Michael Judas - Diário de Notícias

Friday, May 17, 2024 9:11 PM

[GOOGLE TRANSLATE from original Portuguese to English]:

Interview - Billy Sherwood

Michael Judas

April 30, 2024

Billy Sherwood: “How many people have had the opportunity to grow up listening to a band and later join them?”

The Yes bassist reminded DN of his long relationship with the band, which began as a teenager, when, under the influence of his brother, he became “the biggest fan” of the group that now performs in Lisbon

As a musician and producer, American Billy Sherwood is considered a wizard of progressive rock, having worked on projects as diverse as World Trade, Circa, Lodgic or Asia, but it is with the legendary Yes that he maintains his most lasting relationship. And this started very early, still in his teens, when, under the influence of his brother, he became a fan of the band originally formed in London, in 1968, by Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Peter Banks, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford – none of the original members remain in the group. . The only one who never left Yes, in its different formations, would be bassist Chris Squire, who passed away in 2015. It was at his request that Billy Sherwood took his place, with whom he became friends at the end of the 80s, when musician, now 59 years old, began collaborating with Yes – as a lyricist and composer, producer or stage musician. What he never thought, as he confesses in this interview with DN, was that one day he would become an official member of his “favorite band of all time” instead of one of its most legendary musicians. A delightful story of the fan who becomes a colleague of his idols, told in the first person on the eve of the band playing in Lisbon, where they will present the show The Classic Tales of Yes, in which they revisit the band's entire career, “from the beginning to now”, with special emphasis on a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the iconic album Tales from Topographic Oceans . In addition to Billy Sherwood on bass, Yes is now made up of Geoff Downes on keyboards), Jon Davison on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jay Schellen on drums and Steve Howe, who is now the oldest member, on guitar.

What does it mean for a Yes fan, as Billy has always assumed, to play with his lifelong idols? How did you go from being a simple fan to becoming a full member of the band?

It was a dream come true. When I met Chris Squire for the first time, back in the late 1980s, and our friendship started to form and we started making music together, I was completely stunned, because they had always been my favorite band and, suddenly, there it was. me with him. And to be honest, despite being with and in the band since that time, in the most varied ways, that feeling of wonder never disappeared. Even today I continue to wonder how this all happened (laughs). How did I produce an album for them? How did I end up on the road doing concerts with them? It seems like every time they need someone for something, the universe conspires for it to be me, as unfortunately also happened in 2015, when Chris asked me to replace him as bassist in the band.

What was that moment like, when the mythical Chris Squire, who was one of the founders of the band and the only constant musician in all the different formations of Yes, asked you to replace him?

It was a very emotional moment, but also very sad, because just the fact that he was asking me for this already meant that something very serious was happening. And realizing this broke my heart, despite the honor it meant for me to be his chosen one, there are so many talented musicians in the world. But life is still like that, unpredictable in every way. In any case, it was very complicated for me, especially after he passed away. I felt very guilty for being there, on the stage, in the place that was always his. At that time the public was very important, they might have been thinking the same thing as me, but they never stopped supporting me and pulling me up. That first tour was very complicated, but then I started to understand that it was just like Chris had wanted. He himself had told me that he didn't want me sad on stage. Little by little, I started to let all those good memories I had of him, as a musician but also as a friend, take the place of sadness and become a huge inspiration. I have a hard time believing that next year I will have served a decade as his replacement.

But before that he had already played many other roles in the band, although not as an official member…

Yes it is true. I mean, I had already been an official member before, between 1995 and 2000, at the time of the albums Open Your Eyes and The Ladder , but I was playing guitar, at the time I would never have imagined that one day I would be the bassist of Yes, especially because I always believed that Chris would bury us all, because he was the real rock star (laughs).

How did you become a Yes fan?

Because of my brother, who was already a fan. He's five years older than me and had a band, Lodgic, with his best friend Jimmy Haun, which I also ended up joining. I remember one day they were both listening to Close to the Edge , by Yes, and I walked in. I didn't understand anything about it and I thought it was horrible, but in the following days, whenever I passed by my brother's room he was listening to the record. One day I asked him to let me listen to it again and I immediately realized that it was going to be my favorite band forever, to this day (laughs).

It's almost a case of saying that he was destined to be a Yes musician.

Everything was too strange. How many people had the chance that I had, of growing up listening to a band and, after a few years, having the opportunity to join that same band? It's something remarkable, indeed, but I don't take it lightly, on the contrary, I see it as a huge responsibility.

How is this concert, The Classic Tales of Yes , that you are now presenting in Portugal?

It's a show that expands the band's entire career, from the beginning to where we are now. We will play some very interesting musical pieces, and the highlight of the concert, if we can call it that, is dedicated to the album Tales from Topographic Oceans , which we condensed into a single, fantastic 20-minute piece.

Who is the audience that attends your concerts? Do you feel like you already have a new generation of fans?

Yes, it is a very multigenerational audience. There are older people who have always been Yes fans, like me (laughs), but I also see people who are increasingly younger. At one of the concerts on the last tour we did in Japan, I was entering the venue and there was a boy with a bag of records who recognized me and asked to sign them. Well, in that bag the kid had everything I ever did as a musician, solo, with Lodgic, all the projects I participated in. All! I don't even have all those records. While he was signing them, I asked him how old he was and he replied that he was twenty, that for some time now he had fallen in love with Yes's music through a video game and that, from that moment on, he had to understand what each of the members meant. the band did before, during and after Yes. That's how we, Yes fans, work (laughs).

Yes play this Tuesday at Campo Pequeno, in Lisbon, at 8:30 pm.

Jorge Botas - LOUD!

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 4:40 PM

[GOOGLE TRANSLATE from original Portuguese to English]:

JORGE BOTAS
MAY 1, 2024

Even without having played «Owner Of A Lonely Heart», YES brought to Campo Pequeno, in Lisbon, a good summary of a career that is about to reach the mark of six decades of existence.

After postponing this European tour a few times, YES finally returned to Lisbon to begin the long-awaited The Classic Tales Of YES . On a simple stage, with a white backdrop, the musicians discreetly entered the scene and the concert began to the sound of the epic “Machine Messiah” . The quality of the musicians became indisputable from the first moment and guitarist Steve Howe clearly revealed himself to be the maestro leading the band. Jon Davison 's voice is delicate, but the notes and range are all there, and the vocalist even made an effort to speak in Portuguese (with a Brazilian accent), a fact that the audience ended up appreciating.

As far as the line-up is concerned, «It Will Be A Good Day (The River)» and «Going For The One» followed , with Howe playing lap steel , and using acoustics in the style of Portuguese guitar in «I 've Seen All Good People» , another excellent moment in the opening stretch of the performance. There were, moreover, many high points throughout this night – the name of the tour is no mistake, with the veterans supporting the line-up with a lot of “classic” material.

After the instrumental version of «America» , originally by Simon & Garfunkel , the audience was treated to a wonderful interpretation of «Time And A Word» (from the 1970 album of the same name) and, when the YES helmsman performed «Don't Kill The Whale» , from the 1978 album «Tormato» , took the opportunity to reinforce the idea that, at the time, they were already showing ecological and environmental concerns. The first part of the concert would come to an end with «Turn Of The Century» , with the band joining Steve Howe in the final part of the song for another great moment.

What followed was, let's say, a very peculiar moment. There were those who thought that the concert had ended and the band “forgot” to say that they were going to return for the second part, meaning that a member of the YES staff had to come on stage to say that the band would return after twenty minutes. « South Side Of The Sky» then began the second part of the concert, with keyboardist Geoff Downes surrounded by ten keyboards and synthesizers, but always facing the audience. Jay Schellen 's drum sound , on the other hand, proved to be strong, as well as Billy Sherwood 's bass sound , which was very well defined.

In the final stretch, the band made the only trip to their most recent studio album with «Cut From The Stars» , soon followed by a medley of the four songs that make up «Tales From Topographic Oceans» presented in a 20-minute piece – as Billy Sherwood had stated in an interview with LOUD! , turned out to be a new and refreshing moment, but still very familiar. For the encore, the classics «Roundabout» and «Starship Trooper» were saved , which closed a magical night with a flourish and showed a 77-year-old young man called Steve Howe , still full of genius and virtuosity intact, leading a band to the YES legacy level.

ALIGNMENT:
Machine Messiah | It Will Be A Good Day (The River) | Going For The One | I've Seen All Good People
America (Simon & Garfunkel cover) | Time And A Word | Don't Kill The Whale | Turn Of The Century

South Side Of The Sky | Cut From The Stars | The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn) / The Remembering (High The Memory) / The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun) / Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil) | Roundabout | Starship Trooper