More Shaw Blades Info...upcoming winter tour

by **styxfanNH** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:09 am

Shaw/Blades now has 2 myspace pages:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... d=99803299

and

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... d=82441679

Here is some interesting info from the one:

CD and Tour

Tommy and I (Shaw/Blades) are doing the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding in Phoenix Ariz this Dec. 16. Maybe a few surprise Shaw/Blades shows before the release of the CD.

Shaw/Blades "Influence" set for Feb 13 release with VH1 Classic. first single "Your Move" will be released mid-Jan. 07. We will be touring behind in mid Feb-thru March. Should be fun. We are setting up the stage like it is our living room and in fact we will have winners sit in couches on stage with us.

JB

SHAW BLADES

Influence

This album has been years in the making. The recording process didn't take years, but the concept had been looming in our conversations for a long time. We'd always sat around with a couple of guitars and play songs we both knew from our younger days, spontaneous harmonizing and all that but we slowly eased into the idea of making a record.

From the day Jack Blades showed up on my doorstep on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1989, we discovered our chemistry as writers almost immediately. I'm not even sure if we noticed how our voices blended. It just happened and I think we took it for granted, because we were focused on jumping into the **** Yankees experiment to see if it worked. Jack was in my laundry room downstairs as he was settling in and I heard him sing "I don't wanna hear about it--any more..." I went over to the piano and played, "Can you take me high enough?" and then called down for him to come up because I thought the two parts worked well together. Before the rinse cycle was completed we'd written the song. That's been our experience time and again working together. As writers were like two old friends who finish each other's sentences. We became best friends as a result of the music and the experiences we had because of it.

After two albums and two world tours with **** Yankees we decided to do our first SHAW BLADES album. We flipped a coin to see whose name went first. Typical of how simple we've always kept things. When we formed **** Yankees, I had been trying along with James Young to get STYX back together for three years and despite lawyers, managers and our best efforts we could not get all the members in a room at the same time, much less reunite the band. **** Yankees was a sit down at a sandwich joint, a "Let's do it this way," and it was a done deal.

The SHAW BLADES "Hallucination" album was a departure from **** Yankees in that it was more acoustic in nature, not nearly as heavy and more organically produced. Producer Don Gehman coined the term "car parts" for some of the vocal parts we DIDN'T sing, suggesting we leave those for people who were listening on their car stereos to sing out loud with us. To this day, people who know and own Hallucination tell us they have it in their car CD player and love to sing along.

On "Influence" we went song by song; some we held very close to the original versions, while on others we departed from the familiar arrangements and made them our own. We played all the instruments except for drums and an occasional keyboard parts which meant that some of the embellishments from the originals were reproduced with sounds from the guitar.

"Summer Breeze" has lots of interesting textures on the original Seals and Crofts recording, and I did my best to bring them to life by muting the strings to recreate percussion sounds and so on. It was like painting a picture with only primary colors, mixing our own shades as we went along.

"Your Move" was a combination of tipping our hat to the original, separating it from the second half of Yes' version and bookending it with an original composition.

"Lucky Man" was one we wanted to stay the course on, remaking it as close to the original as possible. Since neither of us were good enough keyboard players to play the Keith Emerson MOOG solo, I dug out this old pedal I'd gotten from Digitech years before but had never plugged in--a pedal that allowed you to do dive bombs up or down by manipulating the pedal and settings. This gave us the same kind of portamento solo energy as the original but made it our own at the same time.

"For What Its Worth" was one of the first songs we recorded, an experiment to see how we sounded covering a classic, this one from Stephen Stills when he was in Buffalo Springfield. We got braver as we went along, taking Simon and Garfunkel's "I Am A Rock" to a whole other level. I'm surprised no one has ever cut that in a heavier version. It was a natural.

Jack's son Colin, a very experimental songwriter himself, is always playing with different tunings and he showed me this tuning that he said was a typical Johnny Reznik (Goo-Goo Dolls) tuning. I tried "Dance With Me" and it came to life in a way I'd never heard it. I'd played that song in bars back before I joined STYX, but the original was sounding a little too sweet for us in that form. This tuning gave it some darkness, which set the lyrics in a more introspective tone. Jack's bass, Randy Mitchell's drum loops, and a little sprinkling of mandolin dust was all this one needed.

Carousel by the Hollies was one that almost suffered by us getting it more in tune than theirs. All of these originals were recorded long before the days of digital auto tuning. Nowadays, people's ears can detect the slightest bit of out-of-tune-ness. If you listen to pop country music from this current era, they have made auto-tuning into part of the art form. Vocal choruses are so perfectly in tune now that if you were to look at the sound wave it would be smooth as glass. The particular out-of-tune-ness of the Hollies vocals really defined their sound, so in order to still keep the vibe of their original version, we were careful not to make it too perfect.

TS

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:23 am

CD and Tour

Tommy and I (Shaw/Blades) are doing the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding in Phoenix Ariz this Dec. 16. Maybe a few surprise Shaw/Blades shows before the release of the CD.

Shaw/Blades "Influence" set for Feb 13 release with VH1 Classic. first single "Your Move" will be released mid-Jan. 07. We will be touring behind in mid Feb-thru March. Should be fun. We are setting up the stage like it is our living room and in fact we will have winners sit in couches on stage with us.

JB

I want to sit on the couch!! LOL I hope they come to the Midwest, I'll be there! I love those guys together!! It was so great to chat with Jack, he's so much fun!!

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:24 am

Jack's son Colin, a very experimental songwriter himself, is always playing with different tunings and he showed me this tuning that he said was a typical Johnny Reznik (Goo-Goo Dolls) tuning. I tried "Dance With Me" and it came to life in a way I'd never heard it. I'd played that song in bars back before I joined STYX, but the original was sounding a little too sweet for us in that form. This tuning gave it some darkness, which set the lyrics in a more introspective tone. Jack's bass, Randy Mitchell's drum loops, and a little sprinkling of mandolin dust was all this one needed.

I have Colin's cd! I'm looking forward to a new one, hopefully soon.

I'm sick of cover songs, but I love the Shaw/Blades combination and some of those songs I do like

by **StyxCollector** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:07 pm

The funny thing is - watching that first link, you see how much of an acoustic guy Tommy is in the clip they link on the Influence page (although I'd kill to get the unedited stuff that it comes from). He seems to be enjoying himself even with TMTOMH, whereas I don't see that the past time or two I've seen him with Styx.

Sadly, I'm looking forward to seeing Shaw Blades way more than Styx at this point.

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:34 pm

StyxCollector wrote:
Sadly, I'm looking forward to seeing Shaw Blades way more than Styx at this point.

ME TOO!!!

I hope they come near here, I'm SO excited!!!

by **stabbim** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:37 pm

StyxCollector wrote:Sadly, I'm looking forward to seeing Shaw Blades way more than Styx at this point.

Hell, I've felt that way since 1996! I was hoping that TS would get the Styx thing out of his system with RTP, then go right back to making (much cooler) music with JB. I would have preferred originals to covers, but honestly I'm glad to see them working together again in any capacity.

by **bugsymalone** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:50 pm

OK, since I am way more interested in this musical venture with Tommy than his involvement in Current Styx, where in all of this does (1) Current Styx and the endless tour come in? and (2) Where does recording, releasing and promoting a new Current Styx album come in?

Just curious.

Bugsy

by **wiseguy** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:58 am

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:
Jack's son Colin, a very experimental songwriter himself, is always playing with different tunings and he showed me this tuning that he said was a typical Johnny Reznik (Goo-Goo Dolls) tuning. I tried "Dance With Me" and it came to life in a way I'd never heard it. I'd played that song in bars back before I joined STYX, but the original was sounding a little too sweet for us in that form. This tuning gave it some darkness, which set the lyrics in a more introspective tone. Jack's bass, Randy Mitchell's drum loops, and a little sprinkling of mandolin dust was all this one needed.

I have Colin's cd! I'm looking forward to a new one, hopefully soon.

I'm sick of cover songs, but I love the Shaw/Blades combination and some of those songs I do like

Good god, does every post have to get turned into a reminder of who you have met or something you have done.

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:49 am

wiseguy wrote:
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:
Jack's son Colin, a very experimental songwriter himself, is always playing with different tunings and he showed me this tuning that he said was a typical Johnny Reznik (Goo-Goo Dolls) tuning. I tried "Dance With Me" and it came to life in a way I'd never heard it. I'd played that song in bars back before I joined STYX, but the original was sounding a little too sweet for us in that form. This tuning gave it some darkness, which set the lyrics in a more introspective tone. Jack's bass, Randy Mitchell's drum loops, and a little sprinkling of mandolin dust was all this one needed.

I have Colin's cd! I'm looking forward to a new one, hopefully soon.

I'm sick of cover songs, but I love the Shaw/Blades combination and some of those songs I do like

Good god, does every post have to get turned into a reminder of who you have met or something you have done.

Good god you jealous idiot. How's life in Michigan by the way? What name are you going to go by next time on here? I didn't meet Colin, can't you read??? I bought Colin's cd. A few people do care, they PM'd me to burn them a copy.

Also, if you don't like my posts, then don't read them. See how easy that is??? Everyone else doesn't read them - Ha ha ha ha ha!!! LOL

by **StyxCollector** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:44 am

bugsymalone wrote:OK, since I am way more interested in this musical venture with Tommy than his involvement in Current Styx, where in all of this does (1) Current Styx and the endless tour come in? and (2) Where does recording, releasing and promoting a new Current Styx album come in?

Just curious.

Bugsy

Well, in my interview with JY for Cyclorama, he distinctly said solo projects were not good. See where that landed Glen? lol

I think they are realizing the endless tour needs to stop before the wheels on the bus fall off. I would like to see Styx take off until at least next summer AND have a new album out (or at least mostly recorded) by then. There's no real excuse not to. If they can't hobble together 10 songs in 4 years, that's pretty sad.

by **whocares** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:26 pm

StyxCollector wrote:
Well, in my interview with JY for Cyclorama, he distinctly said solo projects were not good. See where that landed Glen? lol

I think they are realizing the endless tour needs to stop before the wheels on the bus fall off. I would like to see Styx take off until at least next summer AND have a new album out (or at least mostly recorded) by then. There's no real excuse not to. If they can't hobble together 10 songs in 4 years, that's pretty sad.

I can see that coming from JY. Then again, when was the last successful Solo album from JY? Jealousy? Absolutely. He doesn't want anyone in the band to be more successful than he thinks he is. Why do you think they have Larry Gowan as "the replacement guy"? Ok, so he's pretty popular in Canada. But how much does Styx actually tour through all of Canada? JY is a joke and a half. Even that half is too much credit for him.

Tommy has always been my favorite person in Styx, always will be. Oh and when you meet him, he's a pretty nice guy too. :wink:

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:12 pm

StyxCollector wrote:
bugsymalone wrote:OK, since I am way more interested in this musical venture with Tommy than his involvement in Current Styx, where in all of this does (1) Current Styx and the endless tour come in? and (2) Where does recording, releasing and promoting a new Current Styx album come in?

Just curious.

Bugsy

Well, in my interview with JY for Cyclorama, he distinctly said solo projects were not good. See where that landed Glen? lol

I think they are realizing the endless tour needs to stop before the wheels on the bus fall off. I would like to see Styx take off until at least next summer AND have a new album out (or at least mostly recorded) by then. There's no real excuse not to. If they can't hobble together 10 songs in 4 years, that's pretty sad.

I think they'll be taking a break since Tommy and Jack are going to be out and about for a while together. I'm sure they'll be back on tour right before summer, going non-stop. They have 3 new songs now? I wonder if they're even working on more on the road.

Those poor bus wheels - LOL Lucky for them that the price of gas went down too!

by **styxfanNH** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:05 pm

except for a handful of random dates, they are pretty much off until they go to England at the end of April. Pretty much they are taking 6 months off. This also means they won't be promoting the CYO Dvd other than in interviews. (Kinda odd).

Even if Tommy and Jack tour for 20 shows or so in February, they have plenty of time to put an album together.

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:56 pm

styxfanNH wrote:except for a handful of random dates, they are pretty much off until they go to England at the end of April. Pretty much they are taking 6 months off. This also means they won't be promoting the CYO Dvd other than in interviews. (Kinda odd).

Even if Tommy and Jack tour for 20 shows or so in February, they have plenty of time to put an album together.

I like your confidence :wink:

Do you think they're still going to be together and keep going in the later part of 2007? Just wondering your opinion, seriously.

by **ChicagoSTYX** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:12 pm

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:
styxfanNH wrote:except for a handful of random dates, they are pretty much off until they go to England at the end of April. Pretty much they are taking 6 months off. This also means they won't be promoting the CYO Dvd other than in interviews. (Kinda odd).

Even if Tommy and Jack tour for 20 shows or so in February, they have plenty of time to put an album together.

I like your confidence

Do you think they're still going to be together and keep going in the later part of 2007? Just wondering your opinion, seriously.

They will have a new CD in 2007 and a full tour beginning in England and then onto the US. They will most likely tour Japan in November of 2007.

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:27 pm

ChicagoSTYX wrote:
They will have a new CD in 2007 and a full tour beginning in England and then onto the US. They will most likely tour Japan in November of 2007.

Cool Beans!!! All these new Styx related cd's in 2007, how fricken exciting for all Styx fans!!!!

Japan?? LOL Really? Funny, the 2 most popular Styx songs in Japan are "Babe" and "Mr. Roboto". I'd love to see that concert. I think "Boat on the River" is popular over there too.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Himitsu wo shiri tai

by **froy** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:30 pm

Pretty much they are taking 6 months off. This also means they won't be promoting the CYO Dvd other than in interviews. (Kinda odd).

Not really they know that nobody is going to buy it so why waste there time
Styx is done'''
Time for a rebirth or death we will see which one happens,

Even if Tommy and Jack tour for 20 shows or so in February, they have plenty of time to put an album together.

[/quote]

Put an album together for what ?
Shaw and Young are not great song writers
This is why they are going down
They need that 3rd writer Dennis to bring in radio friendly hits
Its a shame there to blind to see that

One other thing
Dennis has 12 songs in the can waiting

The question I ask is waiting for what?
I think I know the answer
Does anyone else have it?

by **stabbim** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:33 pm

whocares wrote:
StyxCollector wrote:
Well, in my interview with JY for Cyclorama, he distinctly said solo projects were not good. See where that landed Glen? lol

Jealousy? Absolutely. He doesn't want anyone in the band to be more successful than he thinks he is.

I wouldn't say personal jealousy so much as professional security. JY needs the band to be viable, and it's easier to keep a band together when there are no divided loyalties. Of course, if someone needs an outlet that the band isn't providing, it can get unhealthy...and when you've got a band like Styx, which is essentially just a loose confederation of solo artists to begin with....

by **SuiteMadameBlue** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:33 pm

froy wrote:
The question I ask is waiting for what?
I think I know the answer
Does anyone else have it?

I do, I'm sure everyone on here knows the obvious answer :lol:

by **ChicagoSTYX** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:49 am

Froy wrote:

Dennis has 12 songs in the can waiting

The question I ask is waiting for what?
I think I know the answer
Does anyone else have it?

OHHH OHHH OHHH (raising hand in the back of the class room)

No record label wants to release it

by **froy** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:54 am

Larry Gowan aka Chicago Styx said

No record label wants to release it

Judge Froy said

Bailiff Wack His Pee Pee.

by **Jodes** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:13 am

Truth hurts doesn't it Froy?

by **froy** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:21 am

Jodes wrote:Truth hurts doesn't it Froy?

So does Larry's weeeeener

Now back to why Dennis is holding back his 12 songs
Its so damm obvious with us Classic Styx fans
I guess we are just smarter then the current Styx fans .

by **Jodes** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:53 am

weener? what the hell is a weener?

by **sadie65** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:04 am

Jodes wrote:weener? what the hell is a weener?

Run Jodes...run. Don't take the bait.

by **froy** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:24 pm

Jodes wrote:weener? what the hell is a weener?

Anyone care to explain to our Pal Jodes what a weeeener is .

by **Jodes** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:26 pm

Is that kinda like EEEEEEEDDIIIOOOOOTTTT? As my good friend Ren Hoek says?

by **froy** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:29 pm

Jodes wrote:Is that kinda like EEEEEEEDDIIIOOOOOTTTT? As my good friend Ren Hoek says?

No its kinda like PEEENIS

by **Jodes** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:42 pm

Ah.. one of the Nus Brothers in other words..

by **Monker** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:17 pm

Jodes wrote:Is that kinda like EEEEEEEDDIIIOOOOOTTTT? As my good friend Ren Hoek says?

Yeah, you would have to explain that to a bloated bag of protoplasm, like froy.

What is Dennis waiting for? He's probably too busy playing with those Magic Nose Goblin's that froy picked for him. Or, maybe he's too busy playing with his "Log: for 80's pop singer's who are way past their prime".

"What lends a hand
when he's not in his band
and makes an old man sing?

What makes him hope
that froy's not on dope
and that he's still the Styx king

It's Log, log! It's big, it's heavy, it's wood!
It's log, log! It's better then bad, it's good!

All 80's singers need logs! They gotta get their logs!
They all need their logs! Froy's gonna give them a log!"

MR

More Shaw Blades Info...upcoming winter tour

More Shaw Blades Info...upcoming winter tour

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