----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 27, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/living/4379627.htm Yes: These progressive rockers are still at it decades later By Steve Penhollow Yes is a progressive rock band that has been known as much for legal and ego imbroglios as music. And yet, the band is still around, thanks to a love of "Yessongs" that has led to more reconciliations than vendettas. There's only one band member who can speak with confidence about the entire journey: bass player Chris Squire. Squire alone holds the distinction of having played on every Yes album released since 1969. He never once went off in a huff, a fact that has been good for his self-image but bad for his finances. "It has cost me more in paying the bills," he says, laughing. "The rest of them always seem to leave when there's a lot of debt. Then, just when I've paid it all off, they show up again, 'Hey, I'm back!' " The progressive rock movement, which yielded such Yes hits as "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "I've Seen All Good People," was a reaction to rock's frivolities and implied artistic restraints. Squire is a guy with a sense of humor in a band not necessarily known for it. The prog rockers wanted nothing to do with three-minute songs, 12-bar blues and lyrics celebrating 16 candles. They wanted the freedoms and propers associated with classical music. It was not a genre that tended to attract easygoing guys. One good thing about the lack of employee retention in Yes, Squire says, was that it allowed the band to periodically bring in people who weren't quite so hidebound about their own ideas. "It is sometimes easier to get things done if everybody isn't a genius," Squire says, wryly. Not that Squire was always conciliatory himself. "(Vocalist Jon Anderson) has always said that we're the yin and the yang of Yes. We don't fight, but if he's thinking a certain way about something, you can bet I'm thinking the opposite." Age has mellowed the band considerably. So much so that long-absent keyboardist Rick Wakeman was convinced to rejoin this summer. "It's nice to have Rick back in the fold," Squire says. "That was a boost to the fans and to ourselves as well. Obviously, he plays a very identifiable role in the band. The fans are overjoyed to hear him play on the pieces he originally played on. "Even without that, it's just pretty much been a good vibe." Yes is the only prog rock band still standing - in a world it never made. Whether it's in spite or because of this, Yes still packs them in. "Sometimes we have three generations of age groups in our audience," Squire says. "It's amazing to go to a meet-and-greet after the show and have a very informed conversation about Yes with an 11-year-old kid." Squire, 54, is at a loss to account for it. "All I can say is we do what we do honestly and whether that necessarily sounds dated or sounds timeless, I don't know," he says, laughing. "People give various answers on that. We generally try to please ourselves first and hope people follow on with it." The idea that Yes would still be selling out concerts in the 21st century was a reach that exceeded the teen-age Squire's grasp. "When Yes formed in 1968, the Beatles had been visible since 1963. They broke up in '69. That was a six-year career, basically. "So I assumed that if you have a six-year career, you really have done something. Now, almost 35 years later, I don't know what to call what we've done, but I'm glad for it." Contrary to what many fans believe or want to believe about Yes, commerciality is an issue that the band always has granted some credence. "It's funny you should mention that. It seems as if we will be having conversations about that in the near future. There are various schools of thought on what is commercial, and what is commercial for Yes. It's a pretty complex discussion." Yes's most overtly commercial period - a short flirtation with early '80s dance pop that gave the band its biggest hits ("Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Leave It") - is generally considered an across-the-boards nadir by the diehards. While the band isn't likely to make peace with the charts in quite the same way again, Squire says he has come to understand that the most commercial things can be the hardest to achieve. There are contemporary bands that Squire thinks do a fine job of courting the commercial without sacrificing the artistic - No Doubt and Garbage among them. What really bugs him about popular music is all the remakes. "I heard Oasis doing The Who's 'My Generation' the other day. It's hard to know how to begin to talk about something like that." Squire generally shuns looking back, but he had a chance to contribute to a remastering of some classic Yes material not too long ago, and he was pleased. "The music does stand the test of time. Even the inaccuracies still sound good. There's a lot more 'ironing out' in music nowadays, but the slight goofs sound cool to me, like jazz. "We've forgotten how good it can be when everything doesn't go perfect." Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com