of a futuristic mission to Mars? Tommy had written a song called “Mission to Mars,’ and I loved right off the bat. In some ways, it was kind of quirky for him but I think it was one of his best songs. Well, the producer had a song called “Locomotive,” and those two songs connected very nicely. We started talking about a concept record built around those two songs. And Tommy and I had a song called “The Greater Good” and I had a solo piano piece called “Khe- dive,” named after the ship in the Royal Navy that my dad served on during the second world war. And the producer said let’s make that the name of the space ship in our story. And then we received some news that made us feel like we were going in the right direction. We received a call from NASA that after nine years, the spaceship New Horizon had arrived at the planet Pluto, and they discovered a fifth moon orbiting around the planet. They decided in their infinite wisdom to name that moon Styx. They invited us to be there when they started getting photographic data. So, we were there on July 5, 2015 and saw the images as they came in. I tell you Michael, it was like winning the super bowl. All of these great scien- tific minds started clapping and jumping up and down. And we met the man who named the moon Styx, Mark Showalter. So, we added the part to the story that after Mars, our ship continues on to Pluto and never comes back to Earth. I think the reason it works is because it’s a story about the crew, how they work together and support each other, and how difficult it is to keep such a long- term commitment. I think there are a lot of subtle and not so subtle connections to what it’s like to be in a band that’s been around for decades. We’re very proud of the Mission. We played it live in its entirety in a sold-out show in Las Vegas and we’re doing two more of those, on in New York in November and one in Boston. It’s the most criti- cally acclaimed album Styx has ever done, and most fan rank it among their top five Styx al- bums.
What are the immediate and future plans for Styx? The immediate plans are always centered around touring. And we have the two Mission shows coming in November. Our touring schedule would be seen by many as grueling, but it really
isn’t. It’s the central focus of what the band does. We’re always working on new stuff as well. We stay focused on the day as much as possible, be- cause that’s all we have.
Thank you for your time. Thank you, Michael. Great questions, and I hope you are able to come out next time we come through. We can meet in person.
I’d like that. Thanks again. •
WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET.
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