Examiner.com recently conducted an interview with STYX drummer Todd Sucherman. In the two part interview, Sucherman talks about the Styx/YES summer tour, Tommy Shaw's recent interview with Rolling Stone, dealing with member changes in long-standing bands, keeping sane on tour, his upcoming second drum instructional DVD and new book, life on the road, the current state of the music business, and Styx' most recent EP, Regeneration Volume 2. Excerpts can be found below:

Examiner.com: Since you're on the bill with a legendary progressive rock band [Yes], were you mindful of that when you were creating a setlist for this tour?

Todd Sucherman: “We thought that we could get away with playing ‘One With Everything’, which is definitely one of the band's more progressive numbers. Sometimes when people are expecting the hits and you pull out a song like that, you're in danger of sending them to the beer lines. It's hard to tell how many people came to see them or us, but we love playing the song. That's really the only thing that's changed in our setlist. We've been doing ‘Man In The Wilderness’ now regularly, which I feel we should have been playing that all along for years. It's one of my favourite Styx numbers, period. So personally I'm having a great time playing that one.”

Examiner.com: With the heavy schedule the band keeps, what I always wonder is, how do you personally keep going? When you're on a three-month tour and there's no going home, how do you keep yourself sane? I can tell you right now, I would flip out in that situation.

Todd Sucherman: “The first thing you have to do is get your thinking straight and realize that this is what I do. This is my job. If I was a baseball player and traveling on the road all the time, well, how do you keep playing baseball? The answer is, you love playing baseball. I love playing the drums. I love playing music, and I realize that my job is a good one to have. Especially in this economy, when I know so many musicians don't have jobs, or the ones that do, they don't get paid very well. (Laughs). That eases the blow a little bit, as well. But when you get out onstage, adrenaline's a funny thing. That takes over entirely. I realize that there are people here who have never seen the band before, I realize that there are people here who have never seen me play the drums before. And then it's a hundred percent. When you go through a tour there are ebbs and flows. People catch colds. Tommy's just been dealing with some sort of bronchial virus that, through June, has kept him from hitting on all cylinders. That sh*t happens. So if someone's hurting a little bit, we all seem to kick it up a notch, to carry everybody through. And I look at the job as a drummer to sort of be driving the bus and fuel everybody, and provide the backbone of the energy. So it's not in my job description to be a pussy. (Laughs).”

Examiner.com: Let's talk about Regeneration 2. Is this currently available at the shows?

Todd Sucherman: “No, but I think they just approved the art work. I think it should be soon. I know they approved the art work and the mastering sometime in the last couple of weeks. It's funny, you're asking me about the DVD and Regeneration 2, and I've been dealing with my own DVD and my own book, which is gonna come out in November. So I've been dealing with my own deadlines, and some of the stuff with the band is peripheral stuff flying around my head. (Laughs).”

Read part one of the interview here and part two here.

Following their highly anticipated co-headline tour with YES through July and August, Styx will continue their road trip through the US and Canada with a headline tour. Dates can be found below.

Fans should note that the band's two night stand in Atlantic City will feature The Grand Illusion played in its entirety on August 19th (**) and the complete Pieces Of Eight album performed live on August 20th (***).

In addition, the band will play three consecutive nights in Niagara Falls, Ontario from September 29th - October 1st.

August

5 - Wisconsin Valley Fair (Grandstand) in Wausau, WI
6 - Elko Speedway in Elko, MN
7 - Buffalo Chip Campground in Sturgis, SD
19 - The Borgata - Atlantic City, NJ **
20 - The Borgata - Atlantic City, NJ ***
26 - Penns Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA
27 - Spyglass Ridge Winery in Sunbury, PA

September

1 - Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA
2 - LC Pavilion in Columbus, OH
3 - Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC
16 - Koka Booth Amphitheatre - Cary, NC
22 - Chapparal Center in Midland, TX
23 - USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, UT
29 - Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario
30 - Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario

October

1 - Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario
14 - House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC
15 - South Carolina State Fair in Columbia, SC
16 - The Fillmore Charlotte in Charlotte, NC

November

11 - Hard Rock Live in Biloxi, MS
12 - Ribfest at Vinoy Park - St. Petersburg, FL

Styx's remaining tour schedule with Yes is as follows:

July

20 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI +
22 - Winstar Casino - Thackerville, OK +
23 - Zoo Amphitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK *
24 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Maryland Heights, MO *
26 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO *
28 - Eagle River Pavilion - Boise, ID *
29 - Chateau Ste. Michelle - Woodinville, WA +
30 - Maryhill Winery - Goldendale, WA +

August

2 - Greek Theatre - Los Angeles, CA +
3 - Shoreline Amphitheater - Mountain View, CA *

* Styx closes

+ Yes closes