Found Link: Interview with Alan White

One great side effect to Yes being on tour is that the press actually get to have fresh interviews with the band as it makes its way from town to town. This interview's a bit of a gem. Alan White muses not only on how he joined the band in the first place, but working with John Lennon and George Harrison. It's great stuff.

2theadvocate.com | Music | Yes keeps progressive rock relevant — Baton Rouge, LA

“So I flew back to London next morning and Jon Anderson and Chris Squire came around to my apartment. ‘We want you to join the band or we’re gonna throw you out this third-floor window.’ ‘OK, Chris you’re a big guy, so let’s see if we can make this work.’ ”

As Anderson and Squire were exiting White’s door, Squire added, ‘Oh, by the way. We have a show in Dallas, Texas, on Monday. Learn this stuff and we’ll be fine.’

Interview: Alan White talks about Jon Anderson

From all that I've read about the reasons of Jon's continual absence from the Yes line-up, it would seem that the boys in the band are quite happy to leave him out in the cold henceforth. Basically, my outsider scooping around has lead me to believe that the rest of Yes think Anderson's a bit of a jerk. They've picked up a nice well mannered Canadian dude that most seem completely content with and they're choosing to hang on to him instead of allowing founding member Jon back into the fold. I must point out that this is mostly speculation on my part, but I really can't see any reason for Jon to be touring on his own while the rest of the band he helped start is touring around America without him.

This interview with Alan White doesn't really get into this debate in the way I was hoping, and you wouldn't expect him to say anything bad about Jon since he's a nice guy and all that. What do you think? Are Yes snubbing Jon?

Saying Yes to change - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Article Ee8421da-168a-11df-9b01-001cc4c002e0.html

Question: Let's get some personnel business out of the way. With Benoit David now an official member, where does Jon Anderson stand with the band?

Answer: Jon is doing a one-man show these days. Benoit David is doing an excellent job - he sounds almost like Jon and looks slightly like Jon, as well. Oliver Wakeman, who is Rick Wakeman's son, is the same thing - he looks just like him and plays just like him. If you close your eyes, the band is virtually the same.

Q: Jon made some negative public comments when the band first went out on tour with Benoit. Has there been a need to smooth over any ruffled feathers?

A: I don't know if I'm out of place saying this, but it seems like Jon just likes doing his solo shows. These long arduous tours do take a lot out of you. We just carry on. Who knows about the future? It's hard to say right now.

Found Links: 3/5 Yes continue to get positive reviews

Ah yes, 3/5 Yes. Featuring son Oliver Wakeman and random Canadian Benoit David. You know how much I love reading these mainstream reviews. They always seem so surprised that Yes aren't quite a bunch of useless washed up geezers like The Who seem to be (shudders at Super Bowl halftime show). Steve Howe really tends to make these critics do a double take. They kinda forget he's always kinda looked liked a walking skeleton of a man. Sure he looks older and greyer, but if anything his playing only gets better with age. Today I'll share two reviews with you all. First from the Boston Herald and then from The Republican.


Yes, they can - BostonHerald.com

“Heart of the Sunrise” and “And You & I” came with their graceful tunes, dramatic soft-to-loud shifts, and David, Howe and Squire nailing the essential three-part harmonies. For fans there were a few rarely played numbers, including the ballad “Onward” and two from 1980’s “Drama” (the only Yes album that didn’t include Anderson). Another rarity, “South Side of the Sky,” sported a tricky, a cappella-like midsection and built to a guitar/synthesizer exchange between Howe and Wakeman: a grand, very Yes-like moment.

Yes proves it's no Tribute Act - MassLive.com

 The latter track was one of several in which the thin and professorial Howe mesmerized the throng, locking into thick power riffs with his rhythm section, later spinning just as easily through highly intricate quieter sections. He played various stringed instruments, including pedal steel guitar on a very melodic "And You and I," sparkled on a couple of brief acoustic guitar solo instrumentals, and frequently locked in with Wakeman for perfectly synchronized spins such as during "Machine Messiah."

Found Link: Boston Herald Inteview Alan White, wonder why Hall of Fame hates Prog

What makes your day more than waking up to a rare mainstream-press reference to one of your favourite bands?  How about an interview with a legend like Alan White? What if the article containing said interview was littered with cheap shots against Prog fans? So what? Sure Jed Gottlieb couldn't resist in taking a low blow or two as to the 'dweeb' nature of Prog fans (ha I've been called worse), he actually gets some decent quotes from Mr. White and even questions the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's neglect of the all-too-deserving Yes. The days of complete disrespect towards the great Prog bands are quite over, I think. Read on:

Yes, we get no respect - BostonHerald.com

“This was a band interested in progressing music, not one just looking for hits,” White said. “We played music that was influenced by jazz and classical as much as rock with very, very picky fans. When I replaced Bill Bruford there were fans who analyzed everything I did.”