Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.35 05/01)
excerpts from an interview with Steve Carney (Vocals)
Fragile were formed in July 1998 by myself and Jon. The idea was to bring together a group of talented musicians, and attempt to perform the seemingly impossible... Yes music! By the end of the year we had established our first line-up which included myself, Jon Bastable on bass, Mitch Harwood on drums and voice, Tom Dawe on guitar, Paul McGinley on keyboards, and Micho Correa on lead guitar. This line-up performed the first ever gig in January 1999, and the remainder of that year was spent gigging selectively and rehearsing more material. In March, Peter Banks - the original Yes guitarist - joined us on stage in London for a special guest appearance. In October our much praised website was launched (http://www.yestribute/com), and Dave Rollins replaced Micho on guitar. Last year saw Dave Rollins debut with the band in January, only to be replaced by Robert Illesh in the February. Further change that same month saw Gonzalo Carrera take over keyboards for the departing Paul McGinley. The new line-up performed for the first time in May last year, and by June we had recorded our debut CD "Live At The Half Moon". "Moon" was released in August 2000, to accompany the band's first full UK tour which saw the band on the road for some four months. During the tour the band had the privilege to meet Rick Wakeman, play a high profile date at the London Astoria, and perform for the first time outside the UK in Belgium. The "Roundabout 2000" tour generated many positive reviews and great interest in the band's activities. 2001 will see us performing a new show across the UK at quality rock venues, and extend our European activities to Holland and other countries. New material will be incorporated into the set, and higher production values applied to our stage performance. The year should end with a major London date, and the release of some original material.
Have you ever had contact with original Yes-members? Do they know of Fragile?
Well Peter Banks and Rick Wakeman definitely know of us! And I think the band generally are aware of the Yes tribute phenomenon if not Fragile particularly. I have personally met Jon, Chris, Steve, and Alan, but this was before Fragile were formed.
Obviously you prefer the good old classic Yes-line-up. Could you imagine to play "Drama" material, songs from the latest albums or more Rabin-era stuff?
We agreed, as a band, to cover mainly the classic Yes period from the early 70's as this would probably appeal to larger numbers of Yes fans. This early period is more long term, and recent recordings may not last the "test of time" in the same way. We get many requests for songs from different eras in Yes history, but it's just impossible to include everything that people would like to hear. We would be on stage for about six hours!!
I don’t know when Yes played "South side of the sky" live, it cannot have been that often, I think. Have you ever played this track?
"South side of the sky" is next up on our list to learn before the next gig, good timing! Yes only performed the song live a handful of times, and for some reason it's become a forgotten classic.
Which, for you, is the most difficult song to play?
"Awaken" is the most difficult song for all band members. The usual problem with Yes songs is remembering which bit comes next, whereby the individual parts are not that difficult - I think of Yes music as a big jigsaw. With "Awaken" you have difficult parts and difficult arrangements. The vocal parts seem impossible. My top five most difficult Yes songs are: "Awaken", "Siberian khatru", "Heart of the sunrise", "And you and I" and "Yours is no disgrace".
Have you also covered other bands?
We have all played a diverse range of music over the years, so in the wider sense I suppose the answer is yes. However, in the context of tribute bands the answer is no, we concentrate on Yes to the exclusion of all other acts.
A question that must be asked, of course: have you ever written and performed own material?
Again, the answer is broadly speaking yes. Each of us has a wealth of original material lying around and perhaps in the conext of Fragile we have a vehicle for getting the stuff out. At the moment though, the answer is no with the exception of Robert's beautiful piece "Theme".
Do you think that without the refreshing of Yes by Trevor Rabin in the 80ies the 90ies/2000 version of Yes would have been possible?
I don't buy into Yes factions, and I love the band in all it's shapes and forms. I first saw Yes in 1972 and have seen every UK tour since then, so I am reasonably well equipped to pass comment. My view is that Trevor Rabin ensured that Yes continued when all the odds were against that happening. He also took the band to great commercial success, and introduced a new generation of rock fans to Yes. However, the band was different, and I understand some of the reservations. Nonetheless, if he had not come along, I think the band would have still reformed at some point. But, in my opinion Yes would have become very much a "cult" act, and their legacy to music would have been seen in a different way. For those in doubt, just listen to "Endless Dream" from "Talk", which interestingly enough was the least successful recording with Trevor! It's a masterpiece of construction, performance, and production, and comfortably stands along side the classic songs from the early 70's.
There are some bands writing music in the tradition of old Yes like Now or Flower Kings, but how far do you think can they be successful today? How can you reach more people in the music scene with this kind of sophisticated music?
I think we have to accept that music is tied to moments in history. New acts can play in the syle and guise of the classic bands, but they can't recreate the moment in time that influenced the music in the first place. Prog-rock has a place in the music scene, but it's no longer at the epicentre. I think we have to accept that for many young kids today, music is only a soundtrack to other activities, such as videogaming. Kids are more likely to be inclined to want to be a DJ rather than the next Steve Howe or Chris Squire! However, some sanity does prevail, and it's great to be able to bring Yes music to younger age groups who have not seen the real deal. I think the new bands have to develop a real identity of their own, rather than be a "cut and paste" versions of our classic rock heroes.
Jürgen Meurer © Progressive Newsletter 2001