by Everett » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:18 pm
Here is the transcript::
For everyone that missed it...
sunshine09: Hi Tommy: How was the recording of The Great Divide different from that of other acoustic type projects you've recorded in the past? I'm looking forward to hearing it in its entirety. Thanks, Elizabeth
TommyShaw: it was unusual because we wrote everything and made writing demos, flushed the whole thing out. It was just Brad Davis and me, and that became our roadmap. Then we went to Nashville where all the great players that were on it, were in the studio, and they played along with our writing demo. It was very unusual. It was my first experience with bluegrass and I wanted it to be the way I wanted it to be
Armanda: First, I'd like to wish you every success with The Great Divide. Then my question is, out of all your musical endeavors, has there been any one project/undertaking that stands out above the others as bringing you more 'unexpected' satisfaction, or on the other hand, more 'unexpected' frustration than you envisioned when you began the project?
TommyShaw: this one was nothing but wonderful surprises and experiences. The one that was the hardest to do was What If just because of where I was in my life at the time. Let's just say I wasn't at my best. Think: Charlie Sheen
NitroDave: Hello, Got to see you in Aspen at the Belly Up, what did you think of the small venue like that.
TommyShaw: We absolutely loved it! It was a little tiny venue, but it felt like a huge venue.
browneyedgirl: Hi Tommy, You are such an amazingly, talented performer. I wanted to know if there are any future plans for a Damn Yankees or Shaw/ Blades tour? When will Influence 2 come out? Also, is there any chance that you will offer more VIP packages as they were sold out by the time I got the email? Thanks!
TommyShaw: Damn Yankees is damn near impossible to get together, not because we don't want to do it. The thing that made it possible the first time is, I wasn't in Styx, Jack wasn't in Night Ranger, and Ted was looking to do something different. Basically the planets aligned! Shaw Blades- definitely! Again, it's a planetary alignment issue, but it's gonna happen!
CathyRice: Hi Tommy, I was wondering if you recognize the fans that keep coming back to see you live (two or three shows a year?) And how do you decide what lucky fan is going to be given a guitar pick from you to strum your guitar? I have been lucky enough to have this happen three times and I have been so thrilled every time.
TommyShaw: That's a good question- there's just a moment. I check people out and I watch them, and lord knows what will go through my head. But there comes a moment where I realize..."This is the right person." Some nights its people I know, and they realize its coming. Other nights, it's a person that doesn't know its coming. But I do love recognizing familiar faces out there. It makes the world a little smaller up there, when you see people you know...in a good way.
siggygirl: Hi Tommy! When you write a song, have you worked out an arrangement, or do you get input from everyone? Thanks! Connie
TommyShaw: Most of the time the arrangement is the last thing that happens. Every song is different, really. I do like it when you take a song to the band, and the band helps you arrange it. When you just try sitting at home writing it by yourself, you get melodies and chords, but when you're with everybody, it's great to get their input.
Dixie963: How did you come with the name "The Great Divide" for your new album?
TommyShaw: Once the song was written, I never heard any other title that felt right to me- well, that seemed more right
Branwen71: Any chance you can spill the beans about your super-secret summer tour plans?
TommyShaw: ahhh unfortunately I can't right now, but hopefully you guys will know next week!
dphilbrick: Tommy,The POE / GI tour was incredible. Did you enjoy doing it as much as all of us enjoyed seeing it? Will you guys do another tour where you don’t follow the standard format and color outside the lines? Thanks, Doug
TommyShaw: we loved it! It was the most unusual thing we've ever done. You have to remember that for us, we're mixing songs we've been playing for decades, with songs we've only played- maybe, a handful of times. So if you examined our brains- there would have been glowing red. I'd like to see us take that tour and do a real coast-to-coast tour with it!
msaz: Hi Tommy, do you ever have those days, right before a show, when you think, I don't feel good. how am I going to get through this? I ask this because you always have so much energy and put on a great show!
TommyShaw: Sure. But there's something that happens to you when you go to the gig, you suit up and suddenly there's this physical transformation that happens. Even if you're sick- have a cold- couldn't get out of bed..something happens to you. I always say it's the adrenaline, fear, ego...all these things kick in and they change your body chemistry and your brain. It's part of that magical healing power of music. I just came home from the road and had this cold that everybody had, and there were a couple of days where I could hardly get out of bed, and if i'd had a gig one of those nights, I'd have been well
Angela: Tommy, of all of the people that helped you with "The Great Divide", was there anyone that your were particularly excited to work with?
TommyShaw: Well, having Dwight Yoakam being part of it, was probably the biggest surprise. But then again, having Alison Krauss on two songs was just beyond...I can't even describe it!
NitroDave: You are an amazing musician, how did you learn to play all the different instruments
TommyShaw: Slowly! haha! Still working on it!
Jeff_Staker: Looking forward to the new release of TGD. I’ve always considered myself a rock and roller like you, but like you grew up with a different tone in my family home… mine wasn’t blue grass but Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and that big band sounds. I loved every minute I spent with my dad, a WWII veteran. However, as I’m getting older (45) and have done a little living now. I’m really enjoying songs that have a story line to it, especially about life’s journeys, both up and down, no matter what the musical riff is. Whether it’s Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Hank Williams Sr. or Jr., Bob Dillon or Bob Seger or this crazy ghost rider, toe tapping, string strumming Tommy Shaw. I’m enjoying it all and it looks like you are too. In review of your upcoming release of TGD I believe you captured it quite well. What I really like about your work is how you put your heart and soul (the Shaw DNA) into everything you do and that is very reflective in the love and dedication you have for your music and the performances you give to the fans. In summarizing your upcoming tracks on TGD I hope you don’t mine if I plagiarize from an old U2 song but I think it’s safe to say whole heartedly that, (quote) “I’ve seen Love conquer “The Great Divide,”” (unquote) (U2; When Love Came to Town). Great JOB Tommy!!! How’s that for a pre-release review from a fan? Ditto Anyone?
TommyShaw: Wow!Thank you so much!
<span>
GowanGirl: Tommy, in the Regeneration version of "Fooling Yourself", you say "C'mon Mr. Gowan" right before the mid-song keyboard solo. What is it you say at that same point in the original Grand Illusion version??
TommyShaw: C'mon Doctor!
</span>
MaureenRN: Tommy, thanks for taking the time to chat with all of us. Can you tell me what has been the most memorable moment for you onstage?
TommyShaw: Thanks for being here! It was a long time ago, when i was about 17. When, I was just kind of finding my voice, and my buddy Brian O'Malley and I went down somewhere I think Panama City, and I sat in with this band. We were doing "A little help from my friends" Joe Cocker's version, and in that song, he kind of let's out this primal scream and I had never done that before. And I looked out and my friend Brian was giving me the "Come on man, Come on", so I opened up my mouth, and out it came! That was a big night on stage!
Megan: How did you guys choose the songs to put on The Big Bang Theory album, and will we be hearing more of them at concerts? *crosses fingers*
TommyShaw: That was a lot of group discussions and suggestions, trial and error and we reserve the right to play any and all of our songs at any point! hope you don't mind that!
Holster: Tommy, What band do you most like to tour with and why? Thanks and keep doing what you do.
TommyShaw: We've had a great time with every band we've toured with, from Bad Company to REO and Deep Purple, Kansas, 38 Special. I think maybe the most fun every single night we had on tour was with Def Leppard. Their dressing room doors were always open!
msaz: Hi Tommy, Have you ever forgot the words in the middle of a song? Thanks Martha S
TommyShaw: Yes! Usually, it's like one or two words, that will just not be there. But not very often.
styx4ever: Tommy, What does "Eight, Skate, Seven on the Rotate!" mean at the beginning of "I'm OK"?
TommyShaw: It's an old thing for throwing dice
thewindycity: Do you have a particular favorite song on the Great Divide and is there a special meaning or story behind it?
TommyShaw: I love them all. One that is very personal to me is "Sawmill" because it's based on a true story that my father used to tell me. my grandfather took him when he was a little boy, to this job that he had, following the lumber camps through the woods and my father, as a little boy, was the water boy. and that was his job- to keep everybody with cool water. those big swing saws that were used to cut the tree trunks- one day, a man wasn' t paying attention and he walked into one, as it was coming across. And it just about cut him in two. he took two steps toward my father, and fell down dead in front of him. definitely not styx lyrics. what I love, is that this worked out as a bluegrass song. you can tell stories like that in bluegrass. and, believe it or not, it has a happy chorus.
quill: How worried were you when Todd filled in the drummer's spot for Spinal Tap?
TommyShaw: I'm still worried Todd is going to blow up on our stage! But it's just from being awesome! I think at a certain point, you're so awesome that the universe can't take it anymore, and you just vaporize. I tell him, "pull back, just for your well being"
dphilbrick: Tommy, these days everyone, like me, is bringing cameras and spending half the show taking pictures of you guys. Does this bother you all? It seems often you all are actually posing for us and encouraging our bad behavior.
TommyShaw: Well, what are we going to do...take everyone's cell phones? It is kind of cute, and yes, I think everyone in Styx is VERY comfortable being on camera!
adikeo: How many guitars do you own and do you ever get rid of any?
TommyShaw: I'm not sure how many I own, but I did get rid of some recently. Some that were just unplayable but other than that, I don't get rid of them
Monfish: when you guys are planning the set lists for shows, does everyone input on it or is there some sort of formula the band goes by ?
TommyShaw: In the last couple of years, Keith Marks has taken it upon himself to present to us what he thinks would be a good set list. so we'll use that as the basis for the set, because he's gotten very good at it! and then if we want to add something, or take something off, we'll make minor changes to it. he's infiltrated our minds!
Eugenia: Tommy is there any song that can put a lump in your throat every time you go to sing it?
TommyShaw: I always had a hard time doing Just Be. The title song, "The Great Divide" can be like that. You guys haven't heard that though!
classystyx: Is there any instrument that you wanted to learn to play, but never did?
TommyShaw: I tried playing the trombone when I was in high school, but I had such an overbite, that I couldn't get my lips tight enough. so that was a failed instrument. I should try it again though, now that I've straightened my teeth. Don' put any ideas in my head! Everyone already thinks I'm crazy because I have a banjo. I love my banjo.
mkdsk8: When did you pick up photography as hobby or could be a second profession?
TommyShaw: I bought a camera, a movie camera in a pawn shop when i was 14. And then, the next year, for some reason, the guy that owned the store, let me walk out of there with a Nikon S and the guy who owned the store, let me sign up and actually started a credit on that camera, and made payments on it
quill: What is your favourite Styx album cover and are there any you would like to change?
TommyShaw: Hold on one sec guys- Clyde is biting me for food- 2 seconds!
TommyShaw: probably the Grand Illusion album is my favorite. I'm happy with the rest of them, I wouldn't change anything
thewindycity: Since everyone has pretty much answered everything I was thinking, I was wondering a couple of personal things. What is your favorite color, favorite food and what do you like to do when you "relax"? If you ever relax, lol.
TommyShaw: I don't know if I have a favorite color. I'm a big fan of the whole spectrum, although orange doesn't do much for me. I love a lot of different kinds of food too, but I do love Italian food. To relax- I like to be by the water- the lake or ocean. water is a really calming force
adikeo: What musician or band do you listen to most?
TommyShaw: It changes. Right now I think I keep going back to Mumford & Sons
quill: Is there anywhere in the world Styx haven't toured but would like to? (I recommend Australia very highly)
TommyShaw: Styx hasn't played Australia. I've been there to promote Styx, but never played there. There are quite a few places we haven't played and we're not done yet! So we'll probably check some of those off the list
Real: TOMMY CAN YOU JUST SAY HI TO REAL
TommyShaw: Hi Real!
Jeff_Staker: What is the most unique gift you've received from a fan? Any favorites?
TommyShaw: The coolest gift I've gotten, from the Port Authority Police Dept. And it was a cross made out of one of the scenes from the World Trade Center, where their offices were
TommyShaw: Thanks everyone, for your patience while we got this thing started!
TommyShaw: I'll report to everyone else in the band that they'll really enjoy this!
TommyShaw: Thanks for all of the great questions and I'll see you out there real soon!
TommyShaw: you guys are the GREATEST!
Moderator: Ok everyone, we need to wrap it up. First off, THANK YOU so much for your participation and ongoing support. We know we had some technical quirks tonight, but we will address them to improve this the next time around. Also, there were many questions that we couldn't get to, but thank you for all of the great submissions! STYX is fortunate to have such an active and passionate group of core fans, so on behalf of the band and everyone in their organization, THANK YOU for all that you do.
All in a day's work