YES interview - Jon Davison June 3rd 2014

[@eennymo]

Jon D. Is such a humble, nice guy. I've had the privilege of meeting him in person. He seemed so surprised when I told him what a great job he was doing. He inherited a tough job, wouldn't want to be in his shoes. But he is truly a talented singer/musician/songwriter!

[@Ferretclaw444]

I wish I got to meet him, but I have at least seen him live. I agree with you 100% its a really hard pair of shoes to fill as the lead singer for yes. He is doing fantastic.

[@johnbutler1513]

The Rolling Stones without Jagger.......Zeppelin without Plant.....The Who without Daltry.......Yes without Anderson....You really think this twat is "truly talented" .....Heaven and Hell was flaccid turgid shit.....and fucking crap.....

[@johnbutler1513]

Ferretclaw444 He is nothing more than yet another Anderson sound alike - has contributed shit - especially the Heaven and Earth flaccid pile of dirge

[@Bolteus]

Can't imagine going from tribute act to the real thing, amazing!

[@renues]

Seems like a really nice guy. I love the new album!

[@terrymattingly6843]

He was a great singer in Glass Hammer, with really strong writing and keyboards. Stronger than what Yes has now, if you are a prog fan. It’s good that Jon stresses that here.

[@Ramshackled17]

Best Wishes to you Jon!

[@letthesunshinethru2355]

Just saw J Davison perform with YES and he totally kills it! Brings a beautiful fresh energy to the line up. But of course, I will ALSO always love Anderson! He cut the cloth. Why do we have to choose? It is what it is, and an honor anytime I've ever been able to see Yes and I have, many times since 1976. Absolutely loved seeing Maestro Howe, my fav, and Geoff! AND will always love Squire RIP. I look forward to seeing AWR. Feel better soon, White. Much Love To Them ALL.

[@jongpw50]

Hi Kills it alright, he murders all the Yes songs.

[@keep_walking_on_grass]

I just listened to a few songs. it is not his fault, he is a great singer and appears to be a very nice person (which means nothing at all, because the appearance of people says nothing about their true personality) but, he lacks totally the magic. I can't imagine a singer who is more difficult to replace than Jon Anderson. because he is pure magic like no other. his timbre is unique. you can replace the entire band if you will, but you can not replace Jon Anderson in yes. I mean that seriously.

[@dunc1959]

Good voice & a great opportunity for him but no one can replace Jon Anderson he was the essence of Yes it's a shame he's no longer there but saying that I still enjoy this version of Yes but they will never beat the original good luck to them.

[@tobydesimone6096]

He's a beautiful person & brings a great vibe to Yes! His voice is pure & mesmerizing!

[@darrenbennion6086]

I don't get into the who's the better arguments especially when it's Yes. This guy is well equipped to do the job well. I've seen him with Yes a few times and he nailed it. He a natural. No ego. Humble and very talented

[@caiusmarins]

He's such a nice guy, indeed!

[@johnbutler1513]

God almighty ------words fail me for your sheer gullibility

[@kiethbrawls7502]

Saw Yes in Liverpool ,did not know much about there music but seeing them at the Philharmonic hall they were fantastic, enjoyed the music and got to meet the band at the after show party. Fantastic.

[@romanbanton439]

This is YES Jon you rocked us in Edmonton

[@trilingual]

Agreed . . . Jon D was indeed great in Edmonton--I was there, too!

[@trilingual]

***** Umm . . What was there to be "gullible" about? Your comment makes no sense.

[@black2k15]

Can't wait to go see you guys on August 24 XD, I'm so excited!!!!!

[@billcompeau4835]

Talented guy for sure, I wish him all the best, can't be easy stepping into a legends shoes, not sure I would feel comfortable being such a target from the hate mongers...

[@gurgisjones1120]

Some things just aren't right in the universe. This is one of them. Nothing against the fake Jon. He just doesn't have what made the real Jon a force in the band, and it's insulting to put him in that position. Keep the tribute band guys in their own camp.

[@krisholtzclaw8101]

Shallow... Just a hobby that turns into a bigger opportunity. This guy will never replace Jon Anderson. It's a sign that YES should shut down and retire and be remembered for the great artists that they WERE. No Anderson means this is NOT YES...

[@andymacdonald6093]

And no Bon Scott means no AC/DC right? Wrong!

[@cyradragons]

AC/DC is done now, too. Angus is all that's left.

[@andymacdonald6093]

Now , yes. Sadly.

[@cyradragons]

:(

[@brett10181]

I just saw this guy. He was awesome

[@milenariarr8329]

Que agradable es Jon Davison; además tiene una voz hermosa. ¡Excelente por Yes! ❤️💫🍷

[@234cheech]

sweet guy

[@serenitypeaceandcomfort3669]

There was a tribute band called, "Wondrous Stories" in New York and they were incredible. I don't know if they are still around but they were seriously good.

[@harrisrosenberg7992]

Yuk... Jon Anderson Is YES It takes more than a high voice to take us close to the edge and down by the river it takes 1000 hands why listen to a garbage cover band when you can listen to Anderson Rabin Wakeman if Rick Wakeman isn't the real yes Geoff Downs he's cool Video Killed the Radio Star Patrick moraz Igor Tony k but nobody plays yes like Rick Wakeman Jon Anderson Trevor Rabin his heart is in the right place when he is with the guys so he is now yes

[@hrodbert696]

I heard him with Yes on his first tour with them. Excellent voice. In my opinion, he didn't really "own" the frontman role, seemed to be hanging back in terms of stage presence. That left a gap. But his singing is excellent, and hopefully he's growing into a more confident frontman role with the new album and tour.

[@eennymo]

There are times in your life when you have the opportunity to try to fill someone's shoes. I admire those who try, instead of cower out. He's doing something he loves, he is out there giving his best. No he is not Jon A, and being a long-time fan I miss him. But I am still a Squire, Howe, White fan, and I will always attend a Yes concert when it comes my way. I have to say that I am also a Davidson fan - as much as you hate to hear that! I just appreciate good talent.. Is that a crime? You may not agree - that's okay. It's all a matter of what you prefer.

[@falldownfairy1]

Saw Jon tonight. He is amazing and totally enjoys performing the classic Yes songs of yesterday. A real showman. Chris Squire still rocks and Steve Howe is magical..still buzzing from their show tonight :0)

[@cyradragons]

And I just saw them and completely disagree. He sucked. Trying to be someone you're not never works. Showman? He tries to copy Jon Anderson and fails. He needs to be himself and maybe he won't be so painfully awkward on stage. I swear, I wanted to rip those chimes off the stage..."What do I do know, I'm not faking JA...oh! Chimes!!!" NO.

[@John-D.]

The "Etherical" lyrics, thoughts and Feelings are Gone. The songs are "good" but they don't have ability to push you into a different frame of mind. The Crescendo's that make you feel Elated, are gone.

[@alfredferrarini6781]

not jon anderson

[@omcx1e]

Some won't agree, but to me, if there's no Jon and no Rick, there's no Yes. Although Patrick Moraz was an acceptable replacement on Relayer.

[@dunc1959]

I agree and they need a better keyboard player Alan has never really recovered from the surgery he had so should step aside now in my view as sadly he just does not cut it anymore

[@donutcookiepie]

ALL real Yes fans disagree with you.

[@BarrySanchez]

@@donutcookiepie your wrong donut all true YES Fans totally agree with OMCX1-E

[@SuperCatKeeper]

Guy is a fine singer and i like his lyrics.... he would be much better off getting back with Glass Hammer.... they're much more interesting that the band calling themselves Yes.

[@Ferretclaw444]

He is still with Glass Hammer, never broke away.

[@goaman69]

Expect he is a nice person ,but the band now days are just a cover band.Mr white is just very sloppy playing & as for Mr Downs just a bad keyboard player that YES has ever had.Time to stop Mr Howe.

[@jongpw50]

Davison wmeans well and who can blame him for the chance to sing with 'Yes', but he's a poor substitute for Jon Anderson. They're currently touring with only two of the original members as well. It's just about money and nothiing else, I urge all fans to boycott thise cowboys. It's time to call it a day.

[@sinfoneura]

Reminds me more .. Kevin Cronin

[@AslansAngel1]

Jon Anderson is perhaps my favorite vocalist ever. I tried to be partial, but should Jon D. be allowed to be the lead singer if he doesn't even know the real name of one of the albums? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYfZh5xsrtZma5om38s . Last time I knew it was called Tales From Topographic Oceans. I know. I'm a horrible person. I'm upset that he said, "THE." ROFLOL I am SUCH a devoted fan of Jon Anderson / Yes. It's torture for me. I'm nit-picking. I know.

[@stevesmith3990]

Great interview, Jon is a class act.

[@insideout2742]

+Steve Smith No one can replace Jon Anderson !!! This idiot is just an Idiot !!! YES without Jon Anderson isn't YES anymore !!! So piss off faker !!!

[@stevesmith3990]

+Inside Out TROLL.

[@stevesmith3990]

+Inside Out Yeah right, I've only been a fan since 1977.

[@insideout2742]

Steve Smith No you're not. You were never a fan of YES.

[@insideout2742]

slw59 Who is "all" ? I don't kill myself because some frustrated pshycho freak tells me so LOL !!! I love life ! Go play outside with your ball, little boy, until your mum calls you for supper : D

[@bigua1428]

Jon Anderson rules ¡¡¡¡¡¡

[@donutcookiepie]

Anderson doesnt even rule the Yes rejects. Wakeman did.

[@ger5856]

Immitation and mimicry , I wont abuse this person but Mr Anderson is the one true original in the real band YES. This new imitation is just a karoke moneygrabing failed clone.

[@donutcookiepie]

Anderson's Yes cover bands are a fucking joke.

[@jongpw50]

@@donutcookiepie You Twat

[@alexandrecaputo1473]

Great ! A special person !!!

[@theAsterisk]

When dealing with those like Tony Burton (see the other comments) who wish to mock Davison as a mere "mimic" or what have you, bear in mind how similarly fixated and personally offended the same disgruntled characters typically get about Benoit David not sounding *enough* like Anderson, or about Trevor Horn's stint. Consistency in criticism is key, else it just looks like lazy post hoc rationalization of an emotive impulse. Catty responses to so many other people's otherwise unrelated comments makes you look like a whiny little brat, Tony. Shouldn't be any ambiguity to deal with there. Lighten up! Anderson isn't and has never been the be all, end all, and left to his own devices he makes middling-to-meandering music without others' honest input to temper his particular peculiarities- like most musicians do without some extra collaborative input! Nothing bad in it, and nothing divinely touched. Arguments like this I expect out of Van Halen fans, but you'd *think* Yes fans could be a bit more tolerant of mere variety and change, no matter its forms, *especially* given the long history of the band's almost modular approach to its lineup. Listen as you like, but there's no pressing need to resort to insult and grumpery *after you seek out what you already know you won't like*.

[@johnbutler1513]

Wrong sunshine ---Burton here -----I thought Fly From Here was excellent (only that track mind you) ----and Benoit did not try and sound too much like Anderson.....but this guy is a karaoke machine and listening to the crap he spouts makes me puke......Yes - what is now left ......need a song writer to build the music around - and in this Davison failed dismally - Heaven and Earth - is the first ever Yes album you would have to PAY ME to buy. Flaccid, slow, mind-numbingly just pure shit....there is more going on in the first 3 Minutes of Fly From Here than the whole of that piece of vomit....

[@shirleymental4189]

Why did they get rid of Benoit David?

[@zenonyaremko8316]

He got sick and they needed someone because they were touring..he sounded much better than Jon Davidson(the choir boy) as I call him

[@yarlodek5842]

He should pursue other projects and leave “””Yes””” behind. I’m sure he’d be great with his own band.

[@johnbutler1513]

Picked from obscurity - a Yes tribute band. Seems he has joined another !! This Jon irritates me quite a bit. I am sure he is a nice guy. But, Anderson talked about YES being in his DNA months before this man also claimed it ! Too high and too girly in sound - lacks Anderson depth, and songwriting skills - which is why Heaven and Earth was such a flaccid pile of boring meandering crap. As for YES - they should stop - times up. ARW - these shows should be really good. And HAVE BEEN.....with Rabin's more outgoing nature and those power chords -a much better interaction with other band members...he just reaches out and connects to an audience more effectively than Howe has ever done. I know - I was at Dortmund 1984 - -the best Yes concert I have ever been to - and I have been to bloody loads of shows.

[@mikereiss4216]

So unless he was in high school when he was 12 or 13 years old it seems unlikely that he got into them when owner of a lonely heart first came out since I was in Jr. High at the time and he's a year younger than me.

[@yessmitty777]

Sorry, He's NO Jon Anderson.....

[@motherthecar]

Joseph Smith Your right , he's no JA...but he's better

[@RafaelCama]

motherthecar He's better, perhaps, for a folk band. But Yes is a ROCK band. JA can sing Rock. JD can't. His voice is only right for the more melodic light songs, perhaps. And I'm not sure.

[@motherthecar]

Rafael Cama Disagree..JD can hold his voice longer on songs then JA ever could. My opinion , your opinion , it's all good.

[@cyradragons]

Better? Hardly. I just saw them in Milwaukee and he cannot hit nor hold the notes JA can. Not even close. I cringed through the whole show. I tried, I really did but his attempt at being JA instead of himself was too painful and obviously forced.

[@seananderson8275]

Doh...my hearing aid doesn't work too well these days" Jon A is in a different league than this "sound-a-like"

[@charadeyouareha]

no

[@jkovert]

Not

[@universorojo2573]

This is not Yes, why you keep saying that

[@shaunsteele6926]

this guy makes Jon Anderson sound like Barry White

[@micasaveiro]

He have a long way to get there. Jon is unique

[@johnbutler1513]

Too right, -this karaoke machine sings anderson's songs - because his own were all such bland shit. God that HEAVEN AND EARTH was a pile of flaccid, mediocre, boring, mind numbing shit . I WISH HE WOULD GO AWAY FROM THE OBSCURITY HE BELONGS.. Howe ---- Rabin is going to blast your jazz noodling well out of the arena......

[@hammill444]

Seems like a nice guy. But truly, this latest incarnation of Yes is a disgrace in every way.

[@jljsuk]

Agreed, the new record is miserable, the lack of creativity is huge. I have nothing against this new guy, but why a clon of Anderson? why not something new and more interesting to change things a bit? album should be sold as 1 cent CD and then send the cent back with an apology.

[@joeyesman269]

It is sad that Chris Squire is using this man the way he is. Yes was great in the seventies. This is just sad. I doubt this Jon Davison is getting paid as much as he is being used. Yes, The Yes Album, Fragile, Close To The Edge, Relayer, Tales, and Tormato are the only works worth the time to listen to. The rest is tired. Alan White was a nice replacement for Bruford. A real rocker, INSTANT KARMA wow.... But aside from that YES is Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, and the owner of the franchise Squire. When Squire is gone Yes will be gone. He milked the name for all it's worth. It is sad SadSongs....

[@bernab]

Going For The One and Drama also for me. The rest is tired (with some good moments=

[@Soundoholics]

Add a public comment..naw, it ain't worth it.

[@mlaity1]

He doesn't even get Tales from Topographic Oceans right at 1:40 adding a "the". I don't blame him though, I would have taken the gig too.

[@jonnyrock3986]

Sounds gay,does not sound anything like jon

[@charadeyouareha]

boo

[@getredytagetredy]

How much are those millionaires paying you?

[@VictorPerez-hu8mg]

Difícil estar imitando al gran Jon Anderson,mejor da un paso al costado;ARW es el verdadero Yes entiende eso !!!

[@donutcookiepie]

no

[@Jay_Tee2023]

Also, Jon Anderson is British like 90% of Classic Rock, this guy does not have an English accent

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

Have seen a couple of videos of this guy and he sounds remarkably like Anderson and his vocal is much better. The strangest thing though, he looks like Eddie Offord.

[@lastdaysguitar]

+Mysterious Squirrel Good point about Offord, they look like twins.

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

lastdaysguitar Almost uncanny isn't it. He's a great replacement for Anderson too.

[@lastdaysguitar]

+Mysterious Squirrel On that point we will have to agree to disagree. Anderson should be back - he's healthy and singing wonderfully in 2014 and 2015 and wrote a vast majority of this material - these are his songs, it is time for Howe to get off the power trip and give the fans what they want - YES with Jon Anderson!

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

Really? I haven't heard Anderson sing in ages. The last time was, I think, the last Anniversary tour and he wasn't too impressive. Hope you are right because with Squire gone, they have their work cut out. Where do you get a bassist like Squire?

[@lastdaysguitar]

Mysterious Squirrel Anderson has a lot of solo videos on you tube, his healing of lung issues is complete thank God. Davison is apparently a great guy and does and admirable job, and someday (see "Perpetual Change" lol) he may be the guy to permanently sing... but Anderson while able to sing should outrank any replacement, and will always be "the voice" of Yes for me.

[@jongpw50]

No wonder he's smiling as much; asked to replace Benoit with no audition; lucrative tours and all those adoring fans, though for the love of me I simply cannot understand why Yes fans continue to support Steve Howe and his merry men. This is not Yes it's a sham and should have been put to bed a long time ago.

[@jongpw50]

You look and sound like a girl Davison

[@donutcookiepie]

as if you'd know what a girl looks or sounds like.

[@paullewisweston8586]

@@donutcookiepie 😂