STYX: (left to right: Lawrence Gowan, Chuck Panozzo, Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Ricky Phillips, Todd Sucherman (Photos Jason Powell)
Yes. It got to number one and was a triple plat- inum record. In addition to that, in 1985 it spawned a single called “Criminal Minds” that was a gold single, and just last year went plat- inum, which is very rare in Canada. I ended up playing all the hockey arenas and big venues that I play with Styx today. The only downside to it all was that, even though I was on CBS records, they would not release my albums in the United States. That was a horrible frustration, career wise. It really stifled things. It turned out fine though, because most of the shows I play with Styx are in America, and Styx play “Criminal Minds.” So, it all kind of worked out.
You’ve now been the voice of Styx for 20 years, how did you come to join the band? I joined Styx in 1999, but in 1997 they had just opened up the new Montreal Forum, the big hockey arena. The building was only three months old. The same promoter that had Styx playing there that night had me playing a theatre nearby. About three weeks before the show, he called me and said instead of playing the theatre, I want you to open the show for Styx. On that leg of the tour, I was performing completely solo, just me and the piano. The promoter and the manager
were kind of laughing about a solo piano player opening for Styx. So, Tommy Shaw and them re- membered me, and when they decided to hire a singer, they got in touch.
What have been some of the high points of your tenure with them thus far? There are so many, Michael. I guess I’ll go with the most obvious ones. We performed at two Super bowls, and that’s kind of a cherry on top of a gigantic cake. (Laughs) We performed at Web- ley Stadium in London twice, that was a big one for me. Actually, we played at the London Palla- dium in June and sold it out. An evening with Styx. That was a wonderful thing. You know, going to Germany, Sweden, Norway- places I had not played as a solo artist. I loved going to those places. Those are some of the highlights. Of course, going home and playing Toronto with the band in my home town. Also, Glasgow, Scotland. These are huge highlights for me because they are important places in my life that I get to play with this legendary band. It’s always good to look back and reflect on how fortunate I’ve been.
Talk a bit about the latest album, THE MISSION. Who came up with the concept
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