----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 20, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, New Hampshire) http://www4.fosters.com/news2002/oct_02/oct20_02/news/art_1020a.asp YES they’re back: ‘Dream team’ reunites By Shawn Macomber Drummer Alan White, vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire and keyboard player Rick Wakeman comprise the “Yes dream team.” The band is reunited and coming to the Whittemore Center Arena on Thursday Nov. 7 for the only New Hampshire appearance on the tour. When drummer Alan White was first asked to join progressive rock legends YES, he said he would play with them for three months and see if it worked out. Thirty years later, White is still playing with the band scheduled to dazzle the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire with a classic lineup that includes the return of keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman. "Getting back to this line-up feels really great," White said in a recent telephone interview. "This is our classic ’70s line-up and we slipped right back into the groove of it." The lineup also includes Jon Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), and Wakeman (keyboards). Yes, indeed, these men who brought forth such masterpieces as "Tales from Topographic Oceans" and "Relayer" have returned to share the stage together — no small feat in and of itself. The return of Wakeman, in particular, was a surprise to many fans in light of his long departure from the band and his outspoken public criticism of YES’ 2001 record "Magnification." In the past Wakeman had contended that any return to YES would include a provision that none of those songs be played. Since returning, however, Wakeman has changed his tune. He not only performs songs from that record, but has even admitted to White (gasp!) that he has begun to like play the very songs he once swore off. "Rick brought us back to that high-energy place we were with him before, but elevated it to another whole plain," White said, adding that all the band members are pleased with the current set list and performances. YES is touring behind a retrospective, "In a Word: YES (1969-)", out on Rhino Records. The release contains more than 55 remastered tracks picked from YES’ 32 albums. "I think it was a good time for a boxed set," White said. "There’s some never-before-released stuff there and the sound quality on these tracks is sterling." In many ways, it is surprising that a band that has flown in the face of convention, constantly creating long, challenging pieces, has had the sort of widespread success YES has. And yet, the band has been wildly successful, enjoying a steadfast fan base since forming in 1969. Listeners have shown over the years that they are willing to "go there" with the band. Contrary to the "couch potato" theory of modern society, YES proves people are up for a challenge, up to trying something new. Progressive bands of today, such as Tool, the Dillinger Escape Plan, and Mr. Bungle routinely cite YES as one of their major inspirations. "The last five or six years we’ve seen a lot of younger people at shows," White said. "There’s not only second-generation YES fans now, but third-generation YES fans. We’re seeing people, many of whom are raiding their parents’ record collections, coming out and being completely into it. "It’s very satisfying to know we’re still relevant." White believes success is all about approaching the music tastefully. "We’re not easy listening, that’s for sure," White said. "The key is not to be too clever about it. We are all accomplished enough that we can play complex arrangements. The secret is to be good enough to play in a 9/8 time signature, but make it feel like 4/4 so it swings." Easy to say. Harder to do. "This is not the kind of band where the drummer takes off in one direction and hopes the rest of the band will follow," White added. "We work together much more than that." White is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock drummers in the world. As a child he was encouraged to play the piano, but it quickly became apparent he didn’t belong behind the keys. "My piano playing was pretty percussive," White said. "My uncle came by and after listening to me a bit, basically told me I was a drummer. So I took it up." Growing up White played in various bands, not thinking much of it, and eventually enrolled in college as an architecture student. Still, the music was always tugging at him, calling him back. "I listened to a lot of music," White said. "I started to think more about how I wanted it played, not how other people played it. I began to have my own ideas about music," he said. "I think that’s how a lot of people in YES felt." In 1969 when he was only 20 years old, White received a call from John Lennon inviting him to play with the Plastic Ono Band. Lennon had seen White playing in a club the night before, said he was blown away, so called him the next morning. Hours later White found himself on a plane, heading to Toronto and a dream gig performing with Lennon and Eric Clapton. "I was so young and naive," White said. "It was only years later that I look back and said to myself, ‘Wow, that was really something.’" White would go on to play on such enduring classic Lennon songs as "Imagine," "Instant Karma," and "Jealous Guy." He also performed on the classic George Harrison record, "All Things Must Pass." In 1972 while touring with Joe Cocker, White received the call asking him to join YES. "I had had my own band, which had been musically adventurous, playing in different time signatures and whatnot before," White said. "So it wasn’t completely new to me. It was fun returning to compositions that were a lot more challenging." So enjoyable, as it turns out, that White is one of only two members to have remained in the band throughout a dizzying number of line-up changes. The most consistent thing about YES is not members’ names, but the quality of the music, which is fine with White. "It was never bad, just different," White said. "You got into whoever you were playing with, and you made music. We never had bad players." White is quick to add that what he is most excited about and focused on is the here and now. "I am really happy this particular group has come back together," White said. "There’s something about the chemistry of the five of us that I believe is special. The fans are excited and so are we." People planning to attend the UNH show next week can expect a varied set from the rock pioneers, who painstakingly sort through songs attempting to please as many fans as possible. "We change it up from tour to tour," White said. "If we played every song that everyone wanted to hear, we’d be on stage for half a day. We have to cut it down, but we take into consideration fan requests on our Web sites." The set ends up ranging from the diverse to the extreme, he said. And to a certain extent it depends on how the band feels. "We bounce ideas off each other," White said. "There are many songs we know how to play, and we can throw those in with little notice. There are also songs too difficult to attempt without prior rehearsal and preparation. We do what we can." White also said fans will not be confronted with radically reinterpreted versions of YES songs. "We’re used to playing and hearing the songs a certain way," White said. "If you play a song too differently it confuses the audience, and that’s not what we’re there to do." Spontaneity can be built into that structure, he pointed out. "We’ll play off each other ... keeping things fresh." In tow with YES will be a English band called Porcupine Trees, which White describes as a cross between Led Zeppelin, Yes and Pink Flyod. After this leg of the North American tour, YES will be off to Japan and Indonesia. Next summer the band hopes to stage a festival tour package with four or five progressive rock bands sharing the stage. The big news beyond that is a plan to record a new record with Wakeman and the classic line-up sometime next year. "There’s still a lot of life in this band," White said. "I feel as if we’ve made a lot of people happy." As far as a legacy goes, White says simply, "We in the band listen to Tchicovsky a long time after he’s gone, and we can only hope to have the music speak for us in a similar way. "Getting on stage is what it’s all about for us," White said. "Everything is so energized right now, we’re excited to get out there. I don’t know that we’ve ever been to New Hampshire, but we’re definitely looking forward to it." The Whittemore Center Arena show is the only New England appearance of YES on this tour. The show starts at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7. Tickets are $49.50, $39.50 and $29.50 and available at the Whittemore Center Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlet locations, charge-by-phone at 868-7300 or buy online at www.ticketmaster.com. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com