In 1997, during Styx's tour, Lawrence Gowan's band performed as a supporting act for Styx at Montreal's Molson Center and Quebec City's Colisee.

Tommty Shaw admired his talent and vibrant stage charisma and called him in May 1999 asking him to tour with them for 53 dates, temporarily replacing their lead singer, Dennis DeYoung who had fallen ill. Lawrence permaentaly replaced the lead singer after the tour.

Styx had long been plagued by differences in artistic inclination. DeYoung's absence created an opportunity for a more premanent restructuring of Styx. Lawrence subsequently became the band's permanent vocalist.

This year, Styx' current tour includes Cheap Trick and later this summer, the "Windy Cities" tour begins with Chicago and Styx.

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Triumph formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1975 after a chance meeting led Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore to embark on a marathon jam session. They immediately decided to form a band and the debut album "Triumph" was released in 1976. With hits like: Lay It On The Line, Magic Power, and Never Surrender, The Canadian power trio stands out as a visionary with soaring melodies and exceptional songs with a postitive perspective and outstanding live shows which propelled vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett, bas guitarist/keyboardist Mike Levine and vocalist/drummer Gil Moore to stardom.

It's been 30 years since the band has toured together and now, original founding member of the band, Gil Moore, joins us to talk about what it's like to reunite and get ready for this amazing upcoming tour. The band heads out to the East Coast and Canada mid April.

Show notes can be found on our website: www.rockandrollconfessional.rocks

Our latest guest is Martin Popoff who is the author of over 100 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting , bringing both archival depth and fan-first storytelling. Today we are speaking with Martin about his new book: "KISS '76".

KISS was formed in 1973, and was one of the hardest-working bands in rock, releasing three studio albums and their breakthrough Alive! album in 1974, setting the stage for a true breakthough into superstardom. Fifty years on, Marting frames the band's nonstop momentum in 1976 - two landmark studio albums, a relentless touring schedule, and the birth of the KISS Army fan club.

Written with the fan's eye and the historian's rigor, KISS '76 follows the band around the world into the studio, paring the detailed album analysis with on-the-road reportage and archival discoveries. As Martin puts it in the prolougue, "This is the Story of 1976 by someone with way too much KISS on the brain", A voice that gives the book its affectionate, insider engergy while nebver losing sight of the year's bigger picture.

Show notes and additional episodes can be found on our website: www.rockandrollconfessional.rocks