Styx, drummer Todd Sucherman bring ‘the radio of my youth’ to Tinley Park with the ‘Brotherhood of Rock’ tour
Todd Sucherman’s first time playing the drums for Styx in Tinley Park at what is now Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre was more than 29 years ago, in June 1996.
“We go way back together,” said the 10-time winner of Modern Drummer magazine’s readers’ poll.
On Saturday, Aug. 23, Styx returns to Tinley Park for the penultimate date on the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour with The Kevin Cronin Band (of REO Speedwagon fame) and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder. The tour, which began on May 28, wraps up the next day in Milwaukee.
Sucherman — who grew up in Lincolnwood, a metropolitan Chicago native like Styx guitarist and vocalist James “JY” Young, bassist Chuck Panozzo and the late drummer he replaced in 1996 due to illness, John Panozzo — is thrilled to be on a bill with musicians who’ve contributed to worldwide album sales of nearly 300 million.
“It’s a very charmed existence to sort of end up playing with the radio of my youth,” Sucherman said.
“By that, I mean, with all the bands that we’ve done tours with or shared bills with, it’s crazy to me that it’s been the soundtrack of the ’70s and ’80s for me,” he said.
Among the touchstones of that era was Styx’s “The Grand Illusion” (1977), which the now seven-piece band will perform in its entirety along with hits such as “Lady” and “Renegade.”
The veteran Chicago band released its 18th studio album, “Circling From Above,” on July 18, but is playing only lead single “Build and Destroy” on the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour. It will debut other new tunes when Styx hits the road again starting Sept. 11 in Evansville, Indiana.
Instead, Young will growl along to the chugging “Miss America.” Fellow guitarist and vocalist Tommy Shaw will still hit the high notes on the searching “Man in the Wilderness” from “The Grand Illusion,” which kicked off Styx’s string of four straight triple-platinum albums.
“That was the record that hooked me as a fan of the band back in 1977,” said Sucherman, 56. “I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for anything off that record.”
The 1987 Niles West High School graduate was in the crowd for Styx concerts at the Rosemont Horizon in March 1981 and at the Auditorium Theatre in April 1983.
Sucherman said he bumped into Young twice around Chicago in the early 1990s — once at now-defunct Dress Rehearsals Studios and again at a wedding where he was playing drums in the band.
A few years later, in time for that summer 1996 tour slot in Tinley Park, he joined the band after the untimely death of original Styx drummer John Panozzo at 47.
“It’s a joyful experience to have been on a ride this long with a band that was this successful and a band where everyone’s a good person,” said Sucherman, who has lived in Austin, Texas, going on 20 years.
“Every band is its own dysfunctional family, but, boy, am I glad I’m cast in with this lot.”
Sucherman’s own family was highly functional in terms of musicianship. His father, Arnold, put himself through medical school as a drummer, and “lived a double life” as a downtown podiatrist by day and big band drummer by night.
Arnold Sucherman, who met his future wife, actress Jo Seiwert, while at a gig in New Orleans, was the house drummer at the Chez Paree in Chicago for 18 years in the 1940s and 1950s.
Whether at the Near North club or as a session player, Arnold Sucherman set the beat for legends such as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horn, Liberace and Sammy Davis Jr.
The proverbial apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Todd started banging the drums by 2, reading music by 5, and performing with brothers Paul on keyboards and Joel on bass as “The Sucherman Brothers” by 6.
In the decades since, Todd Sucherman has earned honors as a drum clinician, educator and session player in demand. After playing 49 years, he released his first solo album, “Last Flight Home,” in 2020.
He’s played with entertainers as diverse as Steve Dahl and Brian Wilson — both in Tinley Park, which brings us back to Styx and the “Brotherhood of Rock.”
“It’s such a great night of music, and it’s great to be part of something that provides escape and joy at this stage of the game,” Sucherman said. “To be involved with that and to see thousands of smiling faces out there night after night, it’s such a privilege to be a part of that.
“It’s just my hope that we can do this as long as we can,” Sucherman said of playing with Styx.
“Time is undefeated, apparently, but for me to have done this for 30 years has been such a joy. I hope I can continue doing this well into the future.”
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“Brotherhood of Rock” tour
With Styx, The Kevin Cronin Band and Don Felder
When: 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23
Where: Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park, creditunion1amp.com/
Tickets: $37-$209 at ticketmaster.com/