On Friday August 23rd, 2024, Jon Anderson will release his new album “True.” This is an album Jon has recorded with The Band Geeks. Jon and I had spoken in person last year when he was rehearsing for his first tour with The Band Geeks. Jon mentioned at the time doing some writing with Richie Castellano of the group. I asked him that if it did turn into a new album, would he come back and speak to me. True to his word, here we are.
I asked Jon if the album was completed remotely. Jon said most of the album was completed that way. He spoke about exchanging song ideas with Richie. Jon said he worked with everybody in the creation of the music. Jon said of the band, “These guys are remarkable people, musicians and they’re just great to be with.” Jon said it was “As though whoever coordinates up there, the gods of music, put us together to make this album.” Jon’s excitement about reaching people around the world with this album was quite obvious. Jon is also looking forward to performing this album live.
This felt like a good time to cover how Jon and The Band Geeks first came to work together. A friend of Jon’s sent him a video of The Band Geeks performing the Yes classic “Heart Of The Sunrise.” All Jon could think was “I wanna work with these guys.” About a month later Jon called Richie and explained he’d seen the video and then asked, “Do you wanna go on tour together?” After assuring Richie he was indeed himself, he told them the Yes material he wanted to perform live.
Then we dove into conversation about the album “True” and it’s first single “Shine On.” What jumps out right away on first listen to the song is the harmonies. Jon said that The Band Geeks naturally harmonize. He went on to say, “You name it, they can sing it.” Jon said the songwriting process for the album was reminiscent of the 70′s for him. Jon spoke about having the same feeling in the creative process with the “Geeks” that he had with Yes. He had nothing but praise for all of The Band Geeks.
To me, and to many people, the sound of the band Yes will always be Jon Anderson’s voice. I told Jon that because of that, this album sounds like Yes to me. I asked if he tried to shy away from that or did he embrace that. “I wanted to sing just the way I am” was his immediate response. “The music came to me that I naturally sing.” “It just materialized like we were on a mission.”
We also talked about the video for “Shine On” and Richie Castellano playing a Rickenbacker bass. To me, it brought to mind of course, the late Chris Squire in the image and the sound as well. Jon flashed me two thumbs up as I began relating this to him. “He’s so happy, Chris” was Jon’s reaction. “I can sense he’s watching this happen and just saying ‘Keep going.’”
Currently Jon and The Band Geeks are on tour playing “Yes, Epics and Classics.” They are including “Shine On” in the shows. The song absolutely fits side by side with classic Yes music. I asked Jon how the audience was responding to the song. Jon told me they were reacting exactly the same as to the other songs in the set. Jon spoke about other songs on the album including “Counties And Countries.” He even told me “I can’t wait to do these songs on tour.” That led me to ask Jon if there was a plan to do a tour that focused on the new album. Jon shared that it would be a balance between new and old.
One of the last things Jon said to me I felt, was a great comment on “True.” “I do get carried away thinking about the album. It really is such a gift for me.”
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