----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 20, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Florida A Classic Lineup for Classic Rock Series By Gina Vivinetto British progressive rock act Yes was one of the most popular and influential acts of the 1970s, enjoying huge record sales and critical acclaim for its virtuoso playing, epic songs and mystical themes on classics such as Roundabout and I've Seen All Good People. Yes lost several of its most visible members at key moments and had something of a revolving-door cast of musicians before scoring big again the next decade with 90125. The 1983 collection of techno- savvy, danceable pop hits such as Owner of a Lonely Heart had the kind of hooks and harmonies only hinted at in the band's earlier work. Now 30 years into its career, the band has released the five- disc retrospective In A Word: Yes (1969- ) and has reunited its "classic" lineup of singer Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Alan White. "This is the lineup people love," says White, 53, who has been with the band since 1972, by telephone from California. "It's the one from the 1970s, the band that was together the most and broke the ground." White says it's also his favorite lineup, and performing together again has only proven to him how well the five operate together. "We're playing better than ever. The live shows have been incredible," he says. White and Squire, the only Yes member who has been in the band continuously since 1968, have been playing together for three decades, which White says makes for interesting experiences when performing live. "What's good when you play with the same person for so long, I almost know what he's going to do before he does it. Same with Chris (in playing with White). We can anticipate that," White says. "So what's really fun is trying to anticipate what he thinks I'm going to do and then doing something different." White laughs. "It makes it so much more interesting." Before White struck it big with Yes, he played drums for the Plastic Ono Band led by former Beatle John Lennon. "That was a great steppingstone to play with John Lennon," White says. "Can you imagine? I was a struggling musician in London. We were so poor, we were selling records to buy food. Then I get a call from John Lennon saying he wants me to join the Plastic Ono Band. I couldn't believe it. "Later he tells me, 'Oh, yeah, it will be Eric Clapton on guitar' - like it's nothing - 'me and Yoko,' " White says, laughing. Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, was critically maligned for banshee- like wailing during Plastic Ono Band performances, but White thinks Ono's ideas were interesting. "She was really off-the-wall, but I understood what she was trying to express," he says. "I never had problems with Yoko. She was always very good to me. She was very much wrapped up in John and he in her. They were together all the time, constantly. They were inseparable. "It was good to see a couple with that much dedication to each other, really." White recalls staying at the Lennon-Ono home for many days and how thrilled he was as a young musician doing mundane things with performers who had been his idols. "It was great fun. I remember lying around in a huge bed watching TV with Eric Clapton, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I have all these crazy memories." White says he adored the style of Ringo Starr, but like so many British classic rock drummers, he learned his chops from American jazz drummers. White cites Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich as early influences. Swinging London, White remembers, was a hotbed of jazz. "In those days - the 1960s and 1970s - we had lots of jazz clubs we went to all the time and soaked up this music. We saw so many great players and studied what they were doing," he says. "We learned how to work it out and then add a modern flair." White says he still loves being onstage. "We're playing better than we did when we were younger. And now we have such stamina. "I see these young bands nowadays, they play for three-quarters of an hour, then say, 'Oh, I'm tired,' " White says, laughing. "I've overheard bands in clubs - popular bands that everyone knows - they'll play for an hour and then say, 'We've got no more songs, so we'll play that first one again.' " Though White's kids are teenagers - son Jesse is 19 and attends college in Orlando, and daughter Cassandra is 18 - they aren't the ones who keep him up to date with pop music. "My wife, Gigi, loves Eminem," White says. "She's 45, and she listens to Eminem." Gigi also helps her husband out in the fashion department. White laughs when he's reminded of some of the curious garb he and his flamboyant bandmates wore in the free-spirited 1970s. Capes. Flared gypsy shirts. "Oh, God. I used to wear those parachute outfits," he recalls. Nowadays, he just wants to be comfortable. "It's hard playing drums for two, three hours in these hot places. "It's funny. I'm sitting here right now, with a book. My wife and I are trying to pick out some clothes for the tour. She says spandex is out," White says, laughing. "Is that true? Is it?" Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com