Future Times
Howe gives us an update on what’s happening in
As with countless other bands, Yes have been somewhat stymied by the coronavirus outbreak, which led to the understandable cancellation of their Cruise To The Edge Caribbean extravaganza, and their tour performing the Relayer album. Howe reveals that the shows have been rescheduled and that there’s talk of live internet performances towards the end of the year.
“We are going to do Relayer next year and we’re very excited as we are sort of set up to do all that. So, it has been put back a year and hopefully we can do something which is similar to what we had originally planned this year. To be honest, this year we can’t really imagine doing anything live but we may be able to get some collaborations going later in the year. We might look at doing something across the internet. That’s not on the cards right now, but it really ought to be. It ought to be something that we’re working towards and we are, albeit very indirectly. Not being able to perform live is a great loss as it is so natural to me and I enjoy the challenge.”
Due to the shutdown of their live shows, Yes do have an unexpectedly large gap in the calendar. With some musicians finding the lockdown a useful space to create new music, and with Yes’ last studio album, Heaven And Earth, being released six years ago, there’s a hope among the fanbase that the band may imminently record new material. Howe remains coy and noncommittal on the subject, but as their history is testament to, with Yes, anything is possible.
Although that doesn’t mean to say that I’m not critical, but I err on the side of fairness if I can.”
Howe’s opening chapter references the band’s 2017 Rock And Roll
Hall Of Fame induction, which, given the involvement of eight of their alumni, wasn’t devoid of drama or underlying animosity. Although the guitarist’s account of that evening may be notably restrained, it’s obvious that those frustrations have lingered in the intervening years.
“I explained in that chapter some of the controversial side of what
Yes was at that point and fortunately it has changed considerably,” he explains. “We have soldiered on through it all and risen above it but basically that wasn’t a simple exercise to go along and play. It had a lot of ramifications and imbalances that we couldn’t totally address, so there was a compromise. I started the book there as it did have a story to tell. It illustrated what you were going to read more about and how Yes managed to keep going. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame directed who should be nominated and that was fairly controversial in itself. It really just became the [1991] Union line-up and we felt that they had missed a few tricks there, as they could have included other people. Originally, Trevor [Rabin] was going to play the bass on Roundabout and I was going to play bass on Owner Of A Lonely Heart. Then Geddy Lee came along and said, ‘I want to play bass on Roundabout,’ and of course we let him do that. So, we had to adjust things a little. Owner Of A Lonely Heart turned into a bit of a fiasco with members walking around the audience playing keyboard guitars and things like that, but that was their choice. I was there, I was on stage, Alan [White] and I saw it through and came out the other end. There was a fair amount of silliness afterwards in interviews and meet and greets, but basically, we did do what we were asked to do. We just got up there and played a couple of songs…”