Lawrence Gowan: Hello is this Eric?
Side Stage Magazine: Yes sir how are you?
I’m great and thank you for asking.
I have to thank you for taking time from your busy tour schedule to sit down with myself and Side Stage Magazine
Oh no Eric thank you it is my pleasure.
Speaking of touring. How has the ‘United We Rock Tour’ been going so far?
It’s been amazing. The crowds have been unimaginable. Last night we were in Houston Texas and the energy of the fans was breathtaking. For us as a band that is an awe inspiring experience.
I can only imagine. I was actually doing my homework and I came to realize that STYX or the music from the band is as old as I ‘am. To me that is an amazing feat in itself. I remember growing up listening to STYX and back then it was about the “Rock”, but as I got older and more into music STYX the band and their music took on a completely different role in my musical life.
Well thank you Eric. It’s interesting you mention the roughly 45 years STYX has been producing music, because through the ‘United We Rock Tour’ myself along with the rest of the band have noticed a different age group. Where it use to be fans in our age we are now seeing a younger group of fans and what’s truly amazing is they adore all the old STYX classics but they also embrace the newest STYX release The Mission.
I would think that has to be an amazing feeling. For a fan it’s a great feeling, and to think that the thought process over the years is that “Rock Is Dead”. You and the rest of the members of STYX are proving that theory wrong.
Yes whoever stated that “Rock Is Dead” was very wrong, and every night of the “United We Rock Tour” we see it with our own eyes. We have as you said the 40 and over crowd the fans that grew up listening to STYX in their youth and then you have the new millennial fan’s that are just finding or coming into STYX but are bringing the same passion for the classic STYX music as they are for our newest material The Mission.
That has got to be a very humbling experience for all of you.
Yes it is Eric
Speaking of the new material The Mission CD how has radio, social media and the fans has reaction been thus far?
It’s been great. Last night the fans sang right along with us when we played some of the newer material. Which again was completely unexpected, but that’s how it has been for us from the start of this tour. Our fans have shown us just how much love and appreciation they have for us our hard work and dedication to bring them the old with something new.
I guess it would be difficult with the amount of material STYX has along with “The Mission” CD to prepare a set list/show. What do you include, what gets left out?
Yes it is. We have to blend the music just enough, to not single one era of STYX our over another, while giving the fans what they want. We’ve had fans already ask would we do or think about doing a tour that is predominantly based off The Mission CD.
Oh wow really that would be awesome, once again though showing the devotion STYX fans have when it comes to your music and the band.
Well it’s something that all of us in the band have already thought about and discussed, and who knows just what might happen. A tour for The Mission CD would be something that I would love to do. Not only for myself and the band but for the fans to say thank you.
After listening to “The Mission” CD I was taken back to when I was a kid just listening to the “Rock” aspect that is STYX, but as I sat down and truly listen to the new CD it occurred to me that I was listening and appreciating the complexity and the overall composition of the music much more than I did in my youth. I found a new love and new passion for STYX music as a whole, gaining as I dais a better appreciation of the band and the music that been part of my life over the past 45 years.
Thank you Eric so much. When we went into the studio to record “The Mission” CD we went back to the basics. We went back to the analog and recorded “The Mission” just like we would have recorded it back in 1972 without all the digital aspect, truly getting back to the roots of STYX and our music.
So you put out an album that you would want and as a fan they would want. You didn’t just roll into the studio and push out 14 tracks package it and get it out there.
No not at all it was a sweet labor of love for all of us. We turned off our cell phones, and retreated into the studio and decided we would leave till we had a CD or album that we knew and felt was great.
You’ve been a part of Styx close to 20 years you’re a huge part of the history. So what does STYX mean to you?
I’ve been able to spend a large portion of my life doing what I love to do. I love rock and classic rock. We’re closing in on roughly 20 years together, and every day is something new and yes I still thoroughly enjoy it. I’m just as excited and enthusiastic and entertained as the fans are. It’s a great feeling to be around people who are just as passionate and driven as I’am and it’s something I appreciate every day. I would also have to add that just to see the happiness the band is able to bring to people plus the good vibe and love that they individually and as a whole are able to leave the fans with is something wonderful to be a part.
Lawrence…sir I know you have a busy schedule. So on behalf of Side Stage Magazine and the fans I would like to thank you for time.
Thank you Eric and Side Stage Magazine it was a pleasure
