Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Agreed - you can't tour Yes with a stand in singer, I saw Fragile with Steve Howe on Guitar, the vocalist wasn't brilliant,if it wasn't for the fact that Steve was there it would have been a washout
But Benoit is better
(Fragile are a Yes tribute band )
G

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

I'm sorry, but I just don't get this thing Rick said. To me it's the most, ahem, "Pretentious" thing ever said in relation to Rock Music. Yes are my favorite band ever, but, at the end of the day, they're just a band. Bands come, and bands go.

"'C'est la vie' say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell."

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Yes - just a band???!?! Not to me. Their music was the spiritual soundtrack to my youth. To paraphrase the film Amadeus, it was "as if they were taking dictation from God." I'm sorry if that sounds pretentious to you, but that is how I feel.

I would no more say that Yes was just a band than I would say that Mozart was 'just a musician', or Da Vinci was 'just a painter.'

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

:dogpile: im quite excited to hear this the new singer is spot on ol` jon and my will finally hear some drama era music!!:notworthy

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

What I'm saying is that "genius" isn't are rare as most think. There are so many great musicians in the world that to idolize one or one group is put undo glory on a single person. Pedastals are one construction job from being gallows. "All good things must come to an end," as they say, and when Yes is done, they should be done. To quote John Lennon on the hoopla after the Beatles disintigrated, "We were just a band who made it very, very big - that's all. All the old records are there if you want to reminice."

Yes are my favorite band; that's why I'm Yesspaz. But there was great music before them, and there'll be great music after them. They're not God, nor gods, nor "celestial travellers." They are men and musicians. They are good musicians, to be sure, but just a band.

If you really want to preserve their aura, why take the side of making Yes like a symphony? Sorry, but in my opinion, that's just dumb. When they get ready to rap it up, Yes should rest in peace. Don't sully their name by having a bunch of people who have never been in Yes suddenly called Yes.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

IMO, it would be "just dumb" to let Yes rest in peace. I suppose you believe that we should let all great music, art, literature, philosophy, and ideas of the past just rest in peace. Let's just scrap all the museums - after all, there was great art before, and there will be great art afterward. Burn down the libraries - there will be good writers in the future.

I believe in preserving and reinterpreting the best of all ages.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Oh this just keeps getting better...the italics on "understudy"
are a given now.
Sent from Jon's Myspace blog-

" Thursday, September 18, 2008

"Not Yes"

September 18, 2008

Disappointed, and very Disrespected

Disappointed that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys have been in touch since my illness, just to find out how I am doing, and how we will foresee the future for YES. And disappointed that they were not willing to wait till 2009 when I'm fully recovered.

And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year creating songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean creating a stage design, also working with VH1 and Sirius and XM Radio to help promote the welfare of YES.

Getting sick was not "on my radar", and I thank my own angel Janeee and my family for helping me through this difficult time, and the many well wishers, friends and fans alike, for understanding that ''things happen''.

Of course I wish the guys all the best in their 'solo' work, but I just wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. After all YES is a precious musical band.

This is not YES on tour...

I send best wishes to one and all,

Jon Anderson
September 2008

3:47 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos -
**************
Man, that's some cold shit not to inquire after a fallen comrade
that's made great music w/ them for 40 years....wow.

K

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did I ever say to detroy the Yes vinyls, 8-tracks, cassettes, cds, mp3s, dvds, or any such?


NOPE.

C'mon. If Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr decided to recruit two guitarists and hit the road as the Beatles, who would EVER accept that? No one. I say Yes should hang in there as long as possible, but don't give me this crap about thirty years from now there being a Yes with a bunch of musicians who are only 3 years old now. When this core dies, Yes should die as a performing and recording band, but not their output!

Of course I'm for keeping the museums. I'm just not for idolizing Monet to the point we state something as idiotic as "There will never be a painter that good again." Look to the next painter, the next musician, the next writer.

It's not dumb to love and acknowledge great work gone before. It is dumb to drag it out beyond it's time and stretch it to the point of breaking for the sake of keeping a "name" alive. This is where Lucas screwed up with his Star Wars franchise. The first three were hailed as milestones. The second three hurt the team, and made the first three not stand up as well. Now there's the animated Clone Wars, which is even worse. Throw in the video games, comics, toys, and over a hundred novels and you get a monstrosity that should have stopped and preserved its legacy along time ago.

I'm all for Yes writing and recording new music while these guys are still here, but when Howe, Squire, White, Wakeman, Anderson, Bruford, Kaye, and Rabin die like Richard Wright just did, I don't want five other guys touring as Yes.

Yes is a Rock Band, not an Orchestra. The dynamics are entirely different.

In classical music, (1) the piece and (2) the composer is the star. You can hear Brahms' Piano Concerto in B min performed legitimately in many places, and not one says, "Who does this orchestra think it is, daring to perform this piece?" Exactly. Yet this doesn't translate to Rock Bands.

For your consideration: The star in Rock is (1) the piece and (2) the artist - only it's MUCH MORE ENTWINED a relationship than an orchestra and the piece it's playing. Want proof? How come tribute bands aren't as popular as the real band?

Fifteen orchestra's playing a concert of Tchaikovsky is way more legitimate and accepted than fifteen tribute bands playing a concert of Yes.

Another analogy: After Stravinsky died, there may have been many composers come and write in the style of Stravinsky, but it wasn't billed as "New Music by Stravinsky." So after Yes is gone, if people want to play in their style, write in their style - awesome. But it should never be billed as "The New Album from Yes."

That's just dumb.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

I've said before that Jon IS the voice of YES, and that Drama was a side project of YES members. (Nevertheless, Drama remains one of my favorite listens.) I think the same thing of the Rabin years. Without Steve, I'm not sure I would call it YES. But Rick and Roll said it, It's just marketing.
Some will go to hear this new version of YES music with a new singer and compare, note for note, whether he got it right, or just like Jon.
I think such comparisons are beside the point.
Music should be fun. I agree with Rick Wakeman. YES music, the music, is timeless and I hope more people try to play it, change it, expand it, or otherwise try to get it right. I'll likely be pleased to hear it. I agree with Giloeada here. It's like classical music under different maestros.
I enjoy seeing The Musical Box (Genesis tribute band who seem to mostly get it right--IMO.) I never was able to see Gabriel in Genesis. It has been a treat to see the 'next best thing' (several times).
Too bad Jon feels disrespected. He seems to be a soul who doesn't deserve to be treated with ill will or lack of grace.
But in the end, I simply don't care if they call it YES or not. The music is the key. Like Keithie said, bring it on!

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

It all good in the end, and the end is not over :)

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Spaz, I appreciate the passion, but the tone needs tweaking. there are many examples of bands that look like they used to, and especially in the 50's, artists touring w/o any original members (the Kingston Trio is one, I know, I saw them).

It's really just a franchise to them.

Yes and the bands from that era engender so much debate, and it's like a soap opera at times. Now we have Martin Orford and his drama.

Matters not what they call it. Agreed, it sounds like they're cold blooded, but if the music's good I'll listen. If not (see most of the last 15 years), I'll pass.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Rick, so what you're saying is their tone is all wrong?

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

I love Jon and his music and his beautiful spirit. It is very disheartening to hear that his bandmates did not even check on his well-being, while replacing him. However, it is a bit audacious for Jon to say that this is not a Yes tour. How many "understudies" has he toured with? White, Wakeman, Moraz, Rabin, Khoroshev, even Tony Levin on the ABWH tour.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

To further complicate the situation, Ticketmaster is billing
them as Yes. Whether they've decided to go w/ "screw Jon"
remains to play out.

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

Yeah, but which one of those was an imitator of the style
of his predecessor ?

It's like U2 taking out a "New Bono wanted....
Must swagger, have own hat ".

How about Rush putting in a Geddy clone...would you buy that ?

K

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

EXCELLENT POST!

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

EVEN BETTER! As I've said before, Yes shouldn't get a Jon clone, but a NEW SINGER, just whomever is the best one! Or for the love of controversy, Trevor Rabin. :thumbsup:

Re: Yes to tour w/ "Jon understudy"
 

we want Jon....... yeah .... I may go, but it's not the same. The boys should be ashamed of them selves.... IMO.