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Written by KZYR
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Sunday, 12 October 2008 |
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Yes plans to tour without lead singer Jon Anderson but band members insist he is still part of the band while Chris Squire hooks up with former Genesis member.
There are still no confirmed Colorado dates for upcoming Yes tour which will go on without Jon Anderson who is ill.
Bassist Chris Squire
tells Billboard.com. "Unfortunately Jon has had these health problems
for the last few years, which is why it's taken such a long time (since
2004) to have any Yes shows out there. We've had to be very respectful
of the fact he's not been well and he's been in and out of the hospital
having quite a few major procedures. If Jon is well again next year,
he'll be back."
After Anderson's
asthma forced Yes to cancel a planned 40th anniversary tour this
summer, Squire says the prog rockers decided to move ahead -- with
Benoit David from the Montreal Yes tribute band Close To The Edge
filling in -- "for the fans who have been missing the music. This is
just a way of honoring the music and giving the fans their fix."
Last
month Anderson posted a message on his web site expressing
disappointment with his bandmates' decision. But that note has since
disappeared from the site and its archives, and Squire says that "at
the last count I believe we have his blessings to go out and do this."
Yes
-- Squire, David, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White and Rick
Wakeman's son Oliver on keyboards -- is planning to convene in
mid-October to rehearse for the six-week In the Present tour, which
begins Nov. 4 in Hamilton, Ontario.
Squire says the repertoire will include the expected classics plus some
"completely brand new things" that he and Howe have written, as well as
material from 1980's "Drama," the lone Yes album without Anderson as
lead singer. A planned release of a 2004 live album from Europe has
been put on hold, but Squire says the shows on the upcoming trek will
all be recorded and possibly offered for sale or download.
Squire
reports that he's also started a new venture with former Genesis
guitarist Steve Hackett -- "We may call it Squackett," the bassist
quips -- that will be released in early 2009, with European dates in
the spring.
"We're nearly 75 percent
done," Squire says. "It's real good. Steve Hackett is a very underrated
writer and actually a very good singer. We're doing a lot of
harmonizing, and some of it is almost in the Crosby, Stills & Nash
vein."
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 12 October 2008 )
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