Gowan welcomes brother into Styx band for 2024 tour

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Some call him Lawrence, others call him Larry, but he will always be recognized as Gowan while performing solo or as frontman for Styx.

“The guys in the band call me Lawrence, but when we come to Canada people call me Larry,” Gowan said in a recent telephone interview, where he reflected on a few of the twists and turns that have guided his musical career.

Styx will appear at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton on May 17, Credit Union Place in Summerside May 18 and the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax May 19. Fredericton singer/songwriter David Myles will be the opening act in Moncton.

“In every show business career, whether you are an actor or a musician or whatever you do, you usually have a second act,” he said, citing people like Paul McCartney, who left The Beatles and formed Wings.

Gowan was born in Scotland in 1956 and came to Canada with his family. He studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and began writing his own songs. He rose to fame and toured across Canada with his 1985 album “Strange Animal,” which included the title track and “Criminal Mind.”

He appeared in Moncton on June 21, 1987, with The Spoons, energizing the crowd with his piano playing and theatrical leaps across the stage.

His 1993 album, “But You Can Call Me Larry,” included the acoustic guitar tracks “When There’s Time For Love” and “Dancing on My Own Ground,” and he did solo tours playing guitar.

By the late-90s, he says, a lot of popular 80s bands fell into the rear-view mirror as musical tastes changed.

Gowan continued to perform around the world and he hit a couple of bumps on the road that changed the course of his career, which had already spanned 20 years.

In 1997, Gowan was asked by promoter Donald Tarlton to be opening act for Styx as they performed at the new arena in Montreal, now known as the Bell Centre. Gowan was already booked to play a smaller venue that night, but decided to go for it, as a solo show with just his piano.

“I had never seen Styx before and I wanted to see the new building,” he says. “I played the show and it was a Hollywood night. I got a huge ovation and the guys from Styx were on the side of the stage watching.”

In 1998 he was asked by the family of Princess Diana to perform the song “Healing Waters” at her memorial, with the London Symphony Orchestra. It was there that he met Todd Sucherman, the drummer for Styx.

In early 1999, Gowan got a phone call from Tommy Shaw and James Young of Styx, saying that singer/pianist Dennis DeYoung was not touring and they needed a replacement.

Styx was formed in Chicago in 1972 and is best known for such songs as “Babe,” “Lady,” “Loreli,” “Come Sail Away,” “Too Much Time on My Hands,” “Renegade” and “Mr. Roboto.” The group disbanded and re-formed around guitarists Shaw and Young.

One of Gowan’s most powerful songs, “Criminal Mind,” became part of the Styx set list as they toured the world. He said the current set list is mainly classic Styx with a few tunes from their latest album, “Crash of the Crown.”

Styx suffered a loss in 2022 with the death of Susie Young, James’s wife, who had travelled with the band for 20 years.

“She had such an influence on how the band revived itself and she was a big Gowan champion for me in the band. We travelled around the world together. She was an advisor on the shows and had excellent insight on what we were doing and how we presented ourselves.”

Gowan played Liberace’s piano in Las Vegas

In January, Gowan realized a childhood dream when he got to play one of Liberace’s pianos during a concert in Las Vegas.

“When I was 15 years old, I took the afternoon off school and went to see Liberace in Toronto. It was $3 a ticket, and I wanted to wear the coat he wore during that show in Toronto, and I’d like to have the candelabra as well.”

He said moving the priceless Dancing Waters piano and white coat from a museum to the Venetian Hotel involved a special moving team, security guards and insurance, but they made it happen with just a few hours to spare.

“I played around on it a bit and then went into ‘Come Sail Away.’ The moment the lights hit that piano, every phone in the building came up and people were sharing video clips of it,” he said.

Gowan’s brother also joins Styx

In March, Styx bassist Ricky Phillips decided to leave the band, and they all decided that Lawrence Gowan’s younger brother, Terry, was the right fit. He made his debut on March 22 and is now on the tour with them. Terry was with the Gowan band in the heyday of the ’80s, playing bass and the Chapman Stick, an unusual instrument with 10 or 12 strings.

“In Styx, there has been 10 members in the band over 53 years. Everyone that has been a part of the band has made a great contribution to what it is today and we are culmination of the efforts of people from the past and the guys who are in the band today,” he said.

“The touring schedule is very rigorous and you have to commit yourself to being away from home for seven or eight months of the year.”