[atlantaprog] Re: Fwd: Hastings Riverside Showchoir

I can't stop laughing! I try to stick to the Sun Ra quote  "all musicians
playing any form of music are an inspiration to me"-but you gotta know that
it is extremely funny to someone as me who both LOVES the music of Yes AND
considers them to be VERY PRETENTIOUS-14 year old me is gasping for air on
that statement but here I am now!

Interesting question raised in an earlier response...Is Jon in the way of
more Yes or simply tired of the infighting of egos (is this infighting a
rumor or well documented fact...don't know where that perception comes from
in the first place, much less it's validity)?

I know this much...if it is artistically dead...sounding very good and great
chops do not preclude this possibility...then the artist must move on to
what is alive for them...

It is much more important that the spiritual condition of a band be healthy
rather than just the musical ability, fan base or whatever else is relevant.
Yonrico Scott described this reality in the Derek Trucks band telling me
that playing in that ensemble felt spiritually like making love onstage.
Indeed that is what I have felt in my greatest musical moments and I have
gotten rather picky about seeking that aspect in music however open and
expansive I continue to be. Always willing to try lots of interactions but
the bar for long term musical commitments has definitely been raised for me.

Wonder if Jon Anderson's experience has lead him to a similar headspace?
Does Yes still create such magic for the performers within or has that time
passed? Clearly it must have been so at one time for them to have inspired
so many of us to musical careers!

Miles Davis' take on this issue was "you can't play what you did six months
ago...everything you do is dated". The shelf life for a given musical
expression may vary as widely as the musicians performing it...Bill Bruford
was more like Miles in this headspace than say Johnny Cash or the Rolling
Stones who didn't change nearly as often. All of them seem or seemed in
touch with their bliss. Miles told Kieth Jarrett once (I believe it was in
1974) the reason he didn't play ballads anymore was because he loved ballads
so much. He felt that what he loved must change before it becomes
stagnant..it was about the moment always for him.

On the other hand I have immensely enjoyed every moment shared with Yes in
concert, even decades after my first Yesshow in 1974. But 1974 was the
freshest and most magical experience for me. And music itself has the power
to inspire others greatly even if the performers feel they are just going
through the motions. This in my opinion is not as much about the moment in
concert as about the hearing of the truly inspired original recordings and
the inspiration that came from the kind of fresh magic I experienced in
1974. But it would be highly presumptive to assume that this is
automatically true for every individual receiving such a latter day concert.
So I hope you get your concert tour....and that the Yes band will feel fresh
inspiration in being there now!

Amazing Lizardo 

P.S. In today's local rag Jane Fonda spoke of her renewed enthusiasm for
acting after a fifteen year absence in which she missed it not. Glen
Phillips on the reverse page mentioned how Harold Kelling's death had
inspired him to reconnect with the music of the Hampton Grease band. You can
see that result this Friday at the Variety while awaiting similar magic from
Yes when and if they decide to reconnect with their past or stake a new
future. The original band never fully reunited and it's fans have had to
reconnect sans Colonel Bruce prior to Harold's death and now sans Harold. We
have been blessed to see the original heyday lineup but will likely never
get to see Peter Banks, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford join Squire and Anderson.
Now if someone is working on a time travel machine.....count me in!

Ahhh nostalgia....I do think it's good...all you good people...turning your
heads these days!





> I just HAD to find out who was responsible for that Roundabout
> monstrosity - a bit of Googling led me to this kid whose in it - here's
> what he had to say (it's hard to believe they're serious!)
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> The Hastings Riverside Showchoir is a high school activity. We have 54
>> singer/dancers, an all student band made up of about 9 students, and
>> about a 6 person crew. We learn our choreography and songs late in the
>> summer, and learn our show about from August to January. Basically,
>> other than a week where we practice 8 hours a day for four days, we
>> practice 4 or 5 hours a week. It is all extracurricilar (sic). Our
>> director is Lin Warren, and our choreographer is Andrew Cao. He and
>> his brother also do our arrangements. We compete about times
>> throughout the year, in Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and we did one in
>> Iowa, and one in Omaha. This was the first time we went to a FAME
>> competition, which is national. There were choirs there from New York,
>> Ohio, West Virginia, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kentucky...maybe a
>> couple more. We are from Hastings, Minnesota.
>>  
>> Well I hope that covers it all. Any other questions send me an email,
>> or aim me at  Ihateeggs3583
>

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