Let's Discuss This Band: STYX

Monsieur D'Arque · Let's Discuss This Band: STYX

Styx! What genre does this classic band fall into? Classic rock? Metal? Pop? Theater? Who knows? Are they light rock or heavy? Prog or pop? From their early days as a progressive art-rock trio into their massive success in the DeYoung Era, to the band's splitting in two, leaving DeYoung to perform Styx hits with a massive rock group and orchestra, while the rest of the band tighten into a hard-rock-bordering-on-metal quartet in his absence, Styx have been popular, controversial and once accused of Satanism, despite DeYoung being the straightest edge in modern music. The band's output is decidedly theatrical- pointed up by DeYoung's later emergence as a promising, though not prolific, musical theater composer with the misfortune to write the third Hunchback musical, when the first two were large enough to eclipse it.

So.... Whatcha Think?

Pounce

I've always thought their "Mr Roboto" theme would make for a good 'jukebox musical'. Probably better than We Will Rock You.

Monsieur D'Arque

It did. But WWRY turned out better. Look for the video or a bootleg of "Caught In The Act" to see it... it was released on VHS back in the day, and starred the band. It was actually pretty pathetic...

Styx is, however, on my Top 5 list of bands that could sustain jukebox shows but haven't got one yet.

1. Meat Loaf
2. Alice Cooper
3. Styx
4. Elton John
5. Pete Townshend and The Who (but not Tommy or Quadrophenia)

These five bands all have one thing in common: rather than writing pop tunes, they write as characters and frequently release story-songs.

mizzie

The musical could involve "Mr. Roboto" as a pirate singing "Come Sail Away" on his ship (nicknamed "The Crystal Ball"), which is of course "Rockin' In Paradice" (as a homage to "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat)...until he falls into the water and short circuits because he was reaching out too far to touch his "Lady"!

She was just such a "Babe." "Everything is cool."

Monsieur D'Arque

Totally not the concept I had come up with for the Styx musical, Mizzie. But absolutely hilarious. Smile

Plot:
The Paradise Theater, a vintage theater and old-time movie palace in a small Pennsylvania town, has been hit by a truck for the seventh time this decade (change the name Paradise to Manos/Palace, and it's my hometown's true story). Afraid of losing their place to perform forever, a struggling rock band and a perpetually bankrupt theater company try desperately to raise enough money to restore the theater and keep it from being condemned. However, the theater's main owner, a retired Broadway star, wants it closed down forever to get rid of some skeletons in his closet. Can he be persuaded to join the cause to save it?

And yes, one of the people in the rock band is a geeky anime fan, allowing "mr. roboto" to be used, or at least abused.

Monsieur D'Arque	Let's Discuss This Band: STYX Styx! What genre does this classic band fall into? Classic rock? Metal? Pop? Theater? Who knows? Are they light rock or heavy? Prog or pop? From their early days as a progressive art-rock trio into their massive success in the DeYoung Era, to the band's splitting in two, leaving DeYoung to perform Styx hits with a massive rock group and orchestra, while the rest of the band tighten into a hard-rock-bordering-on-metal quartet in his absence, Styx have been popular, controversial and once accused of Satanism, despite DeYoung being the straightest edge in modern music. The band's output is decidedly theatrical- pointed up by DeYoung's later emergence as a promising, though not prolific, musical theater composer with the misfortune to write the third Hunchback musical, when the first two were large enough to eclipse it. So.... Whatcha Think?
Pounce	I've always thought their "Mr Roboto" theme would make for a good 'jukebox musical'. Probably better than We Will Rock You.
Monsieur D'Arque	It did. But WWRY turned out better. Look for the video or a bootleg of "Caught In The Act" to see it... it was released on VHS back in the day, and starred the band. It was actually pretty pathetic... Styx is, however, on my Top 5 list of bands that could sustain jukebox shows but haven't got one yet. 1. Meat Loaf 2. Alice Cooper 3. Styx 4. Elton John 5. Pete Townshend and The Who (but not Tommy or Quadrophenia) These five bands all have one thing in common: rather than writing pop tunes, they write as characters and frequently release story-songs.
mizzie	The musical could involve "Mr. Roboto" as a pirate singing "Come Sail Away" on his ship (nicknamed "The Crystal Ball"), which is of course "Rockin' In Paradice" (as a homage to "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat)...until he falls into the water and short circuits because he was reaching out too far to touch his "Lady"! She was just such a "Babe." "Everything is cool."
Monsieur D'Arque	Totally not the concept I had come up with for the Styx musical, Mizzie. But absolutely hilarious. Plot: The Paradise Theater, a vintage theater and old-time movie palace in a small Pennsylvania town, has been hit by a truck for the seventh time this decade (change the name Paradise to Manos/Palace, and it's my hometown's true story). Afraid of losing their place to perform forever, a struggling rock band and a perpetually bankrupt theater company try desperately to raise enough money to restore the theater and keep it from being condemned. However, the theater's main owner, a retired Broadway star, wants it closed down forever to get rid of some skeletons in his closet. Can he be persuaded to join the cause to save it? And yes, one of the people in the rock band is a geeky anime fan, allowing "mr. roboto" to be used, or at least abused.

The Resource For Musicals

Let's Discuss This Band: STYX