Good Dennis Interview

[Abitaman]

Some of you folks must be casual RUsh fans. You don't think that fanbase is splintered? There's the "keyboards and the 80s ruined Rush" crowd who only likes 1981 and earlier (Signals and/or GUP are the turning points for many), there is the "all Rush is good" crowd, etc. Yes, they can still sell venues around the world on their own and do a 3 hour show, but don't be fooled into thinking the fanbase is united and doesn't bicker.

Oh, and while I am a huge Rush fan, you don't think all the swag they sell (bobbleheads, etc.) is meant to be art, do you? It's commerce.

Yea the fans are alittle divided, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, they all agree that Rush is 2 guys loving what the do, and not afraid to take chances.

[StyxCollector]

Yea the fans are alittle divided, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, they all agree that Rush is 2 guys loving what the do, and not afraid to take chances.

2 guys? When did one of them go away? lol

[gr8dane]

Yea the fans are alittle divided, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, they all agree that Rush is 2 guys loving what the do, and not afraid to take chances.

2 guys? When did one of them go away? lol

Isn't he on the Mars expedition?

[Toph]

Here is a clue for you all....

STYX ISN'T RUSH!!!!!

Never has been
Never should have been
Never could be

[yogi]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

[Abitaman]

Yea the fans are alittle divided, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, they all agree that Rush is 2 guys loving what the do, and not afraid to take chances.

2 guys? When did one of them go away? lol

3 guys sorry, Neil is the Drum god so I didn't count him, yea that sounds good.

[StyxCollector]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

[yogi]

Thanks. What does Styx, Journey, Foreigner REO have??

GREAT info!!

[brywool]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

wow, that's surprising. Goes to show you, "HITS" don't necessarily have anything to do with sales or popularity.

[bugsymalone]

I only saw Styx mentioned in this grouping:

1980s Top Multi-Platinum Album Recipients

8 – Billy Joel

7 – Alabama, Journey, Barbra Streisand, Van Halen

6 – Aerosmith, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire

5 – Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Barry Manilow, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen

4 – AC/DC, Neil Diamond, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Motley Crue, Willie Nelson, Olivia Newton-John, Pink Floyd, Prince, Simon & Garfunkel, Styx

There are just not a lot of artists listed for platinum and multi-platinum awards, so I guess Styx should feel they reside in pretty elite company.

http://riaa.com/newsitem.php?id=7B0D4A0 ... termexact=


Bugsy

[Toph]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

wow, that's surprising. Goes to show you, "HITS" don't necessarily have anything to do with sales or popularity.

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

[brywool]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

wow, that's surprising. Goes to show you, "HITS" don't necessarily have anything to do with sales or popularity.

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

[Saint John]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

wow, that's surprising. Goes to show you, "HITS" don't necessarily have anything to do with sales or popularity.

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

This is basically an admission of Styx being a band with a very small window of success. The true test of a band's popularity is one thing and one thing only ... time. And it seems that while Rush is playing to sheds, Styx is playing amphitheatres and as 3rd fiddle in sheds. Rush and Styx, hits or not, do not even remotely compare as far as success goes. And I rate Rush as the one of the worst things my fucking ears have ever heard. Can't stand them!!! But they still sell extremely well all over the world and Styx don't ...anywhere!

[Toph]

And Rush is NOT Styx!!!!!!

I one upped on the exclamation points!!!!!!

P.S. Which group has sold more albums??? I do not know, any factual answers out there????

http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblArtTal

Rush - 24 gold, 14 platinum, 4 multi-platinum albums. Styx isn't even close in that dog and pony show.

wow, that's surprising. Goes to show you, "HITS" don't necessarily have anything to do with sales or popularity.

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

This is basically an admission of Styx being a band with a very small window of success. The true test of a band's popularity is one thing and one thing only ... time. And it seems that while Rush is playing to sheds, Styx is playing amphitheatres and as 3rd fiddle in sheds. Rush and Styx, hits or not, do not even remotely compare as far as success goes. And I rate Rush as the one of the worst things my fucking ears have ever heard. Can't stand them!!! But they still sell extremely well all over the world and Styx don't ...anywhere!

It also means that Rush didn't do dumb ass things like break up right at the hight of their successs.

What happens if Styx has an album in 1985, 1987, and 1989? They are all at least double platinum. Band's history changes significantly from there.

[StyxCollector]

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

So let's look at things in total numbers:
http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt
Rush - 25 million
http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php ... rt&action=
Styx - 17.5

Case closed. Take number of albums, etc., and look at pure numbers - Rush has sold more with no appreciable hits outside of "Tom Sawyer". They have radio favorites, but nowhere near the amount of hits Styx had. Ever.

Multi-platinum is but one dimension, but since you want to look at sales, try to dispute this one. I'm not bending numbers now, nor did I do it before. The plain fact is: Rush is more successful in sales AND on tours than Styx now. In their heyday, Styx probably had that edge. But we're looking at the entire career here, and Styx loses this dog and pony show. Pretty much every Rush album has gone platinum over time, which is pretty impressive since most were not popular.

PS - Look at that list and see who has outsold Styx. Pretty interesting.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

Because I'm so anti-Styx

[pinkfloyd1973]

One of my all-time favorite Rush songs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnxkfLe4G74

[cittadeeno23]

"What happens if Styx has an album in 1985, 1987, and 1989? They are all at least double platinum. Band's history changes significantly from there."


I've stated this over and over again. If Styx had kept putting out albums throughout the MTV years in the 80's they would have become much more of a force than they were. They killed themselves by breaking up in 1984. The absolute WORST time they could have broken up. But of course, when you have band members wanting to go in different musical directions, a breakup is almost guaranteed.

[StyxCollector]

"What happens if Styx has an album in 1985, 1987, and 1989? They are all at least double platinum. Band's history changes significantly from there."


I've stated this over and over again. If Styx had kept putting out albums throughout the MTV years in the 80's they would have become much more of a force than they were. They killed themselves by breaking up in 1984. The absolute WORST time they could have broken up. But of course, when you have band members wanting to go in different musical directions, a breakup is almost guaranteed.

Honestly, I don't think Styx would have done big numbers in the mid-late 80s. They were not hair band doing metal, nor were they pretty faces for MTV. If you go by the success of the solo projects as well as "Music Time", nothing post-"Roboto" and "Don't Let It End" until anything from Damn Yankees or EOTC did well. That's nearly a 7 year gap.

Now, could they have soldiered on with limited success? Yes. I still think Styx would still be in the same place today. Styx as a concern would have ended at some point in the 90s by my estimation as most bands of that era did, or there would have been attrition of members. I mean, Tommy did leave. He came back.

I laugh at the notion that Styx would have been a bigger force. I think that they hit their zenith in the 77 - 80/81 years. Kilroy did well, but by then, there was no way Styx could have gone on as it was.

[cittadeeno23]

I really think Kilroy killed them. Paradise Theater was their biggest selling album and they were one of the most popular bands in America in 1981 and 1982.. Had Kilroy been the same musically as Paradise the momentum could have kept going. And MTV was the launching ground for them to take advantage. Look at bands like HEART and DIRE STRAITS. Those bands had huge selling albums in 1985 because of MTV. Both of those bands were virtually dead and MTV helped them come back strong. Kilroy was just too strange for a lot of people. It didn't bother me, but I was a die-hard and would have loved anything they put out. But it really turned a lot of people off. I mean, the first time you heard Mr. Roboto weren't you scratching your head? LOL!
But we will never know. I think there was a chance they could have become much bigger, but I do agree with you that by the early 90's they would have been dead. But even if they had put out 3 more albums in the 80's and they had only had limited success I would have preferred that to all the solo albums we got instead!

[pinkfloyd1973]

I really think Kilroy killed them. Paradise Theater was their biggest selling album and they were one of the most popular bands in America in 1981 and 1982.. Had Kilroy been the same musically as Paradise the momentum could have kept going. And MTV was the launching ground for them to take advantage. Look at bands like HEART and DIRE STRAITS. Those bands had huge selling albums in 1985 because of MTV. Both of those bands were virtually dead and MTV helped them come back strong. Kilroy was just too strange for a lot of people. It didn't bother me, but I was a die-hard and would have loved anything they put out. But it really turned a lot of people off. I mean, the first time you heard Mr. Roboto weren't you scratching your head? LOL!
But we will never know. I think there was a chance they could have become much bigger, but I do agree with you that by the early 90's they would have been dead. But even if they had put out 3 more albums in the 80's and they had only had limited success I would have preferred that to all the solo albums we got instead!

Oh fer chrissakes....Kilroy may have been a contributing factor but it wasn't their downfall

[Don]

I believe Styx would still be where they are today. The only reason that Journey is a notch above them, REO and Foreigner is because of their anthems. In the '80s, Journey became the American version of Queen when it came to stadium rock.

[cittadeeno23]

What's the difference if it killed them or contributed to their downfall?? Either way It contributed to the band breaking up.
My point is that I still think the band disbanded at the worst possible time (as far as opportunities for future success were concerned) because MTV was really taking off in the mid 80's.

Alan was right though, when he said they weren't the pretty faces typically seen on MTV!

But having videos played on MTV every couple of years in the 80's couldn't have hurt them. It could only have given them more exposure.

[StyxCollector]

What's the difference if it killed them or contributed to their downfall?? Either way It contributed to the band breaking up.
My point is that I still think the band disbanded at the worst possible time (as far as opportunities for future success were concerned) because MTV was really taking off in the mid 80's.

Alan was right though, when he said they weren't the pretty faces typically seen on MTV!

But having videos played on MTV every couple of years in the 80's couldn't have hurt them. It could only have given them more exposure.

Styx basically fractured in 1979. By Kilroy in 1983, the rift was just part of the norm. People make Kilroy to be the be-all-end-all of the end of Styx, but the truth is so much more complex than that. By the time of Kilroy, they were arguably on life support and very dysfunctional but to everyone outside the bubble, appeared to be fully functional. If the 'net had been around in 1983 like it is now, we would probably know about every minute bickering behind closed doors.

Having a video means nothing. Lots of people did. It was just part of what you did at that time; when MTV started it wasn't a requirement.

[Boomchild]

Apples to oranges. Rush has been a band putting out albums continually for almost 40 years.
Compare Styx's glory era 1977-1983 with Rush. Styx outsells them. Period. So, hits do matter.

In fact Styx has 5 multi-platinum albums to Rush's 4. So, when Styx hit it big, they hit it bigger than Rush.

So let's look at things in total numbers:
http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt
Rush - 25 million
http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php ... rt&action=
Styx - 17.5

Case closed. Take number of albums, etc., and look at pure numbers - Rush has sold more with no appreciable hits outside of "Tom Sawyer". They have radio favorites, but nowhere near the amount of hits Styx had. Ever.

Multi-platinum is but one dimension, but since you want to look at sales, try to dispute this one. I'm not bending numbers now, nor did I do it before. The plain fact is: Rush is more successful in sales AND on tours than Styx now. In their heyday, Styx probably had that edge. But we're looking at the entire career here, and Styx loses this dog and pony show. Pretty much every Rush album has gone platinum over time, which is pretty impressive since most were not popular.

PS - Look at that list and see who has outsold Styx. Pretty interesting.

You and Alan should look more in depthly into these facts vs. just using them to suit your arguments.

Because I'm so anti-Styx

Honestly, if your a fan of Styx does this stuff really matter? If you like an artist or band, their position in record sales shouldn't matter or what other people think of them. If those things do then you are following a trend not an artist's\band's work.

[Boomchild]

I really think Kilroy killed them. Paradise Theater was their biggest selling album and they were one of the most popular bands in America in 1981 and 1982.. Had Kilroy been the same musically as Paradise the momentum could have kept going. And MTV was the launching ground for them to take advantage. Look at bands like HEART and DIRE STRAITS. Those bands had huge selling albums in 1985 because of MTV. Both of those bands were virtually dead and MTV helped them come back strong. Kilroy was just too strange for a lot of people. It didn't bother me, but I was a die-hard and would have loved anything they put out. But it really turned a lot of people off. I mean, the first time you heard Mr. Roboto weren't you scratching your head? LOL!
But we will never know. I think there was a chance they could have become much bigger, but I do agree with you that by the early 90's they would have been dead. But even if they had put out 3 more albums in the 80's and they had only had limited success I would have preferred that to all the solo albums we got instead!

Kilroy or no Kilroy the band would have split no matter what. The rift between members was already there like a ticking time bomb. As far as Kilroy, while it may have disappointed some it brought new fans to Styx as well. Not to mention that Roboto has become a thing of pop culture. While it may have hurt them in some ways it also helped them.

[Boomchild]

What's the difference if it killed them or contributed to their downfall?? Either way It contributed to the band breaking up.
My point is that I still think the band disbanded at the worst possible time (as far as opportunities for future success were concerned) because MTV was really taking off in the mid 80's.

Alan was right though, when he said they weren't the pretty faces typically seen on MTV!

But having videos played on MTV every couple of years in the 80's couldn't have hurt them. It could only have given them more exposure.

Styx basically fractured in 1979. By Kilroy in 1983, the rift was just part of the norm. People make Kilroy to be the be-all-end-all of the end of Styx, but the truth is so much more complex than that. By the time of Kilroy, they were arguably on life support and very dysfunctional but to everyone outside the bubble, appeared to be fully functional. If the 'net had been around in 1983 like it is now, we would probably know about every minute bickering behind closed doors.

Having a video means nothing. Lots of people did. It was just part of what you did at that time; when MTV started it wasn't a requirement.

I think you are understating the effect MTV had for artists at the time. The ones that embraced it and saw the power of it seemed to have better success then others. I don't feel that Styx really embraced MTV which was another mistake on their part. Aside from the videos from KWH (which were not solely created for MTV) Styx didn't put much into the concept.

[StyxCollector]

I think you are understating the effect MTV had for artists at the time. The ones that embraced it and saw the power of it seemed to have better success then others. I don't feel that Styx really embraced MTV which was another mistake on their part. Aside from the videos from KWH (which were not solely created for MTV) Styx didn't put much into the concept.

I grew up in the MTV generation, so no, I am not underestimating the power of MTV. Bon Jovi anyone? lol

Haven't We Been Here Before was supposed to be "that" video for Styx before it was basically killed as a single. It didn't have a KIlroy theme and was "stylized". You're right, Styx never embraced MTV properly, but I doubt it would have largely changed the outcome for them. Journey had Frontiers, which had lots of killer songs. The videos were not great (I mean, everyone has ridiculed "Separate Ways"), but the combo of killer songs and some OK, but not great, videos did help them more than the ones for Kilroy helped Styx.

Long term, we still would be where we are now in my opinion.

[StyxCollector]

Honestly, if your a fan of Styx does this stuff really matter? If you like an artist or band, their position in record sales shouldn't matter or what other people think of them. If those things do then you are following a trend not an artist's\band's work.

I don't give a shit about sales, but it was brought up so I presented facts. But you can't deny that Rush is doing 3 hour shows in much larger venues by themselves now, and Styx and Dennis are not. I like the fact they play smaller venues, but those who want to put labels on success can skew things any way they want.

[yogi]

I had NO clue how GREAT Rush was until I saw them a few months ago. Because of their Geddy Lee's vocals I never really liked them. I could take their songs in small doses( 1 or 2 at a time) and appreciate them but never an albums worth of appreciation. I also had no clue of their allegiance of die hard fans and world wide success. I have NEVER seen a crowd like the one I witnessed when I saw them. I now own Moving Pictures, Exit Stage Left & Spirit Of Radio. They truly are a great band.

I will always believe that had Styx stayed the course of Equinox, The Grand Illusion & Pieces Of Eight they would be far closer to where Rush is today in terms of playing and filling 15,000 seat venues on their own. DDY would also still be in the band. Dont ask me how I just believe that.
Current Styx made a GIANT step in the right direction by doing their Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight tour. Now they took two GIANT steps backwards withe their 3 tier greatest hits shows. Pitiful!!

[Toph]

"What happens if Styx has an album in 1985, 1987, and 1989? They are all at least double platinum. Band's history changes significantly from there."


I've stated this over and over again. If Styx had kept putting out albums throughout the MTV years in the 80's they would have become much more of a force than they were. They killed themselves by breaking up in 1984. The absolute WORST time they could have broken up. But of course, when you have band members wanting to go in different musical directions, a breakup is almost guaranteed.

Honestly, I don't think Styx would have done big numbers in the mid-late 80s. They were not hair band doing metal, nor were they pretty faces for MTV. If you go by the success of the solo projects as well as "Music Time", nothing post-"Roboto" and "Don't Let It End" until anything from Damn Yankees or EOTC did well. That's nearly a 7 year gap.

Now, could they have soldiered on with limited success? Yes. I still think Styx would still be in the same place today. Styx as a concern would have ended at some point in the 90s by my estimation as most bands of that era did, or there would have been attrition of members. I mean, Tommy did leave. He came back.

I laugh at the notion that Styx would have been a bigger force. I think that they hit their zenith in the 77 - 80/81 years. Kilroy did well, but by then, there was no way Styx could have gone on as it was.

Disagree 100% on a few points.
A Styx album of just songs would have that came out in late 1984 would have done very well. Desert Moon hit top 10 under DDY solo. How well would it have done under the name Styx? Top 3? #1? Then you would have released GWG, hit #33 pop and like #6 on rock. How well would it have done if it had been under Styx? Top 10 pop? #1 rock? Then you release Don't Wait For Heroes. Lonely School. Plenty of big songs between DDY and TS solo albums to make for an album rich in singles and therefore rich in sales. Then you come back in 1986/87 with a big album - maybe another concept album - who knows? I don't think Styx would have just "fallen off the map".


So laugh all you want, but Styx wouldn't have just died in the 80s, they would have figured out how to be relevent.