--------------------------------------------- July 6, 2007 --------------------------------------------- YES MEANS NO TO ROCK SCHOOL Source: New York Post http://www.nypost.com/seven/07062007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm By Richard Johnson HE fronts the classic-rock band Yes, but Jon Anderson's operative word was "no" when he callously blew off playing a school fund-raiser for the flimsiest of reasons: His guru urged him not to perform. Anderson was set to belt out hits like "Roundabout" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" July 22 at the Paul Green School of Rock Music in San Francisco - the inspiration for the Jack Black flick, "School of Rock." But he pulled the plug this week, telling school officials his "spiritual advisor" in Hawaii urged him not to do any more concerts until 2008. Adding insult to injury, Anderson's representatives asked the school to lie by telling disappointed students and parents he had withdrawn for "health reasons," according to music director Aldo Noboa. "It does add a little more burn to the thing," Noboa told Page Six. "I understand it's polite [to cite health reasons], but why should we do that? It seems kind of presumptuous. You have to honor your commitments." "His name is already on the tickets and the posters, and a good number of the tickets were sold on the strength of Jon Anderson. The kids are upset and a lot of their parents who are Yes fans are like, 'What the hell is this?' I mean, how bad can playing with the kids be? That can't be bad karma, can it?" Last year, Anderson told Howard Stern that his spiritual advisor "helped him see into the fourth dimension." He has long been associated with Hawaiian spiritualist Audrey Kitagawa, and says he considers himself to be part of the "elf culture." One mother who has two kids enrolled in the music school, which teaches youngsters how to play like professional rockers, told us: "The children were going to perform 'Roundabout' for him. They were really excited about it and had been practicing really hard. We can only hope now that some really nice rocker like Keith Richards will come along and say, 'Hey, this is a group of really nice kids and I'm going to help them out.' " And, in fact, Noboa said the school has put out an S.O.S. for a new headliner to help save the event. Anderson's rep, Paul Silvera, refused to discuss the pullout. "I can't comment on any of that," he told us. Close Window YesInThePress For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@zenponies.com