Best known for his innovative and unique guitar work with YES and FLASH, as well as his own critically acclaimed solo albums, guitar legend PETER BANKS passed away at his home in London on March 8th.
Former BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has written a poem in his memory.
Says Ward: “Because of the seemingly bleak circumstances and limited information about the death of Peter Banks, I reacted quite sadly to the news and felt driven to write this poem.
A Poem for Peter Banks
How can this be
I didn’t plan for it to be like this
Mine was a far more grandiose end.
Aloneness in life
Aloneness in death
Who will say a kind word,
Have I pushed you all away, so much I cannot be recognized
Will no one stand for me, now, in these moments of closure, and passing.
It isn’t cold anymore,
And hunger has left me
My predicaments still undone in life, are somehow in death solved.
I can no longer hear silence, is there no one to champion me
One voice will be enough
I’m worth something, it’ll mean everything to me
Dark shadows betray me not, seek another in ruin, to commit your slanderous verbiage upon
Leave me, rant and drag down and complete your next victim’s demise
Your emptiness is un-radiant.
No matter what I’ve done
Or who I became
When one voice speaks
The loneliness cannot circle me
When one voice validates me
I can rest in peace”
Rock legends YES will perform three of their classic albums in their entirety, all in one concert, on a special tour in 2013: 1971’s The Yes Album, 1972’s Close To The Edge and 1977’s Going For The One. Music audiences will experience the albums, each representing an important milestone in YES’ career, performed from beginning to end. Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited recently caught up with drummer Alan White to discuss the endeavour An excerpt from the interview is available below:
Jeb: How did the idea come up and are you sure you can pull this off?
Alan: “It will be a piece of cake because we are all spry young guys (laughter). I am looking forward to it. We are reliving the time frame of when we made each album.”
Jeb: How did you decide on what albums to play?
Alan: “It took a couple of emails, but we all new exactly the right thing to do. The Yes Album, we’ve played a lot of those songs in concert for a while, Going for the One, not so much. Close to the Edge speaks for itself.”
Jeb: This is not THE MONKEES, you are playing Yes music, which is very complex.
Alan: “You have to have your wits about you, that is for sure. There is a lot of intricate playing and there are a lot of things to memorize. At the same time, it is kind of like riding a bicycle. It is a difficult task to play all of this stuff on stage, but everybody is involved.”
Jeb: Rumor has it Yes is recording a new album.
Alan: “We are thinking about it, let’s put it that way. I wouldn’t jump the gun too much. It is a possibility. We are all thinking about it and we have some ideas to make a new album. I’ve got ideas about what is should be, as does everyone. It will happen when it happens.”
The multi-platinum progressive rock band – bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Jon Davison – will kick off the North American tour March 1st and conclude April 12th in Detroit.
After starting in West Wendover, Nevada, the historic trek continues down the West Coast including stops in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles before heading east for shows in New York, Toronto, Detroit and more. See the full itinerary below.
The tour will mark the first time since 1973 that YES – who have sold close to 50 million albums worldwide – have performed an album onstage in its entirety.
Steve Howe says, “These albums we all easily agreed on – they are complete works in themselves,” adding that several of the songs have rarely been performed live. “I believe the only song not performed in concert is ‘A Venture’ from The Yes Album,” says Chris Squire. “And probably the most tricky of all the songs planned for this set is ‘Turn Of The Century’ from the Going For The One album.” Alan White believes “This is a great opportunity to show the growth of YES in these different eras – and to relive the memories of these times.”
The Yes Album is widely considered to be the band’s breakthrough album. Certified platinum, it features such signature songs as ‘Yours Is No Disgrace’ and ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’. The band’s album Close To The Edge was on the U. charts for 32 weeks, peaking at #3. Going For The One went gold, hit #8 on the US chart and featured two singles, ‘Wonderous Stories’ (which hit #6) and the title track (#24).
“I think the 12-inch album is alive and well as reinforced by the rising interest in the analog format,” says Squire when asked about the album format in the singles-driven digital age. The album, says Howe, “has never totally gone away – there are those who completely understand.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance. Moreover, YES is proud to provide special show packages, which include near-stage seating, a meet and greet with the band, exclusive limited-edition gifts from YES, and much more.
Tour dates:
March
1 – West Wendover, NV – Peppermill Concert Hall *
3 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
5 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
6 – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre
8 – Temecula, CA – Pechanga Theater (at Pechanga Casino)
9 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Casino *
14 – Omaha, NE – Holland Performing Arts Center
16 – Hammond, IN – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
17 – Louisville, KY – Palace Theatre
18 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland by AMC
20 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
21 – Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre
22 – Biloxi, MS – Hard Rock Live – Biloxi *
24 – Hollywood, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena *
30 – Melbourne, FL – Maxwell C. King Center for the Perf. Arts
April
2 – Clearwater, FL – Ruck Eckerd Hall
5 – Mashantucket, CT – MGM Grand at Foxwoods *
6 – Hampton, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
7 – Bethlehem, PA – Sands Bethlehem Event Center
9 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
11 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
12 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
* – YES will only be performing two albums – The Yes Album and Close To The Edge – for shows at casinos due to the time constrictions of events held there.
Purple Pyramid will release a collection of original rock-jazz fusion numbers entitled The Fusion Syndicate, on October 16th.
The album features performances by members of such fusion greats as: BILLY COBHAM, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, YELLOWJACKETS, and SPYRO GYRA, plus rock/prog players from: YES, DREAM THEATER, KING CRIMSON, TOOL, PORCUPINE TREE, HAWKWIND and more.
The track ‘Stone Cold Fusion’ can be heard at this location.
The album was composed, assembled and produced by Billy Sherwood (YES, TOTO).
Sherwood commented: “When I was asked to write and produce a fusion record I jumped at the chance. I’ve always had a deep love of Jazz and Fusion music having grown up listening to WEATHER REPORT, RETURN TO FOREVER, MAHAVISHNU among many others in the genre. The record has become a musical dream team, including some of the world’s most renowned players in the field. The music reflects a time when virtuosity was the standard and incredible musicianship was the order of the day – each artist sharing their talent and skill, blending it all into a bigger musical picture, creating an amazing expression of unity and purpose.”
Tracklisting is as follows:
‘Random Acts Of Science’ – Rick Wakeman (Yes), Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Nik Turner (Hawkwind), Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets, Alan Holdsworth)
‘Stone Cold Infusion’ – Steve Stevens, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT), Mel Collins (King Crimson), Colin Edwin (PORCUPINE TREE), Billy Cobham (Mahavishnu Orchestra)
‘Molecular Breakdown’ – Jay Beckenstein (Spyro Gyra), Billy Sheehan (STEVE VAI), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), David Sancious (THE E STREET BAND)
‘Particle Accelerations’ – Larry Coryell, Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), Eric Marienthal (CHICK COREA ELEKTRIC BAND), Chester Thompson (GENESIS, BRAND X)
‘At The Edge Of The Middle’ – Steve Morse (DIXIE DREGS), Jim Beard (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Randy Brecker (BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS), Percy Jones (SOFT MACHINE, Brand X)
‘Atom Smashing’ – John Etheridge (Soft Machine), Tony Kaye (Yes), Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa)
‘In The Spirit Of…’ – Steve Hillage (GONG), Scott Kinsey (TRIBAL TECH), Theo Travis (STEVEN WILSON BAND), Justin Chancellor (TOOL), Asaf Sirkis (THE ORIENT HOUSE ENSEMBLE)
Lion Music has set a September 16 release date for GRÖNHOLM‘s sophomore album, “Silent Out Loud”. Featuring 10 tracks full of infectious vocal melodies over dynamic musical backdrops, the CD is an impressive collection of songcraft topped off with a powerful production and mix.
GRÖNHOLM is built around the songwriting skills of Mika Grönholm (guitar, bass and keyboards), with vocals once again handled by Markku Kuikka (STATUS MINOR) and drums from Tom Rask. This core trio of musicians is joined by “special guests” Billy Sherwood (ex-YES) and Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH, TAROT), who add some extra dynamics to backing vocals, and in the case of Sherwood, help add his trademark lush “YES-style” vocal harmony sheen to the likes of “Out From The Nest”, among others.
While the new offering, aside from a greater emphasis on guitar, has a sound not too dissimilar to its well-received predecessor, “Eyewitness Of Life”, it sees Mika take a heavier approach to his songwriting, utilizing a downtuned B tuning for all stringed instruments. Mika comments, “All the songs on ‘Silent Out Loud’ are tuned down to low B. Sometimes B-tuning is used for roaring vocals or lighting fast guitar parts, but no, not this time. With this tuning I was seeking more power and energy to my riffs.”
“Silent Out Loud”‘s first six tracks are all up-tempo numbers where the new tuning is given a fine showing between the hard rock riffs with some prog-influenced melodies.
As the album nears its conclusion, we see an instrumental offering in “Giant Step”, which clears the minds palette for the acoustic flavor that is heard on the final three tracks, with album finale, “Away”, also getting an orchestral arrangement.
Lyrically, Mika Gronhölm drew on “silent” thoughts in his head and once put onto paper in lyric form become “out loud,” hence the album’s title.
Writing for “Silent Out Loud” began in May 2010 and was completed four months later. Mika‘s approach was to “simply sit down and record riffs and ideas to an mp3 player and those riffs that maintain attention on repeated plays get worked on into bodies of songs.” Once the tracks had taken shape, the recordings took place in January 2011. In contrast to the debut, Tom Rask‘s drums were recorded first this time round and Mika then built the final tracks around the drum work. Markku Kuikka recorded his vocals in his home studio in a short three-day stint. March 2011 saw the arrival of the guest vocal tracks from Billy Sherwood (chorus parts on “Cross” and “Out From The Nest”) and Marco Hietala (lead vocals on “Vanity”). The band then had to wait until April 2011 for Janne Tolsa to become available to mix and master and the results show the wait was justified. Mika then mixed the last three songs at his home studio “because they were easy and quick to do.” In addition, a promotional video for the opening track, “Cross Of Mind”, has been shot and can be viewed below.
“Silent Out Loud” track listing:
01. Cross Of Mind
02. Distorted Eyes
03. Under My Star
04. Vanity
05. Out From The Nest
06. Race Is On
07. Giant Step
08. Set The Stones
09. Dawn Of A Dream
10. Away
Lion Music has set a September 16 release date for GRÖNHOLM‘s sophomore album, “Silent Out Loud”. Featuring 10 tracks full of infectious vocal melodies over dynamic musical backdrops, the CD is an impressive collection of songcraft topped off with a powerful production and mix.
