Styx’s James ‘J.Y.’ Young Cites Yes as ‘Early Influence’ on His Band

Styx guitarist James “J.Y.” Young reveals an interesting facet behind the band's summer tour with Yes, and says that the legendary progressive group was an early influence on the Styx sound.

“[Yes] were really the first band from my vantage point that incorporated, full on, classical influences into rock music. Clearly that’s something Styx embraced early on, and it’s kind of what we do,” Young tells Guitar World.

Styx and Yes will launch their tour tomorrow night (July 4) in Camden, N.J., adding another chapter to the ongoing rebirth of the Chicago-born rock veterans, who recently re-recorded some of their best known hits for a recent EP called 'Regeneration Volume 1.'

The band will follow that effort with 'Regeneration Volume 2,' set for release this summer. Young spoke about the “educational” process of revisiting some of their past hits in the studio. He says, “It was taking ourselves back to school by going back and picking apart our old recordings.”

Young credits their manager for bringing life back to the group in 1996 after 13 years of being apart. "He suggested there was a huge demand for the band and we just needed to go out there with guns blazing and treat it like a big event, and it would become a big event, and he was absolutely right."

After more than 40 years of making music, Young sees no end in sight and says “we're going to keep doing this for a long, long time.”