I can't believe no one has mentioned this on any Styx board or group that they were going to be there.
Hello Friends,
Yesterday we sang the National Anthem for the Bears at Soldier Field where they played the Ravens in an afternoon game. The last time we did that was in 1996, before the renovation, and let me tell you, it was one heck of a redo. Soldier Field is a state of the art venue now, complete with one of the best sounding PA Systems I have ever heard in a stadium. When we rehearsed the National Anthem before the doors opened to the public we were all pleasantly surprised at how little delay we heard. It was just enough to give you that warm fuzzy feeling you get singing in the shower.
We had our first rehearsal of the arrangement the night before in the dressing room at our Kansas City gig and by the time we were inside Soldier Field yesterday we were very comfortable with it and even figured out who'd stand where for the best blend. Rather than asking for 6 hand held microphones, we opted for two mics on stands, positioned ourselves so that the mixture of parts was just the way we wanted it and that was that.
We knew that there would be a military fly over at some point in the song but even knowing that, it was still an overwhelming sight to see these beastly birds screaming overhead just as we sang "And the home of the brave..." It was awe inspiring. The fans were getting revved up anyway as the song neared the end, but the jets flying over the stadium sent them over the top. It was something we'll never forget.
JY was in sports heaven, hanging out with members of the 1985 Bears who were there to be honored at half-time. We had to leave right after our performance for a 160 mile ride in our tour bus to Peoria where we performed last night. It was an adrenalized set by one fired up band who was still buzzing from the Bears experience and once it was over we headed back to Chicago's O'Hare to catch an hour's nap before our 5:00 AM lobby call to catch the first flights out. I was back in Los Angeles at 8:37 this morning. Another typical 24 hours in STYXworld.
T Shaw
