DDY Reflects...

[bugsymalone]

...on current music, the past, the future. Looks like no new material from him, either, for awhile.

http://online.indianagazette.com/articl ... 268466.txt




Dennis DeYoung coming to IUP


By BILL ZIMMERMAN
billz@indianagazette.net
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010 4:04 PM EDT

There’s no Styx reunion on the horizon, but the band’s former vocalist said he’s bringing the next best thing to town.

Dennis DeYoung will perform Styx hits from the ’70s and ’80s on Friday at Fisher Auditorium.

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together,” DeYoung said in a phone interview, “but, second, this is the show that Styx fans want to see.”

DeYoung, 63, spent the last decade as a solo act, regrouping after being let go by bandmates Tommy Shaw and James Young.

“Those two guys,” he said, “they threw down the gauntlet and replaced me, and they’ve been quite vocal about how happy they were.”

Born in Chicago, where he still lives, DeYoung’s tenure with Styx lasted from the band’s debut in 1970 to 1999. On Friday, he’ll bring such Styx hits as “Lady,” “Mr. Roboto,” “Come Sail Away” and “Babe.” DeYoung released his first solo album, “Desert Moon,” in 1984. His reinvention in the 2000s was sparked by a one-time show in Chicago that later led to a PBS special, recorded in 2002, that he calls the catalyst that gave him an identity after spending his life “making people like the word Styx.”

Through airing of the concert, which included a 40-member symphony orchestra, PBS has pulled in more than $2 million in pledges. Now viewers tell him, “I was flipping through the channels, and then I saw you and said, ‘Who is that? I know his voice.’”

For a time, his performances were hampered by chronic fatigue, which DeYoung blamed on light sensitivity. Now he often wears sunglasses, keeps the blinds closed at his home and generally lives “like a hermit.”

“I’m fine,” he said, “no windsailing for me.”

He performs between 40 and 50 shows a year, and released his last project “100 Years from Now” in 2009. He also worked as the composer and co-lyricist for “The 101 Dalmatians Musical,” which concluded a nationwide tour in April in New York City.

DeYoung’s now backed by a band that he hails as reaching a level beyond his expectations. This year saw the addition of two new members, one of whom DeYoung’s son discovered on YouTube singing with a Styx cover band.

“I went hot diggity dog,” said DeYoung about seeing August Zadra, who now provides guitar and vocals.

The band is rounded out by the other 2010 addition, Craig Carter, bass and vocals; John Blasucci, keyboards; Jimmy Leahey, guitar and vocals; and Tom Sharpe, drums.

“They’re just great people, too. … Putting talent and reasonable personalities in the same body, sometimes God finds it difficult to do that,” he said.

Longevity like his is becoming a thing of the past, to DeYoung, who said “15 years from now I wouldn’t want to own a shed (a large venue).”

To DeYoung, a glut of entertainment options is making music no longer central to young people’s lives, and the growth of Internet downloads, both legal and illegal, is creating an industry where “music is invisible; it just makes it seem less valuable, because to a degree it is.”

The popularity of Pro Tools production software, he said, has created a homogenous sound, making the different acoustic qualities at various recording studios a nonissue.

“The people came in and worked with the inherent sound of the gear in the room. … The air in the studio, is what gave uniqueness to records,” DeYoung said.

Plus, pitch-correcting software such as Auto-Tune — “Click on the little mouse and everything will be all right” — is making it difficult to determine who can really sing.

“I don’t believe in anything I hear,” DeYoung said.

Nonetheless, there’s still new stuff he likes; he finds Lady Gaga to be a skilled singer and pianist whose talent is disguised by less complex musical arrangements. “She is much bigger than her records allow,” he said.

And he vows that “he can’t take an elitist attitude toward music.”

It was a snobby attitude, DeYoung said, that left successful rock acts of the ’70s like Styx undervalued by critics after two decades of an “amazing, never to be duplicated explosion of popular music, where new styles were invented and pioneers were found.”

“That music (from the ’70s) is still wildly popular with people today, because it just speaks to the mainstream still,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a mystery.”

However, after several busy years, DeYoung said he’s under a “moratorium,” avoiding any new projects in the studio.

Is this a prelude to retirement?

“Just a moment of reflection,” he said.

[Keiferb]

“They’re just great people, too. … Putting talent and reasonable personalities in the same body, sometimes God finds it difficult to do that,” he said.

I love this comment related to the recent additions to his band. I wonder who that was aimed at. Maybe JY.

[Everett]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

[froy]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

Go away punk

[Toph]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

You are right Everett. The quote should have been, "The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together, except for that fat ass pussy that was at my concert with his mommy and booed me during Mr. Roboto. But that is okay, because I had my guitarist at the time take his fat ass out."

[Everett]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

You are right Everett. The quote should have been, "The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together, except for that fat ass pussy that was at my concert with his mommy and booed me during Mr. Roboto. But that is okay, because I had my guitarist at the time take his fat ass out."

Good old toph. Classiest guy i know

[StyxCollector]

I think most of the "die hard" Styx fans with a history longer than 1999 would arguably like to see Dennis in Styx, even if it was for one show before they all called it a day. I don't think Dennis' comment is really off base. I don't think he or any of the fans who can see down the middle think a permanent reunion would ever happen at this point.

[Everett]

I think most of the "die hard" Styx fans with a history longer than 1999 would arguably like to see Dennis in Styx, even if it was for one show before they all called it a day. I don't think Dennis' comment is really off base. I don't think he or any of the fans who can see down the middle think a permanent reunion would ever happen at this point.

A reunion doesn't need to happen. Sure you would like it but the same old crap is gonna happen imo.

[StyxCollector]

I think most of the "die hard" Styx fans with a history longer than 1999 would arguably like to see Dennis in Styx, even if it was for one show before they all called it a day. I don't think Dennis' comment is really off base. I don't think he or any of the fans who can see down the middle think a permanent reunion would ever happen at this point.

A reunion doesn't need to happen. Sure you would like it but the same old crap is gonna happen imo.

What part of my last sentence do you not get? I don't think anyone - including Dennis or Styx - think any kind of permanent fence mending and kumbaya moment is going to happen. Doing a show or two wouldn't kill anyone at some point in the distant future when both sides are ready to pack it in permanently.

If Gilmour and Waters who had a much more bitter feud can hang it up, I think both sides could suck it up for a few rehearsals and one show to call it a career.

Do I think it will ever happen? Probably not.

[Boomchild]

I think most of the "die hard" Styx fans with a history longer than 1999 would arguably like to see Dennis in Styx, even if it was for one show before they all called it a day. I don't think Dennis' comment is really off base. I don't think he or any of the fans who can see down the middle think a permanent reunion would ever happen at this point.

I couldn't agree with you more. I also agree with DDY's view on the current state of the music industry.

[Archetype]

I hope to see Dennis back with Styx in the near future. Though I'm still very excited about the GI/Po8 tour. 4th row baby

[SuiteMadameBlue]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

Yeah right? What do you mean by that remark?

[Everett]

“The Styx fans, first and foremost, want us to get back together"

Yeah right

Yeah right? What do you mean by that remark?

Not all fans want a reunion. I'm not against it but it's not necessary at this point imo.