Back in the day when Styx bassist Ricky Phillips was on the road, touring was a lot different compared to the technology-loaded perks that bands enjoy these days.
“We were playing Boggle and poker and Yahtzee, whatever we could to pass the time,” he recalls. “Because there were a long bus rides where you’re on the bus for eight or nine hours, and you’re about ready to go out of your mind. It kind of explains a lot of the trouble that we used to get in. You’re bored out of your mind except for that two hours you’re onstage every day. We’ve always said, ‘We don’t get paid for what we do, it’s the time we spend traveling to get to the next city.’ Those other 22 hours of the day are what we get paid for.”
Smartphones make it a lot easier to be away from home these days; Phillips can FaceTime with family while he’s away and even see his pets. And, as he notes, being on tour helps to keep those family relations together. “The joke around us is if we take a week off, when we get back on the bus, it’s like, ‘Geez, it’s good to be back on the road,'” he says. “My charm was wearing thin at home.”
The touring life is something fans can get an inside look at in the documentary that’s part of Styx’s new live DVD, Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas, which weaves concert footage with interviews featuring band members and crew, presenting a vivid picture of what it’s like to be on the road. The current lineup of the group, including Phillips, who joined in 2003, has been together long enough that the members are able to keep things light while respecting everyone’s need for space.
“Everybody’s got a great sense of humor, and everybody’s delivering one-liners throughout the day,” Philips points out. “You learn that humor will take you further than just about anything. So it never really gets that tough. Everybody has their breaking point, and we know each other well enough when somebody needs to be left alone or walked around. Everybody’s got their time and it hits everybody at different [points], where it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve had it, I need to go home for a couple of days.’ We all get it and it’s a pretty supportive group of guys — people always say, ‘God, it looks like you guys are having so much fun up there!’ And there’s no fake smiles on the Styx stage. If we’re smiling, it’s because we’re in the moment and that’s what’s on our mind. It’s definitely the exchange between musicianship and the singing and it’s a very symbiotic…it’s sort of a dance that’s not completely mimicked from night to night.”
According to Phillips, the band works hard to deliver a live experience that matches the albums fans have memorized from end to end. There’s room for improvisation, but they never forget the important bits. “We try to change it up, but we also try to pay great attention,” he explains. “It’s like, we really, really want people to come and hear what they’ve been hearing throughout their entire lives. … I know where I can deviate and play and become myself and show a little bit more, but not for the sake of the song. We definitely deliver what was originally recorded in the fashion that everyone has grown accustomed to, and I think that’s really important. It’s a pet peeve of mine to hear bands kind of chicken out or cop out or not going for a note, whether it’s vocally or on guitar or whatever.”
Phillips first crossed paths with Styx in the ‘70s when he was touring as a member of the Babys, and he recalls watching the band from the side of the stage, marveling with Babys singer John Waite how Styx had three singers and were still able to present a show that consistently sounded like the same band, no matter who was on lead vocals. It demonstrated the importance of defining who you are as a band — something that is the difference between having career longevity or becoming a one-hit wonder.
“Thank God they have that catalog,” Phillips says. “Because it never gets stale. As soon as it starts to think about getting stale, we change the set list. There are certain songs we’ve got to play every night, but we spice it up by throwing in things we haven’t done in a while.”
Six years ago, the band dug deep into its catalog to present full album performances of the classic albums The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight. The experience of doing those shows continues to carry into the concerts the group now plays. The Orleans Arena performance, which was captured during the band’s 2014 tour that also included Foreigner and Don Felder, features classic Styx songs like “Crystal Ball,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Blue Collar Man.” But it also includes nuggets like “Superstars” from The Grand Illusion and “Light Up” from 1975’s Equinox LP.
“The cool thing about Styx material is that it’s very cleverly written and goes from 4/4 in odd meter time — maybe two or three times during the song that appears to be just a simple little pop tune for Top 40 radio,” he notes. “And then there’s the deep cuts, things like ‘Castle Walls,’ ‘Queen
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