"Yeah, yeah, Tiano," you may be thinking. "Actions speak louder than words." I couldn't agree with you more. As I mentioned last time we met that even though NFTE was MIA YesWorld continued to bring you news about the members as well as any legitimate Yes related releases (note that we stay away from the current mishmash repackagings of every Yes album from KEYS TO ASCENSION forward as those are not band-supported releases, with the market being flooding with meaningless Yes compilations that are only designed to make money, and not necessarily for the band). There are the various discussion groups (including YesFans at YW), blogs, MySpace, etc. etc. where Yes news can be discussed.

I think this post from Danny Tichio from Hicksville, NY (appropriately titled "What's Happening?") hit home as to why Notes is still essential to Yes fans:

"I understand that the band is off working on separate projects but there is still a fan base that wants to share information. We like to use Notes From the Edge as a sounding board for sharing information about the band. It would nice if we could see a new issue at least twice a year. Hopefully, you'll be able to get another issue out soon.

"Thanks. --Danny"

In return I also say, thanks, Danny, for articulating this (and to unnamed others who had similar messages). Notes is the one central location to share information without having to sift through myriad sources. So with this note we're wiping the slate clean. If you sent a submission that you think is still relevant please resubmit it--and if no longer have it then email me direct as we still have those submissions. It will be reviewed for inclusion in the next regular issue, which will appear when we have a sizable number of submissions.

There is another reason for this standalone column, somewhat tied to the absence of Notes (which will be revealed towards the end of this essay). Recently a good friend named Steve Abel asked if I would be attending a show by a Seattle-area Yes tribute band called Parallels (I know that there is at least one other band in the world with that name, but here that's beside the point). I wasn't aware that this gig was happening but thought if nothing else it would be a good reason to get together with Steve, who I hadn't seen in some time.

At first I wasn't sure about going, given my own trepidation about tribute bands. I could understand the concept when it's done in the manner that the Genesis tribute band, the Musical Box, has adopted. My understanding is that they have rotating shows of three subsequent tours (FOXTROT, SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND, and THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY), each show faithful to the original set lists for those actual tours, right down to between-song patter, costumes, and staging elements that came from Genesis themselves. But I was of the mind that if I want to, say, hear Steve Howe's solos, then I want to hear Steve play them, and if I did go to Parallel's gig I'd want to hear more obscure stuff.

I reconsidered when I realized that Randy George was in the band. Randy is an accomplished musician who is a proponent of prog rock in his recent associations with the likes of Neal Morse. It dawned on me that Randy wouldn't be in a "copy band", and mutual Yes friend Howard Wooten was excited about them, so I decided to check them out. (Howard also made some rumblings about the band possibly playing "Future Times/Rejoice", but ultimately that song wasn't in the set.)

(Side note: As I drove to the gig I ironically got a call on from Tony Kaye, who was returning my call regarding some upcoming interviews we have planned. I told him where I was going, and ended the call by saying, "I'll send 'Jon' your regards!")

Though I originally expected the performance to be in some club, I had learned that it actually was being held in a small hall owned by a Lynnwood music store. No tables or bar, just snacks and sodas, with the seats consisting of metal folding chairs (ah, the pain an audience must endure to experience great art); but that last item aside it was nice to be in a setting where the focus was the band, not selling drinks. I didn't know the set list (or want to know, for the sake of surprise), and outside of Randy I wasn't familiar with the other musicians. I also found it interesting that the lead singer was a woman (Robyn Dawn). I imagine it must be tough to find a male who can sing Jon's parts without sounding like an imitator or just plain shrill.

The band opened with, appropriately, "Parallels", which was promising as I personally hadn't heard that played live since the GOING FOR THE ONE tour back in 1977--again, promising as it was something fresh to my ears. It was followed by a fairly faithful rendition of "Heart of the Sunrise", and though that's one I'd like to see Yes retire it was nevertheless engaging. I found that I was getting caught up in the performance--granted not as breathless as I would be at the masters themselves, but happy that this music is getting played. As Randy said early in the show the intent isn't to be mere imitators of Yes music, and the next selection was evidence of what an inventive group of musicians could do in bringing Yes music to local audiences--and it opened my eyes to the possibilities.

Though I probably groaned to myself when the band launched into "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish" (another one that I've gotten my fill of) they added something towards the end of "Fish" that spiked my interest: a short instrumental medley of all the songs from Chris' FISH OUT OF WATER album. It was creative and inspired, and unexpectedly elevated the song for me. More so than at the start, I was all ears and eager to see what came next.

I won't go into the entire set, except to mention that "And You and I" and "Awaken" were standouts, as was "Astral Traveler"--great to hear an early Yes tune that the actual band is reticent to do. The rest of the set consisted pretty much of songs Yes had been trotting out these last few years. It occurred to me that the longevity of tribute bands is to be ever evolving, playing a different set of songs at every performance. Obviously that's an easy thing for me to say, as it's asking a lot of musicians that probably won't ever make a living from being in a tribute band, and have day jobs and family that also demand their time.

That being said, here's a list of some ideas that, I feel, would keep fans starved for Yes music coming back. Yes tribute bands don't carry the baggage that prevents Yes from playing certain things, and taking advantage of that allows greater depth and creativity.

• Play original arrangements. We're all familiar with the live versions of THE YES ALBUM, FRAGILE, and CLOSE TO THE EDGE, mainly in Alan's interpretation of some of the songs, differing radically from Bill Bruford's approach. This was something I looked out for at the Parallels gig. A good example was "And You and I" where the line "reasons to call" leads into the instrumental "Eclipse" section. In Alan's version he plays a drum roll that sections off what follows. On the actual LP (and when ABWH performed it) Bill lays back, and the vocals and Mellotron flow ethereally into the next section, the transition markedly different. Another example is in CTTE, where "Seasons of Man" on the album ends in a different key than what would be performed live (A flat instead of B flat. Funny that in Yes' ultimate masterwork they changed the key for the climax, but I digress.) This isn't to denigrate these other renditions, and they're fine to play. My point is to leave that to Yes, and give us something we can't expect to get from the real deal.

• Perform alternate arrangements where they exist. I was listening to "America" on THE WORD IS LIVE when this one occurred to me. The arrangement differs so much from the version we know and love that it would be unique to actually hear it live like that. Or the early version of "Dear Father". Granted there aren't a lot of songs in this category but performing a known variant adds a different slant.

• Perform songs that haven't been performed in a long time, if at all. I always found the live, longer version of "For Everyone" (from a bootleg) intriguing. Add to that "Something's Coming" and "A Venture". And as much as I loath UNION for the mock-ABWH tracks I'd love to hear "Miracle of Life" or "The More We Live (Let Go)". Not to forget most of Yes' latter-day output…"Homeworld"? "Dreamtime"? "Bring to the Power"? What about DRAMA and TORMATO? "Endless Dream" from TALK? The possibilities are enormous.

• Add solo songs. Granted, there are a LOT of these, particularly from the prolific Mr. Howe. But there are certain songs that lend themselves to a Yes band arrangement. Most of BEGINNINGS and FISH OUT OF WATER come to mind. Steve told me recently that he thought "Gates of a New World" from GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS would have been a killer Yes tune. There is a wealth of solo material there--surprise us.

• Have revolving band members. This might be a radical idea, but one that might be worth pursuing, which could also ease up the burden of having only five people learn such intense music. IOW have a guitarist for Banks, one for Howe, one for Rabin; a keyboardist for Kaye, one for Wakeman, etc...this would also lend itself to a chronological "eras" show.

• Incorporate medleys. These might be best kept to a minimum, but a good way of covering certain songs with original arrangements, though this might irk the purists. Parallels is already working on a condensed arrangement of the whole of TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, which for a tribute band might be more desirable than expecting a Yes fan to sit through the original arrangements for nearly 80 minutes (but not necessarily ruling that out; see next item...).

• Go the Musical Box route. Faithfully perform the actual set from one of Yes' many tours. I understand the TALES stage set is in some guy's back yard somewhere in the UK and might be available...

At the Parallels gig Randy asked who in the audience had traveled the furthest. One gentleman said he was from Minneapolis, while another trumped that by saying he came from Australia. After the show I confirmed that the Aussie just happened to be in town. Then the dude from Minneapolis approached me, and introduced himself as John Costello (Howard had pointed me out to him), and I figured that the gig coincidentally coincided with his trip too.

Not so, John advised me. True, he had never been to Seattle and wanted to see the Experience Music Project, but the #1 reason for this trip was this Parallels gig, as Yes tours usually bypass Minnesota, and this was his chance to hear some live Yes music.

I was stunned. Granted it's unlikely that many would travel a great distance mainly to attend a concert by a tribute band. But what about those people who live in the same city where these bands exist? In that case fans have a golden opportunity to hear songs being performed by musicians who are passionate about playing this unique brand of music, and are every bit fans themselves.

During our conversation John asked me why there hasn't been an issue of Notes since June of 2006. Gulp. I had put it off for too long for the reasons stated at the onset of this column. But now I am ready to once again make Notes a regular event (as regular posts warrant it), and after attending a great show by dedicated musicians playing Yes music for the love of it I envisioned this column, bringing together the two topics.