I don't know if I belive all that Dennis had to say. He has been smart enough to stick to one story though (unlike Tommy and JY).

When Tommy first left Styx back in the 80s, there were many rumors I heard wrt Tommy. A friend of mine saw Styx while touring to support _Paradise Theater_. He had great seats and heard Tommy mouthing off for the entire show. Tommy was very happy when the show was over and it was very apparent that he was not enjoying the Styx gig. It was no great surprise to me and my friend, that he eventually went solo.

I speculate that one of the problems Tommy had was that he did not like the control that Dennis had in the group as the other principle song writer and as the group's producer. One of the best parts of Styx for me was how well Tommy and Dennis's song wrting complemented each other. The reason their songs worked so well together may have been Dennis' production. The tension between Tommy and Dennis may have also brought out the best in each other.

I really enjoyed the last Styx album (I'm in the minority here). In particular, Dennis' song were some of the best he has ever done. Tommy's songs were over the board. I have to agree with Dennis that some of Tommy's songs could have been cut (which certainly would have pissed Tommy off) and Dennis would have certainly have added more of a Styx flavor to them, if he had got to produce them.

As far as Styx firing Dennis, I don't think Tommy understands as well as Dennis what makes Styx Styx. The next Styx album will be just another Shaw/Blades production which is not a bad thing in itself, but it will not be Styx. BTW, I disagree with Dennis about _Edge of the Century_, in that it was not a true Styx album since it lacked Tommy.

Unless Tommy and Dennis can work out their differences, Styx is dead.

barking on,
Big Dog