~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thursday 13: Thirteen Places I’ve Traveled to This Year (or Will in the Next Week or So)


(meaning I spent the night somewhere other than home)

  1. Upland, CA
  2. San Diego, CA
  3. Lincoln City, OR
  4. Plattsburgh, NY
  5. Hillsboro, OR
  6. San Francisco, CA
  7. Midway, UT
  8. Salt Lake City, UT
  9. Hot Springs, AR
  10. Saratoga, CA
  11. Keene, NY
  12. Tampa, FL
  13. Las Vegas, NV

Can you guess how many of these were for Styx shows? LOL

8 comments:

Paige Tyler said...

Very cool! San Francisco is definitely my favorite!

Happy Thanksgiving!

*hugs*
Paige

Come see my Thanksgiving Hunk at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I have no idea. How many? I know you went to SF for RWA but I'll bet all the rest were Styx concerts.

Unknown said...

Lucky girl! Happy Turkey Day!

Ms Menozzi said...

Looks like you're having fun, though! :)

And yeah, I'd guess the majority of those were Styx shows. ;)

Ciao!
Happy (belated)TT!

Dayle A. Dermatis said...

I'll wait for a few more guesses before I post the answer to how many of those were Styx shows. It was definitely less than 12, though!

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing nine were Styx shows. And hey, I bought a best of...cd, and wonder if there may be newer material than from the 80's - can you give me recommendations of cds? I'm thrilling to them, though. GREAT driving CDs!

Love you!

Dayle A. Dermatis said...

Here's the tally:

Styx shows: Upland, San Diego, Hot Springs, Saratoga, Tampa. Vegas is Styx-Related Product, as it's for two Shaw/Blades shows. I'm lucky in that Styx plays a fair number of CA shows, many of which I can drive to and from in that day.

Family (mine): Plattsburgh, Keene

Family (Ken): Hot Springs (there's an overlap there!)

Writing Workshops: Lincoln City, San Francisco

Bike Trip: Midway and Salt Lake City

Hillsboro was to visit Ken while he was working here, and that's where I am now (we came up together).

Dayle A. Dermatis said...

Is there newer Styx material since the 80s? ::peals of laughter:: Of course there is! They're one of the few "classic rock" bands that still records, not just tours on the basis of their old hits!

They went on hiatus after their big 1983 tour, and reformed briefly in the 1990s w/o Tommy Shaw, who was busy with Damn Yankees. That resulted in Edge of the Century, which is...mixed. It has one of my favorite songs ("Love is the Ritual") and some other great ones, but also some clunkers. If it's available on iTunes, I might recommended certain songs to buy.

The next "original lineup" album was Brave New World in 1999. Tommy Shaw was back, but Dennis De Young was ill, and the album suffers from the growing rift between Dennis and the rest of the band. Not highly recommended, although again it has a few songs that I adore.

2003, Cyclorama. ZOMG! Even hardcore fans think this is their best album since Pieces of Eight, and I totally agree! An incredible fusion of the classic Styx sound with their progressive roots plus a modern sensibility. Contains one of my all-time favorites, "One With Everything." Buy. It. Now.

Big Bang Theory (2005) is a covers album, and while I love it, it may not be the best choice for the casual fan. I'd recommend checking out the song list and if they appeal to you, go for it.

Those are the studio albums. There have been any number of compilations and live albums, probably too many (some were to fulfill contracts). But, there's one I can't recommend highly enough:

One With Everything: Live With the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (2006). A high-energy performance with the added bonus of a jaw-droppingly incredible youth orchestra and chorus adding depth to the songs. Old material, new material, all of it kicking ass and taking no prisoners.

Of course, you can also get the DVD for that one-off concert and play the "Spot Dayle Drinking Game" (front shots only. Include the back of my head and you'll be drunk by the end of the first song). ::gg:: Look, Ma, I'm on TV!