The upcoming tour.
Message from Billy Sherwood on the Yes page.
Billy Sherwood: A passion never dies. Yes is my passion as it was Chris and so as requested by my friend we go forward as Yes
The upcoming tour.
Message from Billy Sherwood on the Yes page.
Billy Sherwood: A passion never dies. Yes is my passion as it was Chris and so as requested by my friend we go forward as Yes
Best of luck, Billy. Hope the fans are more accepting of you than they usually are of new members.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I'm out. Actually, I was already mostly out, but this seals the deal.
Chad
They'll do fine. Billy Sherwood is a good player and has already been known to have good chemistry with the band.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
No problem. Please let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.Originally Posted by Nearfest2
Yeah me too. There's a point at which it becomes a mediocre tribute band and this seals that deal. I figured this would happen as they never do what I want them to do lol.It is what it is. Hiring 3rd rate guys to be in this band has been the slow death of this band for years. Get top notch guys in there and do something really creative---or let Howe go it alone and play Yes music. And as far as the door hitting us who think Sherwood has done nothing good or exceptional for Yes in his entire time with Yes----we've cleared the door already lol.
I'll be an interested observer, and possibly even a consumer of recorded product (definitely 70s archival stuff), but unless something changes for the better I don't see myself seeing them play live ever again.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
"The upcoming tour.
Message from Billy Sherwood on the Yes page.
Billy Sherwood: A passion never dies. Yes is my passion as it was Chris and so as requested by my friend we go forward as Yes "
There's nothing in that statement that implies his comment is about anything beyond the tour. The fact his first remark is "The upcoming tour" kinda suggests he's just talking about that.
Here we go - the guy kindly steps in for his friend. Chris sadly dies so Billy continues with the band and gets abuse? What is wrong with some people? For the medium term, the band have concert commitments they have to fulfill - should they cancel instead and lose loads of money? Billy was a good friend of Chris and they made music together as Conspiracy. I despair of people on here.
It's not just people on here, it's Yes fans in general. Ironically, they don't like change.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Who legally owns the name "Yes"? I thought it was Chris Squire. So is it his family (wife) that now owns the band name?
If they want to continue I'm all for it. Especially if new music is part of the plan. As crazy as it might sound I'd like to see something like a Union 2 with all Yes alumni making some contributions as sort of a tribute to Chris.
It's awesome how the internet allows you to talk shit about people with actually having to directly address them or put your name behind your words, ain't it? lol.
Billy's very active on Facebook; why don't you have some balls and go insult him directly?
At least Sherwood has an actual Yes pedigree. It's still kinda sorta Yes. I guess.
I'll be at the August 14th show in Huber Heights so we'll see how that goes. Maybe Billy can force them to get those old songs back up to the correct tempos. The last ten years version of a slow motion, old folks Yes has been pretty brutal so my expectations could not be any lower.
The Prog Corner
Sean is correct, we don't know if Billy is talking about anything beyond the tour (though the fact we're debating it reveals how regrettably vague his language is).
But at the same time let's have some perspective here. I don't consider the sentiment that Yes is done to be "abuse". I have all the respect in the world for Billy and what he's taking on. But at some point you just have to put a fork in it, and each of us chooses for ourselves when that point arrives. For some it is now.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
No, he's never solely held the rights to the name. It's been speculated that he, Howe and White have some sort of partnership.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
"Quote Originally Posted by everyday View Post
I despair of people on here.
It's not just people on here, it's Yes fans in general. Ironically, they don't like change."
This is true. If you despair for the comments you see here I'd hate to see what the Yesfans at Facebook do to your disposition. This place is a civil cakewalk in comparison. Just because someone says they don't care for a lineup does not make them a basher. Get a little perspective, please.
Absolutely. I wouldn't deny anyone the opportunity to stop listening to a band they no longer enjoy. But that can be done without being a dick. Unfortunately, it was decided long ago that the internet was a great tool for being a dick, so I guess the more properly socialized among us just have to deal with it.
How about just not posting in a thread about Yes continuing with Billy? Is that so difficult? Really, is it that difficult to let an opportunity to post something insulting or snarky pass?
So for anyone to say, "sorry, man, I know Chris just passed, but really I don't have any interest in the band without him, in fact, I really haven't had much interest in the band since their classic 70s days", that there is something wrong with that? IMHO, possible shared by others, Yes' biggest "mistake" is that they've always felt the need to keep the banner flying. Again, not a knock to anyone that's continued to have interest in what's been released as Yes music, but just because it has Yes on the label, doesn't make it my Yes, or mean that I am somehow disrespecting Yes by not liking it. They got a big catalog of work. Some of it's good, some of it not. That's simple.
As for Sherwood, I don't really like most of his "Yes" material, and yes, I told him that at a Progfest in LA back in the 90s!
Sorry for the edit. In some ways, knocking it on the head after the tour, and reinventing it as something like Yes New Era may give a fresher start. I still like the idea of gathering up the surviving members and doing something special, but no re-recordings! Ugh!
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
Bah! I, for one, completely refuse to support this new Yes lineup!
Unless they produce music I like, that is.
Are you addressing me? I was taking issue with the tone of the responses, and your example - "Sorry Man, I know Chris just passed..." - is a good example of someone not being a dick, so no, there would be nothing wrong with that.
I also don't want to argue with you because you're last statement is how I feel as well, and I really hope they do shake things up and continue forward with new music.
Perhaps, I was following the thread... I really didn't take issue with what Chad wrote, in fact, it hit the nail on the head for me.
Again, it's great for people to have opinions about Yes and music in general. I've said it a thousand times, but I can mostly glean more from why people don't like things than rah-rah-rah-ing about how great stuff it. Yes has suffered from this "they can do no wrong" attitude (again imho), and a lot of people have been apologists about albums that were really not that great, especially when held up to Yes' legacy.
I like Yes, it was my first love so to speak. I've listened to everything at least once (except for the last album and most of the live stuff post 2000). I want to like what they do, but it's also easy to walk away from it and say, goodbye. I've still to their debut and Time & a Word that I'll never tire of!
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
They don't??!! Boy, did they choose the wrong band to be fans of. Never did a band more appropriately have a song called 'Changes'.
Or "Perpetual Change"!
You see it, don't whine.
Does calling someone a "3rd rate guy" qualify?
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
I haven't really been interested in Yes since the early 2000's (the last thing I actually liked quite a bit was the Keys albums.......though even with those, the live material lacked the fire that I always associated with live Yes). However, as a prog fan, it's pretty much impossible to not follow their activities whether you like them or not (well, for me and my prog interests, anyway). Fly From Here wasn't terrible, but it seemed like geriatric prog to me, a style which they seem to have perfected on Heaven And Earth. Anyway, just my opinion.
As to Sherwood carrying on with Yes (whether just to finish the touring commitments or long term), I say good for him. I don't like anything I've ever heard that he was involved in, but I know he and Squire were very close friends and that Squire gave him his blessing. Also, if the other members want to carry on, then that is their decision and I certainly am in no position to argue with them (and Squire seems to have wanted this anyway, based on statements he's made over the years). I won't be listening, but I'm sure many still will.
I do like the idea mentioned earlier of all the surviving Yes alumni getting together to make a special tribute Yes album for Chris (ideally, all new music). I think if they used that (and maybe a tour) as a way to retire the band name, that would be very fitting and proper. Regardless, they will do what they are going to do and I will criticize or praise it as I see fit (as we all will, I assume), and my opinion will continue to have no bearing on what any of them decide to do. However, it seems the purpose of this site and these threads, is to allow us all to "have our say" on various prog related topics. So I don't see any problem with anything that has been posted so far. I guess I might not be a good moderator then
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