GC38JAE ROCK BAND #38 - STYX (Traditional Cache) in Virginia, United States created by Jtmlam59

This cache has been archived.

Jtmlam59: Rock band series is done. Tired of negative logs from fellow catchers. We have not been as active over the past 18 months due to family medical issues requiring a lot of travel out of state (father dying of cancer), moving parents into assisted living, helping dad who is on hospice care, and getting their home cleaned out and ready to sell. We have had no time to maintain caches, so I am just going to archive all of them. 😡 Believe it or not, this one was still there. It was a tricky hide.

To other catchers who know what we have been going through and those who have enjoyed this series, we appreciate your visits and wish you the best. Cache on! 😎

GC38JAE ▼

A cache by Jtmlam59 Message this owner

Hidden : 12/22/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Please use stealth, block with your geobike, as you retrieve and replace. Please cover up & replace cache as found to prevent muggling.
Also remember that this is a hiking or cycling trail. Cachers should not be pulling over on Dam Neck road to try and make these caches P&G's.

Another favorite band of LAM and I. Became a hugh fan after their "Crystal Ball" album release. We have since seen them in concert every time they have come to the Virginia Beach amphitheater.

So if you have "to much time on your hands" and you would rather be "Rockin the Paradise", why don't you, and that special "Lady" you affectionately call "Babe", grab that I-Pod, load up the songs "Jennifer" or "Lorelie" and head over to get this cache.

Don't be a "renegade" and forget to grab your "crystal ball" so that it can "show you the way" to the cache. Otherwise you may be "fooling yourself" and end up an "angry young man"! Make sure you "light up" (flashlights) and get your "shooz". A "blue collar man" attitude may be needed because they know that "Nothing ever goes as planned". So who will be the first to find this time and feel like a "Man of Miracles"? Just choose your approach carefully or you may end up a "Man in the wilderness". If you need help with "The grand finale" at GZ "You better ask" and I will be "On my way" to GZ to assist. Don't expect me to lead you to the cache though, because "I am gonna make you feel (for) it" until it's found!
Pay attention to the terrain rating so you will realize you won't need a "Boat on the river" to find this. Unless this is your "First time", you shouldn't have any problem as you will think to yourself "Haven't we been here before"? So what are you waiting for? Isn't it "High time" you get moving? Take that "midnight ride" and head out to this "Grove of Eglantine" like location and you will have "The best of times" when you find this cache!

About the band:
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater.

The band is best known for the hit songs "Lady" (#6, 1975), "Come Sail Away" (#8, 1977), "Babe" (#1, 1979), "The Best of Times" (#3, 1981), "Too Much Time On My Hands" (#9, 1981), and "Mr. Roboto" (#3, 1983). Other hits by the band include "Show Me the Way" (#3, 1990), "Don't Let It End" (#6, 1983) and "Renegade" (#16, 1978). The band has four consecutive albums certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Early years:
Twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo first got together with their neighbor Dennis DeYoung in 1961 in the Roseland section of the south side of Chicago, eventually taking the band name "The Tradewinds". Chuck Panozzo left to attend seminary school for a year but returned to the group by 1964. Tom Nardin had been brought in to replace Chuck on guitar and Chuck decided to play bass guitar when he returned to the band. John Panozzo was the drummer, while Dennis DeYoung had switched from accordion to organ and piano. In 1965, the name "Tradewinds" was changed to TW4 after another band called The Trade Winds broke through nationally. By 1966, the Panozzo brothers had joined DeYoung at Chicago State University and kept the group together doing gigs at high schools and frat parties while studying to be teachers. In 1969 they added a college buddy, John Curulewski, on guitar after Tom Nardin departed. Guitarist James "J.Y." Young came aboard in 1970 making TW4 a quintet.

In 1972 the band members decided to choose a new name when they signed to Wooden Nickel Records; several suggestions were made and, says DeYoung, Styx, the name of the river in Greek mythology between Earth and the Underworld, was chosen because it was "the only one that none of us hated".

Wooden Nickel years:
The band's Wooden Nickel recordings Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973), and Man of Miracles (1974) were a mixture of straight-ahead rock with some dramatic prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. These albums showcase intricate and powerful organ, guitar, vocal, and percussion solos as well. The Serpent Is Rising would foreshadow later endeavors by the group — the so-called concept album is an idiom upon which Styx would rely heavily by the 1980s.

On the strength of these releases and constant playing in local clubs and schools, the band established a fan base in the Chicago area, but was unable to break into the mainstream until an earlier song, the power ballad "Lady" (from Styx II), began to earn some radio time, first on WLS in Chicago and then nationwide. In the spring of 1975, nearly two years after the album had been released, "Lady" hit #6 in the U.S., and Styx II went gold soon after.

Move to A&M:
On the heels of its belated hit single, Styx signed with A&M Records and released Equinox (1975), which sold well and yielded a minor hit in "Lorelei", #27 in the U.S. More importantly, it contained the rock anthem "Suite Madame Blue", which gained the band considerable recognition and airplay on FM radio in the relatively new Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format. Following the move to A&M, Curulewski suddenly left the band in December 1975 to spend more time with his family just as they were to embark on a nationwide tour. After a frantic last-minute search, the band brought on guitarist Tommy Shaw as Curulewski's replacement. Curulewski later died of a brain aneurysm in February 1988.

Crystal Ball (1976) was moderately successful and also included Shaw's "Mademoiselle" (which was another minor hit, reaching #36) and DeYoung's "This Old Man".

Breakthrough:
The Grand Illusion was released in 1977 and became Styx' breakthrough album, reaching Triple Platinum certification. It spawned a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in the DeYoung-written "Come Sail Away," which reached #8 in 1978. Shaw's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" was a second radio hit, and reached #29 the same year. The title track also received significant airplay.

Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, the band enjoyed its greatest success. Their 1978 album Pieces of Eight found the group moving in a more straight-ahead pop-rock direction and spawned the singles "Renegade" (#16 in the U.S.) and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" (#21 in the U.S.), plus a minor hit "Sing for the Day" that stopped just short of the Top Forty at #41.

Styx' 1979 album Cornerstone yielded their only #1 hit, the DeYoung ballad "Babe." By early 1980, "Babe" had become the band's biggest international hit and first million-selling single, reaching number six in the United Kingdom. The album also included the #26 DeYoung hit "Why Me" and "Borrowed Time," which was co-written with Shaw, plus Shaw's "Boat on the River", which was a hit in most of Europe. The popularity of the album helped win the band a People's Choice Award for Best New Song in 1980. At the 22nd Grammy Awards, Styx received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and Cornerstone's engineers Gary Loizzo and Rob Kingsland were nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording.

Stardom in the 1980s Paradise Theater:
On the success of "Babe", DeYoung began pushing for a more theatrical direction, while Shaw and Young favored a harder-edged approach. This arguing over musical direction led to a bit of tension in early 1980 after JY and Shaw objected to the ballad "First Time" released as the second single from Cornerstone, and DeYoung was fired from the band. However, things were quickly smoothed over, and cooler heads prevailed, leading to his quick return.

In January 1981, Styx released Paradise Theatre, a concept album that became their biggest hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard pop albums chart and yielding five singles, including the top ten hits "The Best of Times" by DeYoung (#3) and "Too Much Time on My Hands" by Shaw (#9). Paradise Theater became the band's fourth consecutive Multi-Platinum album.

The band was accused by a California religious group and later the P.M.R.C of backmasking Satanic messages in their anti-cocaine anthem, "Snowblind.". James Young has denied this charge during his introduction for "Snowblind" when played live. Dennis DeYoung has denied the accusation as well, joking on the In the Studio with Redbeard program "we had enough trouble to make the music sound right forward."

Throughout the 1980s, the band would use the album's opening track, "Rockin' the Paradise" (charted at #8 on Top Rock Tracks Chart) to open their shows.

Kilroy was Here and breakup:
The band followed DeYoung's lead with their next project, Kilroy Was Here (1983), another more fully realized concept album, embracing the rock opera form. Set in a future where performing and playing recorded rock music has been outlawed due to the efforts of a charismatic evangelist, Kilroy featured Dennis DeYoung in the part of Kilroy, an unjustly imprisoned rock star. Tommy Shaw played the part of Jonathan Chance, a younger rocker who fights for Kilroy's freedom and the lifting of the ban on rock music. This future society is served by robots. Called Robotos, these automatons perform many jobs, not the least of which are as Kilroy's prison guards.

In 1983, the band mounted an ambitious stage show in support of Kilroy featuring theatrical presentations of three songs utilizing instrumental backing tracks, including "Mr. Roboto", which featured DeYoung singing live while disguised as a Roboto, "Heavy Metal Poisoning" with James Young as the evangelist Dr. Righteous singing while the Panozzo brothers acted as his henchmen on stage, and "Haven't We Been Here Before" with Tommy Shaw as Jonathan Chance and DeYoung (as Kilroy in Roboto costume) duetting. The elaborate show was expensive to produce and was not as profitable as previous tours.

Kilroy brought the creative and competitive tensions within the band beyond the breaking point. Tommy Shaw departed the band for a solo career at the conclusion of the Kilroy tour. In 1984, the band released its first live album, Caught in the Act. The project featured one studio track, "Music Time", which became a Top 40 hit. The concert was also filmed and released on VHS under the same title (and on DVD in 2007). However, by the time of the album's release, the band had already parted ways.

STYX continues to tour, but differences have led to Dennis DeYoung parting ways (fired) from the band. Dennis tours as a solo act with his band featuring songs from STYX and his solo albums.

Here are some YouTube tracks for STYX: (visit link) (visit link) (visit link) (visit link) (visit link)

R.I.P. John Panozzo

This cache is part of what we are calling the B&C (Bike and Cache) trail we are putting together to give cachers a nice stretch along a established cycling path to get some cycling & caching in. There will be more caches to come as we work to complete this over the next couple of months.

Congrats to Hombre_rana, terryandSherrie, and Steve-n-Kim for co-FTF's!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Whfg nabgure ovfba!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)