‘Rockin’ the Paradise’: Styx guitarist-vocalist James Young was born to perform

In his online biography, Styx frontman James Young raved about the thrill of grinding guitar strings in front 40,000 screaming concertgoers and has made it his personal goal to continue touring with Styx until “they scrape me off the stage.”

His fans couldn’t be happier.

Young, (or “JY” as he is often called), visited with me by phone from the Chicago area where he joined the rock group TW4 in 1970. Rebranded as Styx in 1972, the band found quick success with a power ballad from their second self-titled album.

“We just kept at it and kept writing,” Young said. “The next thing you know we had a hit song with ‘Lady.’ ”

Still packing concert venues after 50 years, Styx was the first group to earn four triple-platinum albums in a row with “The Grand Illusion” (1977), “Pieces of Eight” (1978), “Cornerstone” (1979) and “Paradise Theatre” (1981).

A creative flair behind the songs, “Snowblind,” “Lorelei” and “Miss America,” Young was raised in a musical family and heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix.

As a teen, Young formed his own band, the Catalinas, which played surf music and toured Europe.

Young holds a college degree in mechanical engineering. His interest in aerospace technology helped inspire lyrics for the 1977 chartbuster, “Come Sail Away.”

“I was very much into outer space as a kid,” Young said. “(Styx co-founder, Dennis DeYoung) wrote basically most of it … the sailing ship turns into a starship.”

Theses days, Styx hosts nearly 100 concerts each year. Now in his mid-70s, Young rarely misses a show. An expressive guitarist and vocalist who relishes the limelight, in his online biography, Young described the cathartic experience of performing live onstage with Styx as his own “fountain of youth.”

It is a gift he pays forward to his aging fan base.

At the root of that appeal is a group of versatile musicians which includes Tommy Shaw, who joined the band in 1975.

An exemplary songwriter, Shaw helped propel Styx to superstar status with his rugged, guitar-heavy hits, “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man” and “Too Much Time on My Hands.” The reflective Shaw masterpiece, “Man in the Wilderness,” showcases his vocal range.

“He can play pretty much anything … everything,” Young said. “Acoustic guitar. Electric guitar. And, he’s a great rock and blues singer as well.”

The diverse music of Styx is transformative and relatable.

While ebullient songs, such as “Rockin’ the Paradise” and “Light Up,” invite listeners to grab life by the horns, the rich harmonies and immersive lyrics of “Crystal Ball” and “Boat on the River” deliver profound messages about dilemmas of human spirit.

Other tunes, such as “The Grand Illusion” and “Nothing Ever Goes as Planned,” convey warnings about the trappings of fame and fortune. With deep insight, even 1983’s “Mr. Roboto” foretold issues pertaining to man and machine.

Over the decades, countless 1970s rock groups have fallen by the wayside, but since the mid-1990s, Styx has managed to keep a core of early singers and songwriters intact … albeit the loss of keyboardist DeYoung who was replaced by recording artist Lawrence Gowan in 1999.

“Lawrence was a guy that had opened for us in Canada and we were just blown away by his piano skills,” Young said.

A master of his spinning keyboard, Gowan is a gifted musician who has been known to delight Styx fans with his behind-the-back finesse while performing the 1977 Shaw blockbuster, “Fooling Yourself,” (The Angry Young Man).

Rounding out the Styx lineup are band co-founder Chuck Panozzo, who shares bass and vocal duties with Terry Gowan, (brother of Lawrence Gowan); world-renowned drummer and percussionist Todd Sucherman; and guitar player-vocalist Will Evankovich, who produced the 2021 Styx album, “Crash of the Crown.”

Tuesday’s Styx concert in Spokane will include greatest hits mixed with a few deeper album cuts. It is a formula which has proven popular with fans.

“The artist is supposed to lead the audience, but you don’t want to lead them too far away from what they’ve learned to love about what you do,” Young said.

Having recently watched Styx perform at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, I peppered Young with myriad prepared questions, but still managed to delve down a deep rock rabbit hole regarding the prospects of a Styx & Stones concert with Mick Jagger and company.

“You never know … Tommy Shaw wrote the one song, ‘Never Say Never,’ ” Young said. “Would I like to play with the Stones? Heck, yeah.

“Is it likely to happen? Probably not.”