The latest from Brian Lane, despicable hatchet man for ARW

[Impman]

This dude is a ghastly scumbag. Anything for a buck. I can't believe the ARW guys allow him to do this...

With both Yes and the splinter band fronted by original lead singer Jon Anderson planning to tour this summer, Brian Lane, the manager for Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman, has issued a challenge to Yes to publicize the fact that the current incarnation has no original members. This afternoon, we received an e-mail with the following statement from Lane.

“It would help prevent confusion among the fan base if the other Yes band would identify their key members as we have,” it read. “If you just want to see the original Yes this summer, Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman is the band for you.”

The e-mail continues by saying that Lane “wants to make it clear, under no uncertain terms, that Jon Anderson is the co-founder and the original creative soul of of the band Yes and is not a member in the band that is touring under the name Yes for the Yestival Summer 2017 Tour.”

Read More: Yes (Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman) Manager Challenges 'The Other Yes Band' to 'Identify Their Key Members' | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/yes-b...ckback=tsmclip

[timmy]

Coke or Pepsi. It's your choice.

[Jubal]

Of course, if you LOVED those first two yes albums, then by all means see ARW. I believe most fans agree that Yes really did not hit their stride until Steve Howe replaced Peter Banks. It can also be argued that Yes went even that much further once Rick replaced Tony Banks.
For me, I wouldn't go see either unless I was given free tickets.
It is sad to see them fighting like this. It could be worse, though. One of the groups could receive a cease and desist order from the group that actually owns the Yes band brandmark.
For the record, is that Steve Howe and Alan White?

[dnieper]

Here are my tallies-
Anderson was on 18 Yes studio albums
Rabin was on 4 Yes studio albums
Wakeman was on 8 Yes studio albums
Total for ARW: 30

Howe was on 16 Yes studio albums
White was on 16 Yes studio albums
Downes was on 3 Yes studio albums
Sherwood was on 2 Yes studio albums
Davison was on 1 Yes studio album
Total for Official Yes: 38
Official Yes might deserve additional credit for having Squire's authorized successor too, but then again maybe they lose some points since White is often replaced by Schellen.

[Mister Triscuits]

With both Yes and the splinter band fronted by original lead singer Jon Anderson

Yeah, that's going to be an impartial report.

[2steves]

neither is a proper Yes---there's a hole in my heart when I look at both lineups---so I will pass on both----unless I get free tickets as someone already said--Howe and Anderson are Yes and they are in different bands--
it is what it is ---although I am surprised how far they are taking it being Jon is the fake peace and love guy that he is---I have ZERO interest in hearing any Yes west material live----and rabin can't play Howe's parts or doesn't want to ---so I enjoy still listening to Yessongs, Yesshows, Live in Montreaux , Keys and any classic Yes bootleg.

[nycsteve]

Of the 2 ARW is of more interest to me. But when they passed through town I didn't fork over the bucks to see them, indicating a limited interest.

[Roth-Handle Studios]

I am Yes and so is my wife.

[ThomasKDye]

So bizarre, considering how often Steve Howe jumped when Lane snapped his fingers back in the day. Or so it seemed to me.

[Facelift]

This dude is a ghastly scumbag. Anything for a buck. I can't believe the ARW guys allow him to do this...

With both Yes and the splinter band fronted by original lead singer Jon Anderson planning to tour this summer, Brian Lane, the manager for Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman, has issued a challenge to Yes to publicize the fact that the current incarnation has no original members. This afternoon, we received an e-mail with the following statement from Lane.

Neither is a legitimate version of Yes, but kudos to Brian Lane for shining a light on the particularly fraudulent stunt that is Steve Howe's Covers Band insisting that they be called "Yes," when you've got Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman ready, willing and available to play Yes music, but not allowed in the band.

[strawberrybrick]

There's a lot of other concerts that will command my money than either of these circus acts. I have some great memories of seeing Yes in the 70s and beyond, plus lot of CDs, DVDs, etc. Oh, and those great clips on Youtube. Carry on.

[bRETT]

I've seen the official Yes referred to often enough (including here) as "the band with Steve Howe'," so what Lane is proposing ins;'t all that different.

[Paulrus]

It can also be argued that Yes went even that much further once Rick replaced Tony Banks.

Um...

[Mister Triscuits]

He meant Peter Kaye.

[yamishogun]

He meant Peter Kaye.

Sigh... it is Antonio Kaye. And you call yourselves Yes fans?

[Mister Triscuits]

And you call yourselves Yes fans?

Oh hell no! Not in public, anyway.

[dmarkfie]

Antics like this and prior remarks from Anderson and Wakeman really are turning me off from them. What miserable petty little human beings. All this constant back-biting sure doesn't make me want to support them. And that's a real shame because as musicians I enjoy what they offer.

[mozo-pg]

This whole topic is old territory. Go to the show or not depending on who you like more.

[arturs]

IMHO what Lane is doing is really stupid. The most likely outcome is that he will make more people realize that neither band has very much legitimacy in terms of their current lineups. Yeah, he makes Howe & Co. look bad, but ARW don't look so hot either when held up in the spotlight like this.

[Scott Bails]

Antics like this and prior remarks from Anderson and Wakeman really are turning me off from them. What miserable petty little human beings. All this constant back-biting sure doesn't make me want to support them. And that's a real shame because as musicians I enjoy what they offer.

Yep. Exactly.

IMHO what Lane is doing is really stupid. The most likely outcome is that he will make more people realize that neither band has very much legitimacy in terms of their current lineups. Yeah, he makes Howe & Co. look bad, but ARW don't look so hot either when held up in the spotlight like this.

No, he only makes himself and his band (ARW) look bad. Yes seems to be staying above the fray with all of this.

[Mister Triscuits]

Yeah, he makes Howe & Co. look bad, but ARW don't look so hot either when held up in the spotlight like this.

To me ARW's advantage in that respect is undeniable, due to the presence of a) the only founding member in either band; b) the single most recognizable element of the classic Yes sound (Anderson's voice); and c) the personality most recognizable to the general public (Wakeman). Where they fall down is that they aren't really a full band. Despite the noises they've made in the press about the rhythm section guys being equal members, the whole ARW billing leaves the other guys anonymous, and they've already had one replacement in and out recently. So Steve Howe's band comes off as a more or less credible incarnation of Yes the band, while ARW comes off as a three-man supergroup touring with back-up musicians.

[JJ88]

"ARW is truly a five piece band and Louis Molino III and Lee Pomeroy are worthy members of ARW both being astonishing players. It’s certainly the finest line up performing YES music that I’ve ever been a part of and to see Jon singing in front of us was very special. I truly felt he had come home."

http://www.rwcc.com/gorr_1609.asp

For what Wakeman claims is "certainly the finest line up performing Yes music that I've ever been a part of" (!), you would think 'the other two' would be put to the forefront instead of being unbilled sidemen.

[Adinfinitum]

I hate to say this, but Rabin is the weakest link in ARW. Pomeroy is a monster player, both with Hackett and ARW. His Fish homage using a Kemper Profiler and looper to recreate all the bass tracks in the Original Fish was extremely cool.

Now, if SH joined ARW - that would be powerful. Sorry Trevor (I hate to be critical since i think we are all too hard on these amazing musicians) but your interpretation of SH's definitive guitar parts is not up to snuff. While you don't have to play note for note, you gotta come a little closer. For,example, play a frickin 12 string on Awaken and AYAI. As i said after seeing ARW, i didn't mind a little updating/re-interpretation of some 45 year old songs (Yikes, that is a long time), but some parts were just off (but some were cool).. Obviously on his material, everything was great, even his vocals got in shape by by show.

[brianh]

Neither is a legitimate version of Yes, but kudos to Brian Lane for shining a light on the particularly fraudulent stunt that is Steve Howe's Covers Band insisting that they be called "Yes," when you've got Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman ready, willing and available to play Yes music, but not allowed in the band.

My sentiment exactly.

[JKL2000]

I am Yes and so is my wife.

That pretty much sums it up. My six cats have as much claim to the Yes mantle as either of these bands.

I can sort of see what Jon Anderson is thinking except it took him a long time to get around to it. And I think if Jon and Rick were touring with Joe Blough on guitar it wouldn't be any less Yes than with Rabin. I don't think Yes having Howe and and White makes it more legit than ARW.

But if either band would actually play a decent amount of material they recorded without the others I'd be more interested in them. I actually would be more interested to see Yes play music from their last two albums than classics.