In DDY's words, that night at Borders

[Toph]

You read this and wonder if JY is really the bad guy in all this....

DDY Facebook Post, 11/20
Hey everybody,
This popped up on recommended for you on YouTube. Here's the back story on this day in July of 1998.
I had been battling the after effects of the the influenza A I had come down with in January spending most of my time either visiting Dr's searching for a diagnosis or dealing with the unprecedented fatigue I experienced every single day. This was completely foreign to me, the guy with more energy then that battery bunny. Mr. Type A going through life at warp speed that was always my M.O. Very humbling indeed.
So when Tommy called and asked me if I would join him at Borders in a Chicago suburb about an hour and ten from my house I said sure. He was promoting his 7 Deadly Zens album a record he recorded after the Styx 1997 tour.
I figured perhaps all I really needed was to get up off my tired ass and join the fray and maybe I would start to feel better, get the adrenaline pumping. Also this is what friends do for each other. I had not sung or played for nearly a year but I figured what the hell.
Remember this was before cell phone video and I never ever thought this would be captured on tape. Had I known I would not have dressed like I just got off a shuffle board court in Boca. "Oh Irv can you check my blood pressure I'm feeling a little nauseous". I look and sound ok but trust me I was not. "Welcome to the...
Afterwards I invited Tommy, Jeanie, Suzanne, Matt and my buddy Tom Short to have a early dinner at my favorite seafood joint Bob Chins Crab House. Try the Alaskan Halibut it's great. A fine time was had by all. I explained to Tommy how frustrated I was with my health situation and he sympathized. My hope for some miracle recovery from the performance was not forth coming however soon after this day I discovered quite by accident that it was exposure to light that was causing my symptoms, most notably the fatigue. I began avoiding the sun and started wearing sunglasses religiously. It took time but I gradually got better. Unfortunately it has never completely gone away and it is still with me today but hey everyone's got something, life goes on.
Listening to this clip what struck me was how special those two voices sound in harmony. Kinda feels like these guys were meant to be together. Oh well as I said before life goes on bra la la.............
Cheers Dennis

[yogi]

Pretty damn cool.

Ive got this show on VHS. Dennis and Tommy both sounded great. Cant remember how Dennis looked its been so long since I viewed this.

[gr8dane]

Hey everybody,
My favorite seafood joint is Bob Chins Crab House. Try the Alaskan Halibut, it's great.
Cheers Dennis

It is indeed.But don't order the calamari

[Monker]

DDY always has to write such things as if he is such a victim and whiner. I mean, suck it up a bit and admit that you did wrong, too, and move on with life.

[Toph]

DDY always has to write such things as if he is such a victim and whiner. I mean, suck it up a bit and admit that you did wrong, too, and move on with life.

Because he was a victim. He got totally screwed over.

[Monker]

DDY always has to write such things as if he is such a victim and whiner. I mean, suck it up a bit and admit that you did wrong, too, and move on with life.

Because he was a victim. He got totally screwed over.

No. A normal person can take a tragedy and improve their life from it and move on to other things. An unhealthy person holds on to their victim perspective and uses it to gain sympathy and attention from others. “Everything can be taken from a man but …the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -- Victor Frankl, Holocaust survivor.

My point - it's too bad DDY chooses to be a victim and continues to express it in such ways as the first post in this thread.

[Toph]

DDY always has to write such things as if he is such a victim and whiner. I mean, suck it up a bit and admit that you did wrong, too, and move on with life.

Because he was a victim. He got totally screwed over.

No. A normal person can take a tragedy and improve their life from it and move on to other things. An unhealthy person holds on to their victim perspective and uses it to gain sympathy and attention from others. “Everything can be taken from a man but …the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -- Victor Frankl, Holocaust survivor.

My point - it's too bad DDY chooses to be a victim and continues to express it in such ways as the first post in this thread.

It seems to me like he's doing just fine with a pretty robust touring schedule, and arguably, more success than the band calling themselves Styx.

[Boomchild]

It seems to me like he's doing just fine with a pretty robust touring schedule, and arguably, more success than the band calling themselves Styx.

Define what you mean by more success.

[yogi]

Here is my quick take on this.

Dennis is the victim and did get totally screwed by Tommy, JY and Chuck. They did TOTALLY screw him. The question is though did they have a right to screw him??

In my opinion as we get older we MUST realize the fact that we cant do what we once did without some sort of negative coming out of it. If we are to stupid to realize this fact, then the people around us that truly care about us should point this out.

If Styx was DDY's LIFE so to speak then why on earth with major commitments to Styx already booked did DDY run himself into the ground with non Styx commitments?? Why didnt his wife, or family tell him that if you keep up this schedule your going to end up in the hospital? This is what I dont get?? If he truly cared sooo much about Styx why would he do something to jeopardize the band?

Really no one is to blame. Its just something that happened. Still it seems to me by now all should be totally forgiven

[ztyxlynne]

Its beating a dead horse to being up who's fault is who's again. The main thing is Dennis knows that he has aome fault in his being ousted. Liaten to 100 years. Both sides are at fault in my book. Thing is it sounds.like Dennis misses Tommy, esp whwn they sang together. It was perfect harmony in my book and I miss it. Now Atyx put DDY back on there bio page supposedly. I haven't seen it but are fences starting to be mended? Who knows.

[Monker]

My point - it's too bad DDY chooses to be a victim and continues to express it in such ways as the first post in this thread.

It seems to me like he's doing just fine with a pretty robust touring schedule, and arguably, more success than the band calling themselves Styx.

Which has nothing to do with anything I mentioned, except to continue on with dwelling in the never-ending victim perspective of DDY.

[Monker]

Its beating a dead horse to being up who's fault is who's again. The main thing is Dennis knows that he has aome fault in his being ousted. Liaten to 100 years. Both sides are at fault in my book. Thing is it sounds.like Dennis misses Tommy, esp whwn they sang together. It was perfect harmony in my book and I miss it. Now Atyx put DDY back on there bio page supposedly. I haven't seen it but are fences starting to be mended? Who knows.

They put one paragraph where JY says that DDY was a great vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter...but the band was in a situation where DDY did not want Styx to function as a democracy so they had to move on without him.

Not exactly fences being mended.

[Boomchild]

If Styx was DDY's LIFE so to speak then why on earth with major commitments to Styx already booked did DDY run himself into the ground with non Styx commitments?? Why didnt his wife, or family tell him that if you keep up this schedule your going to end up in the hospital? This is what I dont get?? If he truly cared sooo much about Styx why would he do something to jeopardize the band?

If you are referring to the time post the '96 tour, there is one thing not mentioned here. Styx was supposed to be on a touring break in '97. So originally the only commitments he had was to his musical which had been in the works long before the Styx reunion came about. At that point he more then likely could nto back out of those commitments. So DDY stretched himself too thin by agreeing to do a Styx tour in '97 that wasn't supposed to happen. But "someone" in the band needed the money.

[yogi]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

[Boomchild]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

To me these events are connected. As far as DDY splitting his focus and attention to both, I think one needs to consider a few things. It is well known that DDY was working on his musical prior to '95 which is when he got the idea of re-recording Lady for the GH release. I would say it's a safe bet that he never thought doing that was going to spark an actual reunion and subsequent tour in '96. So he probably didn't see the need to put a hold on other plans he was working on. Then the success of the '96 tour goes way beyond what he and I think the others ever expected. Let alone more shows after it and then a new Styx studio album. So due to these unforeseen events, it caused bad timing. Add to all of this the past rocky nature between the members, he may not have wanted to "put all of his eggs in one basket" so to speak.

[Toph]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

He was sick in 1999.He wanted to delay the album release for two reasons, 1. So he could get better, 2. So the album could be fixed because it sucked.

[Toph]

If Styx was DDY's LIFE so to speak then why on earth with major commitments to Styx already booked did DDY run himself into the ground with non Styx commitments?? Why didnt his wife, or family tell him that if you keep up this schedule your going to end up in the hospital? This is what I dont get?? If he truly cared sooo much about Styx why would he do something to jeopardize the band?

If you are referring to the time post the '96 tour, there is one thing not mentioned here. Styx was supposed to be on a touring break in '97. So originally the only commitments he had was to his musical which had been in the works long before the Styx reunion came about. At that point he more then likely could nto back out of those commitments. So DDY stretched himself too thin by agreeing to do a Styx tour in '97 that wasn't supposed to happen. But "someone" in the band needed the money.

I wonder who could have needed money....sniff...sniff...sniff...snort....snort...snort....

[Cassie May]

[quote="Toph"}

I wonder who could have needed money....sniff...sniff...sniff...snort....snort...snort....[/quote]

Give it a rest. By 97 he had been clean for eight years and had had success with Damn Yankees, and was living in a multi-million dollar mansion in LA. In your narrow little mind, did you ever consider that it may have been Chuck? After all, he obviously earned less money than the others as he did not receive songwriting royalties, plus his health was failing. You always come across as if Tommy was the only musician--or even person--to ever have a drug issue and you harp on that repeatedly as if it were the SOLE cause of the band's demise. Get over it. Truth of the matter is, no one outside the inner circle will ever know who the person was who needed money, so speculating on it is ridiculous as well as insulting to that person.

[masque]

my money is on Chuck or JY....they would have made less than any of the others, even when they were making good money.

and as pointed out, tommy was back in the drivers seat with damn yankees being very successful for a few years in the early 90's, with money making hits and extremely well selling tours, not to mention that he had some songs make appearances on other artists records that he co-wrote with Jack....most noticeably the "your invited, but your friend can't come" done by Vince Neal and they also had a song or two appear on some aerosmith records. so I doubt tommy was "hurting" for money.

[Monker]

my money is on Chuck or JY....they would have made less than any of the others, even when they were making good money.

and as pointed out, tommy was back in the drivers seat with damn yankees being very successful for a few years in the early 90's, with money making hits and extremely well selling tours, not to mention that he had some songs make appearances on other artists records that he co-wrote with Jack....most noticeably the "your invited, but your friend can't come" done by Vince Neal and they also had a song or two appear on some aerosmith records. so I doubt tommy was "hurting" for money.

I doubt it was JY. JY gave an interview years ago saying he invested his money in very low risk investments. He seemed to feel very secure and that he handled his investments in a very wise way (ie: relatively safe from the financial collapse in 2008).

Also, he does have writing credits on many songs, does Chuck have any writing credits at all?

[Monker]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

He was sick in 1999.He wanted to delay the album release for two reasons, 1. So he could get better, 2. So the album could be fixed because it sucked.

3. He did not have the complete control over the project as he was used to having.

[Monker]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

Exactly. I'm sure the label was also expecting a tour...and who really knows if a tour was tied into a contract with the label.

Also, this is the same situation that Journey had with Steve Perry. Tommy wrote that he actually talked to Jonathan Cain and asked for advice on how to handle the situation. I would really like to know the details of that conversation and if Jonathan told him to replace him sooner rather than later. The only issue Styx had that Journey did not is Journey negotiated with Perry to legally get him out of the band to avoid lawsuits, etc...but Styx did tour for BNW and Journey did not tour for "Trial By Fire". So, give and take.

[Archetype]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

Exactly. I'm sure the label was also expecting a tour...and who really knows if a tour was tied into a contract with the label.

Also, this is the same situation that Journey had with Steve Perry. Tommy wrote that he actually talked to Jonathan Cain and asked for advice on how to handle the situation. I would really like to know the details of that conversation and if Jonathan told him to replace him sooner rather than later. The only issue Styx had that Journey did not is Journey negotiated with Perry to legally get him out of the band to avoid lawsuits, etc...but Styx did tour for BNW and Journey did not tour for "Trial By Fire". So, give and take.

This is only speculation, but I'd say that Cain said something to the effect of "don't sit around for two years like we did." Journey lost all the Trial By Fire momentum in those 2 years. I think Styx wanted to tour immediately with the hopes that Brave New World would be bigger than it turned out to be.

[FormerDJMike]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

Exactly. I'm sure the label was also expecting a tour...and who really knows if a tour was tied into a contract with the label.

Also, this is the same situation that Journey had with Steve Perry. Tommy wrote that he actually talked to Jonathan Cain and asked for advice on how to handle the situation. I would really like to know the details of that conversation and if Jonathan told him to replace him sooner rather than later. The only issue Styx had that Journey did not is Journey negotiated with Perry to legally get him out of the band to avoid lawsuits, etc...but Styx did tour for BNW and Journey did not tour for "Trial By Fire". So, give and take.

In 1999 I had several contacts at CMC International (when I was still in the radio business). Touring was indeed part of releasing a new album. All of the CMC acts had to tour to support an album of new material. This could be why the album was "put on hold" when Dennis announced he couldn't tour. There was a period for a while on the old site when there was a ton of news on BNW then there was nothing. Some of the members stopped working on the album. Dennis informed Tom Lipsky and something was done to get the album finished. By then it was too late as JY was flying back and forth, Tommy was in LA, Dennis in Chicago and eventually JY & Tommy working by US Postal to trade tapes from LA. By this time they had probably already had a replacement in mind when the hand was forced to finish the album.... And I don't think Dennis's plans were to NOT tour it was probably along the lines of "don't tour RIGHT NOW so I can get better" and the rest of the guys had other ideas. But it has been 16 years now so I don't remember everything that happened during that time period. It is what it is, period.

[Monker]

And I don't think Dennis's plans were to NOT tour it was probably along the lines of "don't tour RIGHT NOW so I can get better" and the rest of the guys had other ideas.

And, that goes back to the Journey/Steve Perry thing. Perry delayed and delayed and delayed, and refused to get his hip replacement...even though the doctors told him that was the only treatment. If you remember JY"s comments in the BTM, he essentially said, "The doctors don't even know what's wrong with him..." So, they had the same situation of waiting for him to "get better" when nobody even knew what was wrong with him. From the bands perspective it was an open ended perpetual illness and nobody, not even Dennis nor his doctors, knew when he would be able to tour - or if he ever would again.

[Toph]

No Boom, Im talking 1999 when they released Brave New World. With the release of new material a tour always follows. Dennis knows this as does every other famous band and all of their members.

He was sick in 1999.He wanted to delay the album release for two reasons, 1. So he could get better, 2. So the album could be fixed because it sucked.

3. He did not have the complete control over the project as he was used to having.

And we saw the results.....

[Toph]

It seems to me like he's doing just fine with a pretty robust touring schedule, and arguably, more success than the band calling themselves Styx.

Define what you mean by more success.

DeYoung makes more profit than the members of Styx do in his touring.

[Boomchild]

DeYoung makes more profit than the members of Styx do in his touring.

And from what concrete data do you have that supports such a claim?

[Toph]

DeYoung makes more profit than the members of Styx do in his touring.

And from what concrete data do you have that supports such a claim?

They each book at approximately the same fee. Since you must not understand economics, let me explain it for you. Styx have higher "cost of goods" than DDY. Gowan and Ricky Phillips and Todd are going to make more than Styx's co-players. And then you have that DDY gets a piece of all touring revenue. Then you have JY/TS splitting the "rest." DDY gets all the profits of his act himself. Not to hard to figure out "Boomchild".

[Boomchild]

They each book at approximately the same fee. Since you must not understand economics, let me explain it for you. Styx have higher "cost of goods" than DDY. Gowan and Ricky Phillips and Todd are going to make more than Styx's co-players. And then you have that DDY gets a piece of all touring revenue. Then you have JY/TS splitting the "rest." DDY gets all the profits of his act himself. Not to hard to figure out "Boomchild".

Obviously the word data hard to for you to understand. When I say data I mean actual monetary figures. Also, Styx books a lot more shows then DDY does. If you don't have actual figures to show it then it's speculation. Plain and simple.