JY/Tommy should be damn thankful they have the name....

Because after hearing Dennis and his band, if I am a promoter, all things equal, I take DDY and his band - except for one thing, they don't have the "brand name". Because, it is clear that they are more Styx than the band with the name.
From a business perspective, think about what you are trying to do. Your target audience is looking for nostalgia. They want to hear Styx Greatest Hits live. With Dennis, you get that. You now get 14 out of the 16 hits on Greatest Hits (exception being Miss America and Crystal Ball, arguably the two "smallest" hits on the GH album) and Rockin The Paradise (which should have been on GH1 vs. GH2) and Top 10 single Desert Moon. In other words, you get exactly what you pay for. And August sounds more like Tommy Shaw of the early 80s than Tommy Shaw of 2010 does. The band is tight, focused, and has a great sound that is true to the original recordings. The current touring version of Styx does not. The current touring version of Styx plays, maybe 1/2 the songs on GH? If that?
If DDY had the name, it would be no contest. And I predict that as more promoters hear this show - more will book DDY to get their Styx fix than those that book the touring band calling them by the same name.
Tommy and JY can try to erase history and pretend Styx didn't have the hits that they had, but at the end of the day, that is what people want to come see and Dennis, with his current set list...NAILS IT!
From a business perspective, think about what you are trying to do. Your target audience is looking for nostalgia. They want to hear Styx Greatest Hits live. With Dennis, you get that. You now get 14 out of the 16 hits on Greatest Hits (exception being Miss America and Crystal Ball, arguably the two "smallest" hits on the GH album) and Rockin The Paradise (which should have been on GH1 vs. GH2) and Top 10 single Desert Moon. In other words, you get exactly what you pay for. And August sounds more like Tommy Shaw of the early 80s than Tommy Shaw of 2010 does. The band is tight, focused, and has a great sound that is true to the original recordings. The current touring version of Styx does not. The current touring version of Styx plays, maybe 1/2 the songs on GH? If that?
If DDY had the name, it would be no contest. And I predict that as more promoters hear this show - more will book DDY to get their Styx fix than those that book the touring band calling them by the same name.
Tommy and JY can try to erase history and pretend Styx didn't have the hits that they had, but at the end of the day, that is what people want to come see and Dennis, with his current set list...NAILS IT!