------------------------------------ JUNE 22, 2001 ------------------------------------ Source: USA Today http://cgi1.usatoday.com/mchat/20010622003/tscript.htm Transcript: Steve Howe Online Chat Guitarist Steve Howe has been a staple of the art-rock genre since the 1970s, playing in bands like Yes, Asia, GTR and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH). He'll be online today talking about his memories, fond and otherwise, of playing in those groups; his new solo album, Natural Timbre; and his tour plans. ---------- Vero Beach, FL: On "The Clap" on "The Yes Album", are you the only musician playing? I am blown away every time I listen to it. Steve Howe: Hi. Thanks for the question. Yes, it's just one guitarist at a time playing. I'm playing in Chet Atkins style -- the bass part is played with the pic, the melody is with the fingers. Olney, Maryland: You and Chris meld so well (the interactions between your guitars and his bass). Was it like this from the start or did you both have to develop it before the first recording you both did together? Also, looking forward to seeing you here in Washington DC area in August! Steve Howe: Chris and I always blended well. I guess that's something we keep trying to make sure we recreate. I was excited to meet a bass player back in 1970 who could play in such a unique way. Keene, NH: I am a long-time fan who's really enjoying the new "Natural Timbre" CD. Many thanks for years of great music. I have a couple of questions about the upcoming Yes Symphonic album: (1) when is it in stores? (2) is it all new songs or rerecordings of Yes classics with orchestra? Keep you fingers crossed that I get good seats for the Wallingford, CT show going on sale this weekend! Steve Howe: It's coming out in September, but I'm not sure what date. Unlike the EP, all the material is new, and it's all orchestrated. There was also an EP coming out sooner with two of the studio tracks, and one live old song arranged for orchestra. This was just to give a general idea of the new CD and the tour. Glad you like Natural Timbre. See you in November, I think. Fairfax, Va.: Is it difficult to come up with guitar parts to match Jon Anderson's rather abstract lyrics? Steve Howe: Hahaha! That's a laugh. Quite often the music starts being created as a vehicle for a song that's only partially written. Sometimes a lot of lyrics are written first, and often the musical setting can be more simplistic, as it's a vehicle for something already conceived lyrically. Nashville, TN: Hello Mr. Howe. I was wondering if you could tell me the story behing you and Rick Wakeman hooking up to create your distinctive sound? Steve Howe: I'd been in Yes for a year with Tony Kaye, and his departure was mainly based on our desire to expand the textures. Rick came with a few of these textures, and with our increasing demand for more, he found way to do more. This was part of the reason why I moved into playing the whole guitar family, as it seemed the right opportunity to introduce other guitar textures, which I'd started doing but now i.e., things like Roundabout, I could use any guitar texture available. Say hi to Chet for me. Portland, Maine: Hello Mr. Howe, I am a big Yes fan and a huge fan of you're writing and playing. Would you tell us how you were trained, or are you self-taught? Thanks for the music! Steve Howe: At the age of 12 I started playing the guitar, and I attempted to find someone to teach me. This didn't become a reality, and the only training I gave myself was from a guitar chord book called "Eric Kershaw's Dance Bands Guitar Chords". I really think it's been good for me, and I'm totally dependent on my ear, but of course there are things I'd like to do that I can't, due to not being able to read music. But only a few. St. Louis, MO: Hi Steve, I'm 40 years old and can plainly see in my mind exactly where I sat and what I saw during a concert in "the round" in Atlanta back in the mid to late 70s. Where did you guys come up with that and the other ideas for your stage setups? Wow what an experience. Steve Howe: Michael Tate worked for Yes on the lights. He helped the Roger Dean stages come along. Then he had this idea to suggest that we play on a round stage. We were all quite mystified. Its uniqueness appealed to us. From then on for three years, we reveled in the differences that this made. We also toured with it for part of the Union tour in 1991. It's another dimension of performing, which I hope we get back to one day. Minneapolis, MN: Asia's touring seemed to set the tone for the 80s stadium concert events - did you feel ahead of your time as a band outside the studio? Steve Howe: The first tour was tremendously exciting, and we toured with Michael Tate's stage. We got called the first supergroup of the 80s, which was quite a cliche. Asia at that time was a real musical entity; combustious, harmonious, and successful. But with that immediate success we gained, we also relaxed on the second album, and lost the plot. Rockledge, Florida: I was a big fan of GTR and loved their first (and only) album. I had heard that the band was working on a follow up. Whatever happened to it? Steve Howe: You're right; in fact, two follow-ups were recorded. Unfortunately, neither have been released. Both of these follow-ups were not recorded with Steve Hackitt. I recorded some of the remainder of the band at my own expense in my studio. We then began recording for Arista, who released the first album, with another member Robert Berry. During recording, he left to join Emerson Palmer. These final recordings were unfinished and not available on bootleg. The first recordings may be released in the future. Pittsburgh, PA: Yes happens to be my favorite band whom I have I've seen numerous times. My big question (and probably the question of many) what are the chances of Rick Wakeman rejoining the band? Steve Howe: On many occasions we've invited Rick Wakeman to be part of the band (over the last decade). Rick has appeared to be available for some recording but is less available for touring. It is a condition of Yes (or any band, for that matter) that a complete commitment is given, which must include recording and touring. Rick follows his own career direction, and therefore is understandably reluctant to give up large amounts of time to Yes. Federal Way, Washington: I've have been in awe of your talent for years. Which of today's young artists (if any) do you see coming up to eventually fill your shoes or at least join your level of expertise? Thank you. Steve Howe: Hahahaha! In the most part there are many fine young capable guitarists evolving, and I would say Steve Morse is extremely capable of continuing to develop his masterful style. The vision and work necessary to make a mark today, when styles of music are so intertwined, finding a style to suit all these directions is getting hard. Perhaps the groundwork was laid out so well in the 60s and 70s. Perhaps there's something to take from the past to make the future seem as exciting. Chuck, Arlington, VA: When I was in high school, my friends and I listened to your playing in Yes almost every day,loving the whole "Progressive Rock" vibe as well as the music.I Must admit, however, that our brains were usually, uh, Chemically Enhanced while we played your(Vinyl!) records. This always led us to wonder, of course, if and to what extent your own writing and playing was informed and/or enhanced by your own use of vegetable-based intoxicants. That is, were you guys as stoned as we were? Steve Howe: Hahahahahaha! When we're young we want to explore all possible avenues and extremes. Looking back on that period, I quickly equated the sensation that had some natural ambiance, and quickly ignored the more schizophrenic style of intoxication. So by 1970 I wouldn't drink alcohol or take LSD or any kind of chemical drug. I had some very good advice from my brother, which I more or less stood by, which meant to me to use common sense about your mind and body all the time. What you were enjoying when you were listening to the record was similar to the enjoyment we had of making it. Rochester, NY: When Peter Banks (YES lead guitarist for the first two albums) left the band, we hear that YES also considered another guitarist for his replacement: Robert Fripp of King Crimson. Any truth to that and what do you think of Fripp's work? Steve Howe: This question has hovered around Yes at times. As far as I know, Robert was asked but I believe he declined. He showed interest in the group's direction, but he had King Crimson, which he wasn't about to stop doing. Robert's a very dedicated and fascinating guitarist, whose has his own breed of manic improvisation potential and thoughtful musicality. I also admire his own breakaway approach from the music business per se. He has a good choice in drummers. Florida city, FL: What does your solo material sound like???? do you think old yes fans like me will like it??? Steve Howe: My new CD has a breadth of writing that represents a more clear and guitaristic styling than most probably my previous, more electric records. This being an acoustic project, you might be taken to the sounds that I make there, or try perhaps Quantum Guitar if you like more electric work. I guess there's always going to be some subtle link that joins my music with Yes, in that my music is part of Yes music. Check a couple of CDs out and see what you make of it. Comment from USATODAY.com Host: Thanks so much to Steve Howe and to everyone who joined in. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com