MR

Here's for all you Carrot Styx fans - see I can post other stuff

http://www.rockpages.gr/interviews/Styx2005-eng.htm

Lawrence Gowan joined Styx in 1999, with the difficult mission of filling in for keyboarder-vocalist Dennis De Young and after some hard work he made it. Judging by the successful Styx live shows during the last 6 years, Gowan has been finally accepted by the Styx fan base. Glasgow-born Gowan is a superstar in his native Canada, having sold over 1.5 million albums (that means five platinum and four gold records, as well as four number one singles). In the past critics have compared him to Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Chris de Burgh and Chris Rea. Lawrence Gowan talked exclusively to Rockpages.gr about Styx and many other things. Interview: Christos Stamelos



Rockpages.gr: How easy was for you to fill in Dennis DeYoung's shoes?

Lawrence Gowan: I don't' think it is a case of filling ones shows, I think it is a case of what I bring to the band as apposed to he and other member brought to the band. It is inevitable that when a group stays strong for over a quarter century new blood maybe required


Rockpages.gr: Watching the "Arch allies" DVD I can see a tight band with great chemistry. Do you enjoy touring with Styx, although on a heavy schedule?


Lawrence: The most invigorating part of music comes from playing live and we are a band that can't get enough of it. That is why the shows are so strong and that is why the band keeps drawing new followers.


Rockpages.gr: What's your favourite Styx song for playing live?


Lawrence: My favourite songs change, at the moment we have been playing "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Summer in the City" in our live shows and that makes them my current favourite ones.


Rockpages.gr: Do you have any plans for a new solo album?


Lawrence: I have plans, but I have no specific time on when that will be accomplished. Styx is my primary focus.


Rockpages.gr: Many of your solo albums are hard to find in Europe. Any plans for reissues?


Lawrence: I am sure there will be at some point, but similar to the last question timing is the factor.


Rockpages.gr: Tell us a funny story while touring with Styx in the last 6 years.



Lawrence: I once announced to the audience early in the show that they were going to see something tonight that they have never seen and then accidentally, on cue, I wiped out off the side of the stage falling face first into the crowd. That was not what I had intended but the crowd like it anyway.


Rockpages.gr: "A criminal mind" is one of my favourite songs ever. Tell us the story behind that song.


Lawrence: I had the melody for "A Criminal Mind" and was looking for a subject that was as haunting as the melody required. And as luck would have it, I met a prison guard who shared some stories with me about his work in the penitentiary. Realizing that all of us, at some point and to some degree have our darker side I wrote the lyric accordingly, this song gives expression to the demon within us all.



Rockpages.gr: What kind of artists do you like listening to?



Lawrence: I love a lot of bands Radiohead, The Darkness, Keane, Flaming Lips, and recently started listing to Genesis again. The list could go on and on.


Rockpages.gr: Have you ever been in Greece? What do you think of the Olympic Games in Athens last year?



Lawrence: I love the Olympic Games! I would have loved to been able to attend but could not. However, Greece is in my plans as a country to visit in the future.

[

[b]Lawrence Gowan: I don't' think it is a case of filling ones shows, I think it is a case of what I bring to the band as apposed to he and other member brought to the band.

Yea you bring nothing to the band and Dennis brought everything.
You bring aweful vocals to the band Dennis brings a beautiful voice.
You have brought not 1 song to the band that anyone cares about Dennis has brought 40.
Its that kind of stupid answer that makes classic Styx fans gag,

It is inevitable that when a group stays strong for over a quarter century new blood maybe required

And its also inevitable that after 6 years in a band the old blood needs to kick the new blood in the ass,

[b]Lawrence: The most invigorating part of music comes from playing live and we are a band that can't get enough of it. That is why the shows are so strong and that is why the band keeps drawing new followers.

You need new followers the old fans are long gone.
thanks to Jy and Shaw,

Rockpages.gr: Do you have any plans for a new solo album?


[b]Lawrence: I have plans, but I have no specific time on when that will be accomplished. Styx is my primary focus.

Please get some plans will ya
Your out of focus very fuzzy.

Rockpages.gr: Many of your solo albums are hard to find in Europe. Any plans for reissues?


[b]Lawrence: I am sure there will be at some point, but similar to the last question timing is the factor

Don't bother
No intrest,

Rockpages.gr: Tell us a funny story while touring with Styx in the last 6 years.

[b]Lawrence: I once announced to the audience early in the show that they were going to see something tonight that they have never seen

They probably thought you were going to sing in tune



and then accidentally, on cue, I wiped out off the side of the stage falling face first into the crowd. That was not what I had intended but the crowd like it anyway.

Tell them about the Safety Dance video you were asked to be in Larry,
Im glad they like it anyway
Talk about bad grammer.

A student of mine attended the Styx show in Lincoln last night. I asked him what he thought and he wasn't overly impressed with the "exception of the new keyboardist.". Go figure.

Rockpages.gr: How easy was for you to fill in Dennis DeYoung's shoes?

It is inevitable that when a group stays strong for over a quarter century new blood maybe required

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
Look out Bono Gowan is comming after your job.
Now you know why Styx has failed in the last 6 years,
Look no further than Gowan's arrogance

I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

sadie65 wrote:I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

He gave no credit to Dennis DeYoung none
Look at Augeri the guy is asked the same question and he praises Steve Perry.
Gowan brushes it off and say's yea thats nornal for a band of 25 years.
As if its no big deal and he is the saviour
I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Froy says:

I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Name ANY band that threw out their frontman and the one of the co-founders of the band.



From the interview:

Rockpages.gr: Tell us a funny story while touring with Styx in the last 6 years.

Lawrence:They (the crowds) probably thought I was going to sing in tune

That doesn't sound to arrogant. LOL (as I'm wiping the tears away) ROTFL

froy wrote:

sadie65 wrote:I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

He gave no credit to Dennis DeYoung none
Look at Augeri the guy is asked the same question and he praises Steve Perry.
Gowan brushes it off and say's yea thats nornal for a band of 25 years.
As if its no big deal and he is the saviour
I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Somebody has to be the first.

gr8dane wrote:

froy wrote:

sadie65 wrote:I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

He gave no credit to Dennis DeYoung none
Look at Augeri the guy is asked the same question and he praises Steve Perry.
Gowan brushes it off and say's yea thats nornal for a band of 25 years.
As if its no big deal and he is the saviour
I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Somebody has to be the first.

Thats not what Gowan said
he said a strong band that has been going for 25 years was just waiting for him to come in and replace the co/founder
And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife. The guy is a jerk
I can't wait for the world to see that soundstage they can then all see just how terrible of a singer he is.

froy wrote:

gr8dane wrote:

froy wrote:

sadie65 wrote:I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

He gave no credit to Dennis DeYoung none
Look at Augeri the guy is asked the same question and he praises Steve Perry.
Gowan brushes it off and say's yea thats nornal for a band of 25 years.
As if its no big deal and he is the saviour
I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Somebody has to be the first.

Thats not what Gowan said
he said a strong band that has been going for 25 years was just waiting for him to come in and replace the co/founder
And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife. The guy is a jerk
I can't wait for the world to see that soundstage they can then all see just how terrible of a singer he is.

Sorry,haven't figured out the quote within a quote bit.
I was referring to what you said not him,in relation to any band equal Styx that threw out their front man after 25 years.
That's what I meant.

Oh yeah, Soundstage should be very, very, very interesting. It's amazing to find out how that came about. Usually the artist/band are invited/asked to be part of Soundstage, this is the first case that it didn't happen that way. And that's a FACT!!

froy wrote:

gr8dane wrote:

froy wrote:

sadie65 wrote:I thought his response was quite diplomatic and anything but arrogant.

He gave no credit to Dennis DeYoung none
Look at Augeri the guy is asked the same question and he praises Steve Perry.
Gowan brushes it off and say's yea thats nornal for a band of 25 years.
As if its no big deal and he is the saviour
I can't think of any other band equal to Styx that threw out there front man after 25 years can you?

Somebody has to be the first.

Thats not what Gowan said
he said a strong band that has been going for 25 years was just waiting for him to come in and replace the co/founder
And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife. The guy is a jerk
I can't wait for the world to see that soundstage they can then all see just how terrible of a singer he is.

Oh good grief. Now you're inferring things. The man is doing his job. He said nothing negative or arrogant.

I guess it takes one to know one eh?

Froy says:

And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife.

I "heard" that there are a few songs that they are "required" to sing in concert. Just found that out.

I'm not sure if that's true, but it's from a reliable source. Soundstage might be different, hmmmm.

I noticed that Dennis and Gowan both like the music of Keane, what are the odd's of that? LOL

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:I noticed that Dennis and Gowan both like the music of Keane, what are the odd's of that? LOL

Isn't Keane keyboard driven band?

Yeah I could imagine there are some songs the band is required to do...if not contractually, then certainly from the fans perspective.

Sadie says:

Isn't Keane keyboard driven band?

I was just going to put in my Keane cd that one of our friends burned for me. I'm taking a guess it would be keyboard driven band. Dennis talked about them in the interview, but you know, I forgot what he said - LOL I think he was singing one of their songs too, the one that's played on VH1 in the morning.

Sadie, I hope you and Bugsy are receiving my emails. I hate not having my computer!!

Currently, Sucherman and Gowan are the stars of the band. Live, they have both delivered EVERY time I've seen them.

Gowan's/Styx's versions of I Am The Walrus, A Salty Dog, and I Dont Need No Doctor were all done very well for Big Bang. I felt those were about the only 3 good songs on the entire CD.

yogi wrote:Currently, Sucherman and Gowan are the stars of the band. Live, they have both delivered EVERY time I've seen them.

Show's just how awefull the band is then
I think Dennis 's drummer is starting to really shine
He's getting better everytime I see him play.

Gowan's/Styx's versions of I Am The Walrus, A Salty Dog, and I Dont Need No Doctor were all done very well for Big Bang. I felt those were about the only 3 good songs on the entire CD.

Shows how good the cd is .
Come on Yogi tell us a story

Thats not what Gowan said
he said a strong band that has been going for 25 years was just waiting for him to come in and replace the co/founder
And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife. The guy is a jerk
I can't wait for the world to see that soundstage they can then all see just how terrible of a singer he is.

Oh good grief. Now you're inferring things. The man is doing his job. He said nothing negative or arrogant.

No the man is not doing his job he's doing Dennis's job.
And I do not want to get into it with you about inferring things
May be abit COZY would'nt you say/

I guess it takes one to know one eh?

I don't know Gowan thank god and am I arrogant who knows

My take on this interview was that Gowan was trying to be as diplomatic as possible. A bit clumsy in my estimation, but there you have it.

Just my take, if you will, from those of you who are fans of this lineup, Gowan seems to be very popular and emerging as the front and center "star" of Current Styx now.

If rumors hold true and Tommy leaves, I wonder what that may do to the dynamic of the band now? I certainly see Current Styx carrying on with a Tommy replacement. Remember the continuum??

Perhaps it is appropriate that he is emerging as the fan favorite now if the band changes personnel yet again.

Bugsy

Froy, the Dennis freak, speaks of "Gowan's arrogance"

LOL...

OK, I digress.

yogi wrote:Currently, Sucherman and Gowan are the stars of the band. Live, they have both delivered EVERY time I've seen them.

Gowan's/Styx's versions of I Am The Walrus, A Salty Dog, and I Dont Need No Doctor were all done very well for Big Bang. I felt those were about the only 3 good songs on the entire CD.

Not to "dis" anyone alse in Styx, but OMG - YES. The entire machine is well-oiled, and everyone brings something incredible to the table, but YES.

Even my boss, who, in spite of whining about Styx being too "loud" the whole time, raved on about the "ragtime piece" and "the drummer."

And Gowan is the furthest thing from arrogant! Dang...

froy wrote:

Thats not what Gowan said
he said a strong band that has been going for 25 years was just waiting for him to come in and replace the co/founder
And he was ready to sing a song night after night about the co/founders wife. The guy is a jerk
I can't wait for the world to see that soundstage they can then all see just how terrible of a singer he is.

Oh good grief. Now you're inferring things. The man is doing his job. He said nothing negative or arrogant.

No the man is not doing his job he's doing Dennis's job.
And I do not want to get into it with you about inferring things
May be abit COZY would'nt you say/

I guess it takes one to know one eh?

I don't know Gowan thank god and am I arrogant who knows

Yawn. Whatever.

Froy says:

I think Dennis 's drummer is starting to really shine

Starting to shine??? He's always been shining, Kyle's awesome!! Bugsy, wouldn't you say he's "dreamy" too? LOL

I think Kyle and Todd are great drummers

Zan wrote:Froy, the Dennis freak, speaks of "Gowan's arrogance"

LOL...

OK, I digress.

yogi wrote:Currently, Sucherman and Gowan are the stars of the band. Live, they have both delivered EVERY time I've seen them.

Gowan's/Styx's versions of I Am The Walrus, A Salty Dog, and I Dont Need No Doctor were all done very well for Big Bang. I felt those were about the only 3 good songs on the entire CD.

Not to "dis" anyone alse in Styx, but OMG - YES. The entire machine is well-oiled, and everyone brings something incredible to the table, but YES.

Even my boss, who, in spite of whining about Styx being too "loud" the whole time, raved on about the "ragtime piece" and "the drummer."

And Gowan is the furthest thing from arrogant! Dang...

Dump the purple its a headache

froy wrote:Dump the purple its a headache

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

Zan says:

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

I'm not even laughing, that's not funny, that's torture, complete torture!! UGH

Zan wrote:

froy wrote:Dump the purple its a headache

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

Ack!!!!! Now those are fighting words

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:Zan says:

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

I'm not even laughing, that's not funny, that's torture, complete torture!! UGH

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure, I guess. More for me!

Zan wrote:

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:Zan says:

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

I'm not even laughing, that's not funny, that's torture, complete torture!! UGH

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure, I guess. More for me!

Thats if your a woman
I have my doubts

It's magenta, and if I could rig it so it played Gowan singing "Lady" every time you read it, I would.

No doubt in my mind at all, Zan, that if you could do this, you would!!

Bugsy