Styx drummer Todd Sucherman is one of the best in rock and roll, something he reminds us of every time he sits behind the kit at a Styx show.
He and I go way back… to freshman year of high school. We haven’t properly hung out since we were both Niles West Indians, so it was a true delight to be able to catch up over hot dogs and Polish sausages from Poochie’s in Skokie (www.poochieshotdogs.com).
We talk about:
*Our high school days: “My earliest memory of you was in gym class; we were sarcastic and laughed at a lot of the same stuff.”
*His role in high school; playing drums kept him from being picked on or bullied
*His high school-era band, Adventures In Dining, and the bar gigs the band played while underage
*Styx’s album plans
*Recording an album in the present day: “It’s an exercise in burning money”
*The Midwestern-ness of Styx
*Playing alongside artists from Spinal Tap to Brian Wilson
*The Chicago scene in the 90s, and why his awesome band Falling Wallendas may not have been awesome with a balance sheet