Tommy Shaw is a god

Styx, as usual, was phenomenal last night at The House of Blues in Cleveland. When asked what some of my favorite musicians are, many people expect me to say Morrissey or The Cure. While I do have special places in my heart for Morrissey and Robert Smith and the boys, the truth is I am a die hard Styx fan.

When I reveal my love for Styx, most people laugh. My last three boyfriends have not condoned this love and that may be one reason why they are ex-boyfriends. Who can't hear the beauty in "Blue Collar Man" when Tommy sings "Keeping my mind on a better life where happiness is only a heartbeat away. Paradise can it be all that I heard it was, I close my eyes and maybe I'm already there?"

I don't mess around when it comes to Styx. Once, at a Pittsburgh show, I got into a fist fight with a guy over a Tommy Shaw guitar pic. Tommy threw it to me, I caught it, and some middle-aged buffoon was ashamed he didn't catch it for his girlfriend. Security pulled him off of me while he was beating me. Luckily, the pic was tucked safely in my hand where Tommy threw it.

Now let me give a little disclaimer. I like Tommy Shaw Styx, not Dennis DeYoung Styx. I do like some songs Dennis DeYoung wrote, but many times they end up a bit creepy. Take "Sailing Away." It's a great song until the every end when the aliens show up. Lawrence Gowan sings Dennis DeYoung's song better than Dennis DeYoung.

See, I'm not ashamed to admit that I like something and I bet that if you really thought about it, there is a Styx song you love too. Hopefully, it's not "Mr. Roboto," another creepy contribution of Dennis DeYoung's.

And if you are wondering how this connects to my writing, don't worry about it. Trust me. I got something cooking that does in fact require the use of Styx. If you are one of the few people I told about my idea....shhhhh....it's a secret.