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Artist News: Mystery's Benoit David Joins Yes For US Tour, Mystery At FMPM

Posted on Sunday, January 25 @ 20:44:28 UTC by nightowl

In a slew of Mystery news, we begin with the news that Mystery singer Benoit David will once again be joining Yes on their upcoming American tour. Yes, which consists of Squire, Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White, scrapped their anniversary tour in June after Anderson suffered acute respiratory failure and was ordered by doctors to rest six months.

Squire found David on the Internet after a friend sent him a YouTube clip of David's tribute band, Close To The Edge. Squire liked what he saw and called David to offer an audition.

It's not the first time Yes has had a singer besides Anderson. Trevor Horn sang on the 1980 Yes album Drama when Anderson briefly left the band. Squire hopes to work songs from that album into the set for the upcoming tour, plus a few songs he said were not Anderson's favorites to perform live but the rest of the band likes.

The 17-city North American Tour Includes stops at L.A.'s Wiltern, Texas, Colorado, Pacific Northwest, Canada, Idaho, Las Vegas, Northern and Southern California Through March 3.



Rolling Stone recently raved that Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes "sounded as majestic as ever" during their performance just last month at New York City?s Hammersmith Ballroom, adding that the band?s stand-in vocalist Benoit David was able to "expertly mimic the impossibly high-pitched vocals of original singer Jon Anderson." Now, that?s some high praise. This may not be exactly the traditional Yes line-up, "but it's close enough," raved Rolling Stone.

Yes concerts have always been very special events, and this winter's "In The Present" tour, which began in November and December, and will resume February 5 and 6 for two shows in Mexico City before hitting a total of 16 U.S. cities in February and March, lives up to those expectations. Band members Howe, Squire and White, along with David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, son of Yes' Rick Wakeman, will play selections from hit albums like Fragile, Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans and 90125 along with audience favorites like "Roundabout," "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and "I?ve Seen All Good People," some of the enduring classics that have made Yes one of the most influential and groundbreaking groups in rock & roll.

This time around, Howe, Squire and White are also pulling out some rarely performed chestnuts, like 1980's "Machine Messiah" and "Siberian Khatru," expertly sung by David, a Montreal, Quebec, native and vocalist in several Yes tribute groups, discovered by the band on the Internet and invited on the tour. His ability to channel Anderson?s distinctive singing voice has added an extra treat to the concerts for true fans.

The tour resumes at the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City on Feb. 5-6, and runs through March 3 at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, CA. The group?s itinerary can be found on the Tour page at yesworld.com.

Over the course of a remarkable 40-year career that has time and again redefined the boundaries of rock, Yes have become renowned for their live performances since being formed in 1968 by Chris Squire and Jon Anderson from a mutual interest in vocal harmonies and classical song structure. With drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye, they metamorphosed into Yes, earning a residency at the famed London venue The Marquee Club, where they played with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, releasing their self-titled debut album in July 1969.

Mystery To Perform At FMPM4

Mystery, who are currently working on a new studio album, will be performoing at the FMPM4 (Le Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal 2009) along with Italian prog fusion quartet DFA and legendary band Le Orme, from the UK, Thieves' Kitchen and Magenta, and from Quebec, Rouge Ciel, ExCubus. This year's festoval will be held on September 12-13 at Salle Pierre-Mercure in Montreal.

Just a quick reminder that Gold Tickets are now available exclusively at www.progquebec.com at a price of $189 including venue royalties (taxes not included). Gold Tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis for first time purchasers who can also specify preferences. Those who will have made reservations have until January 31, 2009 to purchase their tickets to guarantee their seats, while first time purchasers of Gold Tickets who have ordered tickets by then will be allocated the best seats available based on date of purchase. Regular tickets will go on sale sometime in March at a price to be determined then.

Mystery Prepares 10th Anniversry Edition Of Destiny?

10 years ago, Mystery released their second full length CD Destiny? and last one recorded with singer Gary Savoie.

After the release of Mystery's latest album Beneath The Veil Of Winter's Face, tracks from the Destiny? sessions were transferred into Illusion Studio?s computer and the new mix was started. Michel St-Pere says about this project: "Not only this album brought Mystery to a new level, but it also started the whole Unicorn Records adventure. But I was not satisfied with the mix and after mixing Beneath The Veil Of Winter's Face, I knew I could bring Destiny? to a new level."

The new mix sounds great and this album deserves to be heard the way it was meant to be. The 10th anniversary edition of Destiny? will be released in February 2009, while the band is recording a new album and prepares to do some live shows.

[Source: Unicorn Digital/TSM Productions; Yes photo ?Dimo Safari; Mystery photo ? Unicorn]

Posted in Band News (tours, comings/goings, etc)