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Post by Boomchild on May 20, 2021 4:40:29 GMT -8
People will have differing opinions on the subject. That said, I would tend to listen to someone that was in it. DDY has always maintained that it was the specific influences on each other that made Styx what is was and what worked for the band. Fair enough. JY obviously still has extreme animosity toward Dennis. Sort of like Henley and Frey have/had with Felder in the Eagles. Ironic that Felder toured and played with Styx together a couple of years back. Yes it appears he does and will take it to his grave. One can speculate the reasons and I think there are many. I think JY always wanted to be a more prominent figure in the band and as long as DDY was a part of it that wasn't going to be the case. JY has always needed either DDY or TS to have a career in the music business. When the band went on hiatus after KWH it must have frustrated him to no end that major record labels including A&M had zero interest in him as a solo artist. All the while DDY and TS had solo deals right out of the gate.
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Post by slucero on May 20, 2021 9:29:25 GMT -8
TS and DDY are natural front men.
JY (at least to me) has always had this appearance of aloofness that always made him appear less than approachable... I'm sure he was told that by labels...
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Post by tj on May 21, 2021 13:13:41 GMT -8
Do bands typically try to put the strongest song off an album out as the first release? I know historically, the "best" song isn't always the first. Time will tell on this, but if Crash of the Crown is the strongest thing coming out, then this is going to be a major disappointment IMO.
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Post by slucero on May 22, 2021 1:18:58 GMT -8
Do bands typically try to put the strongest song off an album out as the first release? I know historically, the "best" song isn't always the first. Time will tell on this, but if Crash of the Crown is the strongest thing coming out, then this is going to be a major disappointment IMO.
From what I can tell this is the only song JY sings on...
I don't think any of these legacy artists even attempt to measure success for these releases anymore.. They are so far out of the mainstream now that there really is no way to do so...and surely they can't be under any pressure for unit sales, considering how much physical media sales have dissipated now that streaming is the dominant distribution platform.
They just create what they like and hope others like it as well... and maybe go to a show...
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Post by tj on May 23, 2021 17:38:32 GMT -8
Do bands typically try to put the strongest song off an album out as the first release? I know historically, the "best" song isn't always the first. Time will tell on this, but if Crash of the Crown is the strongest thing coming out, then this is going to be a major disappointment IMO. From what I can tell this is the only song JY sings on...
I don't think any of these legacy artists even attempt to measure success for these releases anymore.. They are so far out of the mainstream now that there really is no way to do so...and surely they can't be under any pressure for unit sales, considering how much physical media sales have dissipated now that streaming is the dominant distribution platform.
They just create what they like and hope others like it as well... and maybe go to a show...
That makes sense, it just doesn't seem financially viable if you listen to a lot of these artists talking about why they don't put out new music. Maybe the costs on this one were low enough to make it happen.
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Post by slucero on May 23, 2021 17:53:54 GMT -8
I follow this fella on Youtube... he does "what if X was done by Y" covers... and he records, mixes and masters it all by himself.. and his mixes are stellar. I also follow these guys on YouTube... they are an ACDC cover band... and their members live all over the world... they record their parts at home... and send the guitarist the files and he mixes and masters them... and it sounds like THIS (seriously listen to this... the singer is a Brian Johnson CLONE its fucking amazing):
The point?
Jons comments about it costing "hundreds of thousands" to record are true and bullshit at the same time. If they wanted to.. they could put out a song a fucking WEEK.
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Post by tj on May 23, 2021 21:11:42 GMT -8
I follow this fella on Youtube... he does "what if X was done by Y" covers... and he records, mixes and masters it all by himself.. and his mixes are stellar. I also follow these guys on YouTube... they are an ACDC cover band... and their members live all over the world... they record their parts at home... and send the guitarist the files and he mixes and masters them... and it sounds like THIS (seriously listen to this... the singer is a Brian Johnson CLONE its fucking amazing): The point?
Jons comments about it costing "hundreds of thousands" to record are true and bullshit at the same time. If they wanted to.. they could put out a song a fucking WEEK.
I used to tell the teams that worked for me "don't tell me why it can't be done, tell me what it takes to get it done and we'll decide from there". Almost always, money or time were the biggest obstacles, regardless of the issue. Technology has really lowered the price of recording anymore and over the past year time has been an issue for no band. Perhaps they have just run out of ideas after 40 years.
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Post by slucero on May 23, 2021 22:02:18 GMT -8
I went to audio engineering school in the 80s, just when computer based recording was starting... my major was computer based audio.... so I learned the nuts n bolts of it... things like how to code MIDI, sampling, etc... and this was when it was still in its infancy..... we also learned how to record the old, traditional way - on tape... Even then, using Mastertracks Pro (4 tracks!) on a Macintosh 128K we could see how computing was going to change recording... Now, with my $600 MacMini, like the kids in those 2 vids I posted... using some plugins and a DA interface I have fidelity and muscle equal to that million dollar studio I learned in... I've got impulse response samples of Abby Road Studio A and B - means I can set all my recorded tracks to play "through" the same room the Beatles recorded in... AND modern computing power gives me nearly 200 tracks to use... easily more than most 80's tape based studios ever had. The 1st thing any most musicians do when they "make it" is build a home studio. Neal has one. Jon owns a state of the art one in Nashville. Even Arnel has one in PI.
There is nothing limiting them from collaborating, recording and releasing new material on a more consistent bases. They can record their parts separately and remotely. They have access to tech and/or studios. They can fly tracks to each other via the internet. They have the tech. There's no reason it needs to cost hundreds of thousands to do it.
But they have to realize their new music just isn't going to be as relevant as it used to be, back when there was a industry machine supporting it, and 17 year old girls who wanted it. That ship sailed and sank for Journey for 20+ years ago. Why? Because 17 year old girls aren't interested in 50 year old men.
They are a legacy band with an evergreen catalog. The band members with songwriting credits make cheddar on residuals and legacy touring to Boomers with money. Those without songwriting credits make their money from being on salary, and/or touring. Jon once said there's no money in new music... is he that jaded that he's forgotten why he became a musician in the first place?
Make some music Journey... put it out there.. you never know.. people might dig it.
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Post by factfinder on Jun 4, 2021 6:00:19 GMT -8
New Styx song “Reveries”
I’m not a fan of these first two songs released. COTC is better than this one. Not feeling it.
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Post by tj on Jun 4, 2021 14:04:58 GMT -8
New Styx song “Reveries” I’m not a fan of these first two songs released. COTC is better than this one. Not feeling it. I wouldn't put it in rotation. In the old days of LPs, I might listen because I was too lazy to get up and move the needle, but now it would be a skip, depending on if anything else on the album was really any better and I even put it in to play.
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TNC
Full Member
Posts: 231
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Post by TNC on Jun 7, 2021 4:39:13 GMT -8
I went to audio engineering school in the 80s, just when computer based recording was starting... my major was computer based audio.... so I learned the nuts n bolts of it... things like how to code MIDI, sampling, etc... and this was when it was still in its infancy..... we also learned how to record the old, traditional way - on tape... Even then, using Mastertracks Pro (4 tracks!) on a Macintosh 128K we could see how computing was going to change recording... Now, with my $600 MacMini, like the kids in those 2 vids I posted... using some plugins and a DA interface I have fidelity and muscle equal to that million dollar studio I learned in... I've got impulse response samples of Abby Road Studio A and B - means I can set all my recorded tracks to play "through" the same room the Beatles recorded in... AND modern computing power gives me nearly 200 tracks to use... easily more than most 80's tape based studios ever had. The 1st thing any most musicians do when they "make it" is build a home studio. Neal has one. Jon owns a state of the art one in Nashville. Even Arnel has one in PI.
There is nothing limiting them from collaborating, recording and releasing new material on a more consistent bases. They can record their parts separately and remotely. They have access to tech and/or studios. They can fly tracks to each other via the internet. They have the tech. There's no reason it needs to cost hundreds of thousands to do it.
But they have to realize their new music just isn't going to be as relevant as it used to be, back when there was a industry machine supporting it, and 17 year old girls who wanted it. That ship sailed and sank for Journey for 20+ years ago. Why? Because 17 year old girls aren't interested in 50 year old men.
They are a legacy band with an evergreen catalog. The band members with songwriting credits make cheddar on residuals and legacy touring to Boomers with money. Those without songwriting credits make their money from being on salary, and/or touring. Jon once said there's no money in new music... is he that jaded that he's forgotten why he became a musician in the first place?
Make some music Journey... put it out there.. you never know.. people might dig it.
Great post. We know Jon is full of shit because he is pumping out religious music left and right.
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Post by Boomchild on Jun 14, 2021 7:04:01 GMT -8
For this past Record Store Day, Styx released an E.P. containing two new songs and five songs from live performances. Interestingly, one of the live performances is Mr. Roboto. You know the song from the album and project that TS and JY said ruined things and alienated fans. The two new tracks were written by TS and his writing partner Evankovich. It seems to me both Styx' last album and their forthcoming one are in reality TS\Evankovich projects turned into Styx albums. Which is puzzling to me since Gowan is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. JY also has had his moments and has made collaborative contributions in the past. In the past, even during the time that DDY was in the band they didn't need nor relied upon outside songwriters.
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Post by slucero on Jun 14, 2021 7:57:27 GMT -8
For this past Record Store Day, Styx released an E.P. containing two new songs and five songs from live performances. Interestingly, one of the live performances is Mr. Roboto. You know the song from the album and project that TS and JY said ruined things and alienated fans. The two new tracks were written by TS and his writing partner Evankovich. It seems to me both Styx' last album and their forthcoming one are in reality TS\Evankovich projects turned into Styx albums. Which is puzzling to me since Gowan is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. JY also has had his moments and has made collaborative contributions in the past. In the past, even during the time that DDY was in the band they didn't need nor relied upon outside songwriters.
At their level.. there is always ego & band politics... makes for strange songwriting bedfellows...
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Post by Boomchild on Jun 14, 2021 10:07:32 GMT -8
For this past Record Store Day, Styx released an E.P. containing two new songs and five songs from live performances. Interestingly, one of the live performances is Mr. Roboto. You know the song from the album and project that TS and JY said ruined things and alienated fans. The two new tracks were written by TS and his writing partner Evankovich. It seems to me both Styx' last album and their forthcoming one are in reality TS\Evankovich projects turned into Styx albums. Which is puzzling to me since Gowan is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. JY also has had his moments and has made collaborative contributions in the past. In the past, even during the time that DDY was in the band they didn't need nor relied upon outside songwriters.
At their level.. there is always ego & band politics... makes for strange songwriting bedfellows...
True, but more recently it seems Gowan and JY are less involved in the new music and album projects.
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Post by slucero on Jun 14, 2021 10:13:43 GMT -8
At their level.. there is always ego & band politics... makes for strange songwriting bedfellows...
True, but more recently it seems Gowan and JY are less involved in the new music and album projects.
maybe the ego & band politics are what is causing it....
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