Friday 28 February 2014

Zappa Plays Zappa comes to New Brunswick


Dweezil Zappa isn’t the first performer to play with his late iconic father, and thanks to technology, odds are he won’t be the last.

The late Frank Zappa, above, will 'perform' with his son, Dweezil Zappa, in a special concert during which images of Frank will appear on a screen. The two will deliver call-and-response guitar lines. High-tech certainly puts together shows that would have been unfathomable a generation ago.

“Why not take advantage of what we can do?” Zappa asked. “I think it’s a great thing for fans to experience. We have video and audio footage of Frank that’s isolated. We pull this off, and everyone has a good time with it.”  Part of what made his maverick father so great was that Zappa was so unpredictable. Zappa truly made alternative music that couldn’t be placed in a category. “I don’t know how you could compartmentalize what he did,” Zappa said.



FRANK ZAPPA AT GONZO

BRAND X: German Review (translated)



Brand X / Live At The Roxy LA 1979 

Playing time: 70:51 
Format: CD 
Label: Gonzo Multimedia, 2013 (1995) 
Style: Jazz Rock
Review on 2/12/2014 Steve Brown

Bad news for owners of the first edition of Brand X ' "Live At The Roxy LA 1979" 1995: The price of this rare, very long coated and so far have never been reissued baby tumble into the abyss. The to be discussed here new edition of Gonzo Multimedia makes it possible ... 
With "Live At The Roxy LA 1979" We want the small Brand X series complemented by Percy Jones'remarkable solo album Cape Catastrophe complete from 1990, now (hopefully only temporarily) . 
In September 1979 guested Brand X as part of a U.S. tour two nights at the Roxy in Los Angeles. The second of the acclaimed evenings, the 23 September was recorded for a publication that should appear only 16 years later, however - almost centrally between the studio albums "Xcommunicaton" (1992) and "Manifest Destiny" (1997), with whom Percy Jones and John Goodsall (unsuccessfully)Brand X to resuscitate tried. 
Because there was only one official live release ("Livestock" 1977) before, to "Live At The Roxy LA 1979" enjoys great desires. Let's be honest: Right well tuned, the sound is still not, for ears-as apparently no changes to the source material have been made, its quality (master tapes) we can of course judge bad. Obviously there were sound problems at the club, because from about half of the concert the sound is a little better. 
"Live At The Roxy LA 1979" begins tough ... the concert intro, "Disco Suicide" is a few minutes too long and tiring rolled out, although Phil Collins begins sometime quite exquisite drumming. WithGenesis then gone astray (! I properly only "Duke", choke) you might prefer to call him a familiar, slightly modified Rock'n'Roll Quote: "Hold 'Up and play' drums'! And that's what he does in this intro, which finally merges seamlessly into "Algon" from the then-current "Product" and - thanks in Collinstrain and pressure - can increase enormously. This is of course well represented with a total of three takes - the sales figures should eventually be pushed. The slightly freejazzige "Dance Of The Illegal Aliens" adapts perfectly. The dialogues between the guitar, fretless bass, Mini Moog and the Yamaha CP-70 piano are terrific! 
In "Do not Make Waves" is allowed Philip to sing at last (once) and makes it to the straight abrockenden, but sound-wise slightly confused active number quite well. "Malaga Vergen" from the great "Moroccan Roll" album grooves is determined in a real room into what is being enthusiastically received by the audience that after the final Höhenrausch with "... And So To F. .." for minutes frenetic applause unpaid. 
Very whimsically represents Collins then for adding the band members before. Interestingly, it has byAndrew Lloyd Webber pianist J. Peter Robinson reinforced occasionally as a friend of the band instudio recordings participated. His trips on the CP 70 are consistently a true 'the ears' - like the closing "Nuclear Burn", the strongest number of the debut album "Unorthodox Behaviour". AboutCollins' virtuoso drifting percussion and Jones' knurrigem times, sometimes elastic fretless, the keyboardist and guitarist may run riot act - not even for a hochinspiriertes drum solo is still time ... 
The bottom line is to report: great record! Should sound fetishists might hold back anything, unless they are on top of fans. Because for Brand X trailer is "Live At The Roxy LA 1979" regardless of such Nickeligkeiten course a must! 
Line-up:
Phil Collins (drums, percussion, vocals) 
Robin Lumley (keyboards) 
John Goodsall (electric guitar), 
Percy Jones (bass) 
J. Peter Robinson (keyboards)



Tracklist
01: Disco Suicide (Intro) / Algon (14:14) 
02: Dance Of The Illegal Aliens (11:56) 
03: Do not Make Waves (6:16) 
04: Malaga Vergen (13:34) 
05. .. And So To F. .. (12:23) 
06: Nuclear Burn (12:28) 







THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem


Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

CLEANING/SPRING
i am typing this among shelves of costumes ,boxes of poetry
sacks of photographs ,newspapers,magazines-under which is a carpet
i have not seen for a decade
Spring returns-but gravity wins.Each time i turn to the wilds of possessions
they sing like Sirens-"YOU NEED ME!"(and i FEEL i do..even when we broke up long ago
and i determined to live an object-free existence.Well-these objects are free-to do as they will!
They spill out of containers,fall in piles,fill up every inch of my bathysphere
My pod overfloweth!I can delay no longer!One of us has to GO! So
i delay further,write a poem about mess and how hard it is to release
and watch as my walls come closer.Claustrophobia is no excuse!!
Memories,dreams,stories,friends,ghosts,shadows,evidence of a living past
well-i guess they are my comfort in a confusing age.They reassure me
things were simpler one-film photographs,mimeographs,actual videos...
ANOTHER DAY PASSES as i sit and sift and swallow tears @all past

I so much want to release..but i feel life now is far too fast..

GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Is for Joyce

Rick Wakeman announces Glasgow date for sci-fi tour

Keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman has announced plans to bring his Journey to the Centre of the Earth tour to Glasgow.
Wakeman will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of his landmark concept album, which is based on a novel by Jules Verne, with a show at the Clyde Auditorium on Tuesday, May 6.
The record sold 15 million copies when it was released in 1974.
The show, which will be presented in two parts, will feature the New World Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Choir and the English Rock Ensemble.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Liive At The Empire Pool
CD - £9.99

Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1981
DVD/CD - £9.99

Live in Lincoln Cathedral
2CD - £7.99

Live At The Maltings
DVD/CD - £9.99

Caped Crusader- Rick Wakeman in the 1970's
Book - £14.99

Video Vaults
6DVD box - £85.00

Cirque Surreal 
CD - £7.99

Gole 
CD - £9.99

1984
CD - £9.99

Cost Of Living 
CD - £9.99

Prince watch: First gig in Manchester doesn't sell out

Second show at the Academy 1 doesn't go ahead either, with fans let in instead for encores of the first gig

Guardian Music

theguardian.com, Saturday 22 February 2014 09.18 GMT

Bringing the funk … Prince and his band 3rdEyeGirl at Kings Place in London last week.

Has Princemania started to wane? Friday night's show at the 2,600-capacity Manchester Academy 1 had not sold out by the time the gig began, and a second performance in the same venue that same night – announced by Prince's manager via Twitter – did not take place.

All but 400 tickets for the gig were sold online in advance – and sold out almost immediately – with the remainder being held back for sale on the night. Again the price was £70 rather than the £10 of his first couple of shows in London. But Princevault.com reports that only around 250-300 of the one-the-night tickets were sold, with everyone who queued getting in.

As the show began, Prince's manager Kiran Sharma tweeted: "HELLO Manchester!!! Guess what...??? You can now start a quue for the SECOND SHOW 2NITE!!! :)" That generated a new queue – but one that only reached 100 or so people. Instead of being treated to a second show, the second wave of queuers were allowed in to see Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL's encore, for a reduced admission price of £35.

Thursday 27 February 2014

The Greatest Musician of All Time Came to Dallas, And I Missed It.

DonVan.jpg
Photo by Martin Pulaski, via Flickr


Ever miss an un-missable concert? It's one of those pangs that ever-lingers, fixed like a stamp on the back of your skull. It's a bad taste in your mouth that never leaves, a constant reminder of how your life could have been better had you seen (insert band name here) play live.

Many Dallasites never got over missing Nirvana's set at Trees. More recently, countless hearts were broken when a fear of icy streets prevented them from seeing Kanye's date at the AAC. For me, I missed what I consider to be the greatest musician of all time (well, at least in rock & roll); It was 1974, almost exactly forty years ago, when Don Van Vliet -- better known as Captain Beefheart -- first played Dallas. It was at the Electric Ballroom and I was eleven years shy of existence. Still, It's something I dream of often: seeing the Captain and his Magic Band of misfits live. Soft, half-asleep scenes of a live Beefheart sculpting his Frankenstein shape of rock out free jazz, blues and red-hot emotional overflow taunt me like stubborn bouts of deja vu.

So, who is Captain Beefheart? In short: a child prodigy turned savant musical (and visual) genius.



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work..


Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work..

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem


Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

ELDERS ARE TREES
with family branches.Here long before us-
may be here long afterwards.
As leafs tremble in the winds of winter
See branches fall as sticks
shaped and formed for hand to hold
to assist the weak.Reach for your
walking stick.Hold it close to you.
Better than a walking frame.You are still mobile
thanks to this part of tree-this simple stick.
Quick! Before you fall!Lean in -it will sustain
you after all-was not that for which Eden

was a metaphor?

An acoustic evening with Jon Anderson at Houston’s Dosey Doe Big Barn



See also


There’s something very special to look forward to on Mon., Feb. 24: an acoustic evening with legendary singer/songwriterJon Anderson will come to the Big Barn of the Dosey Doe. On Feb. 21, music producer and artist representative, William James, shared what audiences could expect from the 2014-version of Jon Anderson's concerts. James said, “In addition to music from Jon’s solo and band career, he’ll be sharing a lot of humorous and enlightening stories. You won’t want to miss it.”
That’s good news for everyone who was in high school and college in the 1970s. If you can name all the members of the first version of the band “Yes,” chances are good that you were in school, probably working a part-time job that allowed money for few, if any extras. If you had extra money and couldn't get to the concerts then, chances are good that, of the vinyl records you bought, “Yes” albums with their 10-minute tracks and entire theme works were on your portable stereo player.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:
Survival And Other Stories
CD - £9.99

Earthmotherearth
CD - £9.99

3 Ships 
CD - £9.99

JOEY MOLLAND: Interview

http://www.themaineedge.com/buzz/joey-molland-of-badfinger-%E2%80%93-back-with-return-to-memphis


Joey Molland of Badfinger – back with ‘Return to Memphis’
February 11, 2014



It’s appropriate that Joey Molland, former guitarist for Badfinger, recorded his new album, “Return to Memphis,” in the city who’s music first inspired him to pick up a guitar at age 11.

“I heard Elvis’s version of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and picked up my first guitar the same afternoon,” he remembers. “I was very inspired by Elvis and all of the music that came out of Memphis.”


I detect an audible grin as Molland describes the “Return to Memphis” sessions with a strong Liverpudlian accent that belies more than three decades of residency in Minnesota.

“I was in Memphis doing some session work for my friend Carl Wise (producer of ‘Return to Memphis’). It just felt like a great place to make a record,” Molland said. “It was really exciting to go there and play with musicians I’ve never played with in a studio I’ve never been in (Royal Studios, established in 1956) and a producer I’ve never worked with and let them run me for a month.”



Wise assembled some heavy hitters to accompany Molland on the new record, including keyboardist Lester Snell (Albert King, Buddy Guy, Al Green, Solomon Burke and currently with Booker T and the MGs). Drummer Steve Potts is a veteran of sessions for Gregg Allman and the Blues Brothers. “He’s fantastic. His uncle was Al Jackson, the original drummer for Booker T. and the MGs,” Molland says. Dave Smith (Bob Dylan, Harry Connick Jr., Earl Thomas) is on bass.

Since the release of his last album, the criminally underrated “This Way Up” in 2001, Molland has kept busy touring and quietly stockpiling new songs demoed in his basement recording studio. “I have a Pro Tools set-up down there for demos,” he says. “My son, Joe, is a recording engineer, and he uses it to do his material. He writes as well.”

Among the songs that first came to light there, and is now fully realized on “Return to Memphis,” is the gorgeous and touching “Frankie and Me” – a song that Molland says he’s been tinkering with since the ’80s. “I’ve had the melody since then, but I could never get the words quite right. It’s about my oldest brother Frank, who came for a visit with his wife about eight years ago.”

With 18 years between them, Joey and Frank didn’t know much about each other. “For the first time, we sat down and really talked,” Molland remembers. “We talked about the world and politics. The things you never talk about. We found out a lot about each other.”

When Molland woke up the next morning, lyrics came quickly to accompany the tune he’d been sitting on for 20 years. “I originally called it ‘Yesterday,’ he said with a chuckle. “That word is in the song but a friend in Liverpool said, ‘You know, that title might be a little confusing.’”

With so much of his past brushed by The Beatles, (Badfinger, then known as The Iveys, were the first band signed by The Beatles to Apple Records in 1968), Molland wisely went with the new title and dedicated it to his brother. “Although there’s a bit of a mix-up on the first pressing of the CD,” he admits. “I changed the title on the sleeve but forgot to make up a new master. For the fans who have one of the first copies, I’ll send them a corrected copy if they bring it to gigs. And I’ll buy them a pint!”

Other highlights on “Return to Memphis” include the soulful “Walk Out in the Rain,” “Build a Ship to Mars” (a song inspired by a presidential speech) and the emotionally raw “Still I Love You,” a song in which Molland vocally bares his soul around a series of ripping guitar solos. Truth: Molland was a great guitarist in Badfinger’s heyday, but today he’s a mind-blower. Fans catching him live for the first time are often left with jaws dropped.

Joey Molland will join me this Saturday morning, Feb. 15 from 7 to 9 on Big 104 FM. Among the topics up for discussion: “Return to Memphis,” the Badfinger years, working for (and with) The Beatles and his surprise when the producers of “Breaking Bad” used Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” in the series finale, sending the song into the top 10 a second time 40 years later.

“The Big Morning Show with Mike Dow” can be heard on Big 104 FM – The Biggest Hits of the ’60s, ’70s & ’80s - airing on 104.7 (Bangor/Belfast), 104.3 (Augusta/Waterville) and 107.7 (Bar Harbor)

Breaking Badfinger – interview with Joey Molland

Dow: In 1965, you were in a Liverpool band called The Masterminds and recorded a single for Immediate Records produced by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. What was he like to worth with?

Molland: He was great – a lovely man. We recorded it at Regent Sound Studio on Denmark Street in London, which is where the Stones had recorded their first couple of albums, I think. He knew what he was doing, and when we listened to the playback that day it was astounding. After that, I was out of contact with Andrew for almost 45 years. My wife passed away in 2009 (Joey and his wife, Kathie, were married for 37 years). A couple of days after Kathie passed, I got an email from Andrew Loog Oldham. He told me how sorry he was, which was really sweet, you know? After that length of time, that kind of shows you the kind of man he is.

Dow: Apple must have been a surreal environment in late 1969 with The Beatles on the verge of breaking up. How aware was Badfinger that their bosses were not exactly getting along at that time?

Molland: For me, I was just completely disappointed that that was going on. I didn’t understand what was going on with The Beatles and I really loved them, you know? I was a big fan – as big a fan as anybody. When we found out that they had actually broken up, it was heartache for me.

In all of the sessions we did with George Harrison, we never talked about it. We spent a lot of time with him and I never brought up The Beatles. He was a regular guy to talk to, but if you started to talk about The Beatles with him, he would clam up and find an excuse to leave.

Dow: In the summer of 1970, George brought Badfinger into the studio to play on sessions for his classic “All Things Must Pass” album. What stands out in your memories from that time?

Molland: Pete (Ham), Tom (Evans) and myself played acoustic guitars for him. They built a blue plywood box for us to sit in with our acoustics – playing all at once a la Spector. Phil Spector was producing and the musicians were playing all at the same time, which is how Spector liked to work. He wanted the acoustic guitars in a box for separation in the sound. There were a lot of musicians on that album. Ringo was there. Billy Preston played (keyboards), Klaus Voorman (bass), Alan White did some synthesizer stuff.

Eric Clapton played a lot of guitar on that album. Bobby Whitlock was playing keyboards - Carl Radle played bass - Jim Gordon on drums. With Eric, of course, they became Derek and the Dominos. One of my great memories of that time was going to the Speakeasy and seeing Derek and the Dominos play one of their first gigs. The Speakeasy was a great rock and roll club and hangout for musicians like us. It was a drinking club that was open very late – 3 or 4 in the morning. Jim Gordon – what a great drummer, man. I remember him looking through the backstage curtains that night. This is a little rock club, and he peered through the curtains and stared at his drum kit with a big smile on his face. This was a man who loved to play, as they all did, you know?

They came on and smoked it that night, man. Eric in a club setting is unbelievable. To be that close to the guy when he’s playing … man (laughs). He’s an astounding guitar player.

Dow: On the Badfinger hit “Day After Day,” is that you and George playing the slide guitar parts?

Molland: It was actually George and Pete (Ham) playing slide together. Pete and I had been working out the parts and George asked, “Do you mind if I play slide on this with you?” I immediately took my guitar off and gave it to him. I could play slide guitar but was by no means a slide player, at least as far as I was concerned. This was George Harrison, so I gave him my guitar and he and Pete did it. They practiced it for hours and then recorded a bunch of takes. That was the kind of musician George was. He would work on something like that for hours.

Dow: Last September, millions of people heard Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” played over the final scene during the series finale of “Breaking Bad.” Did you know before-hand that they were planning to use Badfinger’s song?

Molland: No, I had no idea. I was amazed. I was actually recording that show for my son, Shaun, who watched the whole series. I had never really watched the show. That night, I put my Dish recorder on and went back to what I was watching. Right after the show ended, the phone started to ring and didn’t stop for a week and a half. The reaction to it was amazing - unbelievable. It was like we had a giant hit record all of a sudden. It felt a bit weird, actually, because it didn’t feel like we’d done anything. This was like “instant hit.” And it’s still selling more than four months later. People thought I would be a millionaire overnight. Of course, that hasn’t happened. I’m still here (laughing) watching the mailbox carefully.


Dow: You’ve certainly experienced more than your share of heartache and loss, but you sound very positive. It’s great to hear you in such good spirits and with some great new music to boot.

Molland: I have my days, but I’ve always been very optimistic. I come from a good family and family has always been the real strength in my life. I’ve always been a really positive guy. Things happen, but what are you going to do? Howard (Kaylan) from The Turtles insisted that I’m the luckiest man in the world (laughing).

Dow: Why did he say that?

Molland: Because I got to work with The Beatles, predominately. Badfinger had already recorded “Come And Get It,” and I joined the band with a big giant hit. It’s just the way my life has gone. Harry Nilsson comes along and records “Without You,” and it goes to number one around the world. Lots of things like that have happened. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but a long, long time ago, I said a prayer and asked God for what I needed out of life in order for me to take care of my family. I’ve always had the feeling that that’s what’s happened with my life. I’ve never been really rich or anything, but I’ve had some great bonuses along the way. It was a great bonus to join Badfinger, wasn’t it? I’ve just had these things happen to me and I thank the Lord for all of it. Somehow, something has always happened to allow me to pay my bills. I’ve always felt blessed.

Joey Molland’s “Return to Memphis” is available locally and online through Bull Moose, www.badfingersite.com , Amazon, iTunes and most anyplace that sells good music.

“The Big Morning Show with Mike Dow” can be heard on Big 104 FM – The Biggest Hits of the ’60s, ’70s & ’80s - airing on 104.7 (Bangor/Belfast), 104.3 (Augusta/Waterville) and 107.7 (Bar Harbor)

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:  

Return To Memphis
SCD - £9.99

Geoff Downes Interview:YES/ASIA keyboardist diligently creates without barriers



Virtuoso keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Geoff Downes has been legitimizing the art of great music since the inception of The Buggles with Trevor Horn in 1977. Downes symphonic savvy has allowed him to venture into multiple musical genres while perpetuating Prog- Rock prominence as the illustrious keyboardist for  supergroups YES and Asia. Geoff Downes is undeniably one of the hardest working musicians in the business. Downes is currently in the studio recording a new YES album while awaiting the release of a brand new Asia album entitled Gravitas, targeted for an April release.

Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Union (Standard DVD)
DVD - £9.99

Union (2CD)
2CD - £7.99

Rock Of The 70's
DVD - £12.99

The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £7.99

GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Chic - le freak - 1978



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Mount Fuji Jazz Festival '03
DVD - £12.99

Mount Fuji Jazz Festival '03
CD - £7.99

Wednesday 26 February 2014

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem


Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

YOU ARE GEORGE HARRISON!
every time you play then replay his many melodies-
Your Love Is Forever/Living In The Material World
I Want To Tell You /I Need You/Love Comes To Everyone!
All Things Must Pass/Within You Without You
That's The Way God Planned It!Maya Love or Art Of Dying
still Love You Too!Here Comes The Sun!Any Road will get you there
Trust Your Inner Light!We are Awaiting On You All
Hear me Lord/My Sweet Lord/I Need You!
While My Guitar Gently Weeps/i am So Sad/I.Me,Mine
Brainwashed/Piggies/Beware of Darkness!
What is Life?An Old Brown Shoe?A Savoy Truffle?the Taxman?

Something in the way she moves..

GALAHAD DEBUT VIDEO FOR SEIZE THE DAY



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Seize The Day
CD - £7.99

Battle Scars
CD - £9.99

Former Yes Man Jon Anderson Gets Close to the Edge...and the Audience

jon-anderson-0220.jpg
Photo by Deborah Anderson
Classic-rock fans might not see the connection between intricate, musically adventurous progressive rock and all-you-can-eat shrimp and shuffleboard tournaments. But increasingly, fans of this genre -- or Southern rock, or blues, or country, and even Rick Springfield or KISS -- have gathered on the high seas, on cruise ships packed with hardcore fans enjoying concerts, Q&A sessions, workshops and...shrimp.
This month, Jon Anderson -- the legendary former lead singer of Yes -- will embark on the "Progressive Nation at Sea" jaunt, while his former bandmates headline "Cruise to the Edge" in April. Anderson, who plays an intimate and career-spanning show at Dosey Doethis coming Monday, has done a couple of these events and grown to like them, despite his initial reservations.
"It ends up being a good time for me and my wife," he says in a high voice that lends credence to the fact that he does not sing in falsetto. "And this time, we've got a balconyand a patio. And we won't eat too much!"
On this adventure, Anderson will do a solo show, take part in a Q&A with fans, and sit in with Mike Portnoy's prog group Transatlantic. As to the wisdom of being in a confined area at sea with some of his most rabid fans, Anderson says he always uses a little Star Wars approach to not being mobbed.
OldYes-0220.jpg
Fotex/The Daily Mail
Yes in the satined '70s: Alan White, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire, and Jon Anderson
"I usually do the Obi-Wan Kenobi thing," he says. "Just go through areas with groups and say 'we can pass.'"
Anderson's current tour mixes Yes' classic rock warhorse tunes (of course), solo material, collaborations with other artists like Vangelis, and a seemingly unstoppable flow of new music. It's a lower-key affair that the stadium and amphitheater locations he used to play with Yes.
It's the direct result of a journey he began about six years ago after recovering from the vocal difficulties that began in 2004 and saw the cancellation of a 2008 Yes tour. It led to the group he co-founded jettisoning him rather than wait any longer for his recovery.
He was replaced with Benoit David, the very Anderson-sounding lead vocalist of a Yes tribute band (their current lead singer is Jon Davison).

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Survival And Other Stories
CD - £9.99
Earthmotherearth
CD - £9.99
3 Ships 
CD - £9.99
...BECAUSE SOME OF US THINK THAT THIS STUFF IS IMPORTANT
What happens when you mix what is - arguably - the world's most interesting record company, with an anarchist manic-depressive rock music historian polymath, and a method of dissemination which means that a daily rock-music magazine can be almost instantaneous?

Most of this blog is related in some way to the music, books and films produced by Gonzo Multimedia, but the editor has a grasshopper mind and so also writes about all sorts of cultural issues which interest him, and which he hopes will interest you as well.