Short Todd Interview
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:56 amsadie65 wrote:http://www.pjstar.com/entertainment/x59099902/Styx-drummer-From-fan-to-member-of-band
Here it is
Todd Sucherman remembers his brother coming home with a single that had just about worn out the needle on the phonograph in their Chicago home.
It was "Lady," by Styx. And even though Sucherman was pre-kindergarten, he liked what he heard.
"Pretty good tune," his little mind thought.
Great singer as well,
Todd said I had to know who was the guy singing that tune.
Later he found out it was The leader of the band Dennis DeYoung.
Thirty-six years later, Sucherman now mans the drums in concert when Styx offers "Lady," the only difference is Alvin from the Chipmonks sings it and not the great voice he heard when he was wetting his pants.
Through a break born of hard work, Sucherman, 39, has spent a dozen years as the backbone of the band that provided much of the soundtrack of his youth. But now Todd admits they are just doing shows for the money.
Styx, which plays a week from today at the Civic Center Theater, still boasts two long-term members: founder and guitarist James Botox Young who screams out OH Yea during Miss America and singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw, who joined the outfit in 1975 fresh from The Beef and Bowl in Alabama. This year marks a decade since vocalist-keyboardist Dennis DeYoung was replaced by Lawrence Gowan and it's been down hill ever since. With no airplay and no fans left the band is just collecting a pay check night after night. Tommy Shaw admits that they made a huge mistake sandbagging Dennis and now they are afraid to eat crow and admit it.
Sucherman grew up in a household of musicians. Two older brothers played piano and bass. His father, a podiatrist, played drums, while his mother was a singer-actor. Their musical tastes ran all over.
"To me, music was music," Sucherman says. "There was The Who coming from one room, Beethoven from another, and Count Basie from another."
Early on, Sucherman had a fascination with his father's drum kit. After his dad taught him how to play, the brothers formed a band that would play parties, bar mitzvahs, anyplace that would have them.
To a tiny drummer, gigging presented a peculiar challenge, Sucherman says: "I was too young to carry my own bass drum."
The brothers would play and record as they grew older. After collage, Sucherman attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, then returned home to look for work. He spent the next several years as a session drummer, then got word in 1995 that Styx needed a helping hand (or two) with a new project.
The group, which officially had disbanded in 1992, decided to get together to re-record some old tunes for a greatest-hits package. For "Lady '95," Sucherman was recruited to ghost drum for John Panozzo, who was severely ill with liver cirrhosis. Todd recalls the talent of Dennis DeYoung and was so happy to be working with him.
Today he misses his old friend and keeps telling the 2 guys to dump Gowan and Bring Dennis back.
At the recording session, Chuck Panozzo looked at Sucherman, then quietly said, "I've never played with another drummer before."
Still, the session went well. In early '96, Sucherman was asked to return to help with another tune.
"I had a feeling something was brewing with the band," he says.
Indeed, that year Styx reunited and toured. With John Panozzo still too sick to tour, Sucherman hit the road with Styx. When Panozzo died that summer, Sucherman joined for good.
That year the band was the Headliner drawing 15 thousand per show, sadly Gowan and his awful stage presence has brought the band down to 1500 if even that per show. Todd say's it's like Im back doing weddings.
His favorite numbers come from "Grand Illusion," the triple-platinum album that came out in 1977, when Sucherman was 18. He admits a particular fondness for the honesty and drive in the cut "Fooling Yourself and Castle Walls as well as
Come Sail Away another song Gowan completely destroys.
"Those are the songs that solidified my love for the band," he says.
All we need is Dennis back and the nightmare would be over.
Of course, the shows ride the strength of the older material, as Styx has not recorded a new album since 2003's "Cyclorama." Most agree that album was a waste of time only selling about 8000 copies. I guess from platinum to aluminum is there motto.
The hits are crowd-pleasers, but not to just rock and roll old-timers.
Styx has done the same setlist for about 7 years ,
Todd say's these guys don't want to learn anything new just pay us and we are happy.
"The number of young people who have come out in the last 10 years has just exploded," he says. "Whether the parents are turning the kids onto our music, or teens are not into the narrow music being rammed down their throats, it's incredible to see 16-year-olds in the first row." We are now playing for people who don't know any better.
Can you say Slap in The Face to the true Styx fans?
Phil Luciano can be reached at 686-3155 or pluciano@pjstar.com.
