Paradise Theatre

Kristi Wachter's 
Styx fan page


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A Styx Fan Talks About Being A Styx Fan


My Fandom

I have been a huge Styx fan since 1977, when I started to get to know my neighbor across the street, who was Styx's stage manager. I started to pay a lot more attention to their music, and before long, it became my whole world.

For several years, when I was 13, 14, 15, I was extremely lonely and desperately unhappy, and I drew strength from Styx's music, particularly a handful of Tommy's songs like "Man in the Wilderness" and "Fooling Yourself". As I told Tommy when I met him in July of '97, "I felt very alone, and very unprotected, and your music made me feel less alone and more protected." Even much later in my life, when I had worked through most of the things that had been hurting me, "Boat on the River" was still a place in my head where I could go when I needed sanctuary, and I actually had tears running down my face when Styx played "Fooling Yourself" on their "Return to Paradise" tour in 1996.

Over the years, my obsession with Styx became one of the more evident facets of my identity; I talked about it a lot and people (especially other kids in my school) associated me with my love of the band. As a result, my already-huge collection of Styx articles, photos, and memorabilia was greatly enhanced by generous gifts from friends and acquaintances. For example, the stuff from the Downers Grove High School yearbook and newspaper were given to me by friends at school.

I used to call myself Styx's biggest fan. I challenged kids at the bus stop to quiz me on Styx trivia. I took a rock music class in high school, and when assigned to do a 10-minute oral report on a band, I put together a two-hour presentation that covered Styx's entire career.

I no longer claim to be Styx's biggest fan. In the last 18 years, I've gotten a bit more of a life, and I've met a number of other people (especially some folks on the Styx mailing list) who are every bit as much of a Styx fan as I ever was, if not more. (And of course it's pointless to compete for the title anyway.) But I still love their music, and I'm utterly delighted that the Internet makes it so much easier for us to share news and information.


Stuff I've Written About Styx

Three songs and a poem, possibly more personal than you care to witness, but here they are.

My Meetings with the Band

I have been lucky enough to have met all the members of the band, except John, on more than one occasion. I've written about the first few of these experiences and I'll get the rest posted when I get time to write them up.


Last edited by Kristi Wachter, Racer Records, December 11, 1999.