YES, INDEED

In March 2008, members of the British progressive rock band Yes announced plans to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary with its first North American tour in five years. The tour was to feature the group's most commercially successful lineup: singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White.

Unfortunately, shortly after the tour was announced, Anderson suffered a severe asthma attack and was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure. Doctors advised him to rest and not work for at least six months or risk further health complications.

Fans assumed they would have to wait at least another year for the tour, but Squire, Howe, and White were determined to carry on. Thus, the "In the Present" tour kicked off in December 2008 in Ontario. The tour was suspended last week after Chris Squire was rushed to the hospital suffering from a blood clot in his leg. He is currently recovering and the tour is scheduled to resume Tuesday, Feb 24 in San Diego at the House of Blues.

Filling in for Anderson on the tour is Benoit David, a Montreal native who fronts a Yes tribute band called Close to the Edge, named after one of Yes' most popular albums. David was discovered when Squire saw a clip of him performing on YouTube and called to offer him an audition.

“This isn't an attempt to replace Jon Anderson because, as we all know, that would be impossible,” Squire said in an earlier statement. “With Benoit, we are bringing in a talented singer so that we can go out and honor the music of Yes for the fans who have waited for the past four years to see us perform.”

The quartet is also joined by keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, the son of legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who, like Anderson, is not touring with the band for health reasons.

Prior to the rescheduling of the tour, I spoke with drummer Alan White by phone. Yes has earned a reputation for crowd-pleasing, virtuoso live performances, but White admitted that choosing a set list from nearly 20 studio albums worth of material can be difficult.

“I like to play the more obscure, crazy stuff," he said. "But the public sometimes demands to hear the stuff we've always done, so we have to do a mixture. The set list is being worked on right now. We're rehearsing some classic songs that personally I like to play, like 'Perpetual Change,' "Close to the Edge,' and 'Awaken.' It's going to be a great evening, I can tell you that."

The last studio album Yes released was Magnification in 2001. White said that at this stage of the band's career, it can tour with or without a new album to promote. However, he added that the group has been working on new material and fans can expect to hear at least one new song on the tour.

By the time White joined Yes in 1972, he had already amassed an impressive resume. While still in his teens, he had worked with Denny Laine, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood. In 1969, White received an invitation by John Lennon to drum for the Plastic Ono Band at a show in Toronto. This led to White's participation in recording sessions for Lennon's Imagine album, as well as his involvement in George Harrison's solo debut, All Things Must Pass.

"It was very, very cool," White said about working with Lennon and Harrison. "The one thing about that whole era was I was only 20 years old and I thought it was just a natural progression in the music industry. I thought, 'I guess this is what happens.' It was a very, very special time in my life, but at the time I was just a guy playing the drums that John really liked. Years later, I eventually realized what I had done, in terms of the history of music."

White is equally proud of the place Yes holds in music history, even if the music establishment is reluctant to acknowledge it.

"There's no reason in the world why this band shouldn't be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," he says. "It's really quite surprising how many young fans the band has. I'm not sure whether or not it's brainwashing from their parents, but these kids know all of our music inside and out. I guess the legacy of the band has been pretty huge."

White has witnessed countless changes over his 40 years in the music business. But he says that at least one important aspect of the business has remained constant throughout.

"Playing has stayed the same," he says. "The basic root of everything is how people play together on stage, and the feeling you get performing and creating something that's really, really good. It's like that with Yes. Everybody in the band is very talented. It's a great feeling to perform with people that create such great music."

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The Persuasions - 45 Years of Harmony

The Persuasions may not have invented the all-vocal style of music known as a cappella, but the Brooklyn, New York-based quintet has proudly carried the torch for the genre for 45 years. And while the group has never had a Top-40 hit, won a Grammy, or appeared on MTV, the music of the Persuasions has had a major influence on popular music.

For decades the group’s unique style has been highly regarded not only by fans, but also by an eclectic who's who of musical artists that includes Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, the Neville Brothers, and B.B. King.

In a recent interview, founding member Jimmy Hayes said it was “divine intervention” that brought the original group together in 1962. Hayes had left Hopewell, Virginia at age 17 to move to New York for a career in show business.

“None of us knew each other. We didn't go to high school together. None of us were New Yorkers,” he said. “We all hung out at the same basketball court. We would play a little basketball and then somebody would hit up a song and everybody would join in.

"Out of all those voices – 25 or 30 guys – you could hear some that knew harmony. So one night, I just said ‘Listen man, this is my address. Why don't you guys stop by my house, and let’s rehearse tonight?’”

Only four guys showed up at Hayes's house that night - those four guys [along with Hayes] became the Persuasions – Jerry Lawson, Joe Russell, Jayotis Washington, and Herbert “Toubo” Rhodes.

“We developed this sound, and it just sounded good,” Hayes says. “Every night we were singing on a street corner or at a subway station and crowds used to gather ’round and tell us, ‘Hey man, you guys don't need no band.’”

The group’s performances moved from street corners and subway stations, to parties, to clubs. Their first commercial break came in 1968. The group was performing at a record store in Jersey City, NJ. The performance was being piped outside to the sidewalk and David Dashev [who later became the group's manager] happened to walk by and hear it. Dashev approached the group, saying he knew a guy in California who might be interested in giving them a recording contract. Dashev made a phone call and asked the Persuasions to sing over the phone. Listening on the other end of the line was Frank Zappa.

Zappa was sent a tape of the group and a few weeks later, the Persuasions were on their way to California to record their first album. Since then, the Persuasions have recorded for a variety of major and independent labels. They have recorded some original songs, but are best known as a group that can cover any style of music. Their catalog includes blues, rock, jazz, country, and tribute albums to the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, and U2.

Occasionally, the Persuasions have even recorded with a full band.

“We recorded a single on United Artist label featuring two original songs that Jayotis wrote,” Hayes said. “The songs were great, but we found that we were singing the same notes that the band was playing. For example, the baseline that the guitar was playing, I was singing. We were just clashing with each other. And over the years there've been a few other record companies that have done a few things with us as far as instrumentation, but they say stick with what you do best, and a cappella is what we do best.”

Since 1962, the Persuasions have only lost two of their original members. Herbert “Toubo” Rhodes passed away in 1988, and Jerry Lawson left group in 2003 to pursue a solo career. Ray Sanders and Reggie Moore have joined Hayes, Russell, and Washington in the group.

In March, the Persuasions plan to head back into the studio to record a new album. While their last few releases have been tributes to individual artists [The Persuasions Sing U2 was released in 2005], Hayes says the group would like to record a variety of covers and original material.

“We are thinking about calling in some of the people we have worked with over the years, and asking them if they would appear on our CD,” he says. “We've played with some beautiful people.”

While a cappella has never enjoyed a mainstream following, Hayes says in recent years he's seen a renewal in its popularity due to its availability on Internet music sites and satellite radio. He says the Persuasions enjoy playing college venues, because it gives them an opportunity to introduce a cappella music to a younger audience.

“At one time, it kind of died out and we kind of revived it,” Hayes says. “If we can attract young kids who are interested in a cappella, I feel that that's a feather in our cap. This is something we've kept alive, and people are beginning to realize the importance of it.”