Howe, Steve (Yes) (January 2000)

HOWE are you?

"Of course we have done some stupid things in the past, recorded stupid things, made some stupid decisions," admits a relaxed Steve Howe. Yes has existed for thirty years and the gray-haired main characters have released a new album, The Ladder, as if it's their means of climbing to higher territories that await them in the year 2000. "With albums like Open Your Eyes, Talk, and Union we haven't really made it. There were some good songs on those albums but we didn't achieve what we were aiming for. Producer Bruce Fairburn finally enabled us to record an album that was really made like a Yes-album, as opposed to the previous albums which were more like a collection of solo ideas. When we entered the studio in January 1999, we had Bruce listen to about 14 to 15 demos which we had recorded onto Minidisc. Bruce thought that about eight of them were good enough to continue to work on them. We didn't discuss his decision, yet there was one more song which we found that Bruce should give a second chance. Before we made him listen to it again we had been working on it and in the end it became the strongest song on the new album: "Homeworld." For me, the strength of any Yes-product is the collaboration. You can only make a very strong album if everyone puts in his weight. For The Ladder we virtually entered the studio without any material at all, so the six of us composed the material there and then. That is exactly how we used to work on The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge and these, for me, are still the best albums we ever made. Personally I would be thrilled if we could deliver Close To The Edge - The Sequel but I think this is no longer possible. The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge are the result of a very close collaboration of people who were much younger than they are today, of people who had a huge ambition. Even if you would bring Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Eddy Offord back together again, it would no longer have the 'chemistry' like we used to have. That's a fact we have to live with and whilst I love to play the 'old' stuff, I tremendously enjoy playing the new material as well. In the past we played very little of the latest studio output but this time around we will perform a lot from The Ladder plus the old favourites, of course. I can honestly understand that there are Yes fans out there who would love to see that we return to the more complex material. Yet the albums we deliver are not from a conveyor belt, it is not a car that we deliver but a one-off product, a piece of art that is very much a result of a certain period."

Steve has admitted it: it is the arrival of Fairburn that gave the band new wings, that gave new blood to the weak Yes formula. Unfortunately Fairburn died long before he could see the results of his efforts, so Yes will have to look elsewhere for a new producer. "First of all we are going to enjoy this tour as much as we can and then of course we'd have to look out for a new producer. I would love to work with Trevor Horn again [Howe also worked with Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda, two ZTT artists who were on Trevor Horn's label], yet I think he is not so keen anymore where producing is concerned. Billy Sherwood did a good job on the Keys To Ascension albums, yet you can't expect someone being an ace producer and a great singer/guitarist all at the same time. You see how difficult it is in football when someone wants to be a trainer and player at the same time. In fact it was Jon Anderson who got Billy Sherwood to join as a multi-instrumentalist. Billy plays guitar, plays keyboards and also likes to sing. I didn't know Billy personally, yet he has been friends with Chris Squire for a long time. Billy and Chris also have the project Conspiracy under their belt. Billy already released the album The Big Peace which for a lot of people has been called the third World Trade album. Billy is a great guy and a very accomplished musician. In fact I have less problems with Billy than I had when Trevor Rabin was in the band. Trevor was more the kind of guy who wanted to put his mark on everything the band did. He couldn't take any criticism whatsoever. For Billy I'm the guitarist in Yes and he's pleased with whatever is left for him to do. In fact I didn't want to be both lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist."

I tell Steve that I find it very difficult to enjoy the typical Wakeman runs done by Igor Khoroshev. For me Wakeman was Yes and Yes was Wakeman and Rick is the only keyboard player who will ever be the 'real' keyboard player in Yes. "Rick has made his own choice by leaving the band. At one point we all felt we should be doing small theatres again. Rick didn't agree and left. By doing this, Rick has missed out on some great opportunities. We did a lot of gigs in countries we never before had visited. It's true that Igor has taken over a lot of Rick's style, but the most important part is the end result, and that still is a group's effort whether it is with or without Rick. Also for me Union is probably the worst album I have ever been involved in. You don't hear two guitarists here but constantly you hear two drummers!"

With the track "Homeworld," Yes has entered the arena of the computer games. At first glance it looks like pure manipulation to enter a territory strictly reserved for the younger generation. "Call it cross-marketing," says Steve Howe. "Billy is obsessed with PC-games and Jon thought that we should approach this medium from an ethical point of view. Games as such are too important to be ignored. When an opportunity was given to work on a new Sierra game, of course we went ahead with it. It opens new perspectives for both parties. Recently, Yes' music was also used in some films. You can hear "Roundabout" in Outside Providence and "All Good People' is used in Dick. Strangely enough, Yes has never been asked to write music specifically for film. Personally I have been asked to write a soundtrack on a couple of occasions but in the end it was never used. It's such a strange world where thousands of musicians mingle, so it's very unique when they finally choose your music for the film. Of course for Yes it would be brilliant to do a soundtrack because I think our music is very symbolic. Just look at Roger Dean's landscapes! One time were were asked to write the music for a film about the Winter Olympics but we didn't do it. I think Rick Wakeman did White Rock instead. I'm more into the kind of soundtrack Ry Cooder wrote for Paris, Texas. I also adore the composer John Williams."

Is there enough time for Steve the keep up with what's been happening in music? Does he know of bands like Spock's Beard, a band with Beatles harmonies combined with Yes arrangements? "I'm game for everything, as you can see from my collaborations with Asia, Fish and Dream Theater, plus my work on the Tales From Yesteryear tribute, to name but a few. I have never before heard about Spock's Beard, yet the superlatives you are using to typecast this band make me curious enough to check them out. What's this other band you mention? Flower Kings? Never heard of them before. Maybe it's about time to stage a huge festival where, next to Yes, some new bands from the progressive rock revival might get a chance to prove themselves. As you say, a lot of these names are only known by means of the 'underground' movement and the Internet, which is not a bad thing. In fact it makes me think of the end of the sixties, early seventies. The 'vibe' that was around then I can sense again today, something which stimulates the creative process enormously."

Isn't the creative process killed by the Internet, interactive CD-ROMs, courses on video, master classes? "On the contrary. I think all of these possibilities will even enhance the creative process. When I started out, there were hardly any books, so you had to learn everything by yourself. It took me years before I had found my own 'sound'. During my stints with the Syndicats, In Crowd, Bodast and Tomorrow, I had been looking for my own identity and once I joined Yes, I finally found it. Don't ask me how!

"Through the company Beyond Sound I have now released a double CD-ROM called Steve Howe Interactive where, next to a bunch of unreleased live 'footage,' you also get tutoring for new guitarists. I'm very happy with the result."

Although Steve Howe owns a huge guitar collection, he remains loyal to Martin where acoustic guitars are concerned. "From the moment I saw Elvis Presley on one of his legendary sleeves with a Martin 'round his neck, I thought of Martin as an incredible instrument. When I found out that my heroes Lonnie Donegan and Paul Simon were all using the same instrument, I simply HAD to have a Martin and that was an 00-18 model. Over time, I have had several 00-18's, a SOM-45, various ukuleles, a C-style mandolin and even a 0-28 from 1875! Because of my loyalty to Martin and my input for guitar music, Martin has decided to release a Steve Howe 'signature' model. The Martin 00-18SH has only been released in 250 numbered copies and you can find my signature between the 18th, 19th and 20th frets. The guitar isn't cheap ($3000), yet a lot of the profits will go towards the Save The Children organization. The guitar is built from a 00-18 model, yet modified for my own needs. Thus they have used MSP4100 Phosphor Bronze strings, amongst others. It's a nice guitar, with a wonderful sound and it's really an honour and privilege for me to be able to put my name onto it!"

The band Tomorrow did put a decent amount of psychedelic elements into their music. In December '68 they shared the stage with Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. Does Howe miss these elements, although one can hear some Indian influences in the new Yes composition "Nine Lives"? "Tomorrow was a nice experience, although very much a reflection of its time. During my stint with GTR we also used some kotos, yet the true psychedelica went hand in hand with the adoration for the Maharisha, something I have drawn a lot of strength from. On The Ladder we have been able to integrate these ethnic elements within the arrangements, yet it has never been the idea to include the 'floating' sound from the psychedelic era into the music of Yes. Maybe I'll be using more of that on one of my future solo albums, who knows?"

A lot of questions remain. Questions about the joint album between Howe and Annie Haslam, his 'guitar and orchestra' project. Is Yes a fulltime occupation or will there be more time for activities such as GTR or Explorer's Club? Maybe Steve Howe should slow down a bit and explore the music of Spock's Beard and Flower Kings so that both of these 'unknown bands for the masses' can join Yes on tour. It would indeed be a fantastic poster and I'm convinced that a lot of 'unknown' Yes fans would be very enthusiastic indeed. In the meantime the most important word in the dictionary remains YES!

[In going through this interview to update it - fix now broken links, etc. - and move it here from the "old" site, a couple of things struck me. One - Yes' music is still being used to promote movies and, most recently, for a U.S. Citibank commercial. Good or bad this commercial use, the music is still getting exposure. The other thing relates to Howe's comment about Roger Dean - it has been said that the look/landscape of the film Avatar was inspired by Yes' album covers. -ed. Aug 2010]

Discography:
Yes - The Yes Album (1971)
Yes - Fragile (1972)
Yes - Close To The Edge (1972)
Yes - Yessongs (1973)
Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)
Yes - Relayer (1975)
Beginnings (1975)
Yes - Going For The One (1977)
Yes - Tormato (1978)
The Steve Howe Album (1979)
Yes - Yesshows (1980)
Yes - Drama (1980)
Yes - Classic Yes (1982)
Asia - Asia (1982)
Asia - Alpha (1983)
GTR - GTR (1986)
Yes - Union (1989)
Asia - Then And Now (1990)
Yes - Yesyears (1991)
Yes - Yesstory (1991)
Turbulence (1991)
Asia - Aqua (1992)
The Grand Scheme Of Things (1993)
Yes - Highlights: The Very Best Of Yes (1993)
Yes -Talk (1994)
Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994)
Mothballs (1995)
Homebrew (1996)
Yes - Keys To Ascension I (1996)
Yes - Keys To Ascension II (1997)
Yes - Open Your Eyes (1997)
Yes - Yes, Friends And Relatives (1998)
Quantum Guitar (1998)
Pulling Strings (1999)
Portraits Of Bob Dylan (1999)
Yes - The Ladder (1999)
Homebrew 2
Yes - House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues (2000)
Yes - House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues (video) (2000)
Yes - Yes, Friends and Relatives - Volume Two (2001)
Yes - YesSymphonic (ep) (2001)
Natural Timbre (2001)
Yes - Magnification (2001)
Homebrew 1 & 2 (2002)
Masterpiece Guitars (w/Martin Taylor) (2002)
Skyline (2002)
Steve Howe's Remedy - Elements (2003)
GTR - King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents GTR
Spectrum (2005)
Homebrew 3 (2005)
Steve Howe Trio - The Haunted Melody (2008)
Motif (2008)
Steve Howe Trio - Travelling (2010)
Homebrew 4 (2010)
Yes - Fly From Here (2011)
Yes - In The Present - Live From Lyon (2011)
Homebrew 5 (2013) Yes - Heaven & Earth (2014)
Yes - Songs From Tsongas (2014)
Yes - Like It Is: Yes At The Bristol Hippodrome (2014)
Yes - Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-Two (boxset) (2015)
Yes - Like It Is: Yes At The Mesa Arts Center (2015)
Anthology (2015)