Jon Anderson has expressed his displeasure with one of his fans for accusing him of being a member of……
I’ll be 80 in October, and what a way to spend your 80th year on the world, being able to perform rock ‘n’ roll gigs all over the place!”
When I was leaving a gig at Royale a few months back, a woman asked her companion who Jon Anderson was. She’d clearly noticed the marquee promoting his impending play at the Shubert Theatre. Her pal responded that he was a member of the progressive rock band Yes.
“Would I know any of their songs?” she asked. I was mostly passed them by this point, so I didn’t turn my head and remark, “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”
This 1983 chart-topper is undoubtedly the most well-known Yes tune. However, it is unlikely to be a favorite among many die-hard fans of the band.
They define Yes as a collection of work that began with 1971’s The Yes Album and lasted with 1978’s Tormato.
Jon Anderson sang lead vocals on all seven albums released during this period, as well as the two that came before. Anderson left in 1980, but returned just in time to sing the aforementioned #1 hit, and stayed until 2004.
Since then, his connection with the Yes band and brand has become, may we say, problematic.
During those 15 years, he was able to tour with former colleagues Trevor Rabin (guitar) and Rick Wakeman (keyboards), release his 14th and 15th solo albums, and record True, a new record with New Jersey’s The Band Geeks that will be released on August 23.
Anderson called me to discuss his upcoming visit to Boston with his new band on June 25. (This piece is based on an interview I conducted with him in 2022.)
The Arts Fuse: How did it happen that you are touring and recording on the verge of your 80th birthday?
Jon Anderson: I contacted The Band Geeks, and we performed 12 gigs together to see what it felt like to be onstage. They were fantastic, and by December, I had contacted the bassist, Richie [Castellano], a superb player, and said, “Let’s record an album.” We finished approximately three weeks ago, and it will be available in August. It’s a truly special CD.
AF: What first brought The Band Geeks to your attention?
JA: My Sirius Radio friend John Amick sent me a video of them singing “Heart of the Sunrise” at their small studio in New Jersey. I enjoyed how they played, and it sounded exactly like Yes. About a month later, I called Richie, spoke with him for ten minutes, and said, “Let’s go on tour.” (laughs) It terrified him out!
AF: How did you decide on the set list for the tour?
JA: I’ve always wanted to perform epics and classics, so that’s exactly what we did. We performed “Gates of Delirium,” “Awaken,” and “Close to the Edge,” which are all well-known songs. “Yours is no disgrace,” “I’ve seen all the good people,” and so on.
AF: Are The Band Geeks Yes fans who can perform the songs without any rehearsal?
JA: It was amazing when I went in to see them at our first session before the first tour last fall. They began playing “Gates of Delirium,” and I said, “Wow, this is great!” Then they performed “Yours Is No Disgrace,” and everything was beautiful. And they’re quite kind individuals. You work with others and make things happen. On tour, they were simply fantastic. As you mentioned, I’ll be 80 in October, and what a way to spend your 80th year on the earth than to be able to travel the world and do rock ‘n’ roll shows.”
AF: My wife recently joined Rock Voices, a singing group comprising approximately 80 individuals. They sang “Roundabout,” arguably the most enduring of all Yes songs, at their concert last year. Can you provide a brief overview of how that was written and became an unusual top 20 hit?
JA: WOW! Please give her my best regards. Steve [Howe] and I wrote the song in the back of a van on our journey from Aberdeen to Glasgow. On the road, there were around 15 roundabouts. Every time we went by one, I started singing, “I’ll be the roundabout…” And Steve had his guitar, so we wrote the majority of it. We were returning to London in 24 hours, thus the lyrics “24 before my love/I’ll be there with you…” came to mind.
Then we traveled to London and taped it. It was eight minutes lengthy, and we thought, “We’ll never hear this on the radio.” Then, one day, when traveling back from practice for the Fragile tour in Pennsylvania, “Roundabout” came on, and the entire middle of the song had been taken off! We called Atlantic Records, and they said, “It will be a hit album.” “Shut up!”
AF: Can you tell me anything about the forthcoming album?
JA: You’ll enjoy it. It is named True. We had a terrific tour together, and a few of months later I recommended that we make the record that everyone is waiting for, but that Yes has yet to release. And that is exactly what we have done. We crafted the record that Yes would have made together.
And everything works. I can’t believe it’s this good. God bless the Band Geeks!
It’s worth noting that Richie Castellano also works with Blue Öyster Cult, a band with a distinct sound from Yes.
JA: Yes, that is what he does the most of the time. He’s outstanding, and one of the best bassists I’ve ever heard. He’s a magical musician and a fantastic producer.
AF: So he’s the right guy for Yes-style prog rock or BOC-style hard rock, right?
JA: Absolutely. He’s the man!
AF: What were True’s songwriting responsibilities?
JA: I had approximately a half dozen tunes on my PC. I sent them to Richie, who really improved them so they sounded like Yes. I’m not sure how he accomplished it, but he did. Then he created a few songs on his own, and I sang alongside him, and that’s how the record came together. Then I discovered a pair of tracks that I recorded in Nashville with a close friend ten years ago. They’re beautiful, calm songs. We added them to the mix, and everything sounds amazing.
Blake Maddux is a freelance journalist who regularly writes for the Arts Fuse, Somerville Times, and Beverly Citizen. He has also contributed to DigBoston, the ARTery, Lynn Happens, the Providence Journal, The Onion’s A.V. Club, and the Columbus Dispatch. He was born in Ohio and came to Boston in 2002. He now resides in Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife and twins, Elliot Samuel and Xander Jackson, aged six.
