Where are they now? - Steve Howe

This page last updated: 13 Jun 2010
 
YES and projects with several Yesmen
Jon
Anderson
Chris
Squire
Steve
Howe
Alan
White
Rick
Wakeman
Bill
Bruford
Tony
Kaye
Peter
Banks
Patrick
Moraz
Trevor
Horn
Geoff
Downes
Trevor
Rabin
Billy
Sherwood
Igor
Khoroshev
Anderson & Wakeman
Asia
CIRCA:
Yoso
Oliver Wakeman
Benoît David
Others associated with the band

On this page: Solo projects - Guest appearances

On other pages: Yes news - Asia

Steve Howe's official site: Homepage - News - MySpace page

Yes & Asia
Howe is touring with Yes—see details on main news page. He is also continuing in the original Asia reunion with Geoff Downes, John Wetton and Carl Palmer. Asia have a new album, Omega, now out—see details here. Discussing his many projects in a June 2010 interview, Howe said: "Yes is central to my work, especially since 2008 when we got back together. It's always played an important role, and we have an interesting lineup. I plot my year out to do as many projects as I can." In an unpublished Apr 2010 interview, Aymeric Leroy asked Howe about his busy schedule with multiple acts; Howe answered:

I quite enjoy being busy... I enjoy playing, I enjoy performing, and that's been a good thing, because if I didn't play I'd be very unhappy! [...] it's not all enjoyment, it's not all pleasure [...] the travel, it drives one completely crazy. So eventually you just tire of all the other things. But I don't think I could tire of performing. Because it's too integral with my personality.

[...] I don't find it difficult, you know, to change [between Yes, Asia and his Trio] - I find it a pleasure to change, so... After four to six weeks of one music, I wouldn't want to carry on playing that same music, even if it was Yes [...] I change styles of guitar a bit, I change guitars [...] When I change guitars I change music. It makes it feel fresh again. [...] to change repertoire, I think it's very exciting. I think it wouldn't be exciting if I didn't change.


Then, talking about future plans, he said:

it's quite different in the last 3 or 4 years, it's built up [...] the call for my time became seriously competitive. Because Asia wanted to stay going out, Yes wanted to come back [...] Asia were very kind, and said to me, "oh yeah, if you want to go out and do Yes, that's fine." So they were very accommodating. [...] Very busy right up until September. Then I've got more of a sensible couple of months, where I can, you know, slow down a little...

[...] Asia don't finish till the 9th of September in America, so I have three weeks off in September. And then there's some undisclosed, unannounced... not touring

The Steve Howe Trio
The Steve Howe Trio brings together Steve on electric guitar, son Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley (Dylan Howe Quintet) on Hammond XK3 organ. There was a 13-date UK tour in Mar. Sets varied slightly over the tour. The opening night's was "He ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Momenta/Dream River" (new arrangement), "Tune Up" (originally by Miles Davis), "Mood for a Day", excerpt from "The Ancient", "Siberian Khatru", "Kenny's Sound" (new intro); interval; "Heart of the Sunrise", "Travellin'", "The Haunted Melody", "Four on Six" (originally by Wes Montgomery), "Blue Bash", "Laughing with Larry" (S. Howe solo), "A Venture/Close to the Edge"; encore: "Chitlins con Carne" (originally by Kenny Burrell). 11 Mar show set: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Travellin'", "The Ancient", "Tune Up", "Mood for a Day", "Siberian Khatru", "Kenny's Sound"; interval; "Heart of the Sunrise", "Dream River", "The Haunted Melody", "Four on Six", "Blue Bash", "Laughing with Larry", "A Venture/Close to the Edge". In Cambridge, while S. Howe was fixing a guitar string, D. Howe and Stanley played "Monk's Dream" (from Larry Young's album Unity), while the improv at the end of "Kenny's Sound" quoted "Perpetual Change". Dylan's Twitter account had implied they would also be playing "Roundabout", but this didn't happen. John Etheridge (Soft Machine Legacy) attended the 22 Mar show.

No more dates have been announced, but further touring at some point is expected. In a Jan 2009 interview for Notes from the Edge, Howe said the Trio would "definitely" tour in 2010, hopefully longer legs and including the US. In an interview for All About Jazz, conducted while Asia were still recording Omega, Howe says a US tour is "just a question of time." (There was also a plan being considered for a joint Asia/iCon/Steve Howe Trio/Carl Palmer Band tour for 2010. See under Asia for details.)

Due 19 Apr 2010 is Travelling (HoweSound), a live album taken from UK and Canadian dates in 2008; tracks: "Blue Bash", "Dream River", "Travelin'", "The Haunted Melody", "Tune Up", "Siberian Khatru", "Mood for a Day", "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Momenta", "Kenny's Sound", "Laughing with Larry", "Close to the Edge". Before general release, the album was available at dates on the Trio's Mar tour. See details in Yescography. The back cover photo is by Yumi Hara Cawkwell (worked with pianocircus, Hugh Hopper). All bar two of the tracks ("Tune Up" and "He ain't Heavy, He's My Brother") appeared on the band's debut album, The Haunted Melody (tracks: "Kenny's Sound" (originally by Kenny Burrell), "Mood for a Day", "The Haunted Melody" (originally by Roland Kirk), "Siberian Khatru", "Blue Bash" (originally by Jimmy Smith with Burrell), "Momenta" (originally from Quantum Guitar), "Laughing with Larry" (original solo guitar piece), "Travelin'" (originally by Burrell with Smith), "Dream River", "Close to the Edge" (based on the opening section of the piece), "Sweet Thunder" (originally from Pulling Strings)). Some additional pieces were played live on the band's debut UK tour in 2007, but have not been released: "Distant Seas" (originally on Natural Timbre), "Sweet Thunder" and "Clap". Pieces are arranged for the trio format, so some depart significantly in form from the originals.

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Solo
Howe's most recent solo album was Motif Volume 1 (HoweSound). This solo guitar album consists of existing pieces plus four new compositions. These are all solo performances recorded in 2005 and 2007, without overdubs, played on a variety of guitars (electric, folk, Spanish, 12-string and dobro slide). Tracks: "The Golden Mean" (new piece), "Intersection Blues", "Corkscrew", "Trambone" (Howe's version of the Chet Atkins piece), "Devon Blue", "Clap" (on electric guitar), "Australia", "Part & Parcel", "Sketches in the Sun", "Second Initial", "Concerto in D 2nd Movement", "Diary of a Man Who Vanished", "Cat Napping", "Ram", "Provence", "Winter 2nd Mov' 4 Seasons", "Meadow Rag", "Heritage", "Bareback", "Dorothy". Howe explained that the album:

is the first part of a collection that will cover all my solo "one man" guitar tunes. Several solos have premiered on group CDs, or live CDs. There seemed no one place to go to reference this most enjoyable aspect of my work. These tunes have become my exclusive repertoire, allowing my writing a long leash, arranging opportunities, and the pick of any tune that I want to interpret.

[...] This was to build up a complete overview of my solo guitar music, afresh in the studio. I've occasionally changed the style of guitar used on previously released tunes, and recorded the first studio versions of others.

He has been working on a second volume, due "perhaps this year [2009]" according to a May Billboard article, and "soon" according to a Jul 2009 article. In an update on his website in Mar 2010, Howe describes Volume 2 as being "in the planning stage" and that he will tour in support of it in due course.

Paul K. Joyce (wrote music for "Bob the Builder", "The Worst Witch", "Fimbles") said in an Aug 2009 interview that he is collaborating with Howe: "I am producing his new solo album and a track of mine is on it. Steve has done the guitar, electronic and acoustic, and there's a small orchestral group. It's a very precise, compact sound that I love, no over-the-top arrangements." It's unclear whether this is the same or another project. In his NftE interview, Howe talks about wanting to spend a few months in 2010 focusing on live solo work.

Homebrew 4, in the same style as the previous Homebrew releases, is due on general release in the UK on 19 Apr. Tracks: "Beginnings (Themes)", "The Inner Battle", "Take It in Hand", "Mainland", "Distant Seas", "Wayward Course II", "Georgia's Song", "Solar Winds II", "High Flyer", "Sensitive Chaos", "Really Know", "White" (early version of Asia's "Wish I'd Known All Along"), "Up Above Somewhere" (alternate version of material on Natural Timbre and in Asia's "Over and Over"), "Closer than Before", "Lily's in the Field", "Have You Forgotten Love" (with Geoff Downes on keys and harmony vocals), "Go to This" (early version of the Yes song "Go Through This"), "What am I?" (alternate version of "The Go Between" on Homebrew 2 and used in ABWH's "Quartet: I Wanna Learn"), "Nothing to Cry for". See details in Yescography. A 4CD Homebrew Complete box set (ARC-1151) collating all four releases is out in Japan.

"High Flyer" on Homebrew 4 is described as having also been developed by GTR for an unreleased song called "The Future". The liner notes then continue, "which I plan to release as part of a forthcoming project called Radar which contains unreleased songs and tunes with friends".

So Far is the name given to a planned 3CD anthology of Steve Howe's career to date with accompanying DVD which was originally due in 2001. This appears to be the same project earlier tentatively entitled Headstock, being compiled by Howe for Rhino. At least at some point, So Far was to include "Traveller" (written by Currie/Howe—Currie: keyboards, viola; Howe: guitar, bass; Toby Anderson: synth) from Billy Currie's 1988 Transportation. Comments from Howe suggest So Far may also include some Yes or Yes-related material. It has been years since anything was heard of this project. However, in his Jan 2009 interview for Notes from the Edge, Howe talks about "a lot of my films that I've been preparing for many years that will eventually come out on a DVD" (including performances of "Corkscrew"), which may be the same project. Howe has previously talked about a documentary of his career, concentrating on his solo work from 1975-1994, which may also be somehow related, and two new books, one called "The Guitarist's Survival Kit", the second a collaboration. At the Steve Howe Appreciation Society workshop in Jun 2005, Howe read a chapter from an autobiography that he is writing (which I guess may be related to some of these other projects).
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NVP (Nicolet Vidéo Productions) describe on their website (scroll down to second item) filming in Oct 2008 a 3D film and an accompanying one-hour, 2D film about Howe. It is unclear what has happened with this project or how it may be related to the projects described above.

There were long-standing reports of plans for a guitar and orchestra project. In a Nov 2002 interview, Howe referred to "an orchestral project that would likely turn some ears".

Guest appearances & collaboration
Matthew Sweet (MySpace page) and Susannah Hoffs (The Bangles) (collaboration's MySpace page) have recorded a cover of "I've Seen All Good People" with Howe for their 16-track Under the Covers, Vol. 2 (Shout! Factory), out now. Sweet said in a Feb 2009 interview:

We’ve recorded a really wide range of crazy stuff, like 40 songs. I don’t know exactly what’s going to make the final cut, but we did “Your Move / I’ve Seen All Good People” by Yes and we got Steve Howe to play lead guitar on it, through the internet. So that’s gotta be on [Vol. 2] for sure. It was glorious. Sue’s got the Jon Anderson register covered, and I just tried to make everything sound like a slightly modern Yes.

Sweet and Hoffs produced the album, which entirely consists of covers of songs from the 1970s. Also guesting are Lindsey Buckingham and Dhani Harrison.

Other news
Jonathan Mover, drums in GTR, is planning a "a two volume collection of works from various artists that I've played with over the past twenty or so years. Mainly, a variety of tracks that are dear to me in one way or another and have not had the chance to see the light of day." On his website, he refers to "unreleased GTR (1985)". As GTR was released in 1986, presuming this is not a typo, Mover would appear to be referring to material before the first album.

Howe did session work on both of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's original albums and thus can be heard on the new Frankie Say Greatest compilation: see under Horn.

A video interview with Howe is part of the bonus material on a new DVD release by Iron Butterfly called "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida".

Howe appears to have formed his own record label, Howe Sounds, who released Motif Volume 1 and The Haunted Melody.

Howe has collaborated with guitar makers C.F. Martin & Co. to create the MC-38 Steve Howe Special Edition acoustic guitar, inspired by the early 1980s MC-28 guitar that Howe has long used.



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YES and projects with several Yesmen
Jon
Anderson
Chris
Squire
Steve
Howe
Alan
White
Rick
Wakeman
Bill
Bruford
Tony
Kaye
Peter
Banks
Patrick
Moraz
Trevor
Horn
Geoff
Downes
Trevor
Rabin
Billy
Sherwood
Igor
Khoroshev
Anderson & Wakeman
Asia
CIRCA:
Yoso
Oliver Wakeman
Benoît David
Others associated with the band

Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.