New Rolling Stone Tony Kaye interview

[luvyesmusic]

I didn't see this posted anywhere else so here's a new Rolling Stone interview with my favorite YES-man of all time, Mr. Tony Kaye. Covers a lot of YES history and so much more.

I always mess with Tony a bit whenever I see him, he makes me laugh, and he got me back a bit last time I saw him. Which made me laugh even more. Love the coolest man in YES.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...bowie-1125288/

[julioscissors]

Thanks for the link. What's with Rolling Stone and all these good interviews recently?

[luvyesmusic]

I thought Rolling Stone had become the new Sear's catalogue for the outhouse. ;-) Honestly, I've only looked at R.S. in the dentist's waiting room 2-3 times in the last 10-15 years. It's become worse than the R&RHOF.

You can say what you want about your phone and algorithms, but sometimes it just works.

[Paulrus]

Thanks for the link. What's with Rolling Stone and all these good interviews recently?

My theory is they've run the numbers and it's progheads who actually still spend money on music. Plus, we actually have pretty diverse tastes beyond just prog, so they look at us as this awesome demographic that they want to lure in because we support their advertising revenue. Hence the shift toward prog-friendly content.

[calyx]

Great read. Tony sounds like a guy I'd enjoy having a chat with.

[Rarebird]

Interesting interview, though my prefered Yes keyboard-player is Rick Wakeman. But well, I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to use synthesizers.

[arturs]

I really enjoyed this. Kaye seems like a true character. An lol moment was when he says he had no problem leaving Yes in 1983 because he was making money selling T-shirts at a "swap meet." Quite a career change.

[SteveSly]

Really enjoyed this one. Thanks for posting. I had forgotten he was involved in some of the projects he was in. I really enjoyed his appearance at the Yes tour last time around. The show was the best I had seen them in many years.

[starless and bible black]

Very good interview with Tony Kaye. I see that he had to sign away his royalties with he left Yes in 1971 (just like Bill Bruford would do when he left the band in '72). Thanks to luvyesmusic for posting.

[gearHed289]

Wow, that was great and very entertaining. What a cool guy. One great quote after another in that interview. Thanks for sharing, I wanna hang out with Tony now!

[Vic2012]

Interesting interview.

[GuitarGeek]

I liked his comment about opening for Kiss, with Detective

It was horrible. We were booed off every night. An entire 20 rows of children dressed as Gene Simmons. It couldn’t be worse.

[Vic2012]

He mentioned that he and Trevor Horn didn't get along. He doesn't elaborate. Wonder what happened there.

[chescorph]

I would love to know why there was such a delay between 90125 and BG. Seems like one of the biggest fails in Yes’ history, and there have been a few.

[Paulrus]

He mentioned that he and Trevor Horn didn't get along. He doesn't elaborate. Wonder what happened there.

Paging Henry and Aymeric. But I think it had to do with the more technical and aesthetic side of they keyboard role. But who knows. Maybe Tony had B.O. Or was crushing him every time they played tennis.

[Vic2012]

Paging Henry and Aymeric. But I think it had to do with the more technical and aesthetic side of they keyboard role. But who knows. Maybe Tony had B.O. Or was crushing him every time they played tennis.

I was gonna yell for Henry and Aymeric too...... One of those two should know. Oh Henry.........

[Vic2012]

But I think it had to do with the more technical and aesthetic side of the keyboard role.

Yeah Tony was happy playing Hammond organ and f*** synthesizers. I'm good with that.

[GuitarGeek]

I would love to know why there was such a delay between 90125 and BG. Seems like one of the biggest fails in Yes’ history, and there have been a few.

Maybe Jon Anderson was "waiting for the right time" to do another Yes record.

[timmy]

I would love to know why there was such a delay between 90125 and BG. Seems like one of the biggest fails in Yes’ history, and there have been a few.

They toured a lot during that period. Cash in deluxe.

[ThomasKDye]

Interesting interview, though my prefered Yes keyboard-player is Rick Wakeman. But well, I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to use synthesizers.

"Well, Rick’s a comedian, as you probably know, and nothing is ever that serious with Rick. He wasn’t drinking or being bad and naughty at that time. He had turned over a new leaf, but he’s still a really fun guy. If you can believe it, we’d never met. So meeting up in Pensacola was really something. And we got on really well."

One of my favorite parts of the Union tour documentary was a bit where Tony Kaye, leaning over the stage with Rick Wakeman, is showing the camera a small crawlspace with a keyboard rig in it. He says something like "That's where I'm sleeping tonight. It's a pity I have to share it with someone else," and Rick, without missing a beat, says "Yes, but I hope to move out soon." Totally cracked me up and showed the easy camaraderie between the two.

(It's been several years since I've seen this, so I'm paraphrasing.)

Never mind! Here it is. Still funny:

[GuitarGeek]

They toured a lot during that period. Cash in deluxe.

They toured during 1984 and the beginning of 85. Jon Anderson did a solo album, and there was the Esquire album, which Chris and Alan guested on. I suspect there was a lot of back and forth between Jon, Trevor Rabin, and the record company over the music. I know Chris said in the Yesyears documentary that the and Alan recorded the rhythm tracks "approximately 21 months before the rest of it got sorted".

[GuitarGeek]

One of my favorite parts of the Union tour documentary was a bit where Tony Kaye, leaning over the stage with Rick Wakeman, is showing the camera a small crawlspace with a keyboard rig in it. He says something like "That's where I'm sleeping tonight. It's a pity I have to share it with someone else," and Rick, without missing a beat, says "Yes, but I hope to move out soon." Totally cracked me up and showed the easy camaraderie between the two.

I've got a VHS tape with a bunch of outtakes from the Yesyears documentary, one of them being that very piece which is actually longer than what you see there. The camera starts off on the other side of the stage, and sort of zeroes on Rick, whose doing one of these BBC style "documentary" things, ya know where the host starts talking, then walks in from off camera, about 50 feet away and the camera comes toward the host, who continues talking. Well, that's what happens here. At first you can't hear what Rick is saying, but as the camera (and boom mic) get closer, you hear him talking about how Tony's homeless state, having been evicted from his apartment in LA. He then taps Tony on the shoulder or something like that, and explains "Oh, I've been telling the viewers about how you've been living under the stage here in Pensacola". Then Tony goes into the bit you mentioned. When Rick says, "But I am planning to move out soon", he then does this "Speak no evil" move with his hand covering his face, and walks away.

Another great bit is, the bit where he says "If I show a Coca Cola can do you think send me some, because nobody gives me sod all these days!", he then points down to his shoes, which I think were Reeboks, and I forget what else Rick mentions.

And then there's the bit where he's being asked about the songs for the Greatest Video Hits VHS comp, where he talks about Wonderous Stories, Don't Kill The Whale, and I think Madrigal. Then he starts reading the list, and gets to a song he can't read the title..."What does that say? Fart the lamb?", the director guy looks at it and says "That's Into The Lens". Rick says, "Never heard of it, didn't play on it". Then he goes to the next song, "Tempus Fugit? What's that? The inscription on a watch?" He then asks, "What album were those on?", director says, "Drama", Rick says, "Well no wonderI don't know those ones. That was one of the albums I wasn't invited to play on". Then comes Owner Of A Lonely Heart, "Wasn't on it, would have loved to have been on it. My bank manager would have loved for me to have been on it as well", then talks about Rabin for a bit. Then he goes the rest of the songs, all stuff from 90125 and Big Generator, each one he says he wasn't on, and he rips a bit off the list, making like he's getting more and more agitated. Finally he tears up the entire list, and says "WHAT A BLOODY WASTE THAT WAS!", makes like he's about to storm off, then laughs. Then the guy says "Oh, I got two more songs, Yours Is No Disgrace and And You And I". Rick says, "I wasn't on Yours Is No Disgrace", but then launches into the little spiel that it's in the docuemntary, where he says he plays the songs that Tony originally recorded differently to what Tony played, and vice versa.

There's also a great reel with Bill Bruford where he's talking about the early stuff, talking about how "There's peopel who put on 20 year old Yes albums and marvel at them. I'm not one of them", and insisting he's really a jazz musician who "got sucked into rock", among other very nice bon mots.

[Trane]

Thanks for the link. What's with Rolling Stone and all these good interviews recently?

My first thought, even before reading it, really!!

Interesting interview, though my prefered Yes keyboard-player is Rick Wakeman. But well, I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to use synthesizers.

Well, though I can understand the anti-synth stance, he's a bit obtuse about them as well... He gets it wrong twice about the mellotrons (saying a.o. , it was brand new in 69/70)...

Though I would probably side up with TK against TH (and GD), coz of the way those two buggled up keyboards during the 80's. No difficult to understand how those two didn't get along.

Really enjoyed this one. Thanks for posting. I had forgotten he was involved in some of the projects he was in. I really enjoyed his appearance at the Yes tour last time around. The show was the best I had seen them in many years.

I didn't know he'd played with Bowie and there was no mention of Flash.

Never heard of that Circa project either, but then again, it's not like I've been paying any attention at all ever since Magnification.

[Dan Roth]

I didn't know he'd played with Bowie and there was no mention of Flash.

I thought for as deep as a dive this piece did on his post-Yes projects, I was surprised that there was no mention of Flash, especially when Tony brought up that he fought for Peter Banks to be included in the HOF. Seemed like Flash wouldn't have been something he would have minded talking about. Maybe the interviewer was unaware of them.

Again, for as many details that they got into, it would have been cool if he was asked about his solo album that never was released (He was signed to a solo deal with Cinema Records).

Otherwise, a great piece. Thanks for sharing!

[GuitarGeek]

My first thought, even before reading it, really!!



Well, though I can understand the anti-synth stance, he's a bit obtuse about them as well... He gets it wrong twice about the mellotrons (saying a.o. , it was brand new in 69/70)...

Though I would probably side up with TK against TH (and GD), coz of the way those two buggled up keyboards during the 80's. No difficult to understand how those two didn't get along.



I didn't know he'd played with Bowie and there was no mention of Flash.

He did just the one tour with Bowie, I don't think Tony ever played on any of the albums, beyond the Nassau Coliseum thign that was released like 30 years later.

As far as the absence of any Flash discussion, it's possible they did talk about Flash, but it got edited out along the way, maybe because who's ever at the top of the masthead these days thought the article was too long or something.