------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 16, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Las Vegas Sun http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/read/2004/apr/16/516700026.html For Vegas appearance, Yes has familiar squire By Spencer Patterson As the bassist for prog-rock giant Yes, Chris Squire has spent 35 years anchoring his band's musical excursions. He has also been the British group's rock of a different sort, as its only musician to appear on every Yes single album -- 19 studio efforts. Thirteen other members have passed through the lineup. Six have left, then returned to the fold. Yes has even split into two bands, then re-formed as a giant ensemble. And through it all, Squire has remained the lone constant. "I just think other people used to go away and work on their solo projects and leave me holding the baby," Squire said in a phone interview from the band's Seattle rehearsal space this week. "But obviously, it's a good thing for me. I've enjoyed being there the whole time." On Wednesday, Yes brings its 35th anniversary tour -- and its "classic" lineup of Squire, vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Alan White -- to the Mandalay Bay Events Center for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Tickets are $35, $45 and $65. The 55-year-old Squire created Yes in 1968 with Anderson after a chance meeting in a London pub. "I was introduced to Jon and we sat down in this bar and started talking about who we liked (musically)," Squire recalled. "When we discovered that we liked a lot of the same artists, we agreed to get together and write a couple of songs and develop stuff from there. "But who knows? We could have written a couple of songs and parted company." Fortunately for the legions of devoted Yes fans worldwide, Squire and Anderson stayed together. That is, until Anderson took a brief sabbatical from the band in 1980 while Squire pressed on to record that year's "Drama." After Anderson returned for 1983 comeback album "90125," Yes' winding road took an even more unexpected turn in the late 1980s. Squire found himself at odds with several of his longtime bandmates, who formed a competing group called Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe. That outfit's lone studio album is listed in a selected Yes discography in the liner notes of new compilation "The Ultimate Yes," to Squire's dismay. "It shouldn't be in there, really," he said. "It isn't (a Yes album)." Ultimately, Squire said, Yes' ever-changing lineup has keyed important musical growth. "Strangely enough, a lot of the changes are probably why the band is still around," he said. "Because all through our career, when we had new people come in, they came in with new ideas as well. So it set up a slightly different Yes, with interaction between different players. "Most notably, '90125' with (guitarist) Trevor Rabin was a slightly different direction for the band, but it was good to have his input. And later in the '90s with (guitarist) Billy Sherwood. He brought in a lot of good music." In celebration of its anniversary, Yes has opted for a special stage set for this tour. The creator? Roger Dean, whose psychedelic album art is as much a part of the band's lore as classic rock staples "Roundabout" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart." "We've spent quite a bit of money on a Roger Dean stage set that's got all kinds of inflatable landscapes and stuff like that," Squire said. "It's a bigger show, designed for the arena stage. "We haven't carried that stuff around for a long time, probably since the late '70s. We thought it would be a treat for our fans, and hopefully we'll pick up some new ones too who are interested in seeing that." Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com