Throughout the course of its storied career, which has spanned nearly 50 years, Yes has personified the genre that it helped create: progressive rock. From the British band's late-'60s blend of psychedelia, r&b and folk to its '70s epic compositions that still define the genre to its reinvention in the '80s as the slick, MTV-ready arena-rock powerhouse behind the hit "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," Yes has always focused on moving forward.
With that forward trajectory has come a parade of band members leaving, and in many cases, rejoining the group. At the center of all of that movement was one solitary figure, bassist Chris Squire, a founding member, a player who changed the idea of rock bass guitar, and the only musician to play on every album in the Yes catalog. With the passing of Squire in June, the one constant in Yes - and maybe the band itself - was gone.
But talk to Steve Howe, the virtuosic guitarist who started his first stint with the band in 1970, and you'll learn that "there is a sense of responsibility" to keep the band moving forward - which it has been doing via a flurry of activity: the July release of the live CD/DVD, "Like It Is - Live At The Mesa Arts Center," a late-summer tour that begins Friday, Aug. 7 in Connecticut and November's third annual "Cruise To The Edge," the Yes-themed cruise which takes its name from what many consider to be the band's high point, the 1972 album "Close To The Edge."
The band is currently made up of long-time members Howe and drummer Alan White, who has been with Yes since 1972, keyboardist Geoff Downes, an early '80s member who returned in 2011, Jon Davison, the latest singer to replace original lead vocalist Jon Anderson, and Billy Sherwood, a former Yes guitarist who was already slated to fill in on bass when Squire's worsening struggle with Acute Erythroid Leukemia made it clear he wouldn't be able to handle the concert dates.
Before embarking on the tour, which will also feature American classic progressive act Toto, Howe chatted exclusively with Headlines & Global News about forging on without Squire, the changing perception of progressive rock and the odds of a reunion with iconic former Yes-men like Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman.
This is the first time you're getting ready to go on tour without Chris Squire. How does that feel?
It's a very roundabout question, isn't it, because we haven't actually started; we're starting in a couple of days. What's it like? It's not quite like anything we expected but we have a sense of duty, responsibility, we all hold positions and you have to forge ahead, whatever happens in your life. You can't run away from things. So I guess we've kind of faced up to it and kind of come to terms with what we're about to do, because, you see, everything about it is unfortunate, but we knew some time back that Chris wasn't available to do this tour, so Billy Sherwood came in with our blessing to fill in and hopefully Chris was going to come back. So we were kind of half in this mode, you know what I mean? We were halfway down this street because we were going to be doing like this (anyway), and it's a great shame of course that Chris didn't make it through the quite difficult course that he had to do to get back on the road with us and get his life back from his illnesses. So I mean we were halfway down there, but we weren't here (laughs), we didn't know that Chris was not going to be able to rejoin us and that he was going to pass away. So that bit's new. I don't really think you can describe it very well, other than what I just said: we were partially ready for it because Chris wasn't going to be able to do this tour, but we weren't ready for the full shock.
What is your favorite Yes album?
I think that when you get to "Close To The Edge" you got an awful lot of the great ingredients that Yes wanted to have. By that time we've got Rick (Wakeman) and many of the founding members, and I think for that reason it's a great jumping-off point. You can look before it and see how we got there, but also you can see how we widened and grew and matured, and maybe got a little crazy after that. After the '80s, I mean Asia was quite a crazy band to be in, but when I see the "90125" video I have a good laugh, I see those guys out there with permed hair and funny trousers, and great, you know, that's how many times Yes has changed its sort of skin, like the '60s, the first two albums, not very successful but there's actually so much talent bubbling in, you've got the '70s with your "Tales From Topographic Oceans," your "Relayers," and "Dramas," which was another great title, because it was a bit dramatic, and there again you've got the '80s, and you have the '90s, so I mean really we have to enjoy this (laughs).
Does Chris' passing make it any more likely we'll see Yes work with former members like Jon Anderson or Rick Wakeman in some capacity, even just for one big concert to celebrate the band's legacy?
I mean, I'd hate to say no, so I'll say I don't know. I don't know. From inside it's quite different. We have to try to stay on our course, and if we change something that changes multiple other things, then we don't know where we are. We spent a lot of time in 2008 kind of finding out where we are, with Benoit (David) and Oliver Wakeman and now with Geoff Downes and Jon Davison and now with Billy Sherwood. In other words, we can't open the floodgates without thinking. So sure, we give these things some thought, but until we come to a conclusion, we'd rather do nothing than the wrong thing.
Are there any plans to do a new Yes studio album any time soon?
I really can't comment on that. We're not wholly sure. It certainly couldn't be very soon because we're not interested in doing it very soon. The last record was quite difficult and we have to learn from that. It could be years in the pipeline. It certainly would be a huge mistake to make some quick record and put it out. That would be the hugest mistake, because we've got something really tricky to live up to, it's called things like "Close To The Edge" (laughs), which is phenomenally orchestrated and arranged, it's got so much writing in it, so much performance, so many great breaks and solos and things, so it's a lot to live up to, and I would say, a bit like I did with (the question about) the reunion with the former members, we better not do the wrong thing. Therefore, to do nothing is a lot safer ground, to move along slowly, until we know a bit more.
YES TOUR DATES
Fri-Aug-07 Mashantucket, CT
Grand Theater at Foxwoods
Sat-Aug-08 Newark, NJ
New Jersey PAC
Sun-Aug-09 Atlantic City, NJ
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - Event Center
Tue-Aug-11 Brooklyn, NY
Barclays Center
Wed-Aug-12 Baltimore, MD
Pier Six Pavilion
Fri-Aug-14 Huber Heights, OH
Music Center at The Heights
Sat-Aug-15 Sterling Heights, MI
Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
Sun-Aug-16 Chicago, IL
FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Tue-Aug-18 Des Moines, IA
Iowa State Fair - Grandstand
Wed-Aug-19 Saint Charles, MO
Family Arena
Fri-Aug-21 Biloxi, MS
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino - Beau Rivage Theater
Sat-Aug-22 Alpharetta, GA
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
Sun-Aug-23 Clearwater, FL
Ruth Eckerd Hall
Tue-Aug-25 Houston, TX
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Wed-Aug-26 San Antonio, TX
Majestic Theatre
Thu-Aug-27 Grand Prairie, TX
Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
Sun-Aug-30 Littleton, CO
Denver Botanic Gardens - Chatfield
Mon-Aug-31 Salt Lake City
UT Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Wed-Sep-02 Tucson, AZ
AVA Amphitheater
Fri-Sep-04 Scottsdale, AZ
Talking Stick Resort & Casino
Sat-Sep-05 Pala, CA
Pala Casino - Starlight Theater
Sun-Sep-06 Los Angeles, CA
The Greek Theatre
Tue-Sep-08 Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery
Thu-Sep-10 Shelton, WA
Little Creek Casino Resort - Event Center
Fri-Sep-11 Airway Heights, WA
Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Sat-Sep-12 Coquitlam, BC
Hard Rock Casino - Vancouver
