------------------------------------------------------- MARCH 6, 1996 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: San Jose Mercury News http://www.yessng.net/high.html Prog-Rock Fans Clamoring to Hear from the Yes Men By Claudia Perry YES AGAIN: “Progressive rock”: The very label sounds like something you’d hear in an engineer’s garage or on his $40,000 custom-built stereo. And it’s no coincidence that Silicon Valley is one of the last bastions of this musical genre, which merges the breadth and intricacy of classical music with computer-generated sounds to create lengthy rock opuses. Prog-rock groups have as much in common with Stravinsky as with Chuck Berry. “It probably is so strong here because of the engineers in this valley,” says William Ash, manager of the CD Warehouse in Sunnyvale, which stocks an extensive section of prog rock. “You don’t hear it on the radio, but a lot of people are into that style. Engineers just seem to like that genre.” Bands such as King Crimson (which sold out two sets of shows here last year), Tangerine Dream, Porcupine Tree and Camel have huge followings here. Well, I’ve got great news for prog rock and fans: If you are willing to take a drive and pay a scalper, you may be able to see the original members of Yes performing their most complex works, including Tales From Topographic Oceans, at a small movie theater in San Luis Obispo. This is an amazing story; I didn’t believe it at first. On Saturday, I got to see the band rehearse, while a block away hundreds of fans from all over the country were camped out, waiting for a chance to buy tickets for an added show. The band has been rehearsing for a month in a former bank on the city’s main street. The show it added was Monday night. It plans to record two shows before 800 people at the Fremont Theatre (1025 Monterey St.). The first of those was Tuesday night. The second is tonight at 8. Many SLO locals have taken little notice. Few have shown up to hear one of the top prog-rock bands of the ’70s blasting through the bank’s walls. “The college students just think they are some old guys,” says Monica Fiscalini, feature editor of the city’s daily Telegram-Tribune. But a worldwide community is heading to SLO for the shows. Tickets were sold on the Internet at $55 via the Yes fans’ message groups. A couple of hundred were held back for locals. All this came together because Yes singer Jon Anderson, who, like the other members of the group, hails from England was passing through town, when he saw a police car giving a push to a VW van to help the driver get it started. Anderson, 51, decided this was the place to settle with his wife, Jane. He said the city combines the best of what England, the south of France and Kauai, his other favorite places, have to offer. He persuaded his band mates­Alan White, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Chris Squire­to rehearse and put on the shows there. Anderson, who also records solo projects for Menlo Park’s Windham Hill Records, told me this was a chance to give fans “master” versions of classic Yes songs by a more mature band. Two-thirds of the shows consist of old material. “When we recorded Close to the Edge, people said to me they’d still be playing it 10 years later,” said Anderson. “I just said, ‘Naaah.’ It’s 23 years later, and we’re STILL playing it. I’m as confounded by it myself.” He says the full band will tour later this year; so if you miss the SLO shows, you may have another chance to see Yes. A two-hour rehearsal, during which they covered the first side of ‘Topographic, Awaken, a new song, and Siberian Khatru showed the band hasn’t lost anything over the years. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com