Jon Anderson of Legendary Rock Band, Yes, Talks About His New Solo Album, True, With The Band Geeks

Jon Anderson has long been known as the lead singer of the legendary rock band, Yes, and he was one of their main songwriters. He co-founded Yes over 50 years ago (in 1968), and he co-wrote their classic songs “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Roundabout” and other hits. And in 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Now in 2024, Anderson (who has just turned 80) remains a very active singer, songwriter and live performer who is still creating music at a high level. His tenor lead vocals still have the range and expressiveness of his earlier years. Anderson recently released a new solo album called True, which he collaborated with a group of younger musicians called The Band Geeks. Remarkably, this album captures the distinctive sound and musicianship of the band Yes, with a new energy and vitality.

For his True album, Anderson was pleased to team up with The Band Geeks, which consists of Richie Castellano (bass), Andy Graziano (guitar), Christopher Clark (keyboards), Andy Ascolese (drums), and Robert Kipp (keyboards & guitar). The Band Geeks were fans of Yes’s music, so they were very familiar with the classic group’s songs and the sophisticated musicianship of Yes. Because of this, Anderson was able to smoothly collaborate with The Band Geeks and create new music which is in the style and structure of Yes.

For many listeners, this new album will sound like Yes has been reinvented and reinvigorated. The opening song, “True Messenger,” immediately displays the keyboard and guitar dexterity that Yes is known for. The second song, “Shine On,” is a melodic, upbeat tune that features catchy, multi-layered harmonies that mixes Yes and Beach Boys-style vocals.

In addition, True includes two longer songs, “Counties and Countries” (10 minutes long) and “Once Upon A Dream” (16 minutes) that resemble the length and ambition of Yes’s earlier epic songs.

Lastly, to provide a change of pace for the album, True includes two excellent ballads—the graceful “Build Me An Ocean” and “Thank God,” a beautiful, heartfelt ballad that ends the album.

Now with the release of True, Anderson is looking forward to launching a new tour with The Band Geeks. In their new show, Anderson and The Band Geeks will perform a combination of Yes classic songs, plus songs from the new album, True.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Anderson. This is our second interview with him. In our 2020 interview, Anderson discussed how he co-wrote Yes’s hits “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “Roundabout,” plus other classic Yes songs.

Here’s our new interview with Jon Anderson:

DK: You’ve been collaborating recently with The Band Geeks, both on tour and on your new album. How did you connect with them?

Jon Anderson: It was very simple. A friend of mine sent me a video of The Band Geeks playing (the Yes song) “Heart of the Sunrise.” I watched the video and they were incredible, so I asked my friend to send me information so I could contact their bass player Richie Castellano, because he looked like he was the organized guy. So I called up Richie and said, “Richie, it’s Jon Anderson,” and he said, “Oh, really? “ I said, “It’s me. I love what you do. I can tell that you like and understand Yes’s music very well.” Richie said, “Yeah, we can play any Yes music. We love it.” And I said, “Exactly. Let’s go on tour together.” That was a year ago, and so we went on tour. We just did 12 shows together.

DK: When I listen to you play with The Band Geeks, it sounds very good, almost exactly how Yes would sound.

Anderson: Yeah it was like a gift from the gods…musical gods.

DK: When did you decide that you wanted to record an album with The Band Geeks?

Anderson: We had gotten on so well with the tour, that I said, “It would be fun to make an album.” And they all said, “Yeah let’s make an album. So that’s what we did, and interestingly, we did all the work through Zoom. They live in New Jersey, and I’m on the west coast of California. And it was like a miracle, that we could make such wonderful music together. I sent Richie some song ideas, and he sent me some ideas he had. And within a month, we sorted out what we had to do. Richie is a brilliant producer, which helps.

DK: As I listen to your new album, it sounds so fresh and vibrant, like a younger man is making the music. After over 50 years of making music, how do you keep that creative energy going strong with your singing and songwriting?

Anderson: I feel very blessed. I love my work, I love the creativity, and I’m always making albums. I’m already thinking about the next three album projects that I want to finish in the next couple of years. And then I want to go on tour again with The Band Geeks. That’s what I’d love to do…I feel great. I’ll be 80 years old soon.

DK; On your new album, I like your song “True Messenger,” which has that classic Yes sound. What inspired you to write that song?

Anderson: A friend of mine, Jamie Dunlap (who composes music for the TV show, South Park), sent me the music. And the title seemed to make a strong impression—the true messenger—be true to who you are and all will be well. If you’re true to your heart and soul, then everything eventually works out.

DK: Another song I like is “Shine On,” which is very catchy and has some great vocal harmonies. How did you write that one?

Anderson: I think Richie (Castellano) sent me the basic concept and the chorus, and I filled it in with ideas. I actually listen to it every day now…I listen to the album every day because I love it.

DK: Your ballad “Thank God,” which ends the album, which is a beautiful song. What inspired you to write this song?

Anderson: It was inspired by God, and my wife. I’m so blessed to have a beautiful wife who really takes care of me on every level, and thank God she’s here and thank God I’m home. You see, when I think about it…I’m home.

DK: I want to ask you about your music with Yes. For younger fans who want to explores Yes’s music, which of the Yes albums would you recommend they check out first?

Anderson: Oh boy, I’d say Fragile. Fragile was the third album we made together and it was the one [that worked very well]. We had made two albums and I was never very happy with them. I thought we can’t keep doing an album by going in a studio to start working on it.

I thought what we should do…we should rent a house in Devon (in England). We should go far away to Devon, and we found this farmhouse, and they actually had a studio in there. So we went there and we spent three weeks together having dinner and breakfast, and then working together. And we had a good energy writing together.

DK: Is Fragile your favorite Yes album?

Anderson: Well, that led us on to do Close to the Edge, which was my definite favorite.  And of course, “Awaken” (from their album, Going for the One) on a musical level is just glorious, and then all of a sudden we had 90125.

DK: 90125 had the great hit, “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”

Anderson: We were rock stars!

DK: Well, you were rock stars all along, actually.

Anderson: Well, I hope so.

DK: Thank you Jon for doing this interview. Is there anything that we haven’t discussed yet, that you’d like to mention for this article?

Anderson: Well I was just listening to the new album. I do a walk every morning about a couple of miles up the hill and down. And I listen to the album now because I love it. I want to enjoy it and it helps with the walking and then jogging a bit. And the thing that comes to mind is that I’m singing about two things. I’m singing about how we’re surrounded by such a beautiful world. And it’s the idea of developing our consciousness around the world, away from the craziness of wars.

These are crazy times that we’re living in, and to find a balance in the Garden of Eden because the Mother Earth is the Garden of Eden. I know it would be great if every country could build their country into a beautiful Garden of Eden, and shake off the energies of war and stuff, which I think we all want.