Last night we played at the final night of Cal Expo, the California State Fair. This is always a big show and last night was no exception. There were excited STYX fans as far as you could see and we played for 2:10 before taking our final bow. It was an amazing mixture of first-time fans, returning fans and a ton of "Listees." Yes, we saw you guys there. We have come to really appreciate seeing your familiar faces there night after night. There was a time not long ago when it was pretty much unfamiliar faces every night with the odd recognizable one every now and then. Now it is the exception when we do not see one or more of you in the front rows. (We humbly thank you for your dedication to what we are so dedicated to ourselves!)

It is yet another day of breathtaking views as we make our way out of the Salt Lake City. The Great Salt Lake is to our left and the mountains of Wasatch National Forest should remain our running mates on the right almost all the way to Pocatello. The band seems to improve more with each passing show. We have worked on little things most people would hardly notice, such as settling into a deep pocket on "Edge" and really locking like a machine on the intro of "Fooling Yourself." There are many microscopic musical details that a band can focus on when it has the luxury of a long tour. Often when you are playing you will detect a subtle rub in an arrangement that you never noticed. But just as often, by the time you have completed the rest of the show, it slips your mind and you don't think of it until the next time it happens on stage. It can take days or weeks to get around to addressing these kinds of things. This band was very good on the day of the first show, so in many ways it is like gilding the lily, but the way we see it, better is better. Glen and Gowan are excellent musicians and are more than up for the challenge of constantly raising the bar for this band. To tell you the truth they have raised the bar for the rest of our performances�

Last night was show number 34 on the BNW Tour. We have learned a lot in this batch of shows. We have seen the reaction from the fans as well as the overwhelming numbers of new people who have decided to check us out. We have revisited old friends in places we have not played in a decade or two. If we look enthusiastic, can you blame us? If we look like we are enjoying ourselves-wouldn't you? We are a strange thing-we are old and we are new at the same time. But to paraphrase Martin Luther King, let's not induce the paralysis of analysis upon this story. We have a new sense of purpose, the desire to perform the world over and to let STYX fans, new and old, from every corner of the earth, see and hear a band called STYX.