Singer gives up the Styx shift
Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 2:11 amFriday, April 22, 2005
By IAN SPELLING
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto
Himitsu wo shiri tai
Life as we know it would not be the same had Dennis De-Young not written those lyrics and chanted them so brilliantly in the 1983 Styx classic "Mr. Roboto." DeYoung wrote and performed several other tunes that still echo in our brains two-plus decades later: "The Grand Illusion," "Come Sail Away," "Babe" and that ubiquitous '80s prom night theme song, "The Best of Times."
Lest anyone forget those songs or go through life without hearing them performed live, or become too attached to the new guy singing his songs in the band now calling itself Styx, DeYoung continues to bring 'em to the people himself. He's touring the country with not one, but three concerts. There's "Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styx With Rock Symphony," "Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styx" and "Lost Treasures: Dennis DeYoung - The Music of Styx." It's "Lost Treasures" that he'll perform Saturday at B.B. King's.
"We're bringing the cubist version of the show, because I'm done with my blue period," De-Young, 58, jokes during a phone conversation. "Just kidding. I'll be doing a couple of songs never performed onstage, five old Styx songs that haven't been played for, my God, like 25 years, and we'll be doing some favorites.
"So we'll be doing 'Lady,' 'Best of Times,' 'Come Sail Away,' 'Don't Let It End,' 'The Grand Illusion,' 'Mr. Roboto,' 'Lorelai,' 'Rocking the Paradise' and stuff like that, which I wrote and sang with the band. And then we'll play a couple of songs from my solo career."
Years ago, Billy Joel dropped "Just the Way You Are" from his concert set list. He'd performed it too many times, and it was written for his first wife, whom he'd long since divorced. While DeYoung has performed his hits countless times, he insists he's not eager to rest anything in his catalog.
"I wrote 'Babe' and 'Lady' for my wife, Suzanne. We've been married 35 years," he says. "They still have meaning to me. I guess if I'd written them for a former wife, it would be a little more difficult to play them all the time."
DeYoung considers his former Styx mates ex-wives. Though he'd reunited with the band a couple of times, he parted ways for good in 1999. It was then that fellow Styx members Tommy Shaw and James Young hired a new lead singer, as DeYoung spent a year and a half battling light sensitivity brought on by a nasty flu.
"The light sensitivity made me feel like I had chronic fatigue, and I just couldn't get better," De-Young recalls. "The guys wanted to go out, and I said I needed a little more time. But they put new players in, took the name and ran off. Obviously, that created some hard feelings."
DeYoung has moved on. He'll be seen in the upcoming Hilary Duff-Heather Locklear movie, "The Perfect Man," in which he's cast as - get this - the lead singer of a Styx cover band. And he's written 15 new tunes for a solo album he'll record soon. There's nothing better, however, than jumping onstage and "Rockin' the Paradise."
"As much as I like everything else, I love playing my music," DeYoung says. "I really enjoy being a live performer in a rock band and playing the songs people know and want to hear. Nothing beats that."
By IAN SPELLING
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto
Himitsu wo shiri tai
Life as we know it would not be the same had Dennis De-Young not written those lyrics and chanted them so brilliantly in the 1983 Styx classic "Mr. Roboto." DeYoung wrote and performed several other tunes that still echo in our brains two-plus decades later: "The Grand Illusion," "Come Sail Away," "Babe" and that ubiquitous '80s prom night theme song, "The Best of Times."
Lest anyone forget those songs or go through life without hearing them performed live, or become too attached to the new guy singing his songs in the band now calling itself Styx, DeYoung continues to bring 'em to the people himself. He's touring the country with not one, but three concerts. There's "Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styx With Rock Symphony," "Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styx" and "Lost Treasures: Dennis DeYoung - The Music of Styx." It's "Lost Treasures" that he'll perform Saturday at B.B. King's.
"We're bringing the cubist version of the show, because I'm done with my blue period," De-Young, 58, jokes during a phone conversation. "Just kidding. I'll be doing a couple of songs never performed onstage, five old Styx songs that haven't been played for, my God, like 25 years, and we'll be doing some favorites.
"So we'll be doing 'Lady,' 'Best of Times,' 'Come Sail Away,' 'Don't Let It End,' 'The Grand Illusion,' 'Mr. Roboto,' 'Lorelai,' 'Rocking the Paradise' and stuff like that, which I wrote and sang with the band. And then we'll play a couple of songs from my solo career."
Years ago, Billy Joel dropped "Just the Way You Are" from his concert set list. He'd performed it too many times, and it was written for his first wife, whom he'd long since divorced. While DeYoung has performed his hits countless times, he insists he's not eager to rest anything in his catalog.
"I wrote 'Babe' and 'Lady' for my wife, Suzanne. We've been married 35 years," he says. "They still have meaning to me. I guess if I'd written them for a former wife, it would be a little more difficult to play them all the time."
DeYoung considers his former Styx mates ex-wives. Though he'd reunited with the band a couple of times, he parted ways for good in 1999. It was then that fellow Styx members Tommy Shaw and James Young hired a new lead singer, as DeYoung spent a year and a half battling light sensitivity brought on by a nasty flu.
"The light sensitivity made me feel like I had chronic fatigue, and I just couldn't get better," De-Young recalls. "The guys wanted to go out, and I said I needed a little more time. But they put new players in, took the name and ran off. Obviously, that created some hard feelings."
DeYoung has moved on. He'll be seen in the upcoming Hilary Duff-Heather Locklear movie, "The Perfect Man," in which he's cast as - get this - the lead singer of a Styx cover band. And he's written 15 new tunes for a solo album he'll record soon. There's nothing better, however, than jumping onstage and "Rockin' the Paradise."
"As much as I like everything else, I love playing my music," DeYoung says. "I really enjoy being a live performer in a rock band and playing the songs people know and want to hear. Nothing beats that."