Year 1997
December 17, 1997
Hello friends!
Season's greetings from California. I have been busy since I got home from the tour, writing and re-writing new songs for my first solo album since the "Ambition" lp over 10 years ago. I cannot wait to get your reaction, because I am personally very pleased with the way the songs have turned out. The trouble is, I keep writing and the face of the record keeps changing. I will put a punctuation mark on the writing process as of some day in January and that will be the record! After that, you can expect to find me in the songwriting stance with STYX after the long time hiatus since we wrote and recorded "Kilroy". It looks to be a busy year in the studio. And once all that is done, we will put an all new show together for you and hit the road, coming to a building near you. Happy holidays!
Tommy
September 5, 1997
Hello to all my friends in Canada,
It is a beautiful day here in Los Angeles. Jeanne, Bubba and I are getting ready to drive to Phoenix for the weekend to attend a graduation ceremony for the 1997 summer class at the Meehan Institue there. It is a teaching college for young people who want to become couselors in chemical dependancy programs.The institute is only a year old and this is the second graduating class. It is very exciting to see these energetic graduates preparing to take on a very difficult, but extremely important and personally rewarding job. We look forward to seeing them get their diplomas and get on with their new careers.
Kim continues to do a tremendous job with the web site. I am truly grateful to her. If I am not mistaken, she has a birthday coming up in a few days, so keep her in your thoughts.
I am currently in preproduction to record my first solo album in 10 years. I begin recording on November 1st. It looks like I will be co-producing with Greg Archilla, who's credits include the two COLLECTIVE SOUL albums, NEIL YOUNG and MATCHBOX 20.
Dennis called this morning from Nashville to let me know things were going well with his new musical, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME which opened there last night . I can tell you, even without having seen it yet, thatthe music is unbelievable, the staging breathtaking and the story is a classic. Expect to see this go all the way. Go Dennis!
I look forward to seeing you all again in the not too distant future.
Peace,
Tommy Shaw
August 2nd, 1997
Dear Friends,
I arrived home last night from the tour around 9:00pm after 2 days of travel that rivalled anything we have ever done. Seattle/New York, New York/Chicago, Chicago/Los Angeles (for me), and all within 36 hours! But now I am home and not going ANYWHERE for a few days.
For the past month I have been making arrangements to acquire all the gear I need to prepare my home studio for making an album here. Now things will be arriving as well as technicians showing up to do the installation.
My little girl Hannah will be arriving in a week and she, Jeanne and I will be enjoying the remainder of the summer here in Southern California.
Once the studio is up and running, I will begin work on my first solo album since "Ambition" in 1987. I will be calling on my friends to show up and write, sing and/or play with me. I expect to include Jack, Michael and His Nugeness as well as Todd Sucherman, and a list of other friends I will tell you about later. I am very excited to make this record, not as a solo artist, but as the guy who is still in STYX as well as Damn Yankees. This gives me a different sort of artistic liscense and in some ways takes some of the presure off. Not a bad thing going into a creative endeavor...
And through the fall and winter, I expect to be visited by Styx members who are gearing up for our studio album (the first since 1983!) that we expect to deliver late next year. It is shaping up to be a good year for new music and good vibes up here in the canyon.
Thank you for all your good wishes and for showing up when we came to town. Look for STYX to hit the road in the fall of '98 with an even BETTER show than this summer. You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet.
Tommy
June 23, 1997
Dear Friends,
Returning to Montreal and Quebec City was very exciting for us all. For one thing, we all enjoy shopping in Montreal on St. Catherine. The French Canadians have a real flair for fashion and we all bought new clothes to wear on stage. Believe it or not, we put our wardrobe through a lot of wear and tear during those 2 hours a night !
The people are our favorite. There is not a sense of cycicism there as can be found in many major cities around the world. An innocence from another time. Very refreshing. And how could we not respond to the enthusiastic welcome we received in both Montreal and Quebec City. We find ourselves looking at one another somewhat speechless, it is difficult to put into words our fondness for the people there.
Thank you all for your appreciation of our music.
TS/STYX
March 27, 1997
Dear Friends,
We had not written any music since John died. I went out to my studio and put the capo on my acoustic guitar and the song sort of played itself. I recorded a rough version and played it for the members of STYX. We all agreed that it was a song we should put on the next album. It seemed like the right thing to do. It WAS difficult to get through for a while. On my demo, my voice was really trembling. It took us a while before we could focus on it as a piece of music that needed to go through the recording process. Dennis encouraged me to be as expressive lyrically as I could, and re-wrote several lines himself. The middle part was instrumental for a long time until Dennis suggested putting words there. On my way to Chicago, I wrote lyrics and we decided Dennis should sing the melody on that section. It is POWERFUL! We are very happy to share this with our fans. There have been occasions when we laughed, thinking what John might do to us if he were here and heard us doing this song. I think first of all he'd hit Chuck in the arm really hard, then maybe wrestle me to the floor and rub food in my hair.
We really do miss you Johnny.
Tommy.
January 24, 1997
Dear Friends,
It is about time to rev up the STYX machine and give it a spin around 1997. We have written several new songs and will record them as well as re-mixing the live recordings we made last summer, and plan on releasing a Live CD this spring before we hit the road for a limited amount of summer shows. it will be a new show, not a repeat of Return To Paradise..., and the designs are in the works as I write. After this next run, we will lock ourselves in the studio and record a full studio album of new material, and then after that ... !
I don't know if you can tell, but there is some serious enthousiam in our camp these days. See you soon...
Tommy