Styx’s James “J.Y.” Young – HuffPost 2.15.12

Mike Ragogna: JY, do you have any advice that you would like to share with new artists?

James “JY” Young: There’s a football player on The Patriots named Danny Woodhead. This guy’s like 5’9″, but he’s tough as nails, he can run fast, and he’s hard for a big guy to get a hold of. That guy was in the Super Bowl when everyone around him said that he was too small and too slow. But he’s smart, savvy, and tough. In order to be a musician in the current industry, you have to be that tough. It’s all about patience, persistence, talent, luck, and capital. You’ve got to believe in yourself and be willing to go out of your way to find the pathway of opportunity, it’s not going to come by your door if you’re just sitting there waiting for it. There’s a line from the movie Shawshank Redemption that goes, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” You’ve got to get busy living!