EncoreBuzz.com

[sadie65]

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbc ... /905219961

An intimate evening with Dennis DeYoung
Dennis DeYoung in concert
WHERE: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday, May 28.

COST: $45-$65.

MORE INFORMATION: www.palacetheatre.org.
For anyone who grew up in the late ’70s or early ’80s, Chicago-based band Styx owned rock radio, with anthems such as “Come Sail Away,” “Lady” and “Too Much Time On My Hands.”

Fronted by Dennis DeYoung, the “prog rock” band has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Today, DeYoung is still bringing the music of Styx to fans. And on May 28, DeYoung will perform an acoustic set at the Palace Theatre, to benefit Hudson Heat, a Junior Olympic-level softball team.

DeYoung is excited about the show and explained the more atmospheric sound.

“What we’re doing is stripping down these songs,” he said from his home in Chicago. “No drums, just acoustic guitars and piano. When you’re singing in a band and you’re playing electric, you really have to sing over everything.”

Joining DeYoung in this acoustic performance is Glen Burtnik on acoustic guitars and vocals, Jeff Watson on lead acoustic guitar and Hank Horton on bass and vocals.

“When you’re playing in a setting like this, you recognize whether you have a good song or not,” said DeYoung. “I’m playing piano, and this is how these songs were constructed in the first place.”

But, he added, “If you start with a guitar riff and the song is primarily driven by drums and guitar, it’s less facile and less evenly translated.”

Another project that DeYoung is promoting is his latest solo CD, “One Hundred Years from Now,” which went to No. 1 in Canada (“The French really like me!” he said). The disc is now available in the U.S.

When asked about his inspiration for the new CD, he quipped, “My mortgage payments.”

The album follows DeYoung’s unique talent for creating “concept” albums in the same vein of Styx’s 1977 “The Grand Illusion” and 1981’s “Paradise Theatre.”

“After doing Styx and other things, I was encouraged to go back and recreate certain sounds. And then I went into my bag of tricks to find some new ones.”

Although DeYoung has recorded a number of solo discs, he said, “I didn’t think I should do another Styx album. I haven’t done that in 10 years. If the disc sounds intentional, in that direction, it’s not. In my opinion, that would be arrested development.”

(For the record, with regard to the future of Styx, DeYoung was stoic. “Ten years ago, Styx decided to proceed without me.”)

DeYoung added, “Artists should be challenging themselves and not necessarily return to their past glories. I think most are resistant to that.”

However, he does recognize that fans still want to hear Styx hits.

“I’m always desperate for something different. And I have to support my drug habit – which is making new music,” he pranked. “By and large, though, my future is my past.”

Dennis DeYoung, former frontman of the Styx, performs in concert.
And after pausing for another minute, DeYoung said, “I think for some of my fans, it makes them feel good. Like most of us, they associate a song with a particular time in their life.”

He cited the Styx track, “The Best of Times.” Sample lyric: “The best of times are when I can be alone with you/ Some rain, some shine/ We’ll make this a world for two.”

If ever there were a quintessential prom song, DeYoung probably wrote it.

“For me,” he said, “If I hear certain songs from my youth, that will take me back.”

He listed the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club” record.

“I remember getting the album and playing it on the Hi-Fi stereo that we had in my mother’s living room. I can still smell the humidity in that summer room. It had just rained. That’s how powerful music is to me.”

Getting back to his new disc, DeYoung said, “I’ve become really popular in Quebec, but I think albums like this have limited exposure here in the states. There is no way to reach a wide audience.”

However, a single may be released here. The song, “Save Me,” is one possibility.

“Radio promotion is not much different than it ever was,” DeYoung said. “It’s always been about spending money.”

DeYoung also noted the technological advances in today’s society.

“In our era, there were no video games, no VCRs, no Internet. Music was a focal point of baby-boomers’ lives. In the sense, it will never be that way again.”

Next up: The subject of record companies. “Yeah, I’d say I’ve been screwed by record companies,” said DeYoung. “Record labels will crowd the market with certain acts until it’s over-saturated. Then the next question is ‘Where is the next big thing?’ ”

And the cult classic “Mr. Roboto”?

For pop culturists out there, the song is quoted by Mike Myers in “Goldmember.”

And at this year’s Academy Awards, Japanese filmmaker Kunio Kata ended his acceptance speech by saying, “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,” since his company’s name is Robot Communications.

Replied DeYoung, “Man, who knew? It baffles me. That said, I’d do it again.”

[hoagiepete]

facile???

First I had to look up what it meant. Then tried to figure out if he was slamming JY, Tommy and every other guitar player and guitar band out there.

I can honestly say I have never used the word "facile" in a sentence. My grammer teachers must of sucked. Amazing what you can learn on the internet.