#styx band | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

BuzzFeed published a report claiming that Tumblr was utilized as a distribution channel for Russian agents to influence American voting habits during the 2016 presidential election in Feb 2018.

melodychocolat · 2 months

Text

literally me

#styx #styx band #styxposting #styxblr

85 notes · View notes

secret-unburnt-guitars · 3 months

Note

Hi i don't know much abt styx aside from general prog fandom osmosis but kwh has always intrigued me a little bit. Can you explain it in excruciating detail? (genuinely i'm not being sarcastic)

*cracks knuckles*

on february 22, 1983, styx released their eleventh studio album Kilroy Was Here. it was a concept album/rock opera though dennis deyoung likes to call it more of a "rock theatrical experience" in recent interviews. they even made a minifilm they played before the concert!!!! you can find it and the rest of caught in the act on youtube

it was made partially as a response to the rise of the satanic panic in the early-mid 1980s. people started to believe that rock music was evil and hiding satanic messages. the band was targeted by the public when they were accused in particular by the government of arkansas (i think?) of putting backwards messages (called backmasking) in their song Snowblind (the line "i try so hard to make it so" sounded like "satan moves through our voices" to some people. i own a copy of paradise theatre, that track in particular is damaged.).

and then dennis deyoung had a GREAT IDEA!!!!!!!!

imagine a big ol lightbulb flashing over him while the rest of the members of styx watch in mortal dread

so basically the album follows a sort of loose and vague backstory that's somehow still solid enough for people to follow some sort of a plot in their head (which is slightly backed up by Caught In The Act, the designated KWH "concert," which i'll get to in a second). the basic synopsis (paraphrased but still in excruciating detail) is as such:

set in a futuristic chicago(?) rock and roll has been made illegal under code 672 (prohibits the playing and purveying of rock music). Dr. Everett Righteous (played by JY), who was responsible for this, is the leader of the majority for musical morality or the MMM for short. the MMM is one of the strongest organizations in this universe since you know. they literally convinced congress to criminalize an entire genre of music for the entire country. righteous also hosts a television show where he encourages the public to burn guitars and records in a huge bonfire during “nightly rallies”. he also projects himself onto a big triangle over the skyline which i think is fucking hilarious i haven’t been able to get over it

Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (played by Dennis DeYoung, of course he's the title character), was a prolific rock musician at the time of the ban. he was thrown in prison for breaking the law and after being framed of murder. they accused him of bashing an MMM crusader's head in (which he obviously didn't do) after they raided one of his concerts at the paradise theatre. he then goes to rot in prison and is subjected to attempts of brainwashing by the dr. righteous show with the other “rock n’ roll misfits” they’ve arrested. it doesn’t work lol. i don't understand how it would work BECAUSE IT'S NEVER EXPLAINED

the prison kilroy is rotting in is maintained/monitored by japanese import, mass produced robots dubbed the "robotos," hence the title track. ignore how racist they look, it was 1983, this is not my fault

i mildly dislike them but it sucks how they’re essential to the plot ANYWAYS

here comes Jonathan Chance, (played by Tommy Shaw, albeit reluctantly) who is a rebel that is part of a underground resistance (that's only really mentioned once). with his friend, he breaks into some unknown area that is most likely a recording studio and hijacks the live television recording of the dr. righteous show. he proceeds to namedrop himself and then run off

credit to @mccoys-killer-queen for the gifs!!

kilroy sees this happen, which inspires him to attempt to escape the prison. kilroy incapacitates a roboto that visits his prison cell and disguises himself as it so he can escape without being noticed (i do not like the way he does this)

after kilroy escapes, he goes throughout the city and leaves messages for jonathan, leading him back to the paradise theater which is now the Dr. Righteous Museum for Rock Pathology

it's got a bunch of shitty animatronics that include people like jimi hendrix and elvis presley, but at the very back is an animatronic of kilroy repeatedly bashing in someone's head

this is my favorite part of the minifilm which i've basically explained sorry. you see like what you think is another roboto emerge from the shadows, and then it takes off its mask AND IT'S THE ACTUAL KILROY!!!

(this is taken from the live show, the transition is so goddamn dope)

and then dennis deyoung prances around and has his little pick me theater main character moment and sings mr. roboto and dances and stuff it looks so stupid. the live version of mr. roboto is way funnier than the official music video i don't know. i posted it about here before but i love this part in particular

so that's how kilroy and jonathan meet and that's basically the plot of one of styx's most popular songs!! sorry i gave kind of a play by play of the minifilm

now here's the fun part !!!! (unfinished lore/controversy)

unfortunately the reception of this album was less than satisfactory for most people back in '83, since KWH was way far away from the brand that styx had made for themselves in the 70s. they made art rock and prog, but this was just straight up synthpop. some people liked it though. i read somewhere in an article that it "alienated their male audience" and honestly if you're alienated by a little bit of gay pick me theater bs from your favorite band, that's a you problem

caught in the act was the designated "kilroy concert" that styx did sometime in 1983. the concert, however, doesn't give any. depth. to any additional explanations of multiple plot holes present in the story. as much as i love and cherish dennis deyoung he didn't do a very good job at writing this.

caught in the act felt more like a compromise than a show, seeing as the banter after the performance of mr. roboto was very bare? kilroy explains to jonathan that he was framed for murder, and then he goes in depth on the night it happened. "the crowd was totally psyched," he says, and then it goes to JY performing a guitar solo, which leads into the rest of the concert. the entire concert was portrayed as a flashback and gives no real backstory to any of the established characters. and then at the tail end of the concert they get "raided" by the MMM and you watch as an MMM officer murders one of righteous' own followers with kilroy's guitar. they cut back to kilroy and jonathan, they sing haven't we been before, and then kilroy hands jonathan this sick ass glowing guitar, then they perform the world's worst finale. the dance party ending of caught in the act. it sucks. it's horrible. i hate it. also there is no dennis deyoung in the kilroy was here universe lmfao

i'm still grateful for the concert though don't get me wrong!!! amazing concert

if the rest of styx didn't want to rip dennis deyoung apart for making them do this (i recently learned from a manager that DDY made them turn down an opportunity to perform at one of the largest concerts of the 80s, because he was like "but muh kilroy"), i believe songs off the album like High Time and Double Life would have been performed at Caught in the Act. both extremely lore-heavy songs, especially double life. i really wish they played double life. but c'est la vie, i guess.

literally everyone in the band hated dennis' guts so much while they were making this (justified, he was a stubborn asshole during production) but god was it worth it. for me at least. i imagine one of the conversations about production went like

JY: dennis have you considered that maybe this is a bad idea Dennis: i'm gonna make you the villain of the story if you don't shut the FUCK UP

i still think that JY had a little bit of fun though. he was hamming it tf up as dr. righteous i'm sorry you need to watch the mv's which you can find on youtube as well

but unfortunately tommy shaw wasn't having a good time at all, he literally quit on stage and stormed off and styx split for a while bc of this album i mean LOOK AT HIM HE'S SO PISSED OFF

overall this album is both cheese AND corn, worst album i've ever listened to, and yet it's given me a purpose in life. i've written 7,000+ words in one document about this album just to try and fill in the blanks the lore has, it's got so many. it's a running joke on this blog, i really hope you check out the album, because i think it's wonderful and it's endearing regardless of the controversy, it's too late for me. save yourself

#styx #styxposting #kilroy was here #styx band #dennis deyoung #tommy shaw #jonathan chance #dr. righteous #styxblr #robert orin charles kilroy #this took me two days to prepare and write #sorry to everyone else that already knows the story front and back because of me (consider this a refresh)#or to anyone that already knew the story even before me #god i wish i was there to experience it.#i would've died and gone to heaven #i watch the live show and my heart is warmed because i know for a fact that someone in that audience was as insane about this story as i am #and was probably losing their shit in the audience #perhaps it was a birthday gift. or something they had completely given up hope on seeing #also righteous canonically owns a fried chicken brand named Dr. Righteous' Fried Chicken as a play on KFC #i had to stop watching the minifilm for fifteen minutes and go do something else because i was so disgusted by the fried chicken plot point #and DDY milks the fuck out of it in CITA when he goes 'and i was eating that G R E A S Y fried chicken'#the pain and agony #it's so unnecessary #caught in the act #i might be a little ill in the mentally

43 notes · View notes

iamsonormalaboutninjago · 4 months

Text

Okay this was a part of an Ask:

What Progressive Rock Bands I think each Ninja would like ✨

Kai: Definitely Rush and Styx. More hard rock, but he listens to sad Genesis songs late at night.

Jay: Alan Parsons Project, Yes, ELP. Symphonic and ADHD pleasing

Cole: Genesis, King Crimson, Camel. 〰️ Slow jamssss 〰️

Zane: King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Styx, Alan Parsons Project. More complex beats cause he’s a music snob imo

Lloyd: Styx, Genesis, Yes, Tool, Kansas, Rush. The others got him into these cause he doesn’t expand his music tastes much lol

Nya: Tool, Yes, Rush, King Gizzard. Whatever’s hard and fast and can ebb on felony speeding

Arin: Genesis, Styx. He will competitively sing and dance to sad songs of romance despite never having a crush

Sora: Genesis, Alan Parsons Project, Pinky Floyd. Bands with a consistent beat that she can have on in the background.

40 notes · View notes

princessmo · 1 year

Text

#styx #paradise theater #styx band #classic rock

268 notes · View notes

just-get-through-this-night · 10 months

Text

#styx #styx band #dennis deyoung #tommy shaw

69 notes · View notes

rocklemania-2024 · 1 month

Text

ROCKLEMANIA MATCH 14: STYX v. ELO

(both bands circa 1978)

***Remember to choose based on ass-kicking ability, not personal favoritism or because of their music. ALSO, no weapons (including improvised weapons)***

#rocklemania 2024 #styx #styx band #electric light orchestra #elo

13 notes · View notes

the-hottest-band-tournament · 6 days

Text

Round one

Deep Purple

Formed in: 1967

Genres: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Lineup: Ian Gillan- vocals

Ritchie Blackmore- guitar

John Lord- organ, keyboards

Roger Glover- bass, synth

Ian Paice- drums

Albums from the 80s:

Perfect Strangers (1984)

The House of Blue Light (1987)

Propaganda:

Styx

Formed in: 1972

Genres: Pop Rock, Prog Rock, Arena Rock, Hard Rock

Lineup: Dennis DeYoung- vocals, keyboard, accordion

James “JY” Young- vocals, guitar

Tommy Shaw- vocals, guitar

Chuck Panozzo- bass

John Panozzo- drums, percussion

Albums from the 80s:

Paradise Theatre (1981)

Kilroy Was Here (1983)

Propaganda:

#round 1 #deep purple #styx #styx band #ian gillan #ritchie blackmore #john lord #roger glover #ian paice #dennis deyoung #james young #tommy shaw #chuck panozzo #John panozzo #The hottest 80s band tournament #The hottest 80s band tourney #tumblr polls #poll

10 notes · View notes

mccoys-killer-queen · 11 months

Photo

I think it’s about time we appreciate Tommy’s slutty little teal jumpsuit wouldn’t u agree

#now imagine this but phil collen #styx #styxblr #tommy shaw #jy young #my gifs #styx band

68 notes · View notes

such-asche · 8 months

Text

Happy 70th birthday to our cutest guitarist ever(´∀｀)

#Tommy Shaw #Styx #Styx band #fanart #look at him he's just like a little cocker spaniel puppy #literally crying when looking for his photos as reference

25 notes · View notes

justaearthboundmisfit · 1 month

Text

I've been obsessed with caught in the act! I had to edit Tommy.

#styx band #styxposting #styxblr #tommy shaw #james jy young #styx #dennis deyoung #chuck panozzo #john panozzo

7 notes · View notes

jeffcbliss · 8 months

Text

(Left to right) James “J.Y.” Young, Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan of Styx - Pacific Amphitheatre; Costa Mesa, CA (7-27-23). @STYXtheBand @officialgowan @Tommyshawpage1

Photo: Jeff Bliss

20 notes · View notes

secret-unburnt-guitars · 2 months

Text

happy 41st anniversary to kilroy was here (1983)!!!!!!!

here’s my collection of little kilroy-related trinkets and name. license plate. things. i’ve collected over the past couple years :3333

#styx #styxposting #kilroy was here #styx band #dennis deyoung #tommy shaw #jonathan chance #dr. righteous #styxblr #robert orin charles kilroy #mr. roboto #don’t ask me why i have two copies of the same cd

13 notes · View notes

bilbao-song · 5 months

Text

secret rocker santa updates (11/26/23)

well. once again everyone who has signed up should have received a number by now :-) so let me know if you're signed up and don't have one! i still have 8637636 messages to answer and i'm hoping to get officially caught up today!!!!! sorry sorry sorry it has been like two consecutive super busy weeks

november 28th is the last official day to sign up!!! i will probably be leaving it open on the 29th as well but it reeeaaally depends on how busy i end up being that day, so if you're thinking of signing up but still haven't, time is almost up! we have a really good number of people this year and i think it's going to be great :-)

expect to be contacted by me either on the 29th or 30th with information about who you'll be santa for! (if i send this to you in the form of an ask, please do not publish it!)

whoever is going to be my santa will be contacted by @lord-of-the-weird :^)

i'm already kind of preliminarily coming up with matches and i've noticed a few more bands/artists for whom we could still use a few more participants, including: t. rex/marc bolan, styx, iron maiden (still lmao rip), guns n roses. i'll be tagging this accordingly but feel free to reblog if you have potentially interested followers :-)

likewise!! feel free to reblog either the short post or long post if you have music enjoyer followers who could potentially be interested in this sort of thing!!

andddd lastly here is the sign up link if anyone who sees this is interested (u can click either link in the last bullet point for more general info if needed) <3

#i just know someone somewhere w a different date format is rolling their eyes at me every time #anyway thank u everyone for tolerating my 4838325 posts about this. the endless stream of posts is almost over i promise #t. rex #t. rex band #marc bolan #styx #styx band #iron maiden #guns n roses #gnr #t rex band #secret rocker santa #srs updates #classic rock #queue

17 notes · View notes

just-get-through-this-night · 7 months

Text