Yes practically invented prog-rock, and are renowned for their superior musicianship. After many lineup changes over the years, the band today comprises drummer Alan White, vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe.
RUG’s U.K counterpart, PowerOn magazine, spoke to the band collectively just before they embarked on their 35th anniversary world tour.

You’ve been at the top of the progressive rock scene for over three decades. How have you achieved this?

The Band: We take as much care in selecting sounds for our songs in as much as everything else that we do. Every member of the band tries to add his own unique characteristic to a sound; this makes it different from the norm. People have a tendency to stick to one tone for all of their song creations. We try to be different in every song, even if it is only by a subtle amount to separate it from the rest of our material. The fact that we are all into different things. . . . Steve is jazz oriented and his sounds are unusual. Rick is classically based. Jon is what we call a world listener; he’ll listen to 14 Zulus under water with frogmen’s outfits on, but will find something in there and pull it out as a positive thing. Chris is into very unusual playing. Alan is a true rock ’n’ roll drummer. We are the most unlikely group of five people that you could put in a band, but it all knits nicely and it seems to have worked over the past 30 years.

Living so far apart from each other, how do you get new material together?

The Band: We have mainly concentrated on playing more together in the last two-and-a-half years, and have toured a lot, so we managed to scribble down some ideas while touring.

Steve Howe: I used the [Roland] VS-2480 to get some ideas together back home in Devon. This is a great tool to have in my collection, as I can burn my ideas on to CD directly and then either post them to the guys or send them via email as MP3 attachments.

Does the band have a preconceived idea of how the songs will sound, or do you let the technology dictate this?

The Band: We write the music without using great sounds. Our thinking is that if you write with a great sound, you can be fooled that what you are writing is good material. Lots of people buy new products, get them home for the first time and flick through the patches, find a good patch and then start writing songs using that preset. You have to be careful . . . it is an even balance of good writing and sound selection. It can sound great just because the sound is good, not because it is a great piece of music. David Bowie, to give you a classic example, writes everything on a battered 12-string guitar. His argument is that if it can sound great on a basic instrument, then when the latest sounds are added it can only lift it to the next level. That’s why we stick to our basic sounds of acoustic guitar and piano.

Rick Wakeman: I do most of my writing in Tenerife where I live for 70% of the year. In my house I have a small music room with a Roland RD piano and I keep going back to this instrument to write material, as I find the product does not cheat me into thinking that things sound good. All of Return To The Centre Of The Earth, which ended up including the London Symphony Orchestra, was written using that RD piano. The songs that we create are normally 75% complete before we start paying any attention to the sounds that we will use.

Do you keep on top of new technology as and when it develops?

The Band: We’re lucky in as much as we all have good techs that look at the new gear as it develops, so we can bypass a lot of material that wouldn’t be suitable for the band. It is in our best interest to keep developing new sounds, and spending two hours with a good tech can be like spending two weeks with your head in a manual.

Steve Howe: When I got the [Roland] VG-88, I was worried that the technology would get the better of me, but after sitting down and playing with the product for an hour or so, I began to realize that the processes in sound creation haven’t really altered. The technology has advanced to where we can manipulate or model other sounds such as in Roland’s COSM products, but it is how we use these products to create material that is the vital part.

How do you mentally and physically prepare to go on stage before a show . . . do you have a routine?

The Band: Well, not the routines we used to do, because at our age the groupies aren’t around. Those were the good warm-up days, especially if they looked gorgeous. Nowadays our sights are a lot lower. If they’ve got their own hip we’re happy. Mental preparation? Well, we are all mental in the band so we don’t need to do a lot. We tend to start focusing in on the show around 20 minutes prior to going on stage and start concentrating on the music, blocking out everything else because every one of us has other things going on in our lives, but we don’t need to take them on stage with us.

Is Yes a democracy or is there a dictator in the band?

The Band: Yes is a democracy that doesn’t work because nobody can agree on anything. This band is the only band that can have a meeting to decide when to have a meeting. Because we are all scattered around the world, the closest person can be 1,200 miles away, so we often have conference calls. Earlier this year we had a conference call to decide when we could have a conference call to have a conference call about this tour. That is how Yes works!

The Yes album covers are renowned for their artwork. How did the collaboration with Roger Dean come about?

The Band: Steve was the first to spot the artwork, and commented that it was Yes music in paintings. So we all met Roger and it was the weirdest thing, as he had managed to capture our thoughts and material in his artwork. We have worked together ever since, and Roger has designed the stage set for this 35th anniversary tour. It is actually like playing in an inflatable Yes album cover. He is a very clever guy . . . looks like a bank manager though!

How would you say the music industry has changed since you first got together as a band?

The Band: We class ourselves as being lucky, because when we first started, the instruments allowed us to be individualistic. There was no such thing as preset sounds, and when we bought an instrument, we spent the first six hours trying to get a sound out of it. If we got it to fart, we used it. If we found a sound that we liked, we twiddled and played with the settings and then that sound was ours because there was no such thing as presets, and we had to then remember where each setting was so we could access it again. This allowed early musicians to have an identifiable sound, so it was a great era to be involved in. It also gave us a great opportunity to work with many of the music-industry manufacturers about new product ideas. Today’s industry is fast-paced and more about commercial benefit. We continuously say to people that to give yourself a fighting chance there are two things you have to do. Number one is to be honest with yourself: Set yourself a goal that is achievable and play to that level. Number two: Differ your sound and playing style from the norm. This makes you unique and more noticeable.

Today, 35 years later, are you still as passionate and enthusiastic about making music and touring together as you were when you began?

The Band: We all enjoy going on stage, even though it is not as easy as it used to be. The band plays better and tighter now than ever, and this is the result of technology helping us. In the early days we used to go on stage and wonder how much of the gear would actually be left working by the end of the show, because the products weren’t as robust as today’s. The newer products that we use have helped us to perform the older material to a better standard than was possible when we first hit the road.

As regards touring, this is a killer and it is not easy. We are not spring chickens anymore, even though we do all look after ourselves quite well. We all get tired a lot easier when touring, but when you walk on stage, the old adrenaline kicks in and it is like running a race where you don’t feel that tiredness until you’ve stopped running.

What does the future hold for Yes?

The Band: We are well aware that musically we can carry on doing lots of things while people want to hear us and see us play . . . and there is no reason that that shouldn’t happen. The thing that will stop this band from doing exactly that is health, which is a terrible thing to say. Last year Jon fell off a ladder and broke his back and was out of action for five months, and that really hit home . . . we are not immortal. We can see that the future will continue for Yes, but at a much slower pace, and it will only be a health thing that will stop us from performing. When that day will arrive is anyone’s guess, but for now we will enjoy it while we still have the chance.