Last night we played for Harley Davidson in Orlando as part of Bike Week there. STYX fans were in a singing mood, taking over for me in the first verse of "Crystal Ball" as well as singing along song after song all night long. We'd stop every so often just to hear it ourselves, because it was so loud we could hear it in our in-ear monitors.

Playing outdoors in March is a rare event, but in Florida, anything can happen and like Los Angeles, nothing seems to surprise the locals. Because it was just us, we had time to perform "Manic Depression," one of the 14 songs you'll be hearing on "Big Bang Theory" when it's released next month. JY really cracks me up. He's so respectful of Jimi Hendrix that he has a hard time accepting the compliments he gets from his undeniably identifiable performances on that particular song. But every time we play it, I see JY get so lost in it, so connected to his Stratocaster that it gives me a warm feeling to see this friend of mine whom I have spent so much time with over the years, getting that same look of complete absorption that he probably got when he picked up his first guitar and realized he was born to play it.

One of the things we found, as we selected our "Big Bang Theory" song list from the great American Rock Songbook was just how much opportunity there was for guitarists to play. "One Way Out," another song on our soon-to-be-released CD, has SEVEN solos! Eight if you include the drum solo (Todd does the work of two drummers here).

Anyone who ever listened to a STYX record or heard our songs on the radio can recognize JY's unique style, and for me to hear it applied to Hendrix's "Manic Depression" is reason enough to be excited about suiting up for a show.

I never though a project like "Big Bang Theory" would be something STYX would embrace, and the only reason we considered it was to support the success we've had at radio with "I Am The Walrus." But once we got into it, we soon found ourselves taking these familiar songs, and doing with them what we do with our own songs--we made them all STYX songs.

Reminds me of something I heard on our bus a while back when someone misquoted an old saying which I still prefer over the original now--"Mother is the necessity of invention..."

We arrived Columbus, Ohio around midday today, after a 900 mile overnight drive from Orlando. Everyone but JY immediately took advantage of the fact that the car show was in town and headed over there to check out the new rides. Lots of STYX fans there! We had the unexpected surprise of meeting lots of people who are coming to our show on Tuesday, one of whom has a STYXFAN license plate. It was a great show, and we got to check out lots of sleek new models (the cars were nice too ;-)...

Off to check out a fine Columbus eatery with the gang. Gots ta keep up our strength...

From the land where Rock began, TS