JY makes excuses for Cyclorama's lackluster sales... Funny!

[Guest]

from (http://www.lawrence.com/news/2004/may/04/qa_with/)

Who selected the music for the anthology?

It was a combination of Universal -- a guy named Bill Levinson who's really kind of in charge of these things went through and listened to everything and made suggestions -- and Tommy and I went through and also moved a couple thing around. So it was the band and the record company kind of working together on it.

So Dennis didn't have any input despite almost sixty percent of the record being his music?

I know that he certainly had a say so. Tommy and I didn't agree with some of his choices, but he's incredibly well represented on here. And as part of the settlement of the lawsuit where he sued us back in the year 2000 -- and then he asked that it be settled before it got to trial -- he agreed to basically have no say so. Except in one small area here. And he's incredibly well represented here on this.

Even the title of the anthology is one of his songs.

Yeah, that's one of his songs that's the title of it. So the reality is that Dennis -- yeah, he and I were different people to start with, and we've always been very different, and it was the middle ground for the first 10 years, where we were able to compromise, that great things happened. And just his own, in my judgment, unwillingness to compromise -- which really kind of, certainly started to, in 1984 if not earlier -- is just the reason we're not together now. In his mind it's all about him -- and that's a personal observation -- and he was very significant to the development of the band, as we all were, and he sees it differently than I do, and he sees it differently that Tommy does, and right now Tommy and I have the power, and I think that we've wielded that power in and evenhanded way.

It seems that maybe you were victims of timing. The songs that people wanted to hear, and that were the reasons that people bought Styx records, were Dennis's songs. The same thing happened with REO. Gary Richrath wanted to a rock band, but the world wanted Kevin Cronin.

The irony is that record companies are guilty of being for-profit businesses, and many times it's manager's job to protect the long term because there's lots of economic incentives for people in the sales and promotions staff, that if the record sells this many copies... They're thinking of the record that's in front of them because there's no guarantee in the wacky world of rock and roll music that the next record is gonna ever be there, and so they take the path of least resistance, and if the think they can get the pop radio and make something a big hit, which in the short term certainly generates sales -- but there's a saying many people said, "You live by the single, you die by the single."

Does the new line-up feel real to you? Does it feel like Styx?

Absolutely. For me, this is the best lineup that's ever taken the stage in this band, and no disrespect to anyone that came before, but there's and amazing enthusiasm and vitality about this lineup, and God rest John Panozzo's soul, but Todd is truly brilliant and Lawrence is truly amazing, and it's an inspiration to be next to them onstage. And Ricky is rock solid and quietly brings a lot of things to the table that are not immediately obvious, and an incredible internal strength, which is good for a touring band; we need to have people on an even keel out here. So in my judgment this is the best incarnation of Styx, and there's numerous people in radio that believe that not only is this the best live incarnation of Styx, but also that "Cyclorama," the first studio album with the new lineup that we've ever done, and the first Styx album of the new millennium, is the best Styx album that was ever recorded. "The Grand Illusion," sales-wise of course, has dramatically outdistanced it, as have most other records, for all the reasons that exist for bands that have been around for as long as we have. It can be hard to gain traction and hard to get attention at radio that plays current music.

[Adam]

I personally found that to be a very honest interview! It's amazing how you'll interpret something you're way & I'll see it as nothing of the sort.

OLD ARGUMENT ALERT: If DeYoung with Styx is so infallible then what about Brave New World?

Personally, I'll take Cyclorama over BNW any day of the week.

[Guest]

OLD ARGUMENT ALERT: If DeYoung with Styx is so infallible then what about Brave New World?

I really like Dennis' material on BNW... too bad he wasn't allowed to produce all of it or maybe Tommy's material wouldn't have ended up sounding like a bad Shaw/Blades record.

Personally, I'll take Cyclorama over BNW any day of the week.

Of course you will... you like second best... it suits you.

[ChicagoSTYX]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

[SuiteMadameBlue]

ChicagoSTYX says:

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

That's just your opinion, I personally like all Dennis' songs on the BNW album.

It's My Life - you weren't on the board when this was posted before, a few of us went around and around with his interviews. If you go back a few pages you'll find more interviews that were posted. There all basically the same totally negative!!

[froy]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

Here's a curve I agree .

[kansas666]

I don't agree that Cyclorama is the best album STYX has ever done. But IMO it comes close.

[froy]

ChicagoSTYX says:

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

That's just your opinion, I personally like all Dennis' songs on the BNW album.

It's My Life - you weren't on the board when this was posted before, a few of us went around and around with his interviews. If you go back a few pages you'll find more interviews that were posted. There all basically the same totally negative!!

How can anyone even read a word JY say's the guy is goofy
He has the power now thats what its all about isnt it JY
And of course a lineup that sells 20 thousand cds is better than the one in the past that sold millions
Like I said I read JY and just laugh .

[styxfanNH]

Yup

Another attempt to rehash year old interviews.

Let's get a little more current please

We've been there, discussed that.

JY hates Dennis. enough said. let's find something important to discuss.

[Guest]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

Dennis' songs on BNW have all the melody and songmanship of the classic stuff.

When I hear Dennis' it feels more like classic Styx than anything else on that album.

[Guest]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

"You're = you are"

[Guest]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

Here's a curve I agree .

Here's a curve... you're a tard Froy.

[bugsymalone]

I don't agree that Cyclorama is the best album STYX has ever done. But IMO it comes close.

Splurt!!!!! (Ack! Ack!)



Bugsy

[Abitaman]

LOL Dennis's songs on Brave New World stunk.

"and your fooling youself if you don't believe it"

Goodbye Roseland, is one of DDY's finest.-Eric

[classicstyxfan]

Eric nails it........Goodbye to Roseland is among Dennis's better songs of any era.

And Kansas.......I'll take Cyclorama over Kilroy and Brave New World
but it's got nothing on anything they released in the 70's except their Debut LP. just my opinion.

[ek88]

I'd take Cyclorama over Kilroy, EOTC, BNW, and the Wooden Nickel stuff. It's on a par with Cornerstone and Paradise Theatre, as far as my ears and listening habits are concerned. But hey, why should personal taste be a factor? I should just rank the Styx albums from top to bottom in terms of sales, and let that dictate my order of favorites

[PsychoSy]

It can be hard to gain traction and hard to get attention at radio that plays current music.

JY is holding out here. It's not hard for a band like Styx to get radio attention today -- IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I left the radio industry in the early-to-mid 90s because I saw the writing on the wall. At the time, I said to people, "If it weren't for current FCC regulations, corporate fatcats would swallow up all the stations and turn them into in advertizing whorehouses with a few notes of music here and there as a distraction." Once Clinton signed off on de-regulation back in 1997, I was unfortunately proven right.

Even though I bailed, I still retain those old friendships and connections in the business. So, I hate to burst IML's trolling bubble but JY is right on the money when he says people in the radio business (jocks and PDs) are fawning over "Cyclorama", hailing it as the best Styx album since "Paradise Theater".

You might be thinking, "Well if the jocks and PDs love it, why aren't they playing it?!?!" Because radio doesn't work that way anymore. The inmates don't run the asylum -- it's a friggin' gulag now -- PDs and jocks can only play whatever the corporate bean counters tell 'em to and when. The bean counters aren't going to tell them to play the new shit from Styx or any "old" band ("old" in the radio business means over 3 studio albums or 5 years going -- Hell, "Hootie & The Blowfish" are considered "too old" for radio today, for crying out loud) because the playlist is guarded by a bastion of middle-men who have a vested interest in what gets played, when it gets played, and how often. When I say "vested interest", I'm talking payola -- legalised payola -- and the following link to Salon.Com should get you up to speed on these slimeballs because I'm not typing all day.

http://dir.salon.com/ent/feature/2001/0 ... index.html

After reading it, do the math -- old bands such as Styx, Journey, and even poor ol' fuckin' Hootie are no longer on the big, corporate, record labels. They'd rather sign a bunch of Creed-a-likes than some "Geritol-popping has-beens" as the forementioned. CMC International was a really small outfit before Sanctuary swallowed them and yet Sanctuary still can't hold a candle to Sony, Warner, Columbia, etc. They've got budgets, operational overhead, and shitload of other costs and technically can't afford to deal with these "indy" middle-men but it's a necessary evil. So, they pay them only what they can afford. These small fry record companies don't have other divisions in their business -- no electronics, no maufacturing, etc. -- and thus aren't publically traded and not publically traded means not kept afloat by investors. Instead, they rely on generous venture capitalists and cutting corners. The ammount of money (or lack thereof) that small-fry labels like CMC/Sanctuary can shill off to indies are limited and yet they're the gears that keep the cash registers and their own wallets cha-chinging and the MP3-laden harddrives at the stations chugging. Therefore the ammount of grease (i.e. $$$) applied to these gears (e.g the slimeball indies) is directly purportional to the ammount of work (or lack thereof) they're willing to do when dealing with Clear Channel, Infinity, and Cumulus.

You might ask, "Why don't the bands and artists foot the bill for these indies?"

HAHAAAH!!! Not happening.

Bands like Styx don't make alot of money. Not as much as they used to during their triple-platinum heydeys. If each of them bring home more than $250,000 a year after taxes and expenses (e.g paying to grease the wheels of the roadcrew, etc.), they consider themselves lucky and thankful as all hell. So, in order to afford the price of the indy, at least one member of Styx would have to hand over a years worth of their annual cabbage from touring and pray like a grunt in a foxhole that their royalty checks can cover their own personal expenses (cars, gas, bills, families, mortgages, etc.)

[Abitaman]

I knew it was pretty bad, just from the people I use to know in the radio buss. It's a shame it is like that. There is a lot of good music going unheard because of it.-ERIC

[styxfanNH]

The only ones making excuses are those that don't understand the business, live in the past, and can't handle the truth.

[PsychoSy]

There is a lot of good music going unheard because of it.-ERIC

That's the sad truth right there. On my personal list of "Best Rock Albums Of 2003 That America Never Heard", the number one spot belongs to Edguy's "The Hellfire Club". These guys sound like a combination of Styx, Journey, and Dio but with the passion and delivery of Iron Maiden/Judas Priest. Their 10 minute long opus "The Piper Never Dies" is one the most powerful hittin' rock songs I heard in years. If they got half as much airplay today as Godsmack or Audioslave, America would got nuts over them.

Alas, no airplay, no exposure.

[bugsymalone]

I so miss the old rock station in my hometown that used to play albums and album cuts. It was always wonderful to tune into K101 back in the day.

I never listen to the radio anymore because it seems they play the same ol' same ol' over and over and over ad nauseum.

Bugsy

[yogi]

93.7 The Arrow in Houston is now playing deep cuts of classic rock bands. Last week they played Suite Madame Blue, Crystal Ball & Queen Of Spades. They played Suite Madame Blue, and Crystal Ball back to back. I had NEVER heard Queen Of Spades played on the radio until last Friday. Damn Dennis sounded good!!!

K101 was awesome. Stevens & Pruitt in the morning were the best. 93.7 has been REALLY picking up the slack since 101 was yanked. They play lots of Styx.

[bugsymalone]

93.7 The Arrow in Houston is now playing deep cuts of classic rock bands. Last week they played Suite Madame Blue, Crystal Ball & Queen Of Spades

That is great to know, Yogi! What a cool combo of songs to play!

Unfortunately, I don't pick up that station so well up here. Depends, but I need to get a little out of the hills to hear it well.

Thanks for letting me know. When I shut off the CD's for awhile, I will check it out.

Bugsy

[Archetype]

There is a lot of good music going unheard because of it.-ERIC

That's the sad truth right there. On my personal list of "Best Rock Albums Of 2003 That America Never Heard", the number one spot belongs to Edguy's "The Hellfire Club". These guys sound like a combination of Styx, Journey, and Dio but with the passion and delivery of Iron Maiden/Judas Priest. Their 10 minute long opus "The Piper Never Dies" is one the most powerful hittin' rock songs I heard in years. If they got half as much airplay today as Godsmack or Audioslave, America would got nuts over them.

Alas, no airplay, no exposure.

I suggested that Edguy open for Journey and got laughed at. They're a great band...we'll have to force feed them to the idiot Nickelback loving morons.

[Zan]

WTH. I didn't realize this thread was a hundred years old, saw Adam's name and got all a-fluster with giddiness. Then, damn.

Oh well. lol

[jrny84]

Anyone know the current sales for Cyclorama?

[gr8dane]

Anyone know the current sales for Cyclorama?

Did a google and for what I could find it was around 56000.

[Boomchild]

Anyone know the current sales for Cyclorama?

Did a google and for what I could find it was around 56000.

Saw one in the "cut out" bin in the Cd store recently.

[Toph]

Anyone know the current sales for Cyclorama?

Did a google and for what I could find it was around 56000.

That is just 1/40 of what Kilroy sold and 1/10 of what edge would. A real success.