Creativity Quote by James Young

There’s a sneaky emotional flex in this line: it’s bragging without sounding like a brag. James Young isn’t saying the current lineup is merely competent or “the best version” on some industry scoreboard. He’s framing it as a wish fulfilled, which recasts a working rock band - a machine built from schedules, contracts, and survival - as something closer to a private fantasy that finally became real.

The intent lands on two levels. Publicly, it’s a vote of confidence in the people sharing the stage: a small, generous sentence that reads like solidarity. Subtextually, it’s also a quiet rewrite of history. Bands like Styx (and most long-running legacy acts) carry baggage: lineup changes, creative splits, the endless fan debate over “real” members, and the transactional feel of touring the hits. By calling this the band he “always wanted,” Young sidesteps nostalgia politics. He’s not defending the past or apologizing for it; he’s claiming the present as the destination.

It works because it turns continuity into choice. “Have now” acknowledges time’s churn - aging, departures, replacements - while “always wanted” suggests an inner through-line that outlasts the drama. For fans, it’s a permission slip to invest emotionally in the current incarnation without feeling disloyal to earlier eras. For the band, it’s a subtle authority move: the stage, right now, is the definitive version because the guy who lived the whole arc is telling you it is.