Excerpts from
	An Interview With Jon Anderson 
		and 
	An Interview With Trevor Rabin

1988

Jon:
...is a planet.  The planet is a starship, you know.  Ancient, 
uh, Indian prophecy says that within this year '88 - '89 we 
will discover that this planet itself is a starship and we can 
actually move it, we can actually motivate this planet to get 
better weather,  which will feed the millions of people that 
are dieing and stuff like that on this planet.  We'll learn the 
art of controlling the planet, because it is, in fact, a starship.  
And that's something that I quite believe.

[song:  Big Generator]

Host:
This is Rock Stars, with Big Generator, the title track from 
the new Yes album.  In a moment, Jon Anderson talks about 
his early days in rock, and how a chance meeting with Chris 
Squire set the stage for the beginning of Yes.  When Rock 
Stars continues.

[break]

Host:
Welcome back to Rock Stars with Jon Anderson of Yes.

Interviewer:
Jon, let me take you back, if I may.  Before that day that you 
met Chris Squire in 1968, you had been in several bands 
including a band with your brother, Tony?

Jon:
Yah, we had a group called the Warriors, Electric Warriors, 
for about five years.

Interviewer:
And you were on the road with them.

Jon:
Yah, we sort of followed the Beatle trail.  We played at 
the Cavern, in November '63.  And we continued to play 
in and around north of England.  And then we went to Germany, 
to play the Star Club, and uh, Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, 
Coppenhagen.  And we palyed that for about... til about... all 
the way through the psychedelic period, actually, through 
'66, '67.  Saw Jimmy Hendrix there, which was a great 
experience.

Interviewer:
Yah.  So what sort of music were the Warriors, or the 
Electric Warriors into?

Jon:
I think we just played Top 20.  We played a little rhythm and 
blues.  We liked, I used to enjoy singing Lou Rawls songs, 
Aretha Franklin, Lena Simon songs.  Obviously the Top 20, 
you know, The Who, The Hollies, Stones, The Beach Boys, 
Beatles, things like that.  Um, it was basically sort of... I 
wouldn't say "job" 'cause it was a lot of fun.  But we had to 
play certain music for the audience.

[song:  Every Little Thing]


Interviewer:
Now, it was at a club called, "La Chas?"...

Jon:
La Chase, yah.  The Chase.  Or, I think it's called, La Chase. 
La Ches.

Interviewer:
La Chas.  La Chase, where... let's... can you take us back to 
1968 and La Chase?

Jon:
Well, it was very early 1968.  I was just looking for the 
right group... at that time.  And there were one or two great 
groups in London.  I was working in a club which, uh, you know, 
everybody in the group world went to.  Everybody in the 
music - rock and roll world would be there every night.  So I 
just hung out there, I was helping clean up, sweep up after the 
night.    I didn't mind doing that because I knew just around the 
corner something was going to happen, you know.  And... it was 
about six in the evening, and my friend Jack Barry was the guy 
who ran the club.  He was there behind the bar, and I was at 
the... one end of the bar, and this TALL guy, very slim, tall guy 
was at the other end of the bar.  And Jack said to me, "You 
should go and talk to that guy, cause he's a bass player, he's a 
very good bass player."  And I said, "What's his name?"  He says, 
"Well, he's called Chris Squire."  I said, "What's the group called?" 
He says, "Mabel Greer's Toyshop."  I said, "Well... that's a... that's 
a crazy name for a band, so he must be a bit crazy."  So I just 
went over and said, "Hi.  Gosh you're tall." [giggles]  Um, I think 
the first thing we realized is that we both liked the same music; 
Simon and Garfunkle, obviously the Beatles, Jimmy Webb, who 
had just done an album called Magic Garden, by the 5th Dimension. 
And it was like, we got together and realized, Hey,  let's... let's 
get a group together.  And he had nearly half a group, anyway.  
So we just had to uh... find a drummer.  And the first thing you 
ask a drummer:  What kind of kits have you got?  'Cause if he's 
got a Ludwig kit, he must be good, you see?  

Interviewer:
Right.

Jon:
That was our way of thinking.  And it just happened that, uh, 
Bill Bruford knew that trick.  [Laughter]  And what he'd done, 
he'd actually painted his drumkit black, so you couldn't tell it 
was a Sonner drumkit.  We thought it was a Ludwig drumkit, 
'cause we asked him, "What kind of drumkit have you got," and 
he said, "Uh, uh, um... Ludwig."  "Okay.  You're in.  You can 
join, you can join."

[song:  America (short version)]

Jon:
We were sort of the young... sort of 'kids on the block' sort 
of band.  You know.  We were the ones that everybody had 
become a little bit aware of.  But at the same time that year 
Zeppelin were starting, King Crimson were starting, Deep 
Purple were starting, ELP, they were all starting in '68.  It 
was an incredible...'68 - '69.  It was an incredible energy, 
musical energy that was happening in London at that time.  

  
Host:
Jon Anderson of Yes on Rock Stars.  We just heard their 
version of the Simon and Garfunkle song, America.  That's 
one of the few singles the band released early in their career.  
We also heard their re-working of the Beatles' tune, Every 
Little Thing, from the first album, simply called Yes.  Coming 
up: lead singer, Jon Anderson, tells how a ride in a van led to 
the song, Roundabout, when the Yes edition of Rock Stars 
returns.  [break]  And now, back to Rock Stars with 
Jon Anderson, from Yes.

[song: I've Seen All Good People]

Interviewer:
I read somewhere that you were given an ultimatum by 
your American record company after your first two records 
sort of, uh, either put up or shut up.  Is that true?

Jon:
Well, we didn't hear about it.  We just heard about it after 
the album.  At the time, we were very convinced that the third 
album was going to be our breakthrough album, because we got 
Steve Howe in the band.  He was a more... open musician.  And he 
really wanted to work on his art.  And I think that The Yes Album, 
the third one, was a definite statement that "Okay, now, here we 
start.  Our first two albums were like, tentative, you know.  But 
this is where we really are at."

Interviewer:
Also it had more of a chance for everybody to step out a little 
more.  Sort of the beginnings of everybody having their own say 
in the music.  How did that evolve within Yes, I mean, how did you 
guys decide "Well, okay, everybody can do their own little thing 
now?"

Jon:
I thought the idea on stage was always to present a group.  And in 
presenting the group, you've got to present the individuals.  And 
I always felt that each individual should perform on his own.  And 
we started to really to push that together on Fragile, which was, 
uh, part of the joy of making the fourth album.  

Interviewer:
When you hear a song like Roundabout or something like that, that 
gets played on the radio do you say, "Oooo, I wish we had done 
this, or... what is your reaction?"

Jon:
No,.... Actually, I heard Roundabout three years ago on local radio 
in L.A. and I hadn't heard it for... I hadn't heard the record for a 
long time.  We played it a lot.  But, uh, boy, it sounded really 
good.  I was quite surprised, to be honest.  It was a very good 
recording.  And the song relates to a very simple thing, actually.  
We were traveling from Aberdine to Glasgow and there's a valley. 
 It's a very winding valley.  And at both sides of the road there's 
a sheer rise of the mountain, and it goes just straight up into the 
sky.  And the clouds were very low, so it just went off into the 
sky.  You didn't know if it ever ended, you know.  So we... we're 
writing this song in the back of the car, van, we had a van.  And, 
uhm, it was a big lake that we were passing by.  So mountains 
came out of the sky.  They stood there.  And the 'in and around 
the lake' we were driving it in and around the lake, on our way to 
Glasgow.  Uh, within 24 hours we'd all be home with our loved 
ones, you know.  Twenty-four before my love, I'll be there with 
you.  So it's a very simple, uh, explanation of the song.

[song:  Roundabout (short version)]

Interviewer:
Several of the Yes songs, including Roundabout, were edited for singles.

Jon:
Yah.

Interviewer:
Was the band involved in that?

Jon:
No.  
Roundabout, we didn't hear it until it came out, and it really un-nerved us
to think that, uh, somebody else could wield those scissors.  But, in effect, 
it really worked, and it gave us a larger audience.

Host:
Jon Anderson of Yes.  You're listening to Rock Stars.  We heard Roundabout
from the fourth Yes record, Fragile.  Before that, Your Move, off 
The Yes Album, released in 1971, after Steve Howe became the lead guitarist.
Still to come,  why Jon Anderson decided to rejoin the band after a 
two-and-a-half year absence, when the Yes edition of Rock Stars continues.
  [break]  

[song:  Long Distance Runaround]

Interviewer:
Now, you took a hiatus from the band for 3 or 4 years.

Jon:
Yah.  Just, well, two and a half, I wasn't....

Interviewer:
Two... It wasn't even that long...

Jon:
Not really.

Interviewer:
What was your reaction to the album that they released without you?

Jon:
I thought it was a very well-produced album.   I didn't relate to it very 
strongly.  I was listening to a lot of different kinds of music at that time.  
It was a period where I really went to live in the South of France.  I 
did a lot of, uh, different kind of music.  It was a nice experience, but 
it made me realise how much I liked being in Yes

Interviewer:
In 1983, Yes resurfaced with uh, and incredible album and a number one 
single, and a dance hit as well.  I mean... who would have thought!?  

Jon:
I know.

Interviewer:
That must have really felt like something for you.

Jon:
It was great.  Um... I just came back from my South of France trip, and 
I was going to try and get Kieth Emerson and Rick Wakeman together.  I 
had this idea the three of us could have made one crazy band.  But it just 
didn't seem to be coming together.  Then I got a phone call from Chris.  
He came around, played some songs.  I think he played Leave It, Hold On, 
and uh... these were early versions, uh... Owner Of A Lonely Heart.  
And I said, right away, "This is really good music, Chris."  He said, 
"Well, I brought it along because I'd like you to sing on it."  I said, 
"Well, you know, if I sing on it, obviously it's going to sound a little 
bit like Yes," you know, "'cause you're playing on it, and Tony Kaye's 
there.  Alan White's there.  And who's this guy, Trevor Rabin?"  you 
know.  So I spent three weeks putting the vocals on the album, changing 
a few choruses, changing a few lyrics, making it more substatially Yes, 
if you like, from that lyrical point, and then singing, and uh... everybody 
was so excited about the album that we all sort of felt very, very 
comfortable about the coming event.

Interviewer:
Coming sort of full circle with what we were talking about tat the beginning 
of the conversation, the new record has more love songs than I think I've 
ever heard on a Yes record.

Jon:
Yah.
I think that's Trevor.  You know, Trevor will come along with his [singing:] 
"To the rhythm of love"... "Almost like love"... " Love will find a way"... 
I say, well, you know, obviously these are very strong chorus ideas and 
stuff.  You can't really change what's already been imprinted on everybody's 
mind.  So, I would sort of lyrically dance around the idea of that.

[song:   Love Will FInd A Way]

Interviewer:
What does the future hold for Yes?

Jon:
We really have to tour as many places as we can this year.  I know that 
we're going to have a break around spring, 'cause Trevor's making an album, 
Chris is doing an album, and I'll be probably working with Vangelis.  Next year 
we'll make another album.  It's important that the next album has a definite 
change from the last two albums, Big Generator and 90125.  So the future 
holds a lot of surprises.

Interviewer:
Well, I want to thank you very much for the past of Yes and we certainly 
look forward to the future.

Jon:
Thank you, very much.

Host:
Jon Anderson, from Yes, on Rock Stars.  We heard Love Will Find A Way, 
off Big Generator.  And before that, the classic, Long Distance Runaround, 
from Fragile.  The newest member of Yes, Trevor Rabin, joins us next.  
And we'll hear a Rock Stars rarity.  A live performance never released on 
a record, when Rock Stars with Yes returns.  [break]  And now, a Rock Stars 
rarity.  On their 90125 tour, Yes recorded a number of shows.  These concert 
performances turned up on the 9012Live album.  And now, a song from those 
shows that never made it to the album.  Yes, recorded live, and It Can Happen.

[song:   It Can Happen]

Interviewer:
First of all, I'd like to welcome you, Trevor Rabin, to Rock Stars.

Trevor:
Nice to be with you.

Interviewer:
Probably a lot of people don't know that you are a classically trained musician.
You played piano from age five.  Is that correct?

Trevor:
Yah.  Good guess. [laughter]

Interviewer:
Was that the sort of thing that your parents forced you into, or was it 
an organic decision, like you said "Mom, I want to play piano," or how 
did that happen?

Trevor:
Oh, no.  I just wanted to go fishing, but my father was a conductor and 
violinist.  My mother was a piano teacher.  My brother was already 
doing real well playing the violin, so they said, well, "He's gotta do it,"  
you know.  It was almost automatic in my family that you 'learn the piano 
from the minute you can walk' kind of thing.  So, I just automatically went 
into it.  My ambition was to be a concert pianist or a conductor.  And it 
was actually my father who steered me towards rock and roll.  Which is 
weird.  I mean, he used to go play these symphony concerts, then he'd 
come back home and listen to a Hendricks album.
He's quite a hip guy.

Interviewer:
It's kind of a turnabout, too.

Trevor:
Yah... yah.  "I want to be a lawyer..."

Interviewer:
"...and they forced me into this rock and roll lifestyle."  Now, you were 
originally tapped to be in the band, Asia.

Trevor:
That's right.  I actually rehearsed with them for two days.  And uh, 
I didn't enjoy it.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.  There's no room for 
two guitarists in a band that I'm in, or that's... obviously, that Steve 
Howe's in.  [GTR?  Union?]  That wasn't the main reason, though.  
The direction of the music was just not what I was totally into.  I 
wanted to take a couple more chances.  

Interviewer:
Now you've got your own hit album as a producer and a guitarist 
under your belt.

Trevor:
Right.  it's great.

Interviewer:
It must feel real good.

Trevor:
I'm in a very creative mode at the moment.  And I've got a studio set up.  
At every hotel I have my studio set up, and like, I get off stage and, you 
know, do the normal things, get back to the hotel, and uh... y'know, get a 
little bit crazy with everyone for an hour or so, but then go back to the 
room and I just work until like six in the morning.  Just recording and 
writing and sorting things out.

[song:  Leave It]

Host:
On Rock Stars.  Yes.  From the album, 90125, and Leave It.  In front of 
that we had a Rock Stars rarity.  A live version of It Can Happen, recorded 
on the 90125 world tour.  Next, Yes's only number one single, and Trevor 
Rabin tells how a fantasy of war became their current hit, when Rock Stars 
continues.  [break]

[song:  Owner Of A Lonely Heart]

Interviewer:
We' got to talk about Owner Of A Lonely Heart.  You wrote that song.

Trevor:
Yah.  I wrote that song, and funnily enough, before I joined the band.  
When I was still looking for a deal after the Asia thing, I went back to 
L.A. and started throwing tapes around [demo tapes], and one of the 
things that came back was, I'll never forget the letter, I won't mention 
who it was from but, "While we feel your voice is appropriate for 
Top 40 play, we don't feel the drum rhythm and the bass part on this 
particular song is appropriate  at this time."  And it was specifically 
about Owner Of A Lonely Heart.  That particular song was turned down 
by just about every company. 

Interviewer:
You must know you've got something when everybody says No.  
[Laughter]  Um,  Shoot High Aim Low.  Boy, there's some great 
guitar on that.

Trevor:
Oh, thanks.  The funny thing with that song is the... the electric 
guitar solo.  I did about, I don't know, I must have tried ten different 
solos because I wasn't 100 percent happy with the sound.  And I tried 
tons of different solos, and came back to this one and just worked real 
hard on the sound because, although there are parts of it which are a 
bit weird, and there's parts of it that might sound a little messy and 
stuff, I just like the feeling of it within the track, so, I sacrificed any 
of that because I thought it worked within the track.

Interviewer:
What are the lyrics about?

Trevor:
[???]

[song: Shoot High Aim Low]
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Transcribed by yesman.
Sorry, but I don't have the entire recording.  
I think Yesfan1046 gave me this one.
Anybody out there have the beginning and ending?