During an appearance on the Jeremy White Show podcast, Lawrence Gowan clarified the single demand Styx made as he recalled the period he joined the band.
The rocker took over the role of the band’s original lead singer, Dennis DeYoung, in 1999. Referring to his early days in the band and Sytx’s condition for him, he said:
“When I joined, the mandate on the table was, ‘We’re going to play 100 shows every year.’ And we’ve stuck to that. And that’s quite a pace that we’ve been on.”
His Thoughts On The Band’s Live Performances
After mentioning that Styx’s frequent tours and live shows are crucial for maintaining their loyal fan following, the frontman continued:
“I’m not being immodest when I tell you that Styx put on a fantastic rock show. I see it every night. From where I am, I’m entertained by the other guys on the stage. They’re just that good.”
Another Early Memory With The Band
In a May interview with Rock Interview Series, Gowan shared another memory from his early days with the Styx members. He recalled how amazed he was that people recognized him because his music videos occasionally aired on late-night MTV. The vocalist disclosed:
“When I first joined Styx, it shocked me how – I mean, I think they ran [the video] at 3 a.m. or something like that once or twice. It shocked me the number of people I would meet early on who said, ‘I remember seeing your video. [It] was on MTV.’ I’m like, ‘Did you ever go to bed?’ It was odd.”
Explaining his reasoning for this widespread recognition, he added:
“That’s how all-pervasive television was in that area prior to the internet. It’s that people would see things on TV, retain them, and it was this national sense that everyone’s on the same thing at the same time, whereas we all do our own programming now.”
Styx has already scheduled performances for 2024. They will kick off the year with a series of shows in the South and then move to Las Vegas for a residency at the Venetian. They are set to perform five nights at The Venetian Theatre on January 26, 27, and 31, as well as February 2 and 3, 2024.
You can listen to the full episode below.
