Another letter from Tommy Shaw!!
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:22 amMan this guy is on fire!!
Hello Friends!
I know 2 notes in 2 days, but I am just so ready for another year in StyxWorld and this one promises to be the best yet! I just got finished to listening to another track off Regeneration Vol 2 that Gary handed off to me. It is awesome. It is amazing what modern technology can do. We can get each song to sound almost identical to the original version. Pro Tools is a godsend. Believe it or not, we can fix every crack in JY’s voice so that when you hear him sing Great White Hope it doesn’t automatically want to make you pull out that .45 in your closet and end it all. And it can do wonders in thickening up Lawrence’s voice. Gary has gotten so adept with ProTools that I am going to have to stop making Lawrence wear that red turtleneck with the big “A” on it when we are in the studio (just a little hazing friends, all in good fun!). I just wish we had the ability to use ProTools this fall on tour – it sure would have helped on a few of those songs we pulled out of the closet that sounded great…..30 years ago.
Speaking of old songs, I am really excited about Regeneration Vol.2. You may or may not know that we are planning on releasing one new volume of Regeneration for the next 10 years. I can’t wait to hear some of these great songs redone. Right now we are planning on doing: Regeneration – The Serpent is Rising (a lost classic that thankfully doesn’t feature much DDY so it’s good to go!), Regeneration – 8 Songs Backwards! (Listen for those messages!), Regeneration – Blue Collar Man: Find the Difference! (This is really going to be fun – 10 different versions of Blue Collar Man – each with a subtle change somewhere in the song – it may be a note, a word (think “dog” vs. “wife” as my friend), or even a drumbeat! Can you find each change? Charlie Brusco thinks this is a fantastic promotion and may result in double digit sales! Of course a highlight for JY and me will be Regeneration – the solo years, where you can get such timeless classics as Friendly Advice, True Confessions, Sitting on Top Of The World, Bad Times, Chain Me Down, and Toys For American Boys…all redone! I hope you have as much fun listening to these as we had rerecording them!
I’m sure you can agree that the creativity is bursting at the seams around here. Thank God we finally got the balls to kick Dennis DeYoung to the street. He was really holding us back. Now we are free to explore the depths of our artistic license – JY is right – this version of Styx is the best ever!! And we’re not done yet! After being an opening act for Foreigner and Journey this spring in Europe (and more great news – they just let us know that they’ve increased our time from 30 to 35 minutes – hello, can you say 5 minutes longer on that Renegade guitar solo?!?!), we are back here in the States to play live for you live all the great songs on Regeneration Vol 2. Preliminary stops include Maysville Elementary School family day, closing ceremonies for Briarwood Little League, and one I’m really excited for…the grand opening of the new Kroger in Staunton, VA. So, keep checking our site, www.styxworld.com for new dates – we’ll be near your town soon!
Whoops, have to go, Gary is calling me – he just finished the mix on Just Fell In – can’t wait to hear it!
Life Is Good,
T. Shaw
Hello Friends!
I know 2 notes in 2 days, but I am just so ready for another year in StyxWorld and this one promises to be the best yet! I just got finished to listening to another track off Regeneration Vol 2 that Gary handed off to me. It is awesome. It is amazing what modern technology can do. We can get each song to sound almost identical to the original version. Pro Tools is a godsend. Believe it or not, we can fix every crack in JY’s voice so that when you hear him sing Great White Hope it doesn’t automatically want to make you pull out that .45 in your closet and end it all. And it can do wonders in thickening up Lawrence’s voice. Gary has gotten so adept with ProTools that I am going to have to stop making Lawrence wear that red turtleneck with the big “A” on it when we are in the studio (just a little hazing friends, all in good fun!). I just wish we had the ability to use ProTools this fall on tour – it sure would have helped on a few of those songs we pulled out of the closet that sounded great…..30 years ago.
Speaking of old songs, I am really excited about Regeneration Vol.2. You may or may not know that we are planning on releasing one new volume of Regeneration for the next 10 years. I can’t wait to hear some of these great songs redone. Right now we are planning on doing: Regeneration – The Serpent is Rising (a lost classic that thankfully doesn’t feature much DDY so it’s good to go!), Regeneration – 8 Songs Backwards! (Listen for those messages!), Regeneration – Blue Collar Man: Find the Difference! (This is really going to be fun – 10 different versions of Blue Collar Man – each with a subtle change somewhere in the song – it may be a note, a word (think “dog” vs. “wife” as my friend), or even a drumbeat! Can you find each change? Charlie Brusco thinks this is a fantastic promotion and may result in double digit sales! Of course a highlight for JY and me will be Regeneration – the solo years, where you can get such timeless classics as Friendly Advice, True Confessions, Sitting on Top Of The World, Bad Times, Chain Me Down, and Toys For American Boys…all redone! I hope you have as much fun listening to these as we had rerecording them!
I’m sure you can agree that the creativity is bursting at the seams around here. Thank God we finally got the balls to kick Dennis DeYoung to the street. He was really holding us back. Now we are free to explore the depths of our artistic license – JY is right – this version of Styx is the best ever!! And we’re not done yet! After being an opening act for Foreigner and Journey this spring in Europe (and more great news – they just let us know that they’ve increased our time from 30 to 35 minutes – hello, can you say 5 minutes longer on that Renegade guitar solo?!?!), we are back here in the States to play live for you live all the great songs on Regeneration Vol 2. Preliminary stops include Maysville Elementary School family day, closing ceremonies for Briarwood Little League, and one I’m really excited for…the grand opening of the new Kroger in Staunton, VA. So, keep checking our site, www.styxworld.com for new dates – we’ll be near your town soon!
Whoops, have to go, Gary is calling me – he just finished the mix on Just Fell In – can’t wait to hear it!
Life Is Good,
T. Shaw
Nice job Toph. 
