Styx is a band that will always hold a special place in my heart. It was on November 8, 1979, when I attended my first concert ever and I fell in love with live music. The venue was the Rochester War Memorial and Styx was the headliner touring in support of the “Cornerstone” album. Soon after the concert, I began collecting their albums and any other Styx memorabilia I could get my hands on.
Almost two years later, on July 31, 1981, I met the entire band during sound check. They were all gracious and signed a “Pieces of Eight” songbook for me. Almost thirty years later, it remains a cherished memory.
This fall, Styx is revisiting two of their albums from their heyday, “The Grand Illusion” and “Pieces of Eight.” I recently had the honor of interviewing Styx bassist and founding member Chuck Pannozzo. After reading his biography, “The Grand Illusion-Love, Lies, and My Life with Styx,” I came to admire him as more than just a musician. I admired him as a person.
Just as Styx did not let me down in 1981 when I met them as a fourteen-year-old fan, Chuck Panozzo turned out to be just as thoughtful, intelligent and easy going as I expected. We shared some stories and talked politics a bit (the political discussion was omitted from the printed version since this site’s focus is music).
Thom: Styx is about to embark on a short tour where you play the classic Styx albums “The Grand Illusion” and “Pieces of Eight” in their entirety. I understand you had worked on the album covers for those albums. Could you talk about that?
Chuck: Sure! In 1971, I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in art never thinking I would do anything but teach with it. I was a teacher for a year and then in 1972, we got a record deal, and so I was teaching during the day and recording our first album at night. Starting back then, whenever album cover art came along, the band would pass it by me to see what I think. The pinnacle of that, and the album cover I was most responsible for, was the iconic “Pieces of Eight” album cover with the ladies on the cover. The funny part of that was that I went to Los Angeles, California, and spoke to some guys about the concept and when I went back to Chicago, somebody who worked with the band thought it was too big. I told them that it wasn’t a postage stamp, it was an album cover. After some wrangling, everybody agreed and I am proud of it. It is certainly one of the most iconic and identifiable album covers out there.
Thom: Speaking of album covers, as an art major I wonder what you thought of those Wooden Nickel reissues back in the early 1980s with new album covers?
Chuck: They were horrible! We had no idea they were coming out and the first time I saw them I hated them. Everybody thinks that the band approves things like that but when you are dealing with a record company, especially one like Wooden Nickel, they make choices without input from the band. At the time, we had already signed with A&M and were doing well. Wooden Nickel tried to cash in on our popularity and instead of putting out something decent, they throw on this third grade crappy artwork. It didn’t represent the music and it had no artistic merit. I still shudder every time I see those covers because we tried so hard to make the albums attractive and represent the music. It’s kind of a bummer but these things happen.
Thom: I interviewed Dennis DeYoung a few months ago and he dismissed the Wooden Nickel albums musically, but after reading your book it seems you have a very different take on that stage of the band’s career.
Chuck: Well, if you listen to those albums and have an ear for music and the musicianship, you can appreciate the fact we wrote and performed those songs, they came from within. There was a lot of great material on them, especially the second album, and it is part of the reason we have had such longevity. It’s interesting when I reflect back now, there was a point where I looked back five or ten or even twenty years but now it’s decades. I think that is what makes this upcoming tour so interesting, we are playing two albums in one night and revisiting songs that were never played on the radio. Just because they weren’t played on the radio or in concert, that doesn’t mean they weren’t great songs. I am really excited about playing these albums live because music represents a time.
Thom: I assume you have already begun rehearsing for the shows.
Chuck: Yeah, we practice while we are on tour. The practices have been pretty loose and we are having fun with the material. If you know Styx, then you know the real fun is backstage, we have a good time together. Of course that is fine for rehearsals, but when the time comes to perform onstage, it will be very polished and professional.
Thom: So why did you choose “The Grand Illusion” and “Pieces of Eight?”
Chuck: Well we did the “Paradise Theater” tour before and these albums are special because I think they really showcase Tommy’s southern roots. Our forte is that we are a different and diverse type of band, and that is especially clear on these albums, which go from J.Y’s rockers to Dennis’ ballads and Tommy’s southern influenced songs. There is something there for everybody on those albums.
Thom: In reading your book, it appears that these albums also represent a time when the classic Styx lineup was getting along very well. 
Chuck: Absolutely, and the genius of “The Grand Illusion” is that so many people could relate to the theme, the blue collar worker, the white collar worker, they all have jobs and similar struggles with them. In our case, everything was clicking and we were satisfied with the album and then we had to wait and see if the fans had the same feeling we did about it. We confronted issues on that album, but we didn’t tell people there was no hope. We gave them an upbeat message that there was a way out.
Thom: You have been through some very tough times but it appears after reading your book that you are at very good place in life right now, both personally and with the band.
Chuck: You are absolutely right. This band is everything I imagined it to be. We share our performance and we share the glory with no carping and no showboating. We can talk about things, but hey, when you’re young and trying to figure things out, it is very different. When you are older, you don’t yell, you talk things out, and when somebody has a suggestion, you listen. But what is exciting to me is when Tommy is on the Internet and maybe he wants to share some bluegrass with me, or Lawrence wants to share something he has done, it has become very personal and we can share things together and talk about both our personal lives and professional lives. We are all very supportive of each other.
Chuck and I spoke for another ten minutes, during which I thanked him, not only for his contribution as a performer, but as an activist for the gay community and for his courage. His book is inspirational, and I highly recommend it for everyone, even if you are not a fan of Styx.
We would like to thank Terrance Gibson for setting up the Interview with Chuck. For more information on upcoming tour and all things Styx, please go to: http://www.styxworld.com/.
Photos by: Sheri Hastings.
