Step into the world of progressive rock with guitar virtuoso Steve Howe, guitarist of Yes and Asia. In this classic legendary musician interview Takin’ A Walk replay episode, Steve Howe shares with Buzz Knight ,the incredible journey behind some of rock’s most innovative and complex compositions.
From his early days in London’s vibrant music scene to becoming one of Rolling Stone’s greatest guitarists of all time, Steve discusses his distinctive playing style that helped define the sound of progressive rock. Hear about the creation of Yes classics like “Roundabout,” “Close to the Edge,” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” plus his work with Asia on hits like “Heat of the Moment.”
Steve Howe opens up about:
∙ His approach to guitar mastery across multiple styles and techniques
∙ The creative process behind Yes’s groundbreaking classic rock albums
∙ Working with legendary musicians and producers throughout his 50+ year career
∙ How progressive rock evolved and influenced generations of guitarists
∙ The challenges and rewards of pushing musical boundaries
Whether you’re a prog rock enthusiast, aspiring guitarist, or music history buff, this conversation with Steve Howe offers rare insights into the mind of a true iconic innovator who helped shape modern rock guitar.
This episode is part of the Takin’ A Walk Music History archive, celebrating transformative conversations with iconic musicians.
#Yes interview #music history podcast #walk #inspiring music interview #iheartpodcast #guitar hero #iconicmusician #rockmusichistory #inspiring icons #progressive rock #best 80's music podcast #music legends
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
The rolley stays it was just a dimmal sort of band.
I mean he was more where I'd been, you know,
I'd been in the band playing blues, you know, so
they were influced by blues. So they didn't interest me
very much. Well that I wanted to get when bless
his heart, Brian jonstet, I mean I was looking for
like gig. I would have jumped in there and said
hang on, you know, but I just couldn't get through
to anybody.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast hosted by Buzznight.
Buzz talks with musicians about the inside story on their legacy,
their process, and so much more. On this episode, Buzz's
guest is Steve Howe, classic rock fans on No Steve
from Yes. He was also part of Asia, gtr and
(00:42):
Anderson Bruford, Wakeman and Howe. He's had a tremendous solo
career and he's a legendary progressive rock guitarist who continues
to make his mark with inspired music. Steve Howe joins
Buzz Night next on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, it's an eye to have a returning guest to
the Taken a Walk Podcast. As we were going to
take a virtual walk down memory lane with the great
Steve Howe from Yes, Hello Steve, hi was. It's nice
to talk to you again, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
That's the guys up with you too? Good? I hope
you will.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Doing very well. I'm talking to you. I couldn't be
any better. So let's go back in time here and
talk about the first concert experience that you experienced in
your life.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Okay, all right? I was about fourteen, I was maybe
I was thirteen. Anyway, I was still Word Beyond the
Ears thirteen or fourteen, a school band, a bit of
a school musicians. We went on stage at a youth
club and we didn't practice well, tune up or talk
(01:52):
about anything. We just said, let's play shadows, you know
the shadows, and so we played apatche and you know,
famous guitar instrumental. So basically it was pretty awful. And
after that I didn't play on stage for about a
year and a half. It was dreadful. Really, I could
(02:12):
tell it wasn't that good, but I thought, well, it
didn't put me off completely. So when I met Kevin Driscoll,
bass player in the group called the Syndicats, Basically we
formed the syndicates together when I met him, and that's
when I started playing in pubs and things like that.
But that first concert was I was toned deaf to it.
(02:35):
You know, it just didn't make sense. But that's because
you know, there was no preparation.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
And did you actually play at a prison also.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, that's what happened when I got together with Kevin.
We formed a group and we got we've got a
Tuesday Evening or something, a youth club and it was
connected to what's called Pentonville Prison in no great shakes,
but anyway, so that was in the area of Northfolk
and we lived in and basically yeah, yeah, every week
(03:04):
for a while we played there and the only thing
we knew that I didn't think in the prison was
as we packed up the gear, some prisoners came in
and tied it up the venue. So yeah, it was
kind of weird.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It sounds a little spinal tap ish.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah yeah, yeah, Johnny Cash at thought some prison.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, exactly. I love your appreciation for all diverse styles
of music, and I think, if I'm correct on this,
one of the first concerts you experienced as a fan
was heavily roots oriented around like Chuck Berry does that
(03:44):
sound right?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. The first major, kind of
proper major console I went to was what they called
the Package too. You know, there was most probably five names.
I think Eric Burton and the Animals. Paul Perkins was
actually top of the bill, but we didn't know him
anywhere near as well as we knew Chuck Berry. So
Chuck Berry was like the pre thing. Yeah, so that
(04:08):
was my I mean i'd seem like people founding clubs
obviously and things like that, but this was like sit down,
lights out show. And Chuck Berry was absolutely magical, you know.
I mean he did things, you know, well, he was
the package, you know, singer, guitarist, songwriter, performer, you know,
so he leapt about the stage during his duck walk
(04:29):
and things like this, and he was absolutely great. And
I think that's that's a major contribution. You know, we
knew Chuck's music, Bill Haley, Little Richard and other people,
but that was when it was all happening in that direction.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Did you have an aspiration at that point to do
a duck walk?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well, well, I mean I did do them occasionally, Yeah,
if I did one at the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame when I was playing bass on Owner of
a Lonely Heart with Yes, because I just sort of
thought it was getting a bit kitch, so why not
get Kitcher?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
I know you have great admiration also for the work
of Chad Atkins. Did you ever get to experience him
play live? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, I saw him a few times, and then I
met him a few times as well, and it was
absolutely great. Yeah. I saw him to a concert in London,
and me and a guy called Doug Turner, who was
a great picker himself, went to see him, and because
Doug was in the chat Atkins Appreciation Society, we got
(05:37):
to meet Chet and I actually gave him the music
to clap, although I'm not sure he ever played it
or even looked at it. But later, when I developed
my career a lot more, I saw him. Well. We
played together on the same bill in Germany for two
nights with Larry Colton, I think Larry Coriel, that's right,
(06:02):
Larry Coyel. Me and Chet did our own spots and
there was a sort of a jam at the end,
but as I never thought Chetwood, he didn't he didn't
join in, and I joined in a little at that
concert and you know, I had a little ride about
Germany with Chet to and from the shows. He was
very nice, very sweet, very very relaxed. And his company
(06:26):
has told me that Chet did take a shine to me.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
So that's awesome. You mentioned Larry Coriel. I got to
tell you a funny story. I briefly, while I was
in college at the University of Dayton, held the esteemed
position there of the concert director for the university and Steve.
I was terrible at it because I was working on
the radio and going to college, so I really was
(06:51):
bad at the job. But I did succeed in booking
Larry Coriel at the University of Dayton. And once the
show was over, and I guess maybe this happened with
a lot of artists, he decided to come over to
our house and party by college buddies. It was so nice.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Oh was it good? Okay? Good? Well, that's sweet.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I know. You have tremendous admiration as well for obviously
the Beatles in terms of what they represented in you know,
your sort of influences and everything. Can you talk about
what the Beatles meant as you were a musician sort
of coming through the ranks and developing your style.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, they were quintessentially central, you know, to that era.
It was only Bob Dylan's free wheeling that had any
kind of a comparable weight, you know, in effect opening
the door. So when the Beatles came out and you
know that Please Please Me album, I mean, they were
just literally a sensation. You know, you just can't imagine
(07:59):
what you know, what effect it was. It was a
bit like the pandemic, you know, but to say something
nice about the pandemic's kind of hard really, but basically
it was like that, like and in that that it
spreads the world, and you know, we were so proud,
you know that this was not only you know, a
(08:19):
brit band, it was Liverpool band. It's a brit band.
And there was like total like wipeout, you know, this band.
There was no competition. There was no band that was
as good as that anywhere in the world. Of course
they came, you know, the Birds and you know all
the great bands you know that were going on. Of
course we're going on, but I mean the Beatles were
just like just there they were, you know, so anyway
(08:41):
to wind it down then, basically when when they came out,
the first thing I didn't. I didn't. I don't read music,
but I bought sheet music because it had the chord
symbols on it, you know, So anyway I'd buy the
you know, the Beetles sheep music to understand better the
chords that they were using. Sometimes stupid, the call chart
(09:01):
was in a different g Can you imagine it buys
got a guitar, it buys the call chart, right, you
know the song please please miss the different key? What
use is that? So anyway you work out the chords,
and they were just harmonious, you know, and of course
George was great guitarists and they're all great, you know,
they all had I mean, you know, and Ringo was
(09:23):
just as great as all the guys. They had that
so much individual style that it took her away from
the fact that a lot of other music, well they
had George Martin. I mean, come on, let's admit that
they had tremendous guidance. So in fact, it was a
perfect chemistry for about a bit like yes with Eddie
offered you know, we had a run where it was
(09:45):
great working with Eddie and the Beatles. George was a companion.
They must have just enjoyed having him there so much
because he was so talented, you.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Know, and impressions through your development of the Rolling Stones
and what they meant to you.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Well, the Rolling it was just a difficult sort of band.
I mean, it was more where I'd been you know,
I'd been in the band playing blues, you know, so
they were influenced by blues, and they didn't interest me
very much. Although I wanted to gig when Bless his heart,
Brian Jones started, I mean I was looking for that gig.
I would have jumped in there and said hang on,
you know, but I just couldn't get through to anybody,
(10:24):
and that had, you know, the marvelous replacement lined up anyway,
in Mick Taylor. So basically, I when I go off
the point, I can forget what the question is. So basically,
where were we?
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Oh, well, you just talking about the Stones and you just
threw me for a loop on that. I want to
go back to the notion of Okay, So Brian Jones
passes away and your eyes light up and you say,
I think I could join that band. So that's amazing
to hear that. What do you think would have happened
if you did?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
But they might have thrown me out. Of course, they
might have been a bad influence on me. Now what
I would say is, look, they've got so much to offer.
I mean, they're still going, you know, and I love them,
you know, I really really love them, especially after that
television program where they featured one of the members for
a whole program. It was so inside that's a great band,
(11:22):
like Queen, you know, like a other bands. So basically
there's a lot of harmonium, their harmoniousness, and you know,
it's just they're just a different animal altogether, you know.
I mean, although they did actually play a Lemon of
Cartney song, it did help them along their way. But basically,
the Stones were the sort of opposite of the Beatles
(11:44):
in a way because they were finding a way of
developing what I'd become tired of, which was the blues.
You know, I'd done the blues and I love them still,
but I didn't want to play the blues. So the
Stones were like the parallel universe going on that said, no,
we can play the blues, but we're playing like.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
This, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And I think they're a great band, and everything about
them too is great, but they weren't as much my
thing and as much my development along with Les, Paul
Chairback in the Beatles, you know, and then you know,
maybe Frank Zappa or you know, other people came along
that you were knocked out with Paul Signon and basically
(12:21):
the Birds and all these other band great bands from America.
So it was awful happening. But but the Beatles stood
out in a different way because the Rolling Stones had notoriety,
but sort of bad notoriety, great fun. I mean, you know,
the poor guys got targeted by these idiot policemen in
London who thought that you know, smoking marijuana was was
(12:43):
was like smoking like taking hard drugs. So they were
fixated with that idea. This wasn't fun and they were
going to stop it, so that the Stones and the
Beetles got targeted, and that's a dreadful thing. But there again,
before that, there were greater crimes against you know, homosexuals,
and you know, I mean, the world's been a very
cruel place. So going back to what isn't cruel is
(13:03):
that the Beatles were great. The Stones were great, but
not as much my thing.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Yeah, I got it, And so let's just go a
couple of more of the great bands and what they meant?
The Who and led Zeppelin, what do they mean?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Well, I can't really do this, you know, how can
I review a band as big as led Zeppelin in
a sentence?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I admired Jimmy and I remember leading him in Denmark Street.
I wonder if he remembers, and he said to me,
I just formed a new band. It's going to be
called led Zeppelin. I said, really, oh yeah, great, good luck?
And led Zeppelin was like what enormous band? And the Who?
You know, they had their pop hits as well. You know,
well I would say, you know, I'll take the as
(13:51):
well out of that. They had their pop hits and
they were great bands, you know, and you know, there
was great strength in their writing, of course they had
Like the similarity is that both had a very wild drama.
You know, but a lot of dramas are fairly wild. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Well, what's amazing about, yes, is you created music that
really previously didn't exist in a whole category, that really
didn't exist in terms of you know, the style and
what it led to in terms of other bands. Tell
me how it feels to have had that sort of
impact on a whole new genre.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Well, I think it started, you know, nineteen sixty seven,
you know, when when the in crowd became Tomorrow and
we played my work Bicycle and there was a whole
new like New Year to move up to. But that
was a bit of a lull, you know. After that,
London was a very dark and cold place. And then suddenly,
you know, I joined Yes and basically progressive what was
(14:52):
already happening and Yes when I joined, and I didn't
know they were playing that. Really they were playing their
own songs, you know, and that's what was vital to me,
that the band wanted to play their own songs, so
basically that that meant that my opportunities, you know, as
a guitar is primarily first and foremost. Really was that, Okay,
(15:15):
I could get in here and play some you know,
really good guitar. These guys can you know, they understand
the provisation, they want structure, improvisation, harmonies. You know. It
was like the whole canon, the whole wall of sound
was going to come from. Yes, you know, we could
do everything. And you know when you see Yes songs
or something like that, you know that film, I mean,
the band plays so sort of magnetically close. You know
(15:39):
that it's quite surprising, you know, it surprises me. We're
playing the same notes that we wrote, but they came
from the studio and went on stage and yes, grew,
you know, Yes, that was the test. So the albums
that we didn't play much on stage were for good
reason because they didn't work on stage so much and
we didn't enjoy them, and there were arguments about who
(16:01):
plays what or why this doesn't you know, if we improvised,
you know, it had to be a structure because on
stage you need structure, as Chris always said, you know,
so anywhere that was a bit too jammy. We could
never reproduce on stage, and we we we had to
think of something else to do. And so yeah, I
mean watching everybody else absorb you know, the electronic development
(16:23):
of keyboards, and then what was possible for the guitar.
And then in GTR, I was doing like some midi
guitar and there was a lot of synth stuff going
on like there was on Drama. But basically, you know,
Asia was a kind of interesting diversion for me to
get more sort of like pop orientated rock, you know,
and I love that too. That was great fun, so
(16:45):
it kept developing. You know, sension with Yes in the
mid nineties was another attempt to find the pulse. You know,
we did a lot of things great, and we did
other things not so great. And then you know, by
two thousand and four, I mean, Yes, it'd come back
to was it in stage and we were playing big venues.
It was all very exciting, and we stopped and then
(17:05):
we had a long gap of three years. So when
we we grew with Chris and Iron Allen, primarily getting
my Benmoir, David and Oliver Waitbinion, we basically just had
to forge a new way on for Yes that wasn't
restricted and had a full commitment from people. Although I
was in Asia as well at the same time, which
(17:28):
eventually wore out, and I left Asia in twenty twelve
because I wanted to concentrate on Yes and my own
solo music and I couldn't do all these things at
once if I had Asia in there as well. So
basically I think it's developed, and I think merrit to
the sky and any future records we made the quest.
(17:48):
The things we're doing now is to show that we're
partly got one foot like really with much respect for
all the old Masurial another foot in the idea that
to do that, to play the old music really well,
the group's got to be a real group. It's it's
got to have music going right now. And that's what
(18:08):
miriture Sky is, you know, and that's what we thrive on,
is a balance of yeah, we've we've we love playing
Starship Trooper. Nobody can take that enjoyment from us. It's
a great feeling. But there again, you know, it's not
so much that we need to play all this new
music on stage. That would be you know, a challenge
and an interesting one, and but I think we just
(18:32):
balance it more minimally so that we don't appear to
be sort of like, you know, comparing the music some
of it. You know, we need more time on to
to play new music on stage. So maybe there's a
reason why that should happen. But at the most point,
we are enjoying the credibility of the music that I had.
(18:55):
Part of that, you know, a lot a lot of
it was John Andsen and all the other guys in
the What Patrick Mariz did from you know, for Relea
was sensational. So the progginess has just kind of like
evolved and become accepted, you know, and hopefully we can influence.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
We'll be right back with more of the Taken a
Walk Podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
What's the first band after Yes in the progressive movement
that you were really wowed by?
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Well, I mean I used to listen to The Soft
Machine a lot, you know, in the early days, and
now of course you know, they've got John Etheridge as well,
so that kind of work is interesting. I saw that
we were part of a pool, you know, and it
wasn't really about pop records, you know, at all. You know,
it was about albums. But of course Genesis took that
(19:54):
lead like Yes did in the eighties, which I'm no
part of with the owner of a Lonely Heart saga.
So basically that kind of era of the band isn't
very brocky, you know, but it's it can be very useful,
and in many ways Genesis showed that how very powerfully,
not only you know, but also it highlights that, you know,
(20:16):
people like Peter Gabriel, you know, their talents were missed
in Genesis, but he could develop his talent, but also
Genesis could without him, so that that's the story of
the you know, having a team of people that like
working together.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
One of the things when I first saw Yes back
in the mid seventies that wowed me was the incredible
sound at the concert, just the amazing sonic nature of it.
Tell me how that ultimately became such an important part
of Yes. That that amazing sound in the concerts.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Well, if you're talking, I mean really partly that's Claire
Brother sound, you know, Claire Brother Claire it's called now
but clear Brother sound audio. Claire audio was We heard
that on the Jethro Total too, and we said when
we come back, we want Claire, you know, because we
heard the sound. But a similar thing happened like a
few years earlier than that, because that was like nineteen
(21:20):
seventy one, seventy two. But of course in nineteen seventy
we bought Iron Butterflies PA because we wanted a sound
like we did on their tour. You know, they wanted
to sell, we wanted to buy. So we bought the
w bin's mid range horns and high high horns, and
we bought this system and we started to really care
about how we sounded because we didn't really like the
(21:41):
sound of the pas that were available in England generally,
so we had our own PA. Then we went to
America and we said, Claire Brothers is it and we
we swore blind that we never played without Claire. Sometimes
we've had to certain things have changed, but whenever we can,
we still want to play with that sound because their
top notch, you know, at the top of the game.
(22:02):
But the way it was in the beginning of the
seventies was that Eddie started mixed. Eddie has started mixing
the show and that was wonderful, you know, that was
very exciting. He got a bit carried away unfortunately lost
the plot, so we had to find somebody great, like
Dave Lattel. So for a lot of the time, Dave
Lattel was our front of house and he does the
(22:23):
rolling stones. And basically we had a great team of
people who were going like we were. Our career was
going forwards and so was there and they were part
of our polish, you know, like Roger Dean. You know,
the fact that we started using his designs with his
brother Martin Dean for our staging was a big development.
(22:43):
They started retails from Gravacation Tour. So basically we were
messing with all that quality stuff that we could have made,
but a lot of it was to make our show better.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
He started with a mirror ball. Micky Tate thought of
that and he, you know, I went on to become
our light designers. So we had great lights. We had
a team of people who really cared about making a
mark themselves, not just I was working for Yes, you know,
just like being a slave. No. No, They came with
creativity and there was always things developing and that was
(23:18):
what was exciting. And we try to keep that going today,
you know, and we've recently just changed from doing video
and lots of moving things. You know, we got fed
up with that. So now we just got like really
quite intense lighting. Now that's more theatrical, and we have
a set, but it's very kind of simple. It's a
few screens, but they're not used, you know, to show
(23:40):
somebody tapping their foot on. It's just the best thing
about it is that we want to focus on the band,
the players, the music.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
One of the great things about Yes is the beauty
of collaboration with you know, all the band members. What's
the key to that great collaboration that's been so much party. Yes,
through the career.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, it's joint willingness, you know. I mean it's like
you can't go, you know, we can't go in opposite
our actions. We've got to be willing to go the
same way. And that to find that willingness is in
the belief, you know, in the band, in the music,
the love of the band. But also it's about getting
on with the guys, you know, and finding a way
(24:27):
of working professionally with each other. That's the first thing.
But the second is to have the harmony, understanding that
that there is closeness if it needs to be. You know,
there is a discussion between two people if it needs
to be, And basically you can work as much out
as you can and make it a happy environment. That's
(24:48):
what I said when I put my name forward to
produce the quest. I said, it's got I don't want
to do unless it's fun, you know, because there is
a fun element that you need. That doesn't mean, you know,
we've got a comedian in the group. No, I don't
want to committing the group. But fun is enjoying your art,
you know, enjoying your opportunity to make your art, even better,
(25:11):
you know, to have a pool of pea, not just you,
but to have a pool of people who they've got
to get if they like it, it means a lot, you know.
And so if you do something and they go that
acts nice. Yeah, then in a way all the music
starts coming together, flowing together, and there's no opposition, you know.
In other words, there's no bad stuff left there. Stew
(25:34):
you know, there isn't any bad stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Can you take me back to the creation of the
Fragile album. How was that collaboration in terms of creating that,
How long did it take? Any specific memories of that
which ultimately produced a masterpiece in my opinion?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Well, thanks, I mean there's only so many and now
are the same ones to say whenever I'm asked this question,
because I do remember some things about Fragile, it's not
very broad. I remember that although the Yes album was
worked on as a very collaborative you know unit, John
and I had just managed to formulate the idea around
(26:16):
about together during tours. In fact, we were in Scotland
and I think we both remember somehow that it was
it was on one of my cassette tapes that John
and I were like jamming stuff and say and he'd say,
what if you got that's a bit like this, or
have you got any chords you know, or you know,
just kind of throwing in around and suddenly we got roundabout,
(26:38):
you know. And so when we started Fragile, John and
I started the thing we did quite often in the
seventies Coast the edge Tales Awaken. We were able to
jointly put the foot the idea forward. So that song
was built like that, if you like, from the understanding
that John and I had a song, we'd do it,
(26:59):
and we'd do range it and blah blah blah. We'd
record bits and we come back the next day at
a rehearsal room for three or four weeks, three weeks.
But in that time, of course, Tony Kay had left
the band. It was it was very sad. It was
not really that anybody ever fired him. But he said
to her, do you want to do multi keyboards? He says, no, no,
I don't want to do that at all. I want
(27:20):
to play piano or kind of thing. And that made
him appear to us and it may not have been
hund present true that, you know, we were just going
to stay there, you know, with those sounds, and we
had this imaginary idea that other people were like doing stuff,
you know, with new synthesizer, you know, new kind of
keeper's coming and that was Rick. So we found Rick,
(27:42):
and before we knew we were, he was popping in.
He wasn't at the writing so much of the album,
but he came in and did things with us as
much as he could, you know, because he had some
sessions and you know, he was kind of a busy guy,
and we'd snatched him and he was going to work
with us and he's going to make them so but
we had to write the stuff first of all. So
(28:03):
but he was there when we wrote Heart of Sunrise
and things, and there was music flowing around. We didn't
have a lot of South Side of the Sky that
was pretty much written in the studio. So and the
idea of us having our own solo pieces was great,
you know Bill's idea. I think after I had Clap
(28:23):
on yes album, I suppose he thought, well, why don't
we all have a solo and he was perfectly right.
So Fragile was a unique album where we all had
a solo piece. So that that was a nice distraction
because musically you go off and do that yourself and
decide what it was yourself, and some people use the band.
Bill's idea was that we all used the band we always,
(28:46):
but of course Rick and I didn't, John didn't a lot,
but Chris did on the Fish. So basically the album
was unique in that sense. Roundabout is one of the
sounds I'm most impressed with that. Eddie helped us get
the tightness and somewhat simplicity of it, the rock factor
(29:09):
in there. Yes, must never forget they're a rock band.
The worst thing we ever do, and we do it.
Sometimes it begets act a rock band, I mean noodle around,
you know, with some nerdy stuff sometimes and spire what
is and has been some great pieces of music. I'm
thinking partly of what was on Keys two Cention studio recording.
(29:29):
They're very good, but they pull down here and there.
So basically there is a continuity needed that that that's
the teamwork, and that's production also because like Time in
the words, is a great album if it had been
really properly produced, you know, so it's great performances thrown together,
you know, in a in a big sound. You know
(29:50):
that isn't as clear as the Yes album. You can
hear the space in the music. Of course you do
in actually tell a lie, I mean in no opportunity necessary.
There's marvelous Yes arranging. Why we're not playing that every night?
Don't do? Do you know what I mean? That stuff?
(30:11):
I'm going to write it down. We're going to have
to play that somewhere.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
I love it. I got a big smile on my face,
Steve with you taking me back on that. I absolutely
love love that story. Oh my god, that's amazing. So
let's talk about the current the current lineup, and I
think what's fascinating about the current lineup is there's so
many players in the group who really are students of
(30:36):
the group. So talk about the lineup and how how
you love playing with this band.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Well, of course, John's been a key to the going
forwards of this band since permart David left and he
joined about eleven twelve years ago. I think it is
ten eleven twelve, I mean Time Flies, Tempest Future. But
basically John John was a very solid person in the band,
and we share some views about how to play on stage,
(31:06):
how to work. We kind of feel at ease with
each other because we're both similar sort roughly state of
mind where we're clear about what's going on, we're excited,
we're ready, we haven't compromised the day, we haven't composed
the show by anything we've done in the day. So
we were there. We're really there one hundred percent. So
(31:27):
but Jay of course had joining in part. At first
he was doing some drumming, and then he was doing
a lot of the drumming as Alan White was starting
to find the whole set was too much for him
to play, and we felt it was too much for
him to play and the intricacies and everything. We didn't
want to keep demanding that Alan plays for like two
(31:47):
and a half hours or something. So it was a
beautiful experience to have Alan do the last set in
the music, the encore stuff. Several years so when Jay
took over, when Alan Sadley passed away from time back then,
Jay has brought with him that previous experience of being
you know, like the helper and the provider and the
(32:08):
solid assistant. But now he's got the whole flaw, you know,
so we're finding out what that means, you know, and
it should be marvelous. Of course, Jeff has had you know,
like Billy a revisit experience coming back to Yes after
Fly from Here, and so he brings all that drama
(32:31):
experience as well, and that era and of course Jeff and
not forgetting we were in Asia together. So like Jeff
and I have particularly trained if you like, unusual multi
connections with musical styles. And so Jeff's really good and
Jeff's never said anything different than he is in Yes
(32:54):
to play every keyboard part that Yes ever played, you know,
if required. So Billy is an exceptional person too, because
a multi instrumentalist, you know, talented writer, produce all those things.
What he has to do is home it down into
his admiration of Chris really, you know, and taking on
the role of Chris with the base battles with the vocals.
(33:18):
Chris was not just a bass player by any means.
So it's a big demanding job and he's he's doing
really well. And you know we are we are rarely
determined to keep the ship tightly you know, not controlled,
but tightly agreeably run, you know, between us.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
So Yes is going to be going out on the
summer tour playing with the Deep Purple. Tell me how
excited you are for that experience. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I mean, you know, last year we did our sort
of that normal tour. Yeah, mainly if they had a tour,
and you know, we did about seven weekends. I think
it was across seven weekends, so it's about six and
a half seven weeks. So we were wondering as the
year you know, started out, you know, we're we're going
to target another tour like that, and we were virtually
going to do that, and then this offer came along
(34:13):
where it fitted in between going to Japan you know,
and leave and leaving the UK and Japan. It's a big,
big two month gap there. So yeah, so it's marvelous
to think that finally we got to play with the Purple.
It's been it's been talked about before, and we've always
been very very excited about the idea. And there's a
group you know, I mean what I mean he talked
(34:33):
about the sixties. I mean they were going before before. Yes,
I'm absolutely sure, am I sure? Anyway, there's a long,
beautiful history of and now of course, sadly Steve Morris
isn't with them this tour, but they've got a remarkable
guitarist in Simon McBride. He's really a fine player, and
(34:56):
I'm privileged to be, you know, working along with him.
He's wonderful player.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
That's awesome. Well, in closing, as someone who was so
dedicated to his craft, how do you stay curious and
how do you stay always with a thirst for learning
something new?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
I well, I stay alive. Yeah, it is just that simple.
I mean what I do is what I do. You know,
I haven't got a side job, like you know, I
fix motorbikes or something. You know, benmar David did have
a really profitable hobby or partly profitable, you know, you
(35:36):
like fixing boats, you know. So I mean people do
have some other things they want to get on with,
but no, I haven't got you know, all the things
that see the guitar collection. Having the guitars I want
is very very important for me. And I just bought
a new pedal steel guitar because my old ones were
too tired. I had to get rid of them. They
were they were out of my face, you know. But
(35:58):
now my Williams pedal steel is just so I get
things like that, and it's remarkable how they we as
if I don't need it, they kind of stimulate my
interest in using particularly different kinds of sound. I bought
a guitar last year called Gibson Tennessee and which was
designed by Chad Atkins with Gibson, and I saw Chat
(36:20):
playing this on stage in some videos, you know, in
his later years, and he always sounded great. I thought,
guitar sounds great. Of course it's action, it's black. So
I get one and I go, yeah, but these good
stars are great. This is a great guitar, so of
course you can, you can excel. So I think that,
you know, it's a bit like you know, it's just
(36:43):
refreshing to be able to do that, and thank god
I can do that. And you know, basically music still
excites me, you know, from bark to well, I don't know,
I'm trying to think of another Bee, but Barkers aren't anyway.
Bulk is a big is a big player. But of
course through Walk music is primarily you know, what got
(37:06):
me off the sofa.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
It is so joyous to talk to you again. Your
music means so much to so many fans, including me,
And you're one of the gentlemen in the business and
one of the nice people and the most talented people.
And I'm so grateful. Steve how that we got to
talk again on the Taking a Walk podcast. Thank you,
(37:30):
that's very nice, boss.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Thanks so much for saying that that means a lot
to eat too.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
The rolley stays it was just a dimmal sort of band.
I mean he was more where I'd been, you know,
I'd been in the band playing blues, you know, so
they were influced by blues. So they didn't interest me
very much. Well that I wanted to get when bless
his heart, Brian jonstet, I mean I was looking for
like gig. I would have jumped in there and said
hang on, you know, but I just couldn't get through
to anybody.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast hosted by Buzznight.
Buzz talks with musicians about the inside story on their legacy,
their process, and so much more. On this episode, Buzz's
guest is Steve Howe, classic rock fans on No Steve
from Yes. He was also part of Asia, gtr and
(00:42):
Anderson Bruford, Wakeman and Howe. He's had a tremendous solo
career and he's a legendary progressive rock guitarist who continues
to make his mark with inspired music. Steve Howe joins
Buzz Night next on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, it's an eye to have a returning guest to
the Taken a Walk Podcast. As we were going to
take a virtual walk down memory lane with the great
Steve Howe from Yes, Hello Steve, hi was. It's nice
to talk to you again, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
That's the guys up with you too? Good? I hope
you will.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Doing very well. I'm talking to you. I couldn't be
any better. So let's go back in time here and
talk about the first concert experience that you experienced in
your life.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Okay, all right? I was about fourteen, I was maybe
I was thirteen. Anyway, I was still Word Beyond the
Ears thirteen or fourteen, a school band, a bit of
a school musicians. We went on stage at a youth
club and we didn't practice well, tune up or talk
(01:52):
about anything. We just said, let's play shadows, you know
the shadows, and so we played apatche and you know,
famous guitar instrumental. So basically it was pretty awful. And
after that I didn't play on stage for about a
year and a half. It was dreadful. Really, I could
(02:12):
tell it wasn't that good, but I thought, well, it
didn't put me off completely. So when I met Kevin Driscoll,
bass player in the group called the Syndicats, Basically we
formed the syndicates together when I met him, and that's
when I started playing in pubs and things like that.
But that first concert was I was toned deaf to it.
(02:35):
You know, it just didn't make sense. But that's because
you know, there was no preparation.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
And did you actually play at a prison also.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, that's what happened when I got together with Kevin.
We formed a group and we got we've got a
Tuesday Evening or something, a youth club and it was
connected to what's called Pentonville Prison in no great shakes,
but anyway, so that was in the area of Northfolk
and we lived in and basically yeah, yeah, every week
(03:04):
for a while we played there and the only thing
we knew that I didn't think in the prison was
as we packed up the gear, some prisoners came in
and tied it up the venue. So yeah, it was
kind of weird.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It sounds a little spinal tap ish.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah yeah, yeah, Johnny Cash at thought some prison.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yes, exactly. I love your appreciation for all diverse styles
of music, and I think, if I'm correct on this,
one of the first concerts you experienced as a fan
was heavily roots oriented around like Chuck Berry does that
(03:44):
sound right?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. The first major, kind of
proper major console I went to was what they called
the Package too. You know, there was most probably five names.
I think Eric Burton and the Animals. Paul Perkins was
actually top of the bill, but we didn't know him
anywhere near as well as we knew Chuck Berry. So
Chuck Berry was like the pre thing. Yeah, so that
(04:08):
was my I mean i'd seem like people founding clubs
obviously and things like that, but this was like sit down,
lights out show. And Chuck Berry was absolutely magical, you know.
I mean he did things, you know, well, he was
the package, you know, singer, guitarist, songwriter, performer, you know,
so he leapt about the stage during his duck walk
(04:29):
and things like this, and he was absolutely great. And
I think that's that's a major contribution. You know, we
knew Chuck's music, Bill Haley, Little Richard and other people,
but that was when it was all happening in that direction.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Did you have an aspiration at that point to do
a duck walk?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well, well, I mean I did do them occasionally, Yeah,
if I did one at the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame when I was playing bass on Owner of
a Lonely Heart with Yes, because I just sort of
thought it was getting a bit kitch, so why not
get Kitcher?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
I know you have great admiration also for the work
of Chad Atkins. Did you ever get to experience him
play live? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, I saw him a few times, and then I
met him a few times as well, and it was
absolutely great. Yeah. I saw him to a concert in London,
and me and a guy called Doug Turner, who was
a great picker himself, went to see him, and because
Doug was in the chat Atkins Appreciation Society, we got
(05:37):
to meet Chet and I actually gave him the music
to clap, although I'm not sure he ever played it
or even looked at it. But later, when I developed
my career a lot more, I saw him. Well. We
played together on the same bill in Germany for two
nights with Larry Colton, I think Larry Coriel, that's right,
(06:02):
Larry Coyel. Me and Chet did our own spots and
there was a sort of a jam at the end,
but as I never thought Chetwood, he didn't he didn't
join in, and I joined in a little at that
concert and you know, I had a little ride about
Germany with Chet to and from the shows. He was
very nice, very sweet, very very relaxed. And his company
(06:26):
has told me that Chet did take a shine to me.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
So that's awesome. You mentioned Larry Coriel. I got to
tell you a funny story. I briefly, while I was
in college at the University of Dayton, held the esteemed
position there of the concert director for the university and Steve.
I was terrible at it because I was working on
the radio and going to college, so I really was
(06:51):
bad at the job. But I did succeed in booking
Larry Coriel at the University of Dayton. And once the
show was over, and I guess maybe this happened with
a lot of artists, he decided to come over to
our house and party by college buddies. It was so nice.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Oh was it good? Okay? Good? Well, that's sweet.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I know. You have tremendous admiration as well for obviously
the Beatles in terms of what they represented in you know,
your sort of influences and everything. Can you talk about
what the Beatles meant as you were a musician sort
of coming through the ranks and developing your style.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, they were quintessentially central, you know, to that era.
It was only Bob Dylan's free wheeling that had any
kind of a comparable weight, you know, in effect opening
the door. So when the Beatles came out and you
know that Please Please Me album, I mean, they were
just literally a sensation. You know, you just can't imagine
(07:59):
what you know, what effect it was. It was a
bit like the pandemic, you know, but to say something
nice about the pandemic's kind of hard really, but basically
it was like that, like and in that that it
spreads the world, and you know, we were so proud,
you know that this was not only you know, a
(08:19):
brit band, it was Liverpool band. It's a brit band.
And there was like total like wipeout, you know, this band.
There was no competition. There was no band that was
as good as that anywhere in the world. Of course
they came, you know, the Birds and you know all
the great bands you know that were going on. Of
course we're going on, but I mean the Beatles were
just like just there they were, you know, so anyway
(08:41):
to wind it down then, basically when when they came out,
the first thing I didn't. I didn't. I don't read music,
but I bought sheet music because it had the chord
symbols on it, you know, So anyway I'd buy the
you know, the Beetles sheep music to understand better the
chords that they were using. Sometimes stupid, the call chart
(09:01):
was in a different g Can you imagine it buys
got a guitar, it buys the call chart, right, you
know the song please please miss the different key? What
use is that? So anyway you work out the chords,
and they were just harmonious, you know, and of course
George was great guitarists and they're all great, you know,
they all had I mean, you know, and Ringo was
(09:23):
just as great as all the guys. They had that
so much individual style that it took her away from
the fact that a lot of other music, well they
had George Martin. I mean, come on, let's admit that
they had tremendous guidance. So in fact, it was a
perfect chemistry for about a bit like yes with Eddie
offered you know, we had a run where it was
(09:45):
great working with Eddie and the Beatles. George was a companion.
They must have just enjoyed having him there so much
because he was so talented, you.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Know, and impressions through your development of the Rolling Stones
and what they meant to you.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Well, the Rolling it was just a difficult sort of band.
I mean, it was more where I'd been you know,
I'd been in the band playing blues, you know, so
they were influenced by blues, and they didn't interest me
very much. Although I wanted to gig when Bless his heart,
Brian Jones started, I mean I was looking for that gig.
I would have jumped in there and said hang on,
you know, but I just couldn't get through to anybody,
(10:24):
and that had, you know, the marvelous replacement lined up anyway,
in Mick Taylor. So basically, I when I go off
the point, I can forget what the question is. So basically,
where were we?
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Oh, well, you just talking about the Stones and you just
threw me for a loop on that. I want to
go back to the notion of Okay, So Brian Jones
passes away and your eyes light up and you say,
I think I could join that band. So that's amazing
to hear that. What do you think would have happened
if you did?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
But they might have thrown me out. Of course, they
might have been a bad influence on me. Now what
I would say is, look, they've got so much to offer.
I mean, they're still going, you know, and I love them,
you know, I really really love them, especially after that
television program where they featured one of the members for
a whole program. It was so inside that's a great band,
(11:22):
like Queen, you know, like a other bands. So basically
there's a lot of harmonium, their harmoniousness, and you know,
it's just they're just a different animal altogether, you know.
I mean, although they did actually play a Lemon of
Cartney song, it did help them along their way. But basically,
the Stones were the sort of opposite of the Beatles
(11:44):
in a way because they were finding a way of
developing what I'd become tired of, which was the blues.
You know, I'd done the blues and I love them still,
but I didn't want to play the blues. So the
Stones were like the parallel universe going on that said, no,
we can play the blues, but we're playing like.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
This, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And I think they're a great band, and everything about
them too is great, but they weren't as much my
thing and as much my development along with Les, Paul
Chairback in the Beatles, you know, and then you know,
maybe Frank Zappa or you know, other people came along
that you were knocked out with Paul Signon and basically
(12:21):
the Birds and all these other band great bands from America.
So it was awful happening. But but the Beatles stood
out in a different way because the Rolling Stones had notoriety,
but sort of bad notoriety, great fun. I mean, you know,
the poor guys got targeted by these idiot policemen in
London who thought that you know, smoking marijuana was was
(12:43):
was like smoking like taking hard drugs. So they were
fixated with that idea. This wasn't fun and they were
going to stop it, so that the Stones and the
Beetles got targeted, and that's a dreadful thing. But there again,
before that, there were greater crimes against you know, homosexuals,
and you know, I mean, the world's been a very
cruel place. So going back to what isn't cruel is
(13:03):
that the Beatles were great. The Stones were great, but
not as much my thing.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Yeah, I got it, And so let's just go a
couple of more of the great bands and what they meant?
The Who and led Zeppelin, what do they mean?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Well, I can't really do this, you know, how can
I review a band as big as led Zeppelin in
a sentence?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I admired Jimmy and I remember leading him in Denmark Street.
I wonder if he remembers, and he said to me,
I just formed a new band. It's going to be
called led Zeppelin. I said, really, oh yeah, great, good luck?
And led Zeppelin was like what enormous band? And the Who?
You know, they had their pop hits as well. You know,
well I would say, you know, I'll take the as
(13:51):
well out of that. They had their pop hits and
they were great bands, you know, and you know, there
was great strength in their writing, of course they had
Like the similarity is that both had a very wild drama.
You know, but a lot of dramas are fairly wild. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Well, what's amazing about, yes, is you created music that
really previously didn't exist in a whole category, that really
didn't exist in terms of you know, the style and
what it led to in terms of other bands. Tell
me how it feels to have had that sort of
impact on a whole new genre.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Well, I think it started, you know, nineteen sixty seven,
you know, when when the in crowd became Tomorrow and
we played my work Bicycle and there was a whole
new like New Year to move up to. But that
was a bit of a lull, you know. After that,
London was a very dark and cold place. And then suddenly,
you know, I joined Yes and basically progressive what was
(14:52):
already happening and Yes when I joined, and I didn't
know they were playing that. Really they were playing their
own songs, you know, and that's what was vital to me,
that the band wanted to play their own songs, so
basically that that meant that my opportunities, you know, as
a guitar is primarily first and foremost. Really was that, Okay,
(15:15):
I could get in here and play some you know,
really good guitar. These guys can you know, they understand
the provisation, they want structure, improvisation, harmonies. You know. It
was like the whole canon, the whole wall of sound
was going to come from. Yes, you know, we could
do everything. And you know when you see Yes songs
or something like that, you know that film, I mean,
the band plays so sort of magnetically close. You know
(15:39):
that it's quite surprising, you know, it surprises me. We're
playing the same notes that we wrote, but they came
from the studio and went on stage and yes, grew,
you know, Yes, that was the test. So the albums
that we didn't play much on stage were for good
reason because they didn't work on stage so much and
we didn't enjoy them, and there were arguments about who
(16:01):
plays what or why this doesn't you know, if we improvised,
you know, it had to be a structure because on
stage you need structure, as Chris always said, you know,
so anywhere that was a bit too jammy. We could
never reproduce on stage, and we we we had to
think of something else to do. And so yeah, I
mean watching everybody else absorb you know, the electronic development
(16:23):
of keyboards, and then what was possible for the guitar.
And then in GTR, I was doing like some midi
guitar and there was a lot of synth stuff going
on like there was on Drama. But basically, you know,
Asia was a kind of interesting diversion for me to
get more sort of like pop orientated rock, you know,
and I love that too. That was great fun, so
(16:45):
it kept developing. You know, sension with Yes in the
mid nineties was another attempt to find the pulse. You know,
we did a lot of things great, and we did
other things not so great. And then you know, by
two thousand and four, I mean, Yes, it'd come back
to was it in stage and we were playing big venues.
It was all very exciting, and we stopped and then
(17:05):
we had a long gap of three years. So when
we we grew with Chris and Iron Allen, primarily getting
my Benmoir, David and Oliver Waitbinion, we basically just had
to forge a new way on for Yes that wasn't
restricted and had a full commitment from people. Although I
was in Asia as well at the same time, which
(17:28):
eventually wore out, and I left Asia in twenty twelve
because I wanted to concentrate on Yes and my own
solo music and I couldn't do all these things at
once if I had Asia in there as well. So
basically I think it's developed, and I think merrit to
the sky and any future records we made the quest.
(17:48):
The things we're doing now is to show that we're
partly got one foot like really with much respect for
all the old Masurial another foot in the idea that
to do that, to play the old music really well,
the group's got to be a real group. It's it's
got to have music going right now. And that's what
(18:08):
miriture Sky is, you know, and that's what we thrive on,
is a balance of yeah, we've we've we love playing
Starship Trooper. Nobody can take that enjoyment from us. It's
a great feeling. But there again, you know, it's not
so much that we need to play all this new
music on stage. That would be you know, a challenge
and an interesting one, and but I think we just
(18:32):
balance it more minimally so that we don't appear to
be sort of like, you know, comparing the music some
of it. You know, we need more time on to
to play new music on stage. So maybe there's a
reason why that should happen. But at the most point,
we are enjoying the credibility of the music that I had.
(18:55):
Part of that, you know, a lot a lot of
it was John Andsen and all the other guys in
the What Patrick Mariz did from you know, for Relea
was sensational. So the progginess has just kind of like
evolved and become accepted, you know, and hopefully we can influence.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
We'll be right back with more of the Taken a
Walk Podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
What's the first band after Yes in the progressive movement
that you were really wowed by?
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Well, I mean I used to listen to The Soft
Machine a lot, you know, in the early days, and
now of course you know, they've got John Etheridge as well,
so that kind of work is interesting. I saw that
we were part of a pool, you know, and it
wasn't really about pop records, you know, at all. You know,
it was about albums. But of course Genesis took that
(19:54):
lead like Yes did in the eighties, which I'm no
part of with the owner of a Lonely Heart saga.
So basically that kind of era of the band isn't
very brocky, you know, but it's it can be very useful,
and in many ways Genesis showed that how very powerfully,
not only you know, but also it highlights that, you know,
(20:16):
people like Peter Gabriel, you know, their talents were missed
in Genesis, but he could develop his talent, but also
Genesis could without him, so that that's the story of
the you know, having a team of people that like
working together.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
One of the things when I first saw Yes back
in the mid seventies that wowed me was the incredible
sound at the concert, just the amazing sonic nature of it.
Tell me how that ultimately became such an important part
of Yes. That that amazing sound in the concerts.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Well, if you're talking, I mean really partly that's Claire
Brother sound, you know, Claire Brother Claire it's called now
but clear Brother sound audio. Claire audio was We heard
that on the Jethro Total too, and we said when
we come back, we want Claire, you know, because we
heard the sound. But a similar thing happened like a
few years earlier than that, because that was like nineteen
(21:20):
seventy one, seventy two. But of course in nineteen seventy
we bought Iron Butterflies PA because we wanted a sound
like we did on their tour. You know, they wanted
to sell, we wanted to buy. So we bought the
w bin's mid range horns and high high horns, and
we bought this system and we started to really care
about how we sounded because we didn't really like the
(21:41):
sound of the pas that were available in England generally,
so we had our own PA. Then we went to
America and we said, Claire Brothers is it and we
we swore blind that we never played without Claire. Sometimes
we've had to certain things have changed, but whenever we can,
we still want to play with that sound because their
top notch, you know, at the top of the game.
(22:02):
But the way it was in the beginning of the
seventies was that Eddie started mixed. Eddie has started mixing
the show and that was wonderful, you know, that was
very exciting. He got a bit carried away unfortunately lost
the plot, so we had to find somebody great, like
Dave Lattel. So for a lot of the time, Dave
Lattel was our front of house and he does the
(22:23):
rolling stones. And basically we had a great team of
people who were going like we were. Our career was
going forwards and so was there and they were part
of our polish, you know, like Roger Dean. You know,
the fact that we started using his designs with his
brother Martin Dean for our staging was a big development.
(22:43):
They started retails from Gravacation Tour. So basically we were
messing with all that quality stuff that we could have made,
but a lot of it was to make our show better.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
He started with a mirror ball. Micky Tate thought of
that and he, you know, I went on to become
our light designers. So we had great lights. We had
a team of people who really cared about making a
mark themselves, not just I was working for Yes, you know,
just like being a slave. No. No, They came with
creativity and there was always things developing and that was
(23:18):
what was exciting. And we try to keep that going today,
you know, and we've recently just changed from doing video
and lots of moving things. You know, we got fed
up with that. So now we just got like really
quite intense lighting. Now that's more theatrical, and we have
a set, but it's very kind of simple. It's a
few screens, but they're not used, you know, to show
(23:40):
somebody tapping their foot on. It's just the best thing
about it is that we want to focus on the band,
the players, the music.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
One of the great things about Yes is the beauty
of collaboration with you know, all the band members. What's
the key to that great collaboration that's been so much party. Yes,
through the career.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, it's joint willingness, you know. I mean it's like
you can't go, you know, we can't go in opposite
our actions. We've got to be willing to go the
same way. And that to find that willingness is in
the belief, you know, in the band, in the music,
the love of the band. But also it's about getting
on with the guys, you know, and finding a way
(24:27):
of working professionally with each other. That's the first thing.
But the second is to have the harmony, understanding that
that there is closeness if it needs to be. You know,
there is a discussion between two people if it needs
to be, And basically you can work as much out
as you can and make it a happy environment. That's
(24:48):
what I said when I put my name forward to
produce the quest. I said, it's got I don't want
to do unless it's fun, you know, because there is
a fun element that you need. That doesn't mean, you know,
we've got a comedian in the group. No, I don't
want to committing the group. But fun is enjoying your art,
you know, enjoying your opportunity to make your art, even better,
(25:11):
you know, to have a pool of pea, not just you,
but to have a pool of people who they've got
to get if they like it, it means a lot, you know.
And so if you do something and they go that
acts nice. Yeah, then in a way all the music
starts coming together, flowing together, and there's no opposition, you know.
In other words, there's no bad stuff left there. Stew
(25:34):
you know, there isn't any bad stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Can you take me back to the creation of the
Fragile album. How was that collaboration in terms of creating that,
How long did it take? Any specific memories of that
which ultimately produced a masterpiece in my opinion?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Well, thanks, I mean there's only so many and now
are the same ones to say whenever I'm asked this question,
because I do remember some things about Fragile, it's not
very broad. I remember that although the Yes album was
worked on as a very collaborative you know unit, John
and I had just managed to formulate the idea around
(26:16):
about together during tours. In fact, we were in Scotland
and I think we both remember somehow that it was
it was on one of my cassette tapes that John
and I were like jamming stuff and say and he'd say,
what if you got that's a bit like this, or
have you got any chords you know, or you know,
just kind of throwing in around and suddenly we got roundabout,
(26:38):
you know. And so when we started Fragile, John and
I started the thing we did quite often in the
seventies Coast the edge Tales Awaken. We were able to
jointly put the foot the idea forward. So that song
was built like that, if you like, from the understanding
that John and I had a song, we'd do it,
(26:59):
and we'd do range it and blah blah blah. We'd
record bits and we come back the next day at
a rehearsal room for three or four weeks, three weeks.
But in that time, of course, Tony Kay had left
the band. It was it was very sad. It was
not really that anybody ever fired him. But he said
to her, do you want to do multi keyboards? He says, no, no,
I don't want to do that at all. I want
(27:20):
to play piano or kind of thing. And that made
him appear to us and it may not have been
hund present true that, you know, we were just going
to stay there, you know, with those sounds, and we
had this imaginary idea that other people were like doing stuff,
you know, with new synthesizer, you know, new kind of
keeper's coming and that was Rick. So we found Rick,
(27:42):
and before we knew we were, he was popping in.
He wasn't at the writing so much of the album,
but he came in and did things with us as
much as he could, you know, because he had some
sessions and you know, he was kind of a busy guy,
and we'd snatched him and he was going to work
with us and he's going to make them so but
we had to write the stuff first of all. So
(28:03):
but he was there when we wrote Heart of Sunrise
and things, and there was music flowing around. We didn't
have a lot of South Side of the Sky that
was pretty much written in the studio. So and the
idea of us having our own solo pieces was great,
you know Bill's idea. I think after I had Clap
(28:23):
on yes album, I suppose he thought, well, why don't
we all have a solo and he was perfectly right.
So Fragile was a unique album where we all had
a solo piece. So that that was a nice distraction
because musically you go off and do that yourself and
decide what it was yourself, and some people use the band.
Bill's idea was that we all used the band we always,
(28:46):
but of course Rick and I didn't, John didn't a lot,
but Chris did on the Fish. So basically the album
was unique in that sense. Roundabout is one of the
sounds I'm most impressed with that. Eddie helped us get
the tightness and somewhat simplicity of it, the rock factor
(29:09):
in there. Yes, must never forget they're a rock band.
The worst thing we ever do, and we do it.
Sometimes it begets act a rock band, I mean noodle around,
you know, with some nerdy stuff sometimes and spire what
is and has been some great pieces of music. I'm
thinking partly of what was on Keys two Cention studio recording.
(29:29):
They're very good, but they pull down here and there.
So basically there is a continuity needed that that that's
the teamwork, and that's production also because like Time in
the words, is a great album if it had been
really properly produced, you know, so it's great performances thrown together,
you know, in a in a big sound. You know
(29:50):
that isn't as clear as the Yes album. You can
hear the space in the music. Of course you do
in actually tell a lie, I mean in no opportunity necessary.
There's marvelous Yes arranging. Why we're not playing that every night?
Don't do? Do you know what I mean? That stuff?
(30:11):
I'm going to write it down. We're going to have
to play that somewhere.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
I love it. I got a big smile on my face,
Steve with you taking me back on that. I absolutely
love love that story. Oh my god, that's amazing. So
let's talk about the current the current lineup, and I
think what's fascinating about the current lineup is there's so
many players in the group who really are students of
(30:36):
the group. So talk about the lineup and how how
you love playing with this band.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Well, of course, John's been a key to the going
forwards of this band since permart David left and he
joined about eleven twelve years ago. I think it is
ten eleven twelve, I mean Time Flies, Tempest Future. But
basically John John was a very solid person in the band,
and we share some views about how to play on stage,
(31:06):
how to work. We kind of feel at ease with
each other because we're both similar sort roughly state of
mind where we're clear about what's going on, we're excited,
we're ready, we haven't compromised the day, we haven't composed
the show by anything we've done in the day. So
we were there. We're really there one hundred percent. So
(31:27):
but Jay of course had joining in part. At first
he was doing some drumming, and then he was doing
a lot of the drumming as Alan White was starting
to find the whole set was too much for him
to play, and we felt it was too much for
him to play and the intricacies and everything. We didn't
want to keep demanding that Alan plays for like two
(31:47):
and a half hours or something. So it was a
beautiful experience to have Alan do the last set in
the music, the encore stuff. Several years so when Jay
took over, when Alan Sadley passed away from time back then,
Jay has brought with him that previous experience of being
you know, like the helper and the provider and the
(32:08):
solid assistant. But now he's got the whole flaw, you know,
so we're finding out what that means, you know, and
it should be marvelous. Of course, Jeff has had you know,
like Billy a revisit experience coming back to Yes after
Fly from Here, and so he brings all that drama
(32:31):
experience as well, and that era and of course Jeff and
not forgetting we were in Asia together. So like Jeff
and I have particularly trained if you like, unusual multi
connections with musical styles. And so Jeff's really good and
Jeff's never said anything different than he is in Yes
(32:54):
to play every keyboard part that Yes ever played, you know,
if required. So Billy is an exceptional person too, because
a multi instrumentalist, you know, talented writer, produce all those things.
What he has to do is home it down into
his admiration of Chris really, you know, and taking on
the role of Chris with the base battles with the vocals.
(33:18):
Chris was not just a bass player by any means.
So it's a big demanding job and he's he's doing
really well. And you know we are we are rarely
determined to keep the ship tightly you know, not controlled,
but tightly agreeably run, you know, between us.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
So Yes is going to be going out on the
summer tour playing with the Deep Purple. Tell me how
excited you are for that experience. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I mean, you know, last year we did our sort
of that normal tour. Yeah, mainly if they had a tour,
and you know, we did about seven weekends. I think
it was across seven weekends, so it's about six and
a half seven weeks. So we were wondering as the
year you know, started out, you know, we're we're going
to target another tour like that, and we were virtually
going to do that, and then this offer came along
(34:13):
where it fitted in between going to Japan you know,
and leave and leaving the UK and Japan. It's a big,
big two month gap there. So yeah, so it's marvelous
to think that finally we got to play with the Purple.
It's been it's been talked about before, and we've always
been very very excited about the idea. And there's a
group you know, I mean what I mean he talked
(34:33):
about the sixties. I mean they were going before before. Yes,
I'm absolutely sure, am I sure? Anyway, there's a long,
beautiful history of and now of course, sadly Steve Morris
isn't with them this tour, but they've got a remarkable
guitarist in Simon McBride. He's really a fine player, and
(34:56):
I'm privileged to be, you know, working along with him.
He's wonderful player.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
That's awesome. Well, in closing, as someone who was so
dedicated to his craft, how do you stay curious and
how do you stay always with a thirst for learning
something new?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
I well, I stay alive. Yeah, it is just that simple.
I mean what I do is what I do. You know,
I haven't got a side job, like you know, I
fix motorbikes or something. You know, benmar David did have
a really profitable hobby or partly profitable, you know, you
(35:36):
like fixing boats, you know. So I mean people do
have some other things they want to get on with,
but no, I haven't got you know, all the things
that see the guitar collection. Having the guitars I want
is very very important for me. And I just bought
a new pedal steel guitar because my old ones were
too tired. I had to get rid of them. They
were they were out of my face, you know. But
(35:58):
now my Williams pedal steel is just so I get
things like that, and it's remarkable how they we as
if I don't need it, they kind of stimulate my
interest in using particularly different kinds of sound. I bought
a guitar last year called Gibson Tennessee and which was
designed by Chad Atkins with Gibson, and I saw Chat
(36:20):
playing this on stage in some videos, you know, in
his later years, and he always sounded great. I thought,
guitar sounds great. Of course it's action, it's black. So
I get one and I go, yeah, but these good
stars are great. This is a great guitar, so of
course you can, you can excel. So I think that,
you know, it's a bit like you know, it's just
(36:43):
refreshing to be able to do that, and thank god
I can do that. And you know, basically music still
excites me, you know, from bark to well, I don't know,
I'm trying to think of another Bee, but Barkers aren't anyway.
Bulk is a big is a big player. But of
course through Walk music is primarily you know, what got
(37:06):
me off the sofa.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
It is so joyous to talk to you again. Your
music means so much to so many fans, including me,
And you're one of the gentlemen in the business and
one of the nice people and the most talented people.
And I'm so grateful. Steve how that we got to
talk again on the Taking a Walk podcast. Thank you,
(37:30):
that's very nice, boss.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Thanks so much for saying that that means a lot
to eat too.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
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