5 Questions with former Yes singer Jon Anderson, who is Touring Solo
Anderson brings an artistic solo show to the Rio Theatre June 21.

By Brad Kava

With the band Yes, singer Jon Anderson has sold more than 50 million discs since the late 1960s and his band’s following has been so passionate, it has been written about as a religion.
Along with Pink Floyd and King Crimson, Yes is one of the cornerstones of progressive rock, a genre that infused classical and operatic sensibilities with rock. It told stories in long, elegaic songs miles and light years away from the three-minute singles that were the mainstay of popular radio, but not that far from what bands such as the Beatles tried in concept albums like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
For Yes fans it’s tragic that the band hasn’t been recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which seems as predictable and slavish to fashion as the earlier stone-walled museums it tried not to be.
Anderson has left the band he co-founded and plays a rare Santa Cruz show June 21 at the Rio Theatre. Yes, meanwhile, goes on without him, using a singer from a Yes tribute band when it appears in San Jose August 14.
Anderson’s show includes classic Yes material, new songs and stories told from five decades on the road. He’s still working and constantly recording; he most recently released a beautiful single called Limitless Lives with Italian composter Marco Sabiu.
Anderson took some questions by phone from his home near San Luis Obispo, a place he fell in love with on a car trip.

Why aren’t you touring with Yes?

I got very sick, as you know (he suffered acute respiratory failure) and they wanted to go off and keep making money and keep touring. They got a young Canadian singer who looked and sang like me. Then that didn’t work and they got another one. After a year and a half they are just out there. It’s not the best thing in the world for the legacy.
They are doing their thing. They love being on the road, but there’s more to life than that kind of work. It’s not really very healthy.

Why are you playing solo?

I still believe in the music, Yes music. Bands split up. The Beatles split up and that really pissed me off. It’s disappointing as a real fan. I feel a bit of a heartache, but you get on with your life.
I’m 67 this year. I’ve toured and toured and toured and toured with Yes. This solo tour is more like a holiday. It’s fun just putting on a good show. I play guitar, ukelele, dulcimer and I’ll be selling a small amount of open painted jeweled cases, six per show. I love creating art work.

Are you still living in San Luis Obispo?

I live south of there. I’ve been living here nearly 15 years. I’m an American citizen now. I’m always in my studio working. I finished a dozen songs with a friend in L.A. I’m working on an album with Rick (Wakeman, Yes’s keyboardist, who has also left the band).

What about your new song, Open, a symphonic-style piece with orchestral instruments that reminds me of Tales from Topographic Oceans?

It’s a 20-minute piece of music that I started last spring and wanted to put out on my birthday (Oct. 24). People like it. Music is more than just having a hit record or being on TV. Music is more powerful than everything. I’ll play some of it in concert. I wrote it on acoustic guitar. (You can get it here, or on iTunes.)

Why isn’t Yes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

I just don’t think the people in charge – I was there last year doing a show and I got on very well with them – they just don’t recognize Yes as being very important. Maybe in 10 years time they will and we’ll all get together.

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Legendary Yes Vocalist Brings Classics and Great Stories to Town with Solo Tour

Posted on June 5th, 2012 by steve in Features, Interviews, Top Stories

Dial up any classic rock station in the world and you’ll likely hear Jon Anderson within an hour or two. As lead singer of the prog-rock stalwarts Yes, his iconic voice weaves through the musical lives of baby-boomers and Gen Xers everywhere.

But sidelined by his former Yes bandmates after an extended illness — in favor of (heard this one before?) a cover band vocalist — you would think Anderson would be bitter. Not so. In fact, in The Barn’s conversation with Jon, he was quick to reinforce how much fun he’s having with the stable of exciting projects that he’s currently involved in. Ever the optimist, Jon has kept himself busy with studio and live work, and finds himself headed to the Chicago area for two solo shows filled with classics, new songs and old stories never told before.

The Barn talked to Jon about his split with Yes and relationship with his bandmates, his upcoming solo tour and what keeps the progressive pioneer positive and healthy into his 67th year.

You have two shows coming up in the Chicago area [June 6 @ Mayne stage, June 8 @ Viper Alley]. What’s in store for fans who make it out?

I do an acoustic show with a guitar. I play a little piano and dulcimer… a few songs on the ukelele. I tell stories about my life and sing my favorite Yes songs that everybody likes. Some of the songs from collaboration with Vangelis and some new ones.

What about the storytelling? What types of things can we expect to hear?

Generally how songs came about. Crazy things that happened on the road. Meeting Vangelis for the first time and what a crazy guy he was.

I’m a huge fan of musical journeys. I just stumbled across a project you did called Open. Can you tell me about your approach to longer form pieces?

That’s been a part of what I do going way back to Gates of Delirium. I wrote [Gates] on piano and presented it to the band as just me playing piano. It must have sounded really bad. Long form music was something I really enjoyed doing so last year I started writing with the guitar and and an open structure. I had a friend who did beautiful orchestration. Over about a period of a few weeks here and there, I was in touch with some young people that I had been working with and got a couple of them to come and help me and do some work on the project.

They were brilliant — just young kids who listened to the music and just played on it. Really good! We used some seniors from the local school who have an acapella band. My wife sang; so did a couple of other friends. It was an ongoing thing that I worked on now and again for four months.

I released it in October on my birthday.

Do you have a next phase?

I’ve already worked on the next piece. I’ve got the structure down and I’m just now working on it. I’m doing other things now but eventually it’ll be ready later this year.

It is an important part of my musical experience. It’s an adventure and a lot of fun.

You release a lot of music. It seems like concepts and songs come easily to you. Is that the case?

I like making music. I’m fortunate to be able to work with lots of musicians through the Internet. I get people sending me music every week. I develop it, keep working on it. You get some music that you’d never dreamed you’d work on.

I just finished doing a project with a friend in Los Angeles and now we’re going to get into the production. We’ve written about a dozen new songs and its a very exciting time.

Can you tell me about the songwriting process. Do you have to lock yourself up and create for a week or does it come to you all the time?

It’s something that happens all the time. I’ve got a studio here in the back garden of my cottage and generally what I’m doing is receiving music from others. I’ll sing melodies and lyrics and send it back. After a while, you’ve finished quite a lot of musical ideas. Every time I get to new music, I see a different challenge. I don’t want to keep doing the same thing.

Talk a little about Rick Wakeman. You always seem to find ways to collaborate with him. Are you really good friends?

Oh yeah. We were always friends. We’ve had a couple of times where he got very sick and I went to see him in the hospital. That sort of thing, it really just mulls the friendship. He’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s a crazy guy. We have a good time.

You recently collaborated with him on a live CD. Tell me a bit more about that project.

The tour was a lot of fun. We always enjoy working together on stage just the two of us. We finished up recording a few of the shows and decided to put out a live album since it changed the songs in such a different way.

I was reading about Kanye West, who sampled one of your vocals for one of his songs. I heard that you were flattered by this. Coming from an LP era, what do you make of the digital world? You seem to have taken to it very well.

You know we did that kind of sampling way back when we did 90125 — there was a lot of that going on. You use modern technology as much as you can and really try your best to make it work musically. It is something that is part of life. You can’t discount it. You want to work with it and make it happen, really.

Some people are interested in staying with what they do which is kind of cool. Me, I just like doing different things. It’s just the way I am.

What kind of music do you like to listen to nowadays?

I always have my Sirius radio on the 40′s music. It’s my childhood — I was born in ’44 so I listen to music that I remember as a little kid: Bing Crosby, Big Band, Jazz, things like that.

On the other side of that, I listen to new things that are happening, there are some girls who write beautiful music called First Aid Kit. Really good songwriters and great video work as well.

I tend to keep in touch with different people. I went to see a band the other week called Group Love who were really good. I work with a lot of young musicians and there are many that go to this music school nearby in San Luis Obispo, where I live. I was there a couple of weeks ago, writing and recording a song together.

Are there any other newer artists that you would love to collaborate with?

There are so many talented people out there. I’ve been working a lot with people who get in touch with me that are already making music — they know who I am and what I like to do. Currently, I”m working with a couple dozen people around the world. Writing music with people anywhere from North Africa, France, Australia, New Zealand. Some guys from LA.

Besides singing and playing, I hear you are also a painter.

I used to love painting in school. When I went on the road, I like to paint, sketch, water colors. Over the last few years, I do it like meditation. Sit down. Zone out. Be in the place where you forget about everything. It’s beautiful.

There are some really beautiful pieces of work on the website. How’s your health?

Pretty good. It’s been rough this last month since there’s a lot of pollen in this area. I’m getting ready to go on tour… rehearsing. My voice is sounding good. Life is good and I’m very happy about a lot of things.

Dream Dancing By Jon Anderson

Do you do anything to keep your voice in shape?

I sing everyday. On the road: don’t talk to much, save you energy for that show at night.

You’ve got a tour and expect a CD in the summer. What else is coming down the road?

I’m going to London to perform at the Olympic Games with the Slovakian Orchestra. I’ll go to Brazil and Uruguary. I’m doing a concert with an orchestra in Chile. Generally keeping very busy, keeping going.

It was great to talk to you. Looking forward to the shows. Wishing you well on the road.

It’ll be a good night out!

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THIS WEEK ON SMI RADIO: THE VOICE OF YES… JON ANDERSON

By Greg Roth

Jon Anderson is a rock legend. You hear his one-of-a-kind voice onYes classics such as Roundabout,And You and I,Long Distance Run Around, Owner of a Lonely Heart, Changes and many more.

His career spans 4 decades, which include several solo records, as well as collaborations withKitaro, Vangelis, and former Yes members, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford. His soaring tenor, combined with his spiritual and supernatural lyrics, have won him legions of loyal fans throughout the years.

This week on SMI Radio, it is my honor and privilege to bring to you a conversation with the incomparable Jon Anderson. Get a closer look at his storied career, his music and what inspires him to keep playing live.

Feast your ears on his collaboration with Rick Wakeman called The Living Tree, Survival and Other Stories and his most recent release, the epic Open, as well as your favorite Yes tunes.
Check out Jon’s complete body of solo work from his discography.

Jon will be in town next week playing two shows at The Triple Door, Monday, June 11th and Tuesday, June 12th.

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Interview with Jon Anderson from Yes
by rockchicago
Interviewed by Kevin Pollack

Q: How did you get into music? Did you come from a musical family?
Anderson: Well, my brother and myself used to work on the local farm, and we sang every day. When I was a kid, I used to sing, we had a band actually, when I was 9 years old called The Little John Skiffle Band. My parents were from big Ballroom dancing. My father was in entertainment. He did radio from way back, but that’s how we got into music, me and my brother. He had a band in 1962, and I joined it, and it was the beginning of 1963, called The Warriors. We just loved singing the Everly Brothers’ songs, and of course The Beatles, started in ’63 and we just wanted to be Beatles. So that’s how we started.
Q: How did you get started with Yes?
Anderson: Well, I’ve been with The Warriors for about 5 years, and we travelled all over Europe, and then I found myself in London, and I was working in a bar above The Marquee Club, which is a famous club in London, and there were always big stars coming in to drink and have a snack like Pete Townshend, Keith Emerson, Jimi Hendrix; people like that, and I was working in the bar cleaning up, making a bit of money. One night, Chris Squire was there, popping at the bar, very lonely, and went over and said, “Hi, how ya doin?” and we struck up a friendship and that lasted a long, long time.
Q: Tell me how Open was written. What was the concept?
Anderson: I wrote the sketch of it last year around March, I think it was, and April, and I just had this idea that I wanted to perform a large scale piece of music, and it’s part of my DNA to create these long-form pieces, I did it with Yes, and I did some with Vangelis, pretty long-form ideas. So, I just thought it was a good time to try something out, and a local friend of mine did orchestration, and he did a beautiful orchestration on it, and I just carried on working on it, and I finished it around September. I’m actually working on another one now. So, it’s just part of my musical education to myself, you know?
Q: Where did the collaboration with Marco Sabin come about?
Anderson: Well, I’ve been working a lot with a friend from Rome, Alessandro DeRoso, and he had a contact with Marco, and asked me if I would sing on his album, and sing a song. So I said, “Why don’t you send me a piece of the music,” and Marco sent me the piece of music and I sang this idea, and we both liked it, so he said he was gonna put it on his album. So I said, “Yeah, why not?” and we released it as a single, which is kind of cool. He came up with the idea of “Limitless,” so I wrote the melody and the lyric about how we are very limitless human beings, and we should always be ready to not limit ourselves.
Q: What was working with Vangelis like?
Anderson: He was amazing, because he was a very free-formed musician. Everything we did was very spontaneous, which was kind of opposite to Yes, where everything was very structured, and we spent hours and hours putting the songs together, where, with Vangelis, we did the song in one take, and then we would learn what we were doing. It was a way to create spontaneous music.
Q: You and Rick Wakeman have had a long relationship. Describe to me how you both came up with The Living Tree.
Anderson: Well, it was about 2 years earlier, me and Rick had toured together in the UK, so we’ve written 4 songs for the show, because it’s nice to sing new songs in a concert. So, we did the tour last year, and we wrote about 5 more, and realized we have an album, so we put it out as an album, and it became a big part of the show, because creating new songs creates new emotion, and a new feeling onstage together. The songs weren’t really good onstage.
Q: I recently heard you are going to be doing a project with Trevor Rabin. Can you tell me about that?
Anderson: That’s an on an off situation. I get together with Trevor every few months. He’s very busy doing film scores. There was a time when we wanted to do something together, but he’s sort of drifting towards more film score music, and I’ve been drifting towards more working with different people, so it doesn’t happen. Maybe next year we’ll see what happens. We’re good friends. That’s the main thing.
Q: What is your process as a songwriter?
Anderson: Well, I’m playing music every day. I enjoy receiving music from people all over the world on the internet. I put an ad on my website, so people send me music all the time, and it gives me a chance to go into my studio, and people just send me music and I’ll come up with musical ideas, and build on that. So, I’m in a very, very creative zone at the moment. I think I’m more creative these days than I’ve ever been in my life. I always think the best music is coming. It’s a different world, and I just enjoy creating music and singing of course.
Q: Who and what are your influences?
Anderson: There’s so many. I love Mozart. I love The Beatles. I Love Rickie Lee Jones. I love Springsteen. I love U2, Sting. I like American music, and instrumental. I love Etheopian music. I love all kinds of music. I’m always mesmerized how beautiful one sort of musical world is. There’s so much great music out there.
Q: How did your recent health issues affect you as a person and as a writer?
Anderson: Well, when you nearly die, you sit back and think, “Ok, well I better get on with some music, and try to finish the songs that I wrote. The dreams that I want to finish,” and I have so many dreams. It’s made me more happier, more healthier, and more thankful.
Q: If you can collaborate with any 3 people in the world, living or dead, who would they be and why?
Anderson: Of course, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, a saxophone player. Oh, and Frank Zappa. Reason being, they were very inventive, very forward thinking people. I was looking at the lyrics for “Imagine” yesterday, somebody sent me them, a good friend of mine, and they’re just incredible lyrics when you see them written now, and I was lucky to meet Jimi Hendrix right at the very beginning of his Experience band, because I worked in the bar nearby, and he’d come in, and he was such a friendly guy, and an incredible guitar player, unbelievable.
Q: What can your fans look forward to from you from here?
Anderson: A lot of very adventurous music. I’m not quite sure how it’s all coming together, but I’ve worked on so much music over the last 6 years, and I’m trying to figure out a way of getting it out there into the world, and it’s coming slowly for people to expect something different and exciting and adventurous I think.

Make sure to check out Jon Anderson performing at Viper Alley in Lincolnshire on June 8th starting at 8:30pm. Get tickets here: http://www.viper-alley.com/calendar/details/476.

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2 Questions 2 Jon Anderson

Jon Anderson has one of the very best and most well-known voices in progressive rock, being the creative force behind the rock band, YES. His early career saw him joining The Warriors in 1962 where along with his brother he shared the title of lead vocalist. He also sang with bands including The Gun and The Open Mind. The debut album for the group YES was released in 1969 and Jon remained with them until 1980. In 1983 the band reformed and released one of their most commercially successful albums, 90125. Jon has performed on many soundtracks for movies, including Cage of Freedom, St. Elmos Fire and Scream For Help. During 2010 Jon TOURED Europe and the USA as a solo artist and with Rick Wakeman, releasing The Living Tree in 2010.

It is a pleasure to publish his replies to our 2 questions.

What Brings You Happiness?

Being able to meditate and connect with my spiritual teacher and feeling surrounded by that Divine energy, seeing children having fun, watching old movies, walking with my Janee around towns and cities of the world, seeing my children grow to be wonderful adults spreading love and light, hearing a favourite song on the radio, relaxing and watching birds in the garden, hearing a funny joke, watching Man United playing great, cooking my favourite food, being with friends and listening to stories, reading Pat Conroy books, reading good honest reviews of my work, finding just the right ‘lyric’ and wondering where the songs come from, waking up and seeing my wife Janee and realizing how wonderful and beautiful she is, listening to Jean Sibelius symphonies, being thankful for the great events in my life, watching the 49rs win. Painting, remembering my humble beginnings, my family, those in heaven, and those on this amazing earth mother.

What Would You Change (If You Could) To Make Our World A Better Place?

Seeing the world deliver the promise of a good life to everyone, the end of all wars, living beyond war, the end of corruption, and slavery, a sharing of the bounty of the earth, using our talents to expand our dreams, to travel in space, meet beings from other worlds, join the enlightened ones, live in perfect harmony and good will to all men and women and children, to hear the new music, and see the new stories unfold……and most of all, a blessing on all beings ……for we are all truly one….

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BY ANGEL ROMERO
– JANUARY 12, 2012

Jon Anderson – Photo by Tami Freed
Jon Anderson, the legendary progressive rock vocalist that fronted Yes for many years is back with numerous projects. The most interesting by far is Open, a long musical suite with four movements produced by Jon and Jane Anderson that has brought back the wondrous sounds that Anderson is known for. Jon Anderson composed the music and wrote the lyrics. Stefan Podell made the orchestration and additional music.
You made many progressive rock fans very happy withOpen. When did you start working on this project?
About a year ago…I started with an acoustic guitar, put down a framework, and then Stephan Podell did a wonderful orchestral arrangement…We talked about how best to make ‘Yes fans’ enjoy the journey, I think that was my motivation…
What instruments do you play on Open?
Just acoustic guitar.
And in general, what instruments do you play?
I’ll play anything, not great, but just enough to make it work…I love piano, and guitar mostly.
Who else participated in the Open recording?
Jane Luttenberger Anderson on angel Vocals; Stefan Podell on music and orchestration, 12 string guitar, classical guitar and bass; Zach Tenorio Miller on piano; Zach Page on electric guitar; Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz with Jon Fink and Susan Lerner on strings; Kevin Shima on acoustic guitar and vocals; Brian Hobart on Percussion; Stephan Junca on drums and African Percussion; Charles Scott on drum kit; Cal Poly A Cappella group (Robert Foster, Ian O’Rourke, Madelyn Frey, Jacob Stringfellow, Aaron Wolfe, and Amy Stevens); and additional backing vocals by Billy James.

The complexity of Open reminded me of your legendary solo album Olias of Sunhillow. Will there be more music in this direction?
I’m just working on the next ‘opus’…called ‘Ever’
You’ve had recent solo tours, including one with your with your old friend and former Yes colleague Rick Wakeman. How did that work out?
Rick Wakeman (left) & Jon Anderson (right)
Rick is fun to work with, he’s playing better than ever, and the songs we do are great to sing. Audiences love the banter between us,…and the new songs really have a different energy.

How is Rick doing health wise?
He’s really very well.
Will you be recording more with Rick Wakeman?
I hope this next few weeks we will work together.

Argentine Stick virtuoso Guillermo Cides mentioned recently that he will be working with you and Australian Truey Marks on a new project in 2012. Can you share some details about that?
Ask him to contact me please…
How do you find the time to play in so many projects?
It’s that time of my life, after nearly dieing in 2008, I realized I should try and finish my work…well, there’s more than I would believe…so I just keep working on the music…it helps everything…
You are a singer and also a songwriter. How do you work as a composer?
I usually sing with guitar, record everything I do, almost everyday a new song comes…it’s wonderful.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
The divine ‘love’ that surrounds us.
I’d like to take you back to the early 1970s. Yes made albums that are considered progressive rock masterpieces. I’m talking about Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer. What was happening at that time that led you and your band mates to compose such incredible music?
I was driven to try new music, we were being told to write ‘hit songs’…I just felt it would be a waste of the talent within the band, so I chose to escape, and help create new music…it is wonderful to look back at those times; we were in perfect ‘harmony’ with each other.
If you could gather any musicians or musical groups to collaborate with whom would that be?
I would start with Tony Levin, Billy Cobham, etc etc…
In this age of economic turmoil and social unrest, do you have a message you’d wish to impart through your music?
Change is good…and Change we must…
Jon Anderson
What music genres, groups or CDs are you currently listening to?
Amharic music…Ethiopian…
We interviewed the Senegalese singer Baaba Maal and asked what song was he completely addicted to – the one song that he will sing along with every time – and he told us his song was “One Love” by Bob Marley. What is your one song?
‘I will fix you’…and a million others…
What do you like to do during your free time?
Paint, cook, watch Soccer and ‘American Football..walk with my Janee.
What country would you like to visit?
China, I’ve been there 3 times, amazing culture……..Africa…India.
Which is your favorite city?
Paris.
What was the first big lesson you learned about the music business?
No such thing as a free lunch…
What other projects are working on?
A zillion projects…tons of them…

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