx?
Absolutely. For me, this is the best lineup that's ever taken the stage in this band, and no disrespect to anyone that came before, but there's and amazing enthusiasm and vitality about this lineup, and God rest John Panozzo's soul, but Todd is truly brilliant and Lawrence is truly amazing, and it's an inspiration to be next to them onstage. And Ricky is rock solid and quietly brings a lot of things to the table that are not immediately obvious, and an incredible internal strength, which is good for a touring band; we need to have people on an even keel out here. So in my judgment this is the best incarnation of Styx, and there's numerous people in radio that believe that not only is this the best live incarnation of Styx, but also that "Cyclorama," the first studio album with the new lineup that we've ever done, and the first Styx album of the new millennium, is the best Styx album that was ever recorded. "The Grand Illusion," sales-wise of course, has dramatically outdistanced it, as have most other records, for all the reasons that exist for bands that have been around for as long as we have. It can be hard to gain traction and hard to get attention at radio that plays current music.
