MR

Hey Guys;

What do you think about this unauthorized biography which this nashville writer is doing about Styx? Did you see this news on the home page of Melodicrock.com?

Thoughts?

If it's well written, with lots of information we dont already know, I can name about 20 posters here who will buy a copy.....this board could be in for an intersting couple of months once it's out as well.

Lots of questions have been asked here that no one can answer, maybe we'll get some of those answers in this book ?

I am familiar with the person writing this book because I am very familiar with Nashville media........ perhaps I give ol' Steve a call. (or an email)

Maybe we can get him to give us a preview.

Ash, do you mean to call Sterling Whitaker, the writer? He has posted a lot on one of our other boards for at least 1 1/2 years about the band and his book - only little tidbits (teasers).

Since he wasn't able to interview all the band members, most of the book will be quotes or stories from former managers, roadies or people that know the members of the band through the years - just MY opinion.

Do you know who he *did* manage to talk to? I think that is pretty key to getting a balanced view of the book.

Madame,

Is there any interesting info in these "teasers" you know, but have been holding back ?

I hope he delivers the goods on the settlement, and how they all feel about it. I'd also like to know the details behind John C's departure, and if he stayed in touch with anyone in the group before his early demise.

Reading about their internal power struggles would be interesting as well.

If the book delivers along these lines, it will be well worth my money.

I'd have to go back on all the posts, but I think he did talk to Tommy around 1997. I *think* he talked to Glen too, but I can't remember the date. I'm pretty sure he didn't talk to Dennis, JY and Larry. The others I'm not sure about if he did and when and if he talked to any family members of the band.

Like I said, Sterling enjoys to give us "teasers", so we don't know a lot. We'll have to wait for his book and find out.

Classic you posted the same time I did

As for the settlement, far I as know, NO ONE involved with the settlement can talk about it or will talk about it. I don't know if this will ever become public.

As for John C's departure. That's going to be a hard one to write about since he passed away. There are a few sides to this story and we'll never know his side. I'm pretty sure his ex-wife or his son did not contribute anything to the book. I have no idea if he stayed in touch with any of his (Styx) band mates after he left. From what I do know, John C. still lived in the Chicago area the rest of his life.

As for the teasers, like I said, I'd have to go back and read all the posts from the group. Most of the posts were events that I already knew about. I'll have to see if there's anything interesting to bring over here.

Regarding Sterling and the book, I too have seen his posts on several groups for the last 1.5 years. Most often it is information we all know. He is VERY tight lipped about what will go into the book, however he has stated previously that he does NOT know the terms of the lawsuit settlement. Like Suite, I go t the distinct impression that most of who he interviewed were road crew, some band management (past and present) and some "close' associates.

I myself, think, that no matter how hard any one tries, when one is writing an "unauthorized" biography, much will be left out or misconstrued. I see this one no differently.

Sadie

Is there any chance we will get a new DDY song if we purchase this book???

yogi wrote:Is there any chance we will get a new DDY song if we purchase this book???

No you will get one from his wife .

Sorry Yogi, not a chance with this book

But you might receive a coupon for a free haircut from Jeanne which will be included with the book - LOL

With my hairline that is not much of an insentive to purchase this book!!

yogi, froy, suite, LOL

If Jeanne is TS's young wife, that'll work for me...if she throws in a scalp massage !

What I REALLY want to know about is when they fired Dennis after Cornerstone. Who were they looking at to replace him?

Lawerence Gowan of course.The problem was that in 1979-1980 he was the lead singer for the Way-Outs. At that time the Way-Outs were in the middle a real'rock' revival. The Flintstones had just gone into syndication and this was one of their more popular episodes. It literally has a cult following. Add to that Buddy Epson(Jed Clampitt) was a huge Way-Out fan and he was really pushing them on Barnaby Jones. Finally, VW had just come out with the Rabbitt and they were using a Way-Out tune in one of their commercials.
The timing was just all wrong for Gowan. Tommy, JY, Chuck, and John just had not done their homework regarding this matter. I've got a real feeling this little bit of info will be in the upcoming book.

GaryS, from what I know, when Cornerstone was released and Dennis was "fired" or "kicked out" or whatever really happened, there wasn't enough time to find a lead singer. The album was "hot" and they needed to tour to support it. Like it or not, "Babe" was a number one hit and there was no way they could have someone perform that song especially during that time.

Yogi, I had to find out what you meant by the "Way-Outs" Now I get it (duh) and remember the episode after reading the transcript. Did you know that you could get a signed "Way-Out" animation cel for $725!!!

GaryS., this is from the same 1981 interview that I posted on other posts. This is from an interview with JY. Here is a question and answer:

N.R.N. — About a year ago, rumors were flying throughout Chicago that Dennis was running into conflicts with the other members of the band, and that his musical direction and attitudes were on the verge of splitting Styx apart. Was there any truth to that?

J.Y. — "Not to say that there's never been any dissention in the group, because when you have five different people functioning in a democratic situation you have a system of emotional checks and balances, and with the pressures of constant touring and the such there is bound to be some problems. But we've never had any major problems big enough to split up the group. There have always been stories going around about how one of us is leaving the group, but they're all overblown tremendously.

"Styx will be going on for quite a while to come as far as I can see, we still have a lot to say."

From JY in 1981.

Thanks Suite. That was from 81 however in Behind the Music they said and all agreed that Dennis was kicked out (even Dennis admitted it). I didn't want to post this because I wanted an "untainted" response but I have heard that Steve Walsh from Kansas was approached and even unofficially joined the group. I am not sure but I think this is just about the time he left Kansas. I don't know why it didn't work out with Styx but I think it was because there was a lack of "focus"... if you know what I mean. This is just a story I heard. I know that Tommy was a HUGE fan of Steves. Tommy has said that the music of Kansas (and Steve) inspired him when he was writing. Has anybody else heard this account?

Hi everyone:

This is Sterling Whitaker, the author writing the unauthorized Styx bio. I had no idea this board was even here until today, I wandered around and saw an old thread about my book so I decided to respond.

As far as who participated from the band and who did not, I have interviews with Tommy (all I will say about my interview with him is that it is VERY different from anything you have ever heard him say in public before), Glen and Todd. Larry agreed to an interview and then backed out the day it was scheduled, saying he was afraid to put his job at risk.

As far as others I have interviewed, they range from tour manager Jim Vose to manager Derek Sutton to people from A&M to the Preseident of CMC International to journalists to publicists to roadies to friends to radio people to assistants to . . . well, a slice of everything I guess. Many of these are exclusives, people who have never spoken of the band before. I feel my research is pretty comprehensive.

As to JC, I did finally manage to interview his son, and I also interviewed his partner in a studio and friend Charlie Piper, who was also a roadie for early Styx. Two very good interviews. I thought JC was slighted in BTM and wanted to have an accurate characterization of him in this book. He was in this band for 7-8 years after all, during the time in which it built its initial audience and had its first hit single and album. JC was not in any continuous contact with anyone from the band after he left, but was somewhat friendly with all but Dennis. All but Dennis attended his funeral service.

As to who was tapped to replace Dennis in 1979, well first off, BTM got it all wrong as to why the firing happened. The band had been doing 150 dates a year, or more, and an album each year. Dennis wanted to draw the number of dates back to 70-85. Suzanne was either pregant with Matt, or they were planning another child at that time and he wanted to be home a bit more than he had when his daughter was a child. It was a sticking point for the other guys and they fired him for it. Steve Walsh, as far as I know, was never tapped to be in Styx. Frankly, he's not regarded as easy-to-deal-with. They DID audition Tommy Shaw's best friend Eddie Wohlford from Harvest, who was on GWG. They auditioned him twice, and each time Tommy would get a call from Derek and come back to Eddie with the news that they were sticking with Dennis. Derek arranged for Dennis to return under a new agreement because he knew that, despite the problems, it was not the right time to put a dent in the forward thrust of the band by losing a major member.

I feel pretty confident that any fan interested in the true history of Styx will find something to like about this book. No doubt some will dislike certain elements as well, LOL. I've been throgh that before! But I have done a huge amount of research. It is balanced, I am not on anyone's side and have no agenda other than to write about the band as best I can. For those who thought BTM was interesting, I will say that it was just a basic course in Styx 101 and that my book is the real story.

I hope all is well.



Sterling

Sterling, what is the TITLE of the book, and where does one go to find/buy a copy ?

I think the key word in ol' Sterlings post is "writing"........meaning presently incomplete.

So now,the question is, which will we see 1st ?

New Original Music from Styx 6.0 ?
New Original Music from Dennis De Young ?
Sterling's unauthorized biography of Styx ?
A female president ? ( The TV show doesn't count )
The apocalypse ?
The Cubs winning a the world series ?

There is no obvoius front runner......at least that I can see ! Make me wrong Sterling !!!!

Anonymous wrote:Sterling, what is the TITLE of the book, and where does one go to find/buy a copy ?

I believe he has planned to title it The Grand Delusion and it will be self published.

What happened to Gary S. What about the book???? Where are you Sterling???

New Music from Styx 6.0 has allready happened..

They have done two new songs Everything All The Time and Just Be. They will be released on the DVD coming out this christmas, Styx with the CYO.

As for new Album, I've heard they will start on it later on this fall, with a release date of 07.

Probably about the same time as Dennis releases his solo album.

One thing though, Styx has a record deal with a label that's happy with them currently, and Dennis.. well I think he's still shopping around.

Jodes

Do you know this? Or are you just talking out of your ass?

Last time I checked, Dennis has a tripple platinum DVD in Canada and a Platinum CD.

I expect if the timing is right, Dennis will land a deal with Hip-O records, the same label that is doing Queensryche, Chicago, and has already done Dennis' greatest hits record.

I heard the same thing Jodes has too.

What does 6.0 mean????

Dennis' sales are still going higher in Canada too!!! I think it's very exciting!!!!!

Ash wrote:Do you know this? Or are you just talking out of your ass?

Ever the eloquent one. lol

Zan wrote:

Ash wrote:Do you know this? Or are you just talking out of your ass?

Ever the eloquent one. lol

LOL, too bad you didn't meet Ash in person, he's fricken great!!! My stomach hurt for days from laughing too hard