Fairly entertaining show, but nothing was said that was mindblowing or even *all* that interesting, but here's a few snippets of information I thought warranted some more discussion (or at least mention!)
1. The origin of the title "The Ladder" was discussed by Jon and Alan. Jon said that every time someone asked him the name of the current song he was working on, he'd say "The Ladder." Alan, as former drummer for the Plastic Ono Band, had a little deeper explanation, and it involved John Lennon's visit to a piece of "interactive" art on a ceiling that apparently you had to climb a ladder to get to. And, according to Bob Coburn, the Rockline host, by using a magnifiying glass, you could see the word "YES" printed there. Anyone know anything more about this work of art? I thought this was a semi-interesting story.
2. One caller asked why Yes was skipping St. Louis, and Jon and Billy mentioned something along the lines of a Yes Festival Tour in the Summer of 2000 billed with two other groups -- kinda an all-day event, from what I gathered. I would tentatively speculate that ELP may be one of these groups, based on past discussion, rumors, previous announcements, etc. Add Dream Theater to that bill and that's one hell of a concert, IMHO.
3. That edited version of "Homeworld" they played really didn't do the song justice. Now that I am fairly familiar with it, it was almost painful to hear where the cuts were made. I understand that a 9+ minute song is a bit excessive to play on Rockline, but when you are trying to promote a new album, I don't see how that does much good. it just didn't sound right with the cuts. Even if I wouldn't have been familiar with the song, I think it still would have sounded odd. They completely cut out the closing section (the "gravity boots" section, as described by the Daily Vault!), and it sounded like they got it down around near 5 or 6 minutes only. Of course, they played "Roundabout" in its full 6 1/2 minute glory (more or less). I'm just glad that they kept the cool little Kinks intro to "Lightning Strikes."
Anyway, fairly entertaining show -- the questions weren't that great, as usual. I was really hoping someone would ask about what the U.S. setlists may contain, and if they would more or less adhere to the Latin American sets. But instead, we get questions like, "What's more important, your music or your family?"
Apparently, Igor (whom Bob Coburn called "Ego" at the beginning and then tried to lamely cover up) did not even have a headset on, and his voice could only be heard *very* briefly for a few seconds here and there. Billy was the predominant speaker (and sounded like the nicest one of the bunch), and he seemed to dominate the discussion. Steve was very serious (that's our Steve!), and only really participated in a question directed to him regarding the release of Yes guitar tabs. The Yesmen only really seemed to perk up when a young female caller (16 or 17) asked her question -- and Jon asked her what her favorite Yes album was, and tried to make a "Ladder" sale. Dirty old men. ;-)
As always, Rocklines are fun to listen to, but I always wish those questions were better!
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From: Gary Brown [GBrown8287@aol.com] - Oct 17
Hey Folks, I've planned on posting this the night that I got on Rockline. 4 days later, and here it is.
Wednesday night ( the 13th of October 1999 ) I came home from work looking very forward to the Rockline show that was set to go down a few hours later. Working myself to death, I came home tired, and decided it would be best to take a little power nap. Getting a couple hours of sleep in, I woke up an hour or so before the interview show was to start.
Earlier that day I went to Radio Shack to get an adapter for the antenna on the receiver. I hooked that up, checked to hear if all was all right, opened some blank tapes, and I was set. Ends up I was talking to a friend in DC at the time the show started, so I ran over to the stereo and pressed record just as the event started to come on.
From there I said my good-bye's to my friend, and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. While there, I got the phone, and hearing the phone number being repeated for those who had questions for the band and wanted to participate on tonight's show, started dialing. My wife Sandra asked me who I was calling. When I told her Rockline, she just gave me that look that equals to what a waste of time this was going to be. Fact is, we been there and done that. For shows in the past that had Alice Cooper and Yes, what Sandra ended up watching me do, was call for 90 minutes, getting no results. Anyone's conclusion to seeing this done several times, was that this activity was nothing more then a big waste of time. The lines are always busy. I myself decided that if I had no luck in say a 10 or 15 minute time frame, that I would give up, and just listen to the show.
After about 5 to 10 minutes, the weirdest thing happened. I heard a ringing, and not a busy signal. This was followed up by some guy who actually answered the phone. "Hello, thank you for calling Rockline. What is your question for the band?" My jaw like to drop to the floor. "Hi, I can't believe I got through", was how I responded. "A lot of people do call ", was the reply I got. "What's your question for the band", the guy repeated. All the sudden I realized a problem. I didn't have one. And then another weird thing happened, I was hearing myself give a reply to the question. "Well, I was wondering the difference between marketing and promoting an album in the 70's as compared to doing so today". After a moment of silence, I was told that I was going to be put on hold, and that their would be no guarantee that I would make the show. "Okay", was my reply, and there it was. I was in line to ask Yes a question on Rockline. How cool is this?
Having a cordless, I went to the living room to tell my Sandra. Surprised, was her reaction. From there on, I kept her posted with what was going on.
What was going on, was that I was hearing the show live over the radio. Why I say live, is because when I flipped the tape over, it dawned on me that there was a delay in the broadcast. Not a long one. Maybe 5 seconds or so. Enough to secure that if I screwed up by saying something that I should not on the radio, that there would be enough time for it to be bleeped out.
From that point, time went by. I would hear some questions, and then some music. After a while of this, the guy who answered the phone, cut in to ask me a few questions. What's your full name, address, phone number, how old are you, ect..We had a pleasant conversation with it ending by him saying that I would receive a CD of The Ladder in the mail for being on the show. Then it was back to the world of waiting, and being on hold.
After hearing another classic Yes song, a female voice cut in this time. " Can you repeat your question for the band for me?" I did so, and she replied that I was close to getting on the air. "Please turn down your radio. Don't say hi to the band because this takes up airtime and other callers want to get on. I'll come back on when your getting ready to go on". "Okay", I said, and back to hearing the show on the phone I went.
A couple minutes later, and back she was. "You're going to be on after the next caller" she said. The next callers question was about Bruce Fairbairn. They started talking about his death. Here I am thinking, isn't this depressing, and I got to go on after this. Well, they spent a little too much time I guess, for afterwards it was right to commercial.
Here came the lady again. "Your on right after the song". Was I nervous? My main concern at that point was that I didn't want to ask a stupid question, nor did I want to sound like a dork. Not really a big deal I was telling myself. I spent quality time talking to Steve and Billy before. I met Jon. The song was "Lightning Strikes". It ended with the band appearing to be in good spirits, seeming to get the topic of the death of Fairbairn behind them. "The next caller is......." It was showtime.
Full speed ahead. I quickly got a plug in for the upcoming Houston show, and proceeded to ask my question. When finished, I heard silence. My first response was that I bombed. Billy was first with an answer that got a laugh. Again a moment of silence. The DJ stepped in, and then Jon really took over. Towards the end of him giving me a reply, he said that radio itself seems at times to forget about them, but at the same time here they are making new music and still touring the world. Good answer, and I figured at that point that I was finished. " Gary", goes the host, what type of sales are you in ( or something like that)? Here's a surprise! I blurred out something about the mortgage business, and if you want to buy a house to call me, which got a good response from the guys. Chris came out and said that he was thinking of living in Austin.
There you go. After the show I got some instant messages when I came on the computer. It was really cool talking to friends on here like Roy, Dave, and Eddie, who had just heard me on just a little before. My reaction to it all was that it was like a natural high. Real cool! I have since gotten some other friends that called or E-mailed saying they heard me. Typing this all now, I can truly say that I happy that I picked up the phone and gave it a try. An old saying comes to mind; If at first you don't succeed, try try again.
From Bassist" Magazine - November 99 - UK - Interview with Jon Anderson and Chris Squire.
The instrumental section of New Language has a Roundabout flavour to the bass Line. "It's a bit like the bastard cousin of Roundabout" jokes Squire. "Bruce Fairbairn and Jon wanted me to to do that and I resisted for a long time, but then I thought - F*** It - and decided to do it, and invented a twiddly bit to Change it."
"It certainly works" says Jon, "but it was a funny thing getting him to play that. Chris is a hugely creative musician and a very integral part of band as you know, but more and more self-critical. Bruce and I say - What you should be doing here is the classic Roundabout phrase, but develop it a bit - but we had to push him into a corner and say - you are the one who created that thing, so why not re-perform it with a bit of an edge here and there? - So he did, and I think he loves doing it now, but it took a bit of persuading."
The magazine also claims that "The Ladder" title stems from the Yoko Ono art exhibition suggested here on Southside previously. They do not however credit this statement to either Chris or Jon.
FINALLY SHIPPING!
***The long-awaited Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM is finally shipping. ***
Beginning with the start of the 1999 North American "LADDER" tour of Steve Howe and YES, the first batch of orders is being shipped out of the fulfillment center. Fans have been waiting for this moment (some may say "all their lives" -- at least it may have seemed that way).
Early development of the Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM created overwhelming interest in regard to Steve Howe's career and guitar accomplishments. Many fans were already aware of this master guitarist's dedication to his craft, but were previously unable to see and hear Steve Howe explain and/or perform his greatest guitar pieces close-up. Well, the time has come for all good fans of Steve Howe and Yes to be able to enjoy that intimate relationship that only comes with spending time with Steve Howe Interactive.
Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM is a multi- CD-ROM package that includes 3-Windows 95/98/NT4 & Macintosh-compatible CD-ROMs: Discs 1 & 2 include the Steve Howe Interactive title featuring the All-Access Backstage Pass area and MasterClass; and the third stand-alone disc includes The Steve Howe Guitar Collection on CD-ROM featuring the contents of the award-winning book in electronic format.
>
Minimum System Requirements
Windows 95/98/NT4
120 MHz Pentium / IBM-PC compatible
32 MB RAM / 16 MB RAM available
20 MB Hard Disk Space available
4x CD-ROM Drive
640 x 480, 16-bit display (thousands of colors)
Powered speakers recommended
Macintosh
System 7.5 (or higher)
120 MHz PowerMacintosh
32 MB RAM / 16 MB RAM available
17 MB Hard Disk Space available
4x CD-ROM Drive
640 x 480, 16-bit display (thousands of colors)
Powered speakers recommended
Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM and The Steve Howe Guitar Collection CD-ROM are exclusively available from http://www.BeyondSound.com . If you have not already done so, you may order the title online at a secure order form https://www.comcat.com/~starbyte/starbyte/beyondsound or by calling the toll-free Starbyte Orderline at 1.800.243.1515 extension 786 to place your credit card order. Be sure to mention order code "EPRE" to receive a limited time discount from your Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM order.
Thank you to the many patient fans who have pre-ordered and continuously shown an interest in this one-of-a-kind interactive software title.
Sincerely yours,
David R Adams
BeyondSound, Ltd.
All's a Chord
Ask Steve questions about his music and guitars.
Steve will answer selected questions to be posted on this page. The deadline for this round is October 25, 1999.
To submit your question:
Search the Archives http://www.stevehowe.com/archives.html to see if your question has already been answered. If it has it will not be considered.
Two questions per round, please. Submissions with more than two will not be considered.
Send your submission to Steve.Howe@stevehowe.com with All's a Chord as the subject. Include your full name and location.
The first advert for the tour appeared in the Scottish Sunday Mail today. (Colour ad with ticket prices - YES logo is Ladder style in Red). Promoted by Regular Music, the concerts are billed as "Homeworld" Tour.
I've been checking on the DVD for Keys To Ascension, and I found this company called DVD Street, it listed the DVD will be released on December 6, 1999. Something to look forward to: http://www.dvdstreet.infront.co.uk/cgi-bin/show?Key=dvd-cmp1006&OQ=yes&Zone=
The problem is this DVD is a Zone 2 PAL system disc, so Americans might not be able to view it in their NTSC DVD players.
This years tourbook is one of the best I have seen. The Gottlieb bro.'s did a great job. Front cover is The Ladder cover, printed on heavy stock. Inside there is an excellent 10 page history of the band, filled with photos of concert bills, tickets, backstage passes etc. After the history section there is a section of band member photos, 2 pages for each Yesman. Then there is a great 2 page photo collage of the current line up. (mostly from the oye tour. Finally there are 2 pages of advertisements for The Ladder and Homeworld. This tour book is a real gem. Get it. Also great coffee mugs with the new logo, black caps w/Yes logo, very attractive tee shirts and a Yes mousepad. I got one of each. I think it was $90.00 for the whole lot, worth every penny.
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From: Rene Lester [luvernelib@fcbl.net] - Oct 20
I didn't really get to the booth in Atlanta, but I do know that they had mousepads, mugs and shot glasses for sale in addition to the shirts and tour books.
I would buy before the show instead of after. The Ladder tourbooks sold quickly. I was too late but knew the person who bought the last one. I just glanced through it (really just Jon's page) and noticed he was wearing the white pants and purple shirt from 30th anniversary tour in all of his pics. Seemed to be a lot to the tour book, more substantial than usual and well worth the $15.
Can't really describe the t-shirts as I was not in the market having ordered mine from TM (5 weeks ago and still don't have them) but a friend wanted an XXL and there were none or else quickly sold out....this was during the first 15 minutes of doors opening in Atlanta. We were general admission, so many waited til after the show to shop....too scared to lose our spot on the floor. We were packed in there.
But it was a wonderful show. Still smiling!!
Enclosed in this attachment is a review for the Homeworld game from Newsday, a leading NY newspaper.
Homeworld: A New Kind Of Strategy Gaming
BY: Joseph Gelmis
EDITION: ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: PluggedIn
DATE: 10-20-1999
FUSING TWO popular genres, strategy and space combat games, Homeworld is an epic odyssey of a colony of people trekking across the galaxy in a huge mothership to the home planet from which their ancestors were exiled.
The success of the journey depends on two factors: the player's ability to grow his armada by using resource vessels to harvest asteroids and dust clouds to build additional ships and to research new technologies; and battle smarts in deploying the fleet to cope with hostile pirates and aliens during the game's 16 missions.
Unlike best-selling space combat games such as the Wing Commander and Star Wars series, the player doesn't climb into a starfighter's cockpit for arcade-style dogfights. You orchestrate the tactics of a unit or a squadron from a god-mode perspective-as an omniscient presence in space (zooming in and out as necessary).
God-mode is standard perspective in strategy games such as the recently released Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, but the gathering of resources and construction takes place on a planet's surface. Homeworld's mix of strategy and space combat is the first game in which all the action occurs in three-dimensional space.
Learning to function in space, where there is no up or down, takes a lot of patience and practice. Homeworld offers a comprehensive tutorial to teach the gamer how to move around in this referenceless world and how to control his fleet. To simplify the interface, the game is played primarily with the PC's mouse and a few keystrokes.
"The mouse is a very elegant tool, in a world where there is very little elegance," says Homeworld creator Alex Garden. "It's a really powerful device.
It's analog. It's got acceleration. It's got absolute and relative positioning.
It gives you a great deal of control under the fingertips of one hand. And it allows you to move as fast as you can think. If you're using a keyboard, you're always waiting for your commands to be complete. But with a mouse, you just move, and your commands are completed by the time you stop thinking about it." Though real-time strategy games are more cerebral and take longer to master and to play than arcade-style twitch games, Garden thinks Homeworld will attract even casual gamers with dazzling cinematic scenes that come at regular intervals in the action and Hollywood-caliber spaceships that become increasingly realistic the closer you zoom in.
"I've learned that good game design is about balancing risk and reward for people in a mix that is appealing to them," he says. "If the visual result wasn't worth the effort, I don't think people would spend a lot of time getting used to how to play the game.
"I certainly don't think that Homeworld has broad enough interest to appeal to my mom yet, but it's a good step in that direction. We've got a crossover product that should be satisfying to both mainstream and hard-core gamers." After a couple of days of playing Homeworld, I completely concur with Garden's view of his game. I'm not a hard-core strategy game fan. And the learning curve required to become proficient at navigating space and controlling the fleet has been daunting. So far, though, I've been spellbound by the unique feel and look of the game-as well as its soundtrack, which includes not only evocative outer-space music but the original song "Homeworld" from the new Yes CD, "The Ladder." Whether or not the game achieves its ambition of attracting mainstream players to become a crossover success, Homeworld establishes 24-year-old Alex Garden at a preposterously young age as a world-class talent.
Homeworld, $40-$45, from Sierra Studios, for Pentium 233 or faster PCs, preferably with a 3-D video accelerator, 32 MB RAM, running Windows 95/98 or NT. Also playable by up to eight gamers on local area network and Web sites.
-Gelmis
KEYWORDS: GAME. COMPUTER
Copyright 1999, Newsday Inc.
Joseph Gelmis, A New Kind Of Strategy Gaming, 10-20-1999, pp C06.
Copyright =A9 Newsday, Inc. Produced by Newsday Electronic Publishing.