Dennis DeYoung

“When I play the first few notes of a song and people start screaming, I think: 'That's why I did this. That's why I wrote this song. That's a good job.' And it is a job.”

“I can do anything onstage. Here's the misconception: You could record an album called 'The Best of Styx.' And all you would have to do is pay the individual songwriters a mechanical royalty.”

“I think a lot of bands would rather put mediocre rock tracks on their album to try to maintain some sort of testosterone badge of courage.”

“We were together; we were a group; we were a team; we wanted people to love Styx.”

“I think the music business is as crass and as unrewarding as it has ever been.”

“Look, nobody is a bigger fan of Tommy Shaw than me. The day I met him in 1975 I knew he was going to be a great guitar player, performer and songwriter. I was his biggest fan, and I'm Styx's number one fan.”

“Over the years, I thought many times about how my life would have changed if I had been drafted and Styx never had happened. Even if I hadn't been wounded or emotionally scarred, it would have changed my whole timetable.”

“Every artist wants to feel like they're still valid in a contemporary way. But you can't be so arrogant not to think that people who have thrown down their hard-earned money don't want to see and hear the things they want.”

“I want to see the '70s guys, if they're gonna do something, stay valid in the '90s. Then they belong. If they're trapped in the '70s, then it's nostalgia. You're not getting me in those platform shoes again.”

“If you want your rock stars that are completely 100 percent serious about themselves and you want them to pretend like they're 25, I'm probably not the guy for that. But if you want to come and say, 'Hey, you know that guy right there, he's just being himself. I kind of like him for that,' you know, then that's me.”

“Technology has made music ultimately more democratic.”

“If you pretend to be somebody that you're not when you write songs - and I did that on some of the early Styx albums - nobody cares about what you have to say.”

“I never wanted to be a solo artist.”

“If there's a goal, you can't stop me. I'll put my head down. I'll have tunnel vision and I'll go until I get it.”

“I'm very proud of it. 'Hunchback' contains some of my favorite music I've ever written in my life.”

“People always ask me: How are you? I say I'm the envy of millions. I've been a lucky guy.”

“Touring is real demanding. You swing between sadness and euphoria. But for us to cry about it isn't fair.”

“To be successful in your life, you have to be convinced in your own mind that you have the ability to accomplish your goals.”

“When I'm onstage the joy is to try to be the best I can be, I'm there because I want it to be perfect.”

“I was lucky by birth.”