Styx began in the mid-sixties with Dennis DeYoung and the Panozzo brothers; ages 14 and 12 respectively. The group first started out as the Tradewinds. Then changed their name to T4 (There Were 4). They finally settled on Styx in 1972 while they were at Chicago City College and signed to Wooden Nickel Records. In 1975, the band moved to A & M Records and released Equinox. It was during this time that guitarist John Curulewski left the band and Tommy Shaw joined the group. While Styx celebrated many years of super stardom, there were tensions in the band and Dennis DeYoung was eventually ousted. Many fans have hoped for a reunion, however, the tensions that still permeate between DeYoung and Shaw ensure it likely won’t happen.
Being one of the founding members of the band, DeYoung’s departure was difficult in 1999. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2011, the songwriter shared his sentiments about the split, which began while on tour in 1997. He said, “I gave my life to that band. I started that band when I was 14 years old. So it was hard (rollingstone.com).” Rather than see the band break up or himself replaced by another musician, DeYoung wanted to negotiate and hopefully keep the band together. It didn’t end that way, though, as he was replaced by classically-trained Lawrence Gowan. When asked about tensions that lead up to the ousting, DeYoung confirmed there was tension in the band, but he compared it to a family working together. The combination of creative minds working on the same project will definitely create tension and cause friction from time to time. DeYoung’s version of events is not the same as Shaw’s.
Tommy Shaw saw the departure of DeYoung as inevitable and will not go back. Shaw interviewed with Rolling Stone as well in 2011 and said a reunion isn’t realistic. He further stated that the band tried a reunion with DeYoung in the 1990s and it resulted in a lot of realization, “…what was true in 1983 was only more true in 1996 (rollingstone.com).” Life is too short not to be happy and Shaw is adamant there will not be any sort of reunion with DeYoung. It isn’t worth the effort. He said, “In retrospect, we weren’t even happy working with each other in our heyday. We’re just different people with different desires and different vision of how things should be. God, it was such an unhappy place. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We’re crazy, but we’re not insane (rollingstone.com).” Shaw makes a valid point: for some, tension makes for unhappiness and life is far too short to live unhappily no matter how great the end product is.
While both songwriters see the departure of DeYoung differently, and while DeYoung would be interested in a reunion, Shaw is not. The fact that Shaw and Styx moved on to regularly tour almost every year since 1999 without DeYoung, and without a regret of the change, shows a reunion is not going to happen; at least anytime soon. DeYoung also continues to tour with his own solo band playing both Styx material and solo work with hopes of one day reuniting. The difficulty raised here is determining which version of the story is true and the behind-the-scenes that no one knows about. Perhaps it is one in which Shaw expressed his unhappiness and DeYoung never acknowledged the problems. Perhaps Shaw never expressed any dissatisfaction at all and DeYoung was blindsided. Perhaps it is a combination of the two. Either way, no matter how things finally went down back in 1999, the possibility of an official Styx reunion may never happen no matter how eager DeYoung is to do so. For now, fans of their music will need to see each one separately on tour, which frankly, doesn’t detract from the awesomeness the songs carry.
Styx had many years of super stardom, but the band was riddled with creative tension. While Dennis DeYoung is interested in a Styx reunion, Tommy Shaw is not and the band has moved on without missing a beat. A possibility of reuniting might be in the cards, however, at this moment, it is an unlikely concept. In the meantime, with hopes of seeing them come back together, fans can enjoy both Styx and DeYoung out on tour…separately. Music is timeless and whether played by DeYoung or by Styx, the music still holds the magic it was created with.
~Jenna Jakes, WOGB
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