In the documentary “Resynator,” director Alison Tavel resurrects a synthesizer prototype that her late father, Don, invented.
Tavel, who lost her father when she was just 10 weeks old, initially wanted to make a short film doc about the synthesizer, which her father called the Resynator. The late-1970s invention generated a lot of buzz but never reached mass production. Tavel’s curiosity about the instrument ultimately led the director on a journey that helped her not only understand the Resynator and how it worked, but also who her father really was.
Tavel’s short doc eventually turned into a 96-minute film that includes interviews with estranged family, friends, inventors and celebrated musicians including Peter Gabriel, Fred Armisen and Jon Anderson.
Variety spoke to Tavel ahead of the doc’s SXSW world premiere on March 10.
What inspired you to make this documentary?
I had been on tour with [musician] Grace Potter for...
Tavel, who lost her father when she was just 10 weeks old, initially wanted to make a short film doc about the synthesizer, which her father called the Resynator. The late-1970s invention generated a lot of buzz but never reached mass production. Tavel’s curiosity about the instrument ultimately led the director on a journey that helped her not only understand the Resynator and how it worked, but also who her father really was.
Tavel’s short doc eventually turned into a 96-minute film that includes interviews with estranged family, friends, inventors and celebrated musicians including Peter Gabriel, Fred Armisen and Jon Anderson.
Variety spoke to Tavel ahead of the doc’s SXSW world premiere on March 10.
What inspired you to make this documentary?
I had been on tour with [musician] Grace Potter for...
- 3/7/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Original Yes singer Jon Anderson has announced the 2024 “Yes Epics, Classics, and More” tour, featuring special guests The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer on select dates.
The US outing currently consists of two legs, one running from May 30th in New Brunswick, New Jersey to June 27th in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the other taking place from July 21st in Patchogue, New York, until August 16th in Thousand Oaks, California. The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, which features sole surviving member Carl Palmer, will provide support on five dates from late July through early August.
Tickets to select dates are set to go on sale via Ticketmaster and local venue websites. Fans can also check for deals or pick up tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.
Get Jon Anderson Tickets Here
The “Yes Epics, Classics, and More” tour features Anderson...
The US outing currently consists of two legs, one running from May 30th in New Brunswick, New Jersey to June 27th in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the other taking place from July 21st in Patchogue, New York, until August 16th in Thousand Oaks, California. The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, which features sole surviving member Carl Palmer, will provide support on five dates from late July through early August.
Tickets to select dates are set to go on sale via Ticketmaster and local venue websites. Fans can also check for deals or pick up tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.
Get Jon Anderson Tickets Here
The “Yes Epics, Classics, and More” tour features Anderson...
- 3/6/2024
- by Spencer Kaufman
- Consequence - Music
Initially endeavoring to make a short about the synthesizer her late father, who died when she was ten weeks old, invented, documentary director Alison Tavel found herself learning much more about her dad and his legacy, leading to a feature film that’s both a music picture as well as one of family reckoning. Resynator, named after the synthesizer, premieres March 10 at SXSW, features music names such as Peter Gabriel and Jon Anderson, and is Tavel’s first picture. She’s made previously shorts and music videos for the Tom Petty Estate, where she’s the sole archivist. Read below her director’s statement […]
The post Trailer Watch: Alison Tavel’s SXSW Premiere, Resynator first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Alison Tavel’s SXSW Premiere, Resynator first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/29/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Initially endeavoring to make a short about the synthesizer her late father, who died when she was ten weeks old, invented, documentary director Alison Tavel found herself learning much more about her dad and his legacy, leading to a feature film that’s both a music picture as well as one of family reckoning. Resynator, named after the synthesizer, premieres March 10 at SXSW, features music names such as Peter Gabriel and Jon Anderson, and is Tavel’s first picture. She’s made previously shorts and music videos for the Tom Petty Estate, where she’s the sole archivist. Read below her director’s statement […]
The post Trailer Watch: Alison Tavel’s SXSW Premiere, Resynator first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Alison Tavel’s SXSW Premiere, Resynator first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/29/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Rick Wakeman is hanging up his sequined cape after one final U.S. tour. “I always planned to stop touring by my 77th birthday,” the prog rock keyboardist said in a statement, “for those of you who wish to send me a card, it’s May 18th! — but there is so much to fit in before then that I’m having to make plans now, and so my final one-man shows will have to cease by that date.”
The first leg of the tour kicks off March 19 at the Ridgefield Playhouse,...
The first leg of the tour kicks off March 19 at the Ridgefield Playhouse,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features backup bassist Billy Sherwood.
If you saw Yes on the 1994 Talk tour and then again anytime during the past seven years, you were essentially seeing two different bands.
If you saw Yes on the 1994 Talk tour and then again anytime during the past seven years, you were essentially seeing two different bands.
- 1/14/2024
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
There’s no way around it, so just let’s say it: On album number three, Greta Van Fleet still want to get the Led out. Despite being praised or damned for its fealty to the hammering of certain gods, the Michigan band is still not remotely backing down from its mission. The vaguely Celtic acoustic intro to “Meeting the Master,” the misty-mountain hopping in “Wasted All Your Life,” the Bonham big-bottom wallop that kicks off “Sacred the Thread,” the howling Plantesque vault in singer Josh Kiszka’s delivery: It...
- 7/20/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Ian Bairnson, the Scottish guitarist best known for his work with The Alan Parsons Project, has died after a “long battle with dementia.” He was 69.
“It is with deep sadness and regret that I let you know that my loving husband Ian Bairnson has passed away on Friday 7 April,” Bairnson’s wife Leila shared in a statement (via The Guardian). “Ian was the sweetest, kindest, loving husband I could ever have wished for and I take comfort that he is resting now up there in his very own piece of ‘Blue Blue Sky’. Although Ian has left us, his musical legacy stays with us and will continue to delight and brighten our lives, as it did his, forever.”
Her statement went on: “I would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Frimley Park hospital, the managers and carers at Lynwood care home and our families and close friends for...
“It is with deep sadness and regret that I let you know that my loving husband Ian Bairnson has passed away on Friday 7 April,” Bairnson’s wife Leila shared in a statement (via The Guardian). “Ian was the sweetest, kindest, loving husband I could ever have wished for and I take comfort that he is resting now up there in his very own piece of ‘Blue Blue Sky’. Although Ian has left us, his musical legacy stays with us and will continue to delight and brighten our lives, as it did his, forever.”
Her statement went on: “I would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Frimley Park hospital, the managers and carers at Lynwood care home and our families and close friends for...
- 4/10/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Music
Ian Bairnson, longtime guitarist for the Alan Parsons Project who also featured on Kate Bush’s first two albums, has died at the age of 69.
The Scottish-born musician’s wife Leila Bairnson revealed on social media that her husband died following a “long battle with dementia.”
“It is with deep sadness and regret that I let you know that my loving husband Ian Bairnson has passed away on Friday 7 April,” Leila wrote (via The Guardian). “Ian was the sweetest, kindest, loving husband I could ever have wished for and I...
The Scottish-born musician’s wife Leila Bairnson revealed on social media that her husband died following a “long battle with dementia.”
“It is with deep sadness and regret that I let you know that my loving husband Ian Bairnson has passed away on Friday 7 April,” Leila wrote (via The Guardian). “Ian was the sweetest, kindest, loving husband I could ever have wished for and I...
- 4/9/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Jon Anderson started Yes in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire, and the prog rock band was at the center of his life for the next four decades through numerous permutations. But when illness forced him off the road after the group’s 2004 tour, Yes decided to hire a replacement vocalist and carry on without him. Anderson has been healthy and active for well over a decade, but the band — which now features Seventies guitarist Steve Howe, Drama-era keyboardist Geoff Downes, and hired guns — refuses to take him back.
That hasn’t...
That hasn’t...
- 4/3/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone‘s interview series King for a Day features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and singers who had the difficult job of fronting major rock bands after the departure of an iconic vocalist. Some of them stayed in their bands for years, while others lasted just a few months. In the end, however, they all found out that replacement singers can themselves be replaced. This edition features former Yes singer Benoît David.
In the fall of 2008, Yes stunned their fans when they announced that founding vocalist Jon Anderson...
In the fall of 2008, Yes stunned their fans when they announced that founding vocalist Jon Anderson...
- 2/8/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
When Jo Koy was starting out as a stand-up comic, he would spend hours making flyers at Kinko’s and putting them on car windshields in mall parking lots to hawk his latest gig.
“I used to get in trouble with the security guards,” Koy remembers. “I was the annoying guy who would do anything to promote himself.”
Three decades, three Netflix specials and hundreds of sold-out engagements later, Koy is continuing to hustle as he works to draw attention for “Easter Sunday,” Universal’s upcoming comedy based on his Filipino American family.
But this time he’s moving far beyond photocopying: At his shows, Koy has been sharing a trailer from “Easter Sunday” and urging audience members to buy tickets using an interactive Qr code displayed on large-format screens that surround the stage. As an added incentive, Koy has offered fans who purchase tickets the chance to enter a...
“I used to get in trouble with the security guards,” Koy remembers. “I was the annoying guy who would do anything to promote himself.”
Three decades, three Netflix specials and hundreds of sold-out engagements later, Koy is continuing to hustle as he works to draw attention for “Easter Sunday,” Universal’s upcoming comedy based on his Filipino American family.
But this time he’s moving far beyond photocopying: At his shows, Koy has been sharing a trailer from “Easter Sunday” and urging audience members to buy tickets using an interactive Qr code displayed on large-format screens that surround the stage. As an added incentive, Koy has offered fans who purchase tickets the chance to enter a...
- 7/21/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Yes drummer Alan White, who joined the progressive rock band in 1972 and stayed with them for the next 50 years, has died at 72 after a brief illness.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is most famous for his work in Yes, but also performed with John Lennon in the Plastic Ono Band — He’s featured on both “Instant Karma” and “Imagine” — and with George Harrison on All Things Must Pass.
“Throughout his life and six-decade career, Alan was many things to many people,” his family wrote in a statement confirming his death.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is most famous for his work in Yes, but also performed with John Lennon in the Plastic Ono Band — He’s featured on both “Instant Karma” and “Imagine” — and with George Harrison on All Things Must Pass.
“Throughout his life and six-decade career, Alan was many things to many people,” his family wrote in a statement confirming his death.
- 5/26/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Vangelis, the Greek prog-rocker and Oscar-winning composer for films like Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, has died at the age of 79.
The influential artist born Evángelos Papathanassíou died late Tuesday night, a statement from Vangelis’ “private office” announced to his Elsewhere fan page Thursday. The Athens News Agency also confirmed news of Vangelis’ death. No cause of death was provided, but Greek newspaper Ot reports that Vangelis died at a hospital in France where he was being treated for Covid-19.
“Vangelis Papathanassiou was a great Greek composer who excelled at a global level,...
The influential artist born Evángelos Papathanassíou died late Tuesday night, a statement from Vangelis’ “private office” announced to his Elsewhere fan page Thursday. The Athens News Agency also confirmed news of Vangelis’ death. No cause of death was provided, but Greek newspaper Ot reports that Vangelis died at a hospital in France where he was being treated for Covid-19.
“Vangelis Papathanassiou was a great Greek composer who excelled at a global level,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Vangelis, whose instantly recognizable musical theme for 1981’s Chariots of Fire won an Oscar and became a sort of aural shorthand for tales of endurance and triumph, died May 17, according to his representatives. He was 79.
His assistant Lefteris Zermas has confirmed the death but did not provide a specific cause, saying only that Vangelis died in a hospital in France. Greek newspaper Ot is reporting that Vangelis was being treated for Covid-19.
Born Evangelos Odessey Papathanassiou in Greece, the composer and musician known worldwide simply as Vangelis, combined orchestral music, electronic synth sounds, jazz and ambient to create a then-new sound for the film that seemed to provide the musical equivalent of the ocean waves that crashed as the story’s Olympic runners sprinted down the beach. (Watch the video below.)
Vangelis would go on to compose scores for Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and...
His assistant Lefteris Zermas has confirmed the death but did not provide a specific cause, saying only that Vangelis died in a hospital in France. Greek newspaper Ot is reporting that Vangelis was being treated for Covid-19.
Born Evangelos Odessey Papathanassiou in Greece, the composer and musician known worldwide simply as Vangelis, combined orchestral music, electronic synth sounds, jazz and ambient to create a then-new sound for the film that seemed to provide the musical equivalent of the ocean waves that crashed as the story’s Olympic runners sprinted down the beach. (Watch the video below.)
Vangelis would go on to compose scores for Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and...
- 5/19/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Vangelis, the electronic-music pioneer who won an Oscar for “Chariots of Fire” and composed such other landmark film scores as “Blade Runner,” died Tuesday, the Athens News Agency reported. He was 79.
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Ric Parnell, who played the fictional band Spinal Tap’s drummer Mick Shrimpton in the classic 1984 heavy metal “mockumentary” “This Is Spinal Tap,” has died at the age of 70, according to a post from the group’s Harry Shearer and Yahoo News. No cause of death was initially reported.
Ric Parnell, our drummer in This is Spinal Tap, passed away today. No one ever rocked harder.
— Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) May 2, 2022
The group — fronted by actor-musicians Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (as Nigel Tufnel) and Shearer (as Derek Smalls) — crossed the line between fiction and reality from their inception: the band literally road-tested tested their concept shortly after making the film, opening shows for psychedelic sludge-rockers Iron Butterfly, and no one in the audience was for the wiser.
Spinal Tap’s drummers are a running punchline in the film — all of the group’s previous drummers had died,...
Ric Parnell, our drummer in This is Spinal Tap, passed away today. No one ever rocked harder.
— Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) May 2, 2022
The group — fronted by actor-musicians Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (as Nigel Tufnel) and Shearer (as Derek Smalls) — crossed the line between fiction and reality from their inception: the band literally road-tested tested their concept shortly after making the film, opening shows for psychedelic sludge-rockers Iron Butterfly, and no one in the audience was for the wiser.
Spinal Tap’s drummers are a running punchline in the film — all of the group’s previous drummers had died,...
- 5/2/2022
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Front and Center, the public television concert series, has announced its 10th season lineup and premiere date. The new season includes eight performances by artists ranging from Americana icon John Hiatt to mainstream country duo Maddie & Tae.
But Season 10 actually kicks off with an older concert — a 2008 performance by Glen Campbell at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. It’s billed as the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s last recorded concert and includes timeless Campbell hits like “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Galveston,” and “Wichita Lineman.” Campbell died in 2017. Taped around the...
But Season 10 actually kicks off with an older concert — a 2008 performance by Glen Campbell at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. It’s billed as the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s last recorded concert and includes timeless Campbell hits like “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Galveston,” and “Wichita Lineman.” Campbell died in 2017. Taped around the...
- 7/29/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Yes have revealed plans to release their 22nd studio album, The Quest, on October 1st. It’s their first collection of original songs since 2014’s Heaven and Earth.
“It is simply an honor for me to have the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that capture the band’s true potential,” guitarist Steve Howe said in a statement. “Much of the music was written in late 2019 with the rest in 2020. We commissioned several orchestrations to augment and enhance the overall...
“It is simply an honor for me to have the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that capture the band’s true potential,” guitarist Steve Howe said in a statement. “Much of the music was written in late 2019 with the rest in 2020. We commissioned several orchestrations to augment and enhance the overall...
- 7/7/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Original Yes frontman Jon Anderson is hitting the road with the Paul Green Rock Academy for an 11-city tour of U.S. theaters that kicks off July 30th in Patchogue, New York, and wraps up August 20th in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
According to a press release, the show will feature “a set of Yes classics, deep cuts, mashups, and solo works, all with lush arrangements featuring choral singing, horns, and all the other benefits of having a backing band of 25 young musicians.”
The Paul Green Rock Academy is an outgrowth...
According to a press release, the show will feature “a set of Yes classics, deep cuts, mashups, and solo works, all with lush arrangements featuring choral singing, horns, and all the other benefits of having a backing band of 25 young musicians.”
The Paul Green Rock Academy is an outgrowth...
- 6/30/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Yes have announced plans to release The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas on October 30th. It’s a live album recorded July 26th, 2019 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
The set mixes Yes classics like “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper” with covers like Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” Richie Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures...
The set mixes Yes classics like “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper” with covers like Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” Richie Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures...
- 9/2/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features keyboardist and guitarist David Sancious.
If the entire musical career of David Sancious had been confined to 1972 to 1974, he still would be a...
If the entire musical career of David Sancious had been confined to 1972 to 1974, he still would be a...
- 8/19/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The dawn of the Eighties was supposed to make prog bands like Genesis, Yes, and Rush die out like the dinosaurs, now that we were in the age of MTV and New Wave. That’s not quite how it played it out, however. The men of these bands chopped off their long hair, cut their standard 20-minute songs down to size, and somehow became more popular than ever. They even joined forced in various short-lived supergroups and charted with slick hits that competed for Top 40 airplay alongside the latest offerings by Madonna and Michael Jackson.
- 8/1/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Yes fans have spent the past 15 years hoping that the surviving members of the group will put aside their differences for a reunion tour, but guitarist Steve Howe tells Rolling Stone that that is a very unlikely proposition.
“I don’t think [the fans] should stay up late nights worrying about that,” he says. “There’s just too much space out there between people. To be in a band together or even to do another tour like Union is completely unthinkable.”
He’s referencing the group’s 1990 Union LP and tour, where...
“I don’t think [the fans] should stay up late nights worrying about that,” he says. “There’s just too much space out there between people. To be in a band together or even to do another tour like Union is completely unthinkable.”
He’s referencing the group’s 1990 Union LP and tour, where...
- 7/22/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Yes guitarist Steve Howe has teamed up with the band’s current frontman, vocalist Jon Davison, for Love Is, his first solo album since 2011. It will arrive in stores on July 31st.
“I called the album Love Is because it hints at the central idea that love is important but also love of the universe and the ecology of the world is very important,” Howe said in a statement. “Alexander Humboldt went around the world and recognized we are destroying the planet, but that was 200 years ago! We are still destroying the planet and,...
“I called the album Love Is because it hints at the central idea that love is important but also love of the universe and the ecology of the world is very important,” Howe said in a statement. “Alexander Humboldt went around the world and recognized we are destroying the planet, but that was 200 years ago! We are still destroying the planet and,...
- 4/29/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Dan Rather was born 10 years before America entered World War II, is more familiar with long-ago singing cowboy Tex Ritter than his actor son John, and took a stab at playing bassoon as a child growing up in Texas. In other words, he’s admittedly the last person anyone would associate with rock & roll. “I once said to my wife Jean, ‘Why didn’t I catch on to rock & roll earlier?’” Rather says. “She said, ‘Dan, for one thing, you were working all the time.’ And that’s true. I...
- 3/26/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
In an alternate universe where the coronavirus hasn’t shut down the entire concert industry, progressive-rock fans from around the globe are heading down to Florida to set sail on the Cruise to the Edge next week. The lineup this year included Yes, Marillion, Steve Hackett, and other giants of the prog-rock universe.
Yes backed out of the cruise last week and there was a brief moment when the cruise planned on carrying on without them, even though the thing is named after one of their most famous records, Close to the Edge.
Yes backed out of the cruise last week and there was a brief moment when the cruise planned on carrying on without them, even though the thing is named after one of their most famous records, Close to the Edge.
- 3/17/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
When Yes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, the surviving members of the band lined up behind a podium at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and delivered the sorts of speeches you’d expect from veteran musicians who had waited decades for this moment of validation. Frontman Jon Anderson thanked departed Yes members Chris Squire and Peter Banks, 1980s-era guitarist Trevor Rabin thanked his wife and son, drummer Alan White paid tribute to the fans, and guitarist Steve Howe read prepared remarks about how the...
- 10/11/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Futuristic NYC avant-rockers Battles have announced the upcoming release of their fourth album, Juice B Crypts. Due in October via Warp, the record finds the band scaling back to the duo of guitarist-keyboardist Ian Williams and drummer John Stanier, following the departure of bassist Dave Konopka in 2018. Much like the group’s second LP, 2011’s Gloss Drop, Juice B Crypts will feature a wealth of guest vocalists; one of those singers, Sal Principato of NYC dance-punk pioneers Liquid Liquid, appears on new single “Titanium 2 Step.”
The track pairs a lean,...
The track pairs a lean,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Yes are hitting the road this summer with a prog rock superstar-bill featuring John Lodge of the Moody Blues, Carl Palmer’s Elp Legacy with guest vocalist Arthur Brown and Asia. They’re calling it the Royal Affair Tour. “Yes is delighted to headline this celebration of British music,” Yes guitarist Steve Howe said in a statement, “which has been so warmly received in America over the past five decades.”
The Yes saga has gotten a bit complicated since former members Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman put their...
The Yes saga has gotten a bit complicated since former members Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman put their...
- 4/2/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
On his new album 1,000 Hands, former Yes frontman Jon Anderson worked with everyone from Chick Corea and Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson to Jean-Luc Ponty and Journey’s Jonathan Cain. But when it came time to create a video for the single “Makes Me Happy,” he reached much closer to home and recruited members of his immediate family.
“I am very excited for people to hear and see this crazy wonderful video, created by my daughter Deborah and my wife Janee on the spur of the moment one day at home,...
“I am very excited for people to hear and see this crazy wonderful video, created by my daughter Deborah and my wife Janee on the spur of the moment one day at home,...
- 3/27/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Twenty-nine years ago, Yes lead singer Jon Anderson abandoned a half-finished solo album called Uzlot that he’d been been recording in Big Bear, California, with his bandmates Chris Squire and Alan White. Yes were gearing up for a massive reunion tour and he simply put the master tapes in his garage and gave them very little thought as the years started racing by. But just a couple of years ago, producer Michael Franklin reached out to Anderson to see if he’d let him take the tapes and finish the album.
- 3/19/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Nearly 30 years ago, Yes frontman Jon Anderson began work on a solo album with help from his bandmates Alan White and Chris Squire. He never got around to finishing it and eventually got sidetracked by Yes work, but recently went back into the studio to complete the album with help from producer Michael T. Franklin. Anderson originally called the project Uzlot, but now that it’s finally done, he’s calling it 1,000 Hands. It comes out March 31st.
“I’ve spent long periods of time making some records, but I...
“I’ve spent long periods of time making some records, but I...
- 2/5/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The Buggles could have gone in a lot of different directions once their debut single “Video Killed the Radio Star” became a huge hit all over the world in late 1979. The synth duo (featuring Trevor Horn on lead vocals and Geoff Downes on keyboards) could have spent the next couple of years touring the world to to capitalize on their new fame. They could have headed right back into the studio and tried to craft an even poppier song. They could have even gone their separate ways under the assumption...
- 8/7/2018
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Sad news for Yes fans, as one of the best guitarists in the world, Chris Squire, the bassist and founding member of Yes, has died, a month after revealing he had been diagnosed with leukemia. He was 67.Squire and singer Jon Anderson co-founded Yes in 1968, and although their performance lineup of band-members was altered during the years, Squire was a constant band-member, playing bass on all of Yes’ albums and performing with the band for almost 50 years. Squire’s band-mate Geoffrey Downes made the announcement of Squire’s death via Twitter.The band confirmed the news Sunday on its official Facebook […]...
- 6/29/2015
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
Chris "Fish" Squire, the heart and soul and, yes, the foundation of iconic prog-rock band Yes, passed away Saturday at the age of 67. He had been battling leukemia, and last month had left the band for the first time -- he is the only member to appear on every Yes album (21 studio albums and a plethora of concert recordings). Squire, who played with a pick, achieved his unique sound by rewiring his Rickenbacker bass to stereo and sending the output of the bass and treble pickups into separate amplifiers. His sound -- and, let it be remembered, his vocals, usually heard in harmony or counterpoint to lead vocalist Jon Anderson's, but still prominent enough to be immediately recognizable -- was integral to the classic Yes albums of the 1970s.
What follows is basically a list of Yes’ best songs, but balanced somewhat by my desire to spread out the...
What follows is basically a list of Yes’ best songs, but balanced somewhat by my desire to spread out the...
- 6/29/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Simon & Schuster negotiated the project -- due on shelves Dec. 10 -- with CAA.
What does the fox say? How about, "Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching?"
"The Fox," the ridiculous viral hit from Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis -- whose members are brothers Bard and Vegard Ylvisaker -- is soon to become a children's book.
Story: Ylvis, of Viral Sensation 'The Fox,' Lands Major Label Deal Ahead of U.S. Live Debut
Simon & Schuster negotiated the deal with CAA, and is hard at work adapting the catchy, call-and-response song with lyrics like, "Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!" and "Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!"
What Does the Fox Say? will hit shelves Dec. 10, in time to capitalize on Ylvis fever and the holiday buying season. This is the latest coup for the brothers Ylvisaker, who recently signed a music deal with Warner Music Group and were parodied by Kerry Washington during her recent hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.
Video: 'SNL...
What does the fox say? How about, "Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching?"
"The Fox," the ridiculous viral hit from Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis -- whose members are brothers Bard and Vegard Ylvisaker -- is soon to become a children's book.
Story: Ylvis, of Viral Sensation 'The Fox,' Lands Major Label Deal Ahead of U.S. Live Debut
Simon & Schuster negotiated the deal with CAA, and is hard at work adapting the catchy, call-and-response song with lyrics like, "Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!" and "Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!"
What Does the Fox Say? will hit shelves Dec. 10, in time to capitalize on Ylvis fever and the holiday buying season. This is the latest coup for the brothers Ylvisaker, who recently signed a music deal with Warner Music Group and were parodied by Kerry Washington during her recent hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.
Video: 'SNL...
- 11/12/2013
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Among the seminal progressive rock groups of the late '60s and early '70s, Yes has undergone its share of personnel changes. The group started out with Chris Squire (bass), Peter Banks (guitar), Jon Anderson (vocals), Bill Bruford (drums), and Tony Kaye (keyboards), and released two albums, the eponymous Yes, and Time and A Word. Banks either left or was fired (it depends on who you believe), and was replaced with Steve Howe. [N.B. Peter Banks passed away in March 2013.] This new line-up produced just one album, The Yes Album.
Kaye left due to band friction, and was replaced by Rick Wakeman. This line-up produced two albums, Fragile and Close to the Edge -- the latter being the band's tour-de-force, and one of the most revered progressive rock albums of all time (see my Cc article, The Absolutely Essential Progressive Rock Albums), as well as one of the first albums on which the entire first side...
Kaye left due to band friction, and was replaced by Rick Wakeman. This line-up produced two albums, Fragile and Close to the Edge -- the latter being the band's tour-de-force, and one of the most revered progressive rock albums of all time (see my Cc article, The Absolutely Essential Progressive Rock Albums), as well as one of the first albums on which the entire first side...
- 4/12/2013
- by Ian Alterman
- www.culturecatch.com
As the New York Times so aptly observed this weekend, eerie '80s synths score are synonymous with the German experimental electronic music group Tangerine Dream. And yet, the group and their sinister and moody but anonymous modulations were never celebrated as loudly in that era (or since) compared to the works of other '80s synth-heavy composers like Harold Faltermeyer ("Top Gun," "Fletch," "Beverly Hills Cop"), John Carpenter ("Escape from New York," "The Thing"), Vangelis ("Chariots of Fire," "Blade Runner") and even Giorgio Moroder ("Scarface," "Cat People").
The cinephile-friendly arthouse BAMCinematek tries to right that wrong this week in Brooklyn with their retrospective series centered around the atmospheric and ambient scores written and performed by Tangerine Dream. And so to help celebrate the undervalued composers we give you five of their best scores. Make sure to head to Bam this week if you're in the New York area (and hurry,...
The cinephile-friendly arthouse BAMCinematek tries to right that wrong this week in Brooklyn with their retrospective series centered around the atmospheric and ambient scores written and performed by Tangerine Dream. And so to help celebrate the undervalued composers we give you five of their best scores. Make sure to head to Bam this week if you're in the New York area (and hurry,...
- 6/5/2012
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
I watched the Tom Cruise 80s fantasy movie Legend this week for the first time since reaching the age of being cognizant-of-things, and while I fully braced myself for its ridiculousness, hoooo-leyyy crap it did not disappoint. I vaguely recalled the film being a bizarre entrant in the wave of “80s fantasy films for kids but kind-of not really for kids,” and remembered Tim Curry as Basically Satan, but my memory ended there. You’d think it goes without saying, but the film is Loaded with awesomely nonsensical aspects: The whole film is about 20 minutes long, Tom Cruise plays a ‘kid’ but looks the same as he does now, the film opens with like 9 paragraphs of slow-scrolling text that sets up about 7 different absurd rules about the world of the film (evil can’t touch earth as long as these two unicorns are around, but also there’s no light...
- 3/28/2012
- by Dan Hopper
- BestWeekEver
DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed
In this week's "Even More" section there is a link to a Tom Cruise Blu-ray Collection, which includes Collateral, Days of Thunder, Minority Report, Top Gun and War of the Worlds for only $34.99. It's a good price and worth a look either for you or perhaps as a Christmas present for someone else. However, until November 17 you can buy it at Fry's for only $19.99! Get on it!
Also, I have two Criterion titles I'm recommending this week, but instead of using the Buy Now links next to each you may want to head over to Barnes and Noble where their 50% off sale is still on for I believe another week. Unless I am mistaken it ends on November 21. So, get to shopping!
Three Colors Trilogy (Criterion Collection) I received Criterion's Blu-ray edition of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Troi couleurs (Three...
In this week's "Even More" section there is a link to a Tom Cruise Blu-ray Collection, which includes Collateral, Days of Thunder, Minority Report, Top Gun and War of the Worlds for only $34.99. It's a good price and worth a look either for you or perhaps as a Christmas present for someone else. However, until November 17 you can buy it at Fry's for only $19.99! Get on it!
Also, I have two Criterion titles I'm recommending this week, but instead of using the Buy Now links next to each you may want to head over to Barnes and Noble where their 50% off sale is still on for I believe another week. Unless I am mistaken it ends on November 21. So, get to shopping!
Three Colors Trilogy (Criterion Collection) I received Criterion's Blu-ray edition of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Troi couleurs (Three...
- 11/15/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Last week I ran a lengthy first part of my Steven Soderbergh interview, primarily about the movie Contagion. Soon aftewards, the film opened number one at the box office by a wide margin and clearly there is a direct line between the two. Steve, next time you are in town the cherry lime rickeys are on you.
Our conversation went far beyond the usual shilling for new product, so now that the news cycle promoting Contagion has run its course, I’d love to share the rest of our discussion on a multitude of topics.
For a guy whose won every award imaginable and has the acclaim of both mass audiences and “the elite,” I can’t overstate just how down-to-earth and agreeable Mr. Soderbergh is. What doesn’t come across in print is his directness – there’s a surprising lack of b.s. in his tone, and if he...
Our conversation went far beyond the usual shilling for new product, so now that the news cycle promoting Contagion has run its course, I’d love to share the rest of our discussion on a multitude of topics.
For a guy whose won every award imaginable and has the acclaim of both mass audiences and “the elite,” I can’t overstate just how down-to-earth and agreeable Mr. Soderbergh is. What doesn’t come across in print is his directness – there’s a surprising lack of b.s. in his tone, and if he...
- 9/14/2011
- UGO Movies
Today? Today is a very good day. News has come that one of the single greatest film masterpieces ever is on its way to Blu-ray high definition, and it has us grinning from ear-to-metallic-ear!
Harry over at Ain't it Cool just broke the glorious news that Kino will be releasing Fritz Lang's highly influential landmark film Metropolis onto Blu-raylater this year.
For thousands of people around the globe, Moroder’s Metropolis was their introduction to the films of Fritz Lang, and many have been waiting to see this film re-released -- with improved sound and image quality. This is it!
This “version” of Metropolis comes with music by Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Moroder, and many other famous 1980s acts, and we’re confident that interest is very high on this title. Metroopolis is Kino Lorber’s all-time best selling film – by a wide margin – and just the...
Harry over at Ain't it Cool just broke the glorious news that Kino will be releasing Fritz Lang's highly influential landmark film Metropolis onto Blu-raylater this year.
For thousands of people around the globe, Moroder’s Metropolis was their introduction to the films of Fritz Lang, and many have been waiting to see this film re-released -- with improved sound and image quality. This is it!
This “version” of Metropolis comes with music by Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Moroder, and many other famous 1980s acts, and we’re confident that interest is very high on this title. Metroopolis is Kino Lorber’s all-time best selling film – by a wide margin – and just the...
- 8/12/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
In 1980, the progressive-rock group Yes did the unthinkable: It released an album without the soaring, distinctive vocals of founding frontman Jon Anderson. That album, Drama, features Trevor Horn of The Buggles on the microphone, and it’s become a footnote in Yes’ catalog. More than 30 years later, the band has released its second Anderson-free record, Fly From Here. Sung by recent recruit Benoît David—an Anderson disciple poached from a Yes cover band—Fly From Here seems preordained to suffer the same fate as Drama. If it does, it will have earned its negligible status. Yes has ...
- 7/12/2011
- avclub.com
The long version: longtime Yes vocalist/songwriter/figurehead Jon Anderson falls ill with respiratory issues, is unable to participate in a 2008 tour, is replaced by Canadian Benoît David, former vocalist for a Yes tribute band named Close to the Edge. Legendary producer Trevor Horn (formerly of The Buggles and Yes’ 1979 album, Drama) is recruited for a new Yes project: Fly From Here, set to revive the epic title track which was written (but never recorded) in the days of Drama. Anderson, who was kept blind from the personnel changes, gets wind, gets pissed, writes a disappointed letter on his...
- 7/11/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
In the late 1960s, Jon Anderson became one of the most recognized rock musicians in the world. Thanks to his striking voice, his flamboyant turn as lead singer of equally outrageous prog-rock band Yes led to millions of album sales for over 30 years.
Now, post-Yes, Anderson is busy creating more solo albums, collaborating with people all over the world. He’s healthy, happy, and still creating fantastic music. “Geeks of Doom? I love it!”
Geeks of Doom: So, Jon, how are you?
Jon Anderson: I’m doing very, very good. It’s a very exciting moment; I’ve got an album coming out, today!...last night there was a king snake, a three-foot king snake on my door step, which means rebirth. It’s very rare that you see them and there it was on my door step. It’s a native American totem for rebirth, which is where I’m going right now!
Now, post-Yes, Anderson is busy creating more solo albums, collaborating with people all over the world. He’s healthy, happy, and still creating fantastic music. “Geeks of Doom? I love it!”
Geeks of Doom: So, Jon, how are you?
Jon Anderson: I’m doing very, very good. It’s a very exciting moment; I’ve got an album coming out, today!...last night there was a king snake, a three-foot king snake on my door step, which means rebirth. It’s very rare that you see them and there it was on my door step. It’s a native American totem for rebirth, which is where I’m going right now!
- 6/29/2011
- by Obi-Dan
- Geeks of Doom
On May 10, Across the Universe Records will release Jonathan Elias’ ‘Prayer Cycle 2: Path To Zero,’ a collection of music produced by the celebrated composer that features a stunning array of world-renowned musicians and activists. Proceeds from the record will be donated to Global Zero, an international organization dedicated to nuclear disarmament. Contributors include Sting, Trudie Styler, Angélique Kidjo, Robert Downey Jr, Sinead O’Connor, Serj Tankian and more.
“‘Path to Zero’ is a classically influenced set of world prayers, inspired by the survival of hope in a world living under the shadow of the nuclear threat. As an artist leaving a legacy to my children, it’s my prayer that they will be able to succeed in recognizing and changing the path we have chosen for the world, even if we cannot,” says Elias.
The CD is an eclectic mix of music with a sweeping number of influences from...
“‘Path to Zero’ is a classically influenced set of world prayers, inspired by the survival of hope in a world living under the shadow of the nuclear threat. As an artist leaving a legacy to my children, it’s my prayer that they will be able to succeed in recognizing and changing the path we have chosen for the world, even if we cannot,” says Elias.
The CD is an eclectic mix of music with a sweeping number of influences from...
- 2/1/2011
- Look to the Stars
Stars team up for Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero, a benefit record that also features a cameo from late Doors singer Jim Morrison
Sting, Sinéad O'Connor, Robert Downey Jr and, er, Korn's Jonathan Davis are among the contributors to a new album of "world prayers", due this spring. Created by composer Jonathan Elias, Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero also features the late Doors singer Jim Morrison reading an unreleased poem.
Although its title sounds like a post-apocalyptic video game, Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero is a "classically influenced" benefit LP for anti-nuclear organisation Global Zero. The follow-up to a similar 1999 compilation, which featured James Taylor, Alanis Morissette and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the album is a "sort of prayer for continuation", Elias told Billboard.com, "as it relates to the world today".
If this sounds like hippie talk, it comes form a hippie with lots of friends.
Sting, Sinéad O'Connor, Robert Downey Jr and, er, Korn's Jonathan Davis are among the contributors to a new album of "world prayers", due this spring. Created by composer Jonathan Elias, Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero also features the late Doors singer Jim Morrison reading an unreleased poem.
Although its title sounds like a post-apocalyptic video game, Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero is a "classically influenced" benefit LP for anti-nuclear organisation Global Zero. The follow-up to a similar 1999 compilation, which featured James Taylor, Alanis Morissette and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the album is a "sort of prayer for continuation", Elias told Billboard.com, "as it relates to the world today".
If this sounds like hippie talk, it comes form a hippie with lots of friends.
- 1/21/2011
- by Sean Michaels
- The Guardian - Film News
Beside busy with his big screen projects, Robert Downey Jr. has also worked on a charity album which is produced by composer Jonathan Elias to benefit anti-nuclear organization Global Zero. The actor joins a number of artists including Sting, Korn's Jonathan Davis and System of a Down's Serj Tankian.
Along with Tankian and Sinead O'Connor, Downey Jr. contributes "Fallout" which was penned by Jim Morrison before his death in 1971. Elias recalled how he got permission to use Morrison's recording from his estate, "I went to the family through their attorneys and told them about this project, and they agreed to license it. Being a Jim Morrison fan, I was pretty excited about it."
Titled "Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero", the album is due in the United States on May 10 and becomes a continuation to his 1999 release "The Prayer Cycle". It consists of 7 songs which are about "a little...
Along with Tankian and Sinead O'Connor, Downey Jr. contributes "Fallout" which was penned by Jim Morrison before his death in 1971. Elias recalled how he got permission to use Morrison's recording from his estate, "I went to the family through their attorneys and told them about this project, and they agreed to license it. Being a Jim Morrison fan, I was pretty excited about it."
Titled "Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero", the album is due in the United States on May 10 and becomes a continuation to his 1999 release "The Prayer Cycle". It consists of 7 songs which are about "a little...
- 1/21/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Round 2 of our Under-appreciated Entertainer of the Year bracket game continues! Up today: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World‘s Mary Elizabeth Winstead vs. Jon Anderson from The Crazies in the movies category, and Killers frontman-turned-solo artist Brandon Flowers vs. Ray Lamontagne in music. Don’t know their songs? Vote based on hair! No. Listen to the music.
In the TV categories, it’s Sons of Anarchy‘s Emmy-snubbed Katey Sagal vs. Parenthood’s Peter Krause, who’ll always be Nate Fisher — preferably in his sweat-stained all-black jogging uniform! — to me. Meanwhile, Project Runway runner-up Mondo Guerra, who admittedly may have...
In the TV categories, it’s Sons of Anarchy‘s Emmy-snubbed Katey Sagal vs. Parenthood’s Peter Krause, who’ll always be Nate Fisher — preferably in his sweat-stained all-black jogging uniform! — to me. Meanwhile, Project Runway runner-up Mondo Guerra, who admittedly may have...
- 11/19/2010
- by Annie Barrett
- EW.com - PopWatch
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