Angea - Los Anjealous

Saturday, March 30, 2024 12:36 PM

Chris Squire of Yes: The Losanjealous Interview

Published June 12, 2009

Today we chat with legendary bassist and Yes founding member Chris Squire about his upcoming 2009 summer tour with Asia, Rock Band The Game, Six Flags, Bobby Fischer and much more.

Tough questions first. You had leg surgery back in February, which cancelled the remaining dates of the Yes tour at that time. After you recovered, we got the announcement of the tour with Asia taking place this summer. And now, most recently, we have an announcement that Jon Anderson will be apparently touring, solo, over in Europe this summer. Here’s the big question I’m reading on a lot of message boards: Is this an indication of you guys finally saying, “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to all tour at the same time” ? Or what’s going on, here?

When you say he’s touring Europe, I think he’s going on vacation to Paris, and he’s just doing a couple of odd shows here and there, just keeping his foot in the water (what do I mean?)…just him and acoustic guitar, from what I know, so it’s not really like he’s touring.

Actually he’s announced nine or ten dates as of now.

Oh, he has? I didn’t even know about any of that. I got the impression he was just doing some odd casual shows. Like, I believe he did one up in the central coast last weekend, actually. Just kind of impromptu appearance in a bar, with his guitar, sounds like that’s what it is. But, I don’t know. (laughs) Enlighten me; if there’s more of a tour going on, I don’t know about it.

The YesWorld website has finally added a link to his tour dates underneath your tour dates, so it definitely looks like two different tours going on this summer. Thus all the chatter.

Oh, ok. Yeah. Well, as I’ve said, as far as I know, he’s just keeping his hand in really, I suppose, while he’s still in recovery.

It sounds like you guys are happy with the lineup that you have right now. What do you say to sort of placate the people that are worried that you have the “Jon understudy” (Benoit) and Oliver Wakeman instead of Rick (Oliver’s father – ed) out there? Or do you not even worry about any of that, and just go out there.

I don’t really worry about it, because we did a whole tour prior to the holidays, and I didn’t get any response from any member of the audience indicating that they were disappointed in any way; in fact, quite the opposite. Everyone seemed really happy that we were out there honoring the music, basically. And as far as Benoit and Oliver’s performances are concerned, they both did a great job, 100%, people just told me that. That’s the only feedback I really got. So we have planned to do this summer thing with Asia, and probably a European thing towards the end of the year, and maybe even South America in the fall. At the time we were planning this, we were assuming Jon would still not be back in shape to do anything, so we went ahead with those plans, and that’s what we’re doing this year. Next year there may be a different story, but you know, that’s what’s going on now.

I’m certainly looking forward to seeing the current incarnation when you guys get out to Los Angeles.

Great, great.

With Asia now on the bill now, are you guys going to mix things up at all? Sounds like you’ll have two distinct sets here.

Yeah, originally we were thinking about it being sort of loose, but for the purpose of this tour, Asia will do an opening act set, and then Yes will play.

Are you going to bring Geoff (Downes) out for “Machine Messiah” maybe, or…

Well, that’s a very good point, you know (laughs). I have mused a bit about it, I haven’t actually asked him. I do know he’s capable of playing it, though, because you may remember a few years back there was going to be the…what was it called…the More Drama tour that we were going to do (but actually we didn’t end up doing) where Geoff was going to be involved. I know he’s still up to speed with it, but as I said, I haven’t asked him about it yet, so…

I’m going to print anything’s possible, and see what you guys do out there. So with the two separate sets, are you going to still have time to sort of stretch out with some of the longer chestnuts like “Close to the Edge” or “Gates of Delerium” ?

Well, of course the problem is that having an opening act obviously reduces the amount of time we’ll be playing, so… I don’t think you’ll be seeing any gargantuan pieces on this tour, because they would just physically take up too much time and reduce the amount of music we’ll be able to do in the show.

What do you typically eat for breakfast while you’re touring?

(laughs) When I’m touring? I’m not a big breakfast person normally, I might just grab a Starbucks or something, maybe something to eat with it, depends if I’m in an airport or what. Sometimes we drive between shows. I don’t know, nothing special really, might stop at a Subway. (laughs)

$5 subs!

On the whole, I like Kellogg Special K, blueberry flavor. (laughs)

Ho! I like that one myself. Final tour-related question! You have a really ambitious July laid out here. Like, you have very few days off, looks like.

Right.

New Jersey, July 26: You’re going to be at the Great Adventure Amphitheatre in Jackson, and you’re not going to be in Philadelphia until the 28th. Does anybody want to check out Six Flags on the 27th, while you’re right there and you have an extra day?

Does anybody want to check out what where?

You’re playing the Great Adventure Amphitheatre, which is a Six Flags amusement park amphitheatre. I was wondering if anybody had already mapped out, you know, what rides they might…

(laughs) I don’t know, I’m not big on rides myself. Well, maybe when I was younger I was a little bit more, but I’ve only been to those parks with my kids, you know. But I didn’t even know we were playing Six Flags actually, thanks for telling me.

That’s the only Six Flags I saw on the tour schedule, if you want to take advantage of it. Speaking of kids – and congratulations on your most recent one by the way -

Thank you.

When should we expect, or can we expect, and why don’t we have, a Rock Band or Guitar Hero version of Yes, with a Rickenbacker bass and, like, six plastic keyboards?

(laughs)Well, OK. I’m thinking that could happen. There has been some conversation between Xbox and management. It may actually happen at some point.

That is great news for all the prog rock fans out there!

(laughs) Yeah. OK, I’ll definitely make a point of mentioning it to my manager and find out if there’s been any progress made.

Absolutely bubble it up there. I mean, you guys could have your own unique set of fake instruments that everybody would be playing.

(laughs) Fantastic.

Second non-tour question. Bobby Fischer was rumored to listen to “I’ve Seen All Good People” quite a bit before he played against the Russians. I don’t know if you’ve heard this one before…

I’ve never, ever heard that. Is that really true?

It is rumored that he liked it; Fragile had come out before he defeated Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship. It had just come out, and allegedly he was listening to it a lot, because of the lyrics. He passed away before anybody could confirm or deny this, but I was wondering if you…I guess if you haven’t heard this, you’re not taking any credit for his victory, but that was going to be my question.

(laughs) Well I mean, basically the first part of “I’ve Seen All Good People”, “Your Move”, is kind of chess-related, so I guess that’s what it’s about.

It could be completely made-up for all I know. (Wikipedia sometimes is)

I’ve never heard it before, so…

I’ll have to follow up with somebody who knew Bobby. Next Q regards the album 90125. The common misconception is that this a Los Angeles ZIP code, when apparently it’s a catalog number.

That’s exactly right, in fact, I can’t remember the exact numbers, but the guy who was designing the 90125 sleeve – I think his name was Garry Mouat – he had the idea of just using the record company catalog number. Originally it was going to be 8, 9 something, 56. But we were a little late in finishing, so it got bumped back to 90125.

(Both laugh.)

So my question related to that is, if you were the city planner here in Los Angeles… We looked at the grid for you. Playa del Rey is 90094; Beverly Hills of course is 90210; 90125 would slot somewhere in the middle there. If you were the city planner, where would you stick that ZIP code in Los Angele-

(laughing) Is there an existing 90125 ZIP code?

It is not a valid ZIP code, so this is your choice. Where do you want it.

Where would I like it to be?

Yes.

Oh, I don’t know, somewhere in, oh, what’s that area between Malibu and Bel-Air…

Brentwood?

Brentwood’s kind of part of it, but it’s called the…

Palisades?

The Palisades, there you go. That’s one of my favorite areas in LA.

OK. We’re slotting it there, you heard it here first! Next question. Are you on Twitter? Do you tweet?

No, I don’t. I’m hooked up with enough interactive information (laughs) as it is, so I’ve actually not twittered or tweeted.

I have tried it a bit, but I tend to follow your lead. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we’d rather have you playing the bass than tweeting.

(laughs) OK, thank you.

Want to talk about your website right now. Your last blog post has a picture of you with Dave Grohl and Vinnie Paul from Pantera. What’s going on in this photo? Or do you know.

The picture with Dave Grohl?

Yes.

I’d just jammed with the Foos onstage at the Joint in Las Vegas, which I think is now closed, or they’ve redone it or something. But I just happened to be there visiting a buddy of mine. I was in Vegas, and they were playing. I’m good friends with Taylor Hawkins, and he invited me to go and jam on a song with them, so I did.

Very cool.

The photo was after the show. That’s basically it, I just picked one tune. It was a lot of fun though. Those guys are a lot of fun.

Getting down to the last question here. My personal favorite Yes album, beginning to end, is Relayer, where I believe you hit some truly beautiful, transcendent moments…it’s my favorite, so my question to you: From beginning to end, do you have a favorite Yes album, and if so, what is it and why?

You know, I obviously like tracks from different albums, and so I don’t know if there’s overall one favorite album. I have a penchant for Fragile, and of course 90125 as well. We’ve always done some interesting things on all of the albums we’ve made in any particular period, so I can’t really just vote for one.

Well you do have “The Fish” on Fragile, so…

Well, that’s true. One of the reasons why I like it.

Chris, thanks for your time, and we’re looking forward to seeing you out here in a little under a month at Gibson. Good luck with the tour!

OK man, thanks. Come say hello!

Per usual we’ll have some tickets to the Yes/Asia show to hand out closer to the date of the big night at Gibson; stick around.

Alan Williams

I have been a YES fan since 1972, and I saw them for the first on the Tales Tour in 1974 at the Inglewood Forum. That experience changed my life and made me into a die-hard Yes fan. I have every album, box set, CD, and even a signed copy of Tales. I have seen them 16 times in concert, including 90125, Union, Big Generator, Relayer, Talk, etc.
I have seen them at their best (Anaheim- 1977) and their worst (Big Generator- Greek Theater- 90’s), and everything in the middle.
Last night was a blast! We sat in the Mezzanine, front row, which was sparsely populated, and we had an unobstructed view of the stage. The sound is always better upstairs at the Gibson (this I know from seeing over 150 shows there).
The high point: Carl Palmer and Fanfare. Asia was tight, well rehearsed, and very clean.
Yes was astounding, and Benoit David was fantastic. Oliver Wakeman was good as well, though more legato in his technique than his father. The choice of material was excellent, though I would have preferred anything from Tales in lieu of the Drama piece.
Going to Yes concert is like going to church, always a mystical experience draped in ritual. Certain songs must always be played for the faithful, but as others have commented, with the song book of material they have, one could be there for weeks, before they ran out of tunes.
If they come back to LA, I will be there. There are a lot of middle age people out there, who like myself, were once again 18, for a few hours, anyway.

Peter Pampusch

I've been a Yes fan for decades, but haven't seen them live since the 9012Live tour in the early eighties. I made the mistake of going to a GTR concert a few years later and not wearing earplugs, which gave me a bad case of tinnitus, and have been leery of attending rock concerts ever since. But after passing up many Yes tours in the last couple of decades I figured I would finally see them one more time before time caught up with them (and me).

As I've aged the question of whether rock musicians can continue to play at a level matching their youthful prime has fascinated me, and my general impression of the Yes concert videos I've seen since the eighties was that the band had inevitably lost their edge, which I suppose was only natural. Rock music is a young person's genre.

So perhaps it was due to low expectations, but I thought they played great last night at Universal City, and as a long-time fan I'm very gratified they they're not just milking it. I often ask myself if I would get sick of playing "And You and I" or "Heart of the Sunrise" for the zillionth time, but the songs have held up and I think that's what keeps the band members going.

If you consider the veteran members of Yes are 60+ years old it's pretty amazing; Steve Howe, in particular, has to be acknowledged as one of the greatest guitarists in the history of rock music. But regardless of the age of the band I think someone walking in off the street--perhaps only familiar with "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Roundabout"--and expecting a good show would have been impressed. A couple with two teen-age sons was sitting next to me, and one of the sons declared the concert "awesome" afterwards. Yes, the sound mix had problems, but Benoit David's voice fits Yes music perfectly (even the Trevor Horn songs), and it was great to see some youthful energy on the stage. Oliver Wakeman was not demonstrative but he can play, and replacing his legendary father must be daunting. And I have to say that wearing earplugs helps. I love Steve Howe, but he does tend to play in the upper register a lot.

In an interview for the YesYears video Rick Wakeman said he thought Yes should be an ongoing musical entity, like a symphony orchestra that gradually replaces individual musicians over the years but still maintains continuity. That may not happen with rock bands like Yes, unfortunately, but seeing them with a couple of younger members gives one hope that this great music will continue to be performed live in the years to come.

Brett Kennedy

"The Steve Howe Show"

Or maybe it should be called "A night with Steve Howe and Friends". But what an awesome night it was. To those who complain, you have your opinion. But the truth seems to me, that these guys even get out there and hammer it out is quite amazing. I hope to have their energy when I'm 60 plus!

Steve was spot on all night. The set with Asia was fun, a nice opener for Yes. Carl Palmer's energy was infectious and Wetton's vocals were great. It would have been nice if Downes had sat in on Yes for a tune, after all, he was a member. In the Court of the Crimson King was fantastic, hard to believe Fripp gave his blessing for that one, but Steve did him justice.

As for this Yes line up...I've seen worse. This was my 22nd or 23rd Yesshow. For those of us that have been fans for 35 or more years, Yes becomes fluid. Steve came and went, Trevor (both of them) came and went, Billy too, Bill came and went (and by the way he is officially retired, so stop asking for him to return), Rick, Geoff, Tony, Igor came and went, and even Jon has had his time apart. The one constant is Chris, and as long as he is there, it'll still be YES.

I've admired them all for years and one or two miss steps isn't going to stop me from telling everyone...DON"T MISS THIS SHOW. It's worth it just to hear And You and I and Starship Trooper. And Machine Messiah, the unsung epic!

Thanks to Yes for continuing what is obviously a fan driven tour. Because God knows, they will never get the respect from the music industry that they deserve. THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IS A SHAM! They refuse to acknowledge Prog Rock, even though ARTIST'S like this go out there year after year and put their work out there time and again to fans who LOVE IT!

Thanks again for a great time!

Yes Freak

The show was overall very good. The new singer held up to expectations. Chris and Steve were amazing as always. Alan can still pound it out!
On the down side the sound was way too loud and the mix was not great. Chris's bass drowned out the vocals and keyboards on many occasions.
Having see Yes over 25 times since 1977, I can say it was a good overall show but could have been better.

Jim Myers

WOW, what happened to all the new reviews?!? Okay, I shall recap my YES and Asia experience from July 7th.
My expectations had been lowered somewhat by negative reviews leading up to this performance. However, a few days before the show I scored 2 Awesome Seats 2 rows from Steve Howe, and knew I was in for another great evening of prog-rock, regardless if it was a mediocre Yesshow, or not.
I am glad to say that my youngest son, Anthony (13) said that he wanted to go with me and that he has always liked the prog I have listened to over the years...this was his 1st real rock concert experience ever!
First up was ASIA...I never got into these guys over the years...they were like Diet-Prog, compared to YES and ELP, the bands that spawned them. ANyways, may the GOdz-Of Prog forgive me. I discovered this beautiful night that ASIA, in fact kick some serious ass, and I am glad I got to realize this before it was too late!!! In fact, they very much reminded me of some of the ELP shows I have attended over the years! Wetton is terrific on bass and vocals...Howe was great...Carl Palmer is still Phenomenal..GEoff Downes is superb!! Great opening act...one of the coolest match-ups in ages!! Me and my son both loved their show!
Now on to YES! FOrget the negative hooplah about Benoit David not being "as good as Jon"...blah-blah.. THis guy is an excellent YES frontman and deserves a standing ovation for his contribution
to the current tour. And Oliver Wakeman is very solid...his low-key approach to the music let other band members shine in a BIG way...this was a more ROCKIN' Yesshow that usual. Chris was magnificent, as was Steve, as usual. ALan rocked, too!! THe whole band was really into the performance and it is hard to pick the highlights because every song was played so well. ANd You and I plus Heart of the Sunrise were natural highlights...however the "new" material was all fucking INTENSE!!! Seriously, Astral Traveller, Tempis Fugit, and Machine Messiah were proof that Yes is still Actively CREATING and ADDING to their timeless material and not just going through the motions. Like I said , they were Really INTO IT!!! TO BE Over, being plucked precisely by Howe just 15 feet in from of my face was almost surreal!
My son Absolutely Loved the show, and so did I. I want to Thank BOTH bands for a Great Evening of Progressive Rock-and-Roll! And YEs fans, Please, give Benoit and Oliver Wakeman a Break! These guys did a great job and deserve all of your support! SO Jon and RIck couldn't make it this time...we couldn't have done any better than Oliver and Benoit David..no way!
This YESshow
was truly special....aren't they all, pretty much? My Grade for the whole event... ASIA 7.5+ YES 9 Overall...Hell....with those seats we had, I'll just go ahead and give it a 10! SINcerely, JIM MYERS ( a YES-fan of 29 years now)
Ps...I noticed a baragge of great reviews of this show and each one after this which
showed me that fans ( and perhaps even the bands) started getting more INTO-IT around this time... Word of note...FOr a Great YES-show...perhaps avoid places like HOUSE OF BLUES for future YES-shows. THey really are an ARENA band and so is ASIA!
'Nuff said: Enjoy the SHow!!!

your_host

NOTICE (July 25): A substantial data corruption occurred some time between July 22 and 24, which wiped out almost all information for the second leg of the "In the Present" USA tour. Unfortunately there was no backup recent enough to regenerate the lost data (more frequent backups are now being instituted). The lost dates and setlists have been reconstituted manually, but the reviews cannot be regenerated except by fans re-submitting them, which we encourage. FY regrets the inconvenience.