------------------------------------------------------- SEPTEMBER 10, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~78~2389076,00.html Contributed by Donna Hayes Fans say Yes to revival of prog By Eric L. Reiner Progressive rock may be riding the crest of its biggest resurgence in years. Aging hippies continue to account for the largest part of the fan base, but the genre is also attracting a new generation of listeners in a surprising demographic - ages 16 to 25. Although the genre never has been easy to define, it historically has featured classical-music influences; virtuoso musicianship; complex compositions, often arranged in suites; cerebral lyrics; and plenty of experimentation. Rick Wakeman, keyboardist of '70s progressive-rock icons Yes, would love to be able to say that he consciously plotted to bring classical stylings to the world of rock. But it's simply not true. "You write and perform the only way you know how to play," Wakeman said. "For 15 years, from the age of about 4, I averaged a minimum of three to four hours a day practicing classical piano. I can't claim any credit - or discredit - for bringing classical music into rock 'n' roll. It's just that I loved rock 'n' roll and wanted to play, and (using) classical technique was the only way I knew how to do it." Yes, with today's prog-rock elite Dream Theater as the opening act, perform tonight at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Saturday in Loveland at the Budweiser Events Center. The avant-garde music of Yes was recently gathered in a three-CD anthology by Rhino Records. "The Ultimate Yes 35th Anniversary Collection" includes the band's popular songs - from 1971's epic "Roundabout," to the MTV staple "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - as well as new acoustic versions of a few old favorites. "We went into the studio not to just play the pieces acoustically, but to actually revisit them and rethink their style," Wakeman said. Music born of frustration Yes is considered one of the progenitors of prog, along with King Crimson, Genesis (when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer), early Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), British bands all. Prog started on that side of the pond "out of frustration more than anything else," Wakeman said. "In England, you were told to play what was happening, (whether) it's the pop-band era or it's the crooner era, and that's what you (had to) do. That brought frustration to musicians." America, he says, was the saving grace for the prog sound. "It embraced the music (first)." Progressive rock's height of popularity came in the early 1970s, when Yes and ELP were among the biggest acts of the day. In fact, ELP topped the bill at 1974's California Jam - attended by more than 200,000 - headlining over reigning metal gods Deep Purple and Black Sabbath (and also the Eagles, albeit still in their infancy). Denver, meanwhile, supported smaller acts at Ebbett's Field nightclub, said veteran concert promoter Chuck Morris, who owned the club during the mid-1970s. "Two progressive-rock bands who did extremely well there were Gentle Giant and Caravan," said Morris, now a senior vice president with Clear Channel Entertainment/Rocky Mountain Region. But it wasn't much later that prog tumbled to niche-market status, a victim of the minimalism demanded by punk rock. Baroque excesses were out. Yes was one of the few progressive-rock outfits to have subsequent successes. The genre fell off the radar screen for most of the listening public. Record sales increasing Interest in the U.S. rekindled after New York-based Dream Theater scored a gold album in the early 1990s, then slowly built into what now qualifies as a vibrant underground scene. "Underground music scenes are composed of real places - gathering spots for people to actually hang out - accompanied by various types of independent media, such as 'zines and independently released recordings," says Jeremy Wallach, an anthropologist and assistant professor in the Department of Popular Culture at Ohio's Bowling Green State University. "The fans are organizing themselves and becoming part of the infrastructure for progressive music," adds Jim Pitulski, president of Inside Out Music America, an independent prog and metal record label based in Pittsburgh. A case in point is the Colorado Art Rock Society. For more than five years, this group of Front Range prog-heads has been discussing music over dinner the last Saturday of every month. The outfit's website, www.coloradoprog.com , offers information about local performers. Not surprisingly, the industry has felt the impact of such organized consumerism, at least on the margin. Sales are inching upward at Pitulski's label, for instance. "The base sales level for any record that we put out keeps increasing," he says. Meanwhile, Sirius Satellite Radio, a New York-based service with more than half a million subscribers, launched a new prog-rock feature this week on its deep classic-rock channel, The Vault. The move came in response to listener feedback, Sirius officials say. There now exist two branches of progressive rock: torchbearers like Dream Theater, who clearly sound descended from early '70s prog; and bands that are progressive in the sense of taking music to places it hasn't been before. "And whilst they're not totally prog rock, they have taken bits of it," Wakeman said, citing Tool, Radiohead, Incubus and his favorite, Muse. "These bands are not prog-rock in the Yes vein. They're almost a new prog-rock. They're very 21st century." Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com