Tommy Shaw of Styx tells all about tour with Foreigner, song origins, more

nypost.com:

Styx lead singer Tommy Shaw is sitting in his car, stewing.“I was driving to rehearse with the band before we started recording our album ‘Paradise Theatre,'” he told the New York Post in an exclusive interview. “The whole time I’m thinking ‘I’m going to show up empty handed.'”Suddenly, inspiration struck.“I heard this sound in my head,” Shaw smiled. “And I was like a dog when he recognizes something, so I started making up words like ‘sitting on this barstool talking like a damn fool’ and ’12 o’ clock news blues.’ That sounded like a good line.”He ran inside, started dictating music to his bandmates and that was that.“In five minutes, it sounded pretty much like the song you hear on the record,” Shaw said.Now, over 40 years later, Shaw and Styx are still going strong and taking off on a summer ‘Renegades and Juke Box Heroes Tour’ with Foreigner and John Waite starting mid-June.However, before their highly-anticipated co-headlining trek gets underway, the “Renegade” rockers swing into Niagara Falls’ Seneca Niagara Casino on Saturday, March 23, Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre on Sunday, March 24, Binghamton’s Visions Veterans Memorial Arena on Tuesday, March 26 and Westbury’s NYCB Theatre on Wednesday, March 27.And yes, you can expect them to bring the hits you know and love like “Come Sail Away,” “Mr.

Roboto,” “Renegade,” “Lady,” “Blue Collar Man” as well as cuts from their gorgeously arranged 2021 album “Crash of the Crown.”Want to see the melodic prog icons rock like it’s 1980?We hope you’ve got “too much time on your hands” to spare because our team has everything you need to know about Styx’s solo and co-headlining tour with Foreigner and John Waite below.This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.A.