A Dark Encounter: Styx Singer Recalls an Emotional and Troubling Meeting with a Fan

Styx singer Lawrence Gowan shares a "dark story" about an encounter with a fan who confessed that his song, "A Criminal Mind," had been "his whole life" while being shackled and escorted to prison.

Styx singer Lawrence Gowan recently shared a "dark story" about an encounter with a fan that left him stunned. The 67-year-old Canada native is set to embark on the Renegades & Juke Box Heroes Tour with Styx and Foreigner this summer. Ahead of the tour, Gowan sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital, during which he reflected on wild moments he has experienced while meeting fans over the years.

"Some of them can get a little bit psychotic," Gowan said with a laugh. "So, I want to be careful with that because I take that seriously. I know what it's like to be a fan, OK? I've done my share of hanging out backstage after shows when I was younger. And that's all great, that can lead to a great experience."

Gowan continued by sharing a story from before he joined Styx, when he had a solo career and released a popular song titled "The Criminal Mind."

"I had a guy once – I was in an airport, and I was sitting beside a guy. … He leaned over, and he said, ‘You know, you wrote that song "A Criminal Mind."' I said, ‘Yeah.’ He says, 'That song's been my whole life.'"

Gowan was taken aback by the man's words, as the song is about an unrepentant prison inmate who has spent his life "behind these bars" and embraced that he will always have a "criminal mind."

"I thought, 'It's a very dark song,'" Gowan said. "And I kind of went, ‘Oh, really?' And he said, ’My entire life has been that, and I'm trying to get out of it.' And he started crying, and I thought, 'What is wrong with this guy? He's way too overly emotional.'"

Gowan then glanced down and saw that the man had shackles around his feet and was being escorted by an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mountain Police) guard. He was being transferred from one prison to another.

"I know that's a dark story, but that was such a life moment," Gowan said.

The fan's reason for finding solace in the song surprised Gowan.

"The weird thing is, he was grateful to have the song, to have something that he could cling to and listen to every day that somehow was helping him in some sort of therapeutic manner,'" Gowan said.

During the interview, Gowan also spoke about the importance of self-awareness and avoiding conflicts that could damage the band's harmony.

"We're human beings, right? And the friction that happens between human beings who even love each other is well-known to anyone on the planet," Gowan said. "What you get better at – I've noticed as you reach a certain vintage – is you get better at seeing where those frictions can ignite into something. They could destroy the beautiful thing that you have going. So, you begin to avoid them, and you begin to find diplomatic ways of moving away from the clash that could cause the whole thing to implode."

Gowan emphasized that mutual support and understanding have helped Styx navigate the challenges of being a band for many years.

"That's for sure," Gowan agreed. "That sort of self-awareness, I think that's part of what comes with doing it for a long time. And everyone's body language, you can see all kinds of things through the day."

Gowan and Gowan's bandmate, Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen, both expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to continue performing and touring after decades-long careers.

"For me, it's understanding that very few people get to do what we do," Hansen said. "Very few, and especially in this time and this economy and the way things are, to be able to be doing this at this level is an unbelievable gift. And if you don't recognize that, then you really don't have a grasp of what it's really all about."

Gowan concurred, adding that music has been a profound force in his life.

"Music, what it does to your life at different stages is really – it's profound," Gowan said. "In your 20s, you've learned your craft enough that you're starting to make some kind of headway. It's very uplifting. But at the same time, you're very driven to see if you can extend this thing. Then, in your 30s, you begin to see the problems that can exist between musicians, etc."

Gowan explained that the drive to improve and the appreciation for the experience keep him and his bandmates motivated.

"In your 50s, you start to get this gratitude that begins to kind of seep in that; that you're still kind of reaching for a performance that you're really, really proud of, and you never actually get there, believe it or not."

"You get performances that you're proud of, but you never actually get to a point where you think, 'That's it, I've mastered it,'" Gowan said. "There's always that opening where you want to make it slightly better. And I think Kelly and I – both bands Styx and Foreigner – we're both still on that path of seeing how much better can we possibly make this? How can we make it even 1% better and have people still enjoy it? And we still seem to feel that we're on that climb, you know?"

"So, if we ever lose that, I think we might lose a bit of our enthusiasm for it. But we're still very, very driven and kind of in awe of the fact that we're still on that path."