What a pleasure to have James “JY” Young in the studio to talk all things Styx, and more. The upcoming “Renegades and Juke Box Heroes” tour features Foreigner and John Waite. They’ll be playing Pine Knob on June 15th.
We talked about a lot of topics. Playing in the band with great musicians like Tommy Shaw, and Lawrence Gowen.
Where does Styx live in the music world…Rock or Progressive Rock? JY answers that question. “It’s hard to define us because a lot of the stuff is prog. But, ya know, some of the ballads are pretty much straight-ahead rock ballads.” That led to how JY got into music.
How did the Grunge era affect them? At first, he said “Zero” as far as the music was concerned. But he did say that the band may have seen a dip in concert attendance, but that’s passed and now they’re selling lots of tickets.
Did the Beatles playing on The Ed Sullivan Show influence him? He said they did, but older siblings did too. He expanded on that.
What legendary guitarist did he see live five times? I’m not sure if I’ve ever met anyone who has seen the player so many times. “That’s the most profound influence on my playing,” he said of the guitarist.
I asked him his thoughts on the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame. “Well, I don’t know. It’s very East Coast-centric for people that have a vote. Styx probably deserves to be in there, but I’m not holding my breath.” He didn’t mention names, but at the end of the day, he said it’s about the fans and music. He spoke of fans telling him about how Styx’s music helped them through periods of their lives. “Music affects everyone differently, and we’ve made some great records.”
It was a thrill to have JY, and the band’s manager, George, in the studio with me. A huge pleasure.