Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs

Yescapade 2002 - Return to Konocti

At about 2:00, the word went out that the band would be arriving in around twenty minutes. The team started getting ready for their arrival, but minor hang-ups caused the band's arrival to be delayed slightly to around 2:30 or so. The audience was listening to various Yes fans talk about their favorite Yes moment ...

Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan	Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan
YES arrives !! Steve leads the way in, and Jon, Alan, Chris and Rick follow in their on-stage order. Soon, the question and answer session begins with Jamison plunging right in.
Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance

Then, suddenly, there was Yes. With little fanfare, the gates opened, and in streamed the guys, happy and confident. This year, they knew more of what to expect (with the exception of the sudden change in MC) and were "On" and ready to go. They settled into their chairs and acknowledged everyone graciously. Jamison introduced them and started in on the questions. These generated a number of rather humorous episodes, such as Rick and Chris' repartee about Chris' relationship with his bass, or Rick's comments about his golf handicap: "My three ex-wives". Very funny stuff. Steve was also in a great mood, and Jon was, as always, entertaining and endearing. Alan dropped a hint as to future plans by suggesting there will be a second US leg of their tour in the fall. When asked the most frequently asked question, whether they would record or not, they just demurely answered, "We're very busy with our tour right now." At the end of the Q&A, Bob came up and once again thanksed the band for their support and for coming to the Yescapade. We will have more on the interview in time, please keep watching the site.

Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance	Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance
Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance
The band members were at their peak, answering questions both seriously and with great humor. Chris and Rick shared this intime moment during an one exhange about Chris' favorite bass guitar!

After the question and answer session was over, the band consented to yet another go at the autograph line. Some folks had jumped in line before the Q&A period had ended, and everyone was enthusiastic about getting their items signed. First, we had Don go through the line with the silkscreen, along with folks with special needs, and then the herd was let loose. People managed to get all types of items signed from LPs to tee-shirts to posters. We even know of a bootleg CD getting autographed. Now there's a rarity!! There was a run on the souvenir stand and on the Roger Dean materials during this time, too.

Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance	Courtesy of Judy Bambrick, © 2002 Judy Bambrick		Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance
	The band members were in great spirits and it showed. And just what is the deal with the hat?
	Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance	Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance

One of the more amusing and interesting incidents occurred when Chris recieved a call on his cell phone apparently from home asking him how to program the DVD player. Chris is just a marvel when it comes to multi-tasking as we noted last year at a post show autograph session in San Diego as well. There was Chris with the cell phone in one hand up to his ear and carrying on one conversation with the folks at home while similtaneously signing autographs with the other hand and taking a moment here and there to chat and answer questions from the fans and get a photo taken, still with the cell phone glued to his ear. ;-)

Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs	Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs	Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs
Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs		Courtesy of Rick Childs, © 2002 Rick Childs

So, at the autograph table: Steve, Alan, Chris, Rick, and Jon at the end. People would pile up at Alan, Chris, and Rick leaving Jon without someone to autograph. Left to his own devices he started doodling on the table cloth so Cherokee yelled out "Yo! Jon's bored. What am I bid for this Jon Anderson original doodle? Bids starting at $5000, Going once, twice, mine!" At which Jon giggled and kept doodling. Every time he got open he would glance up at her like he was thinking what would Cherokee like in her doodle and then sketch away until a new person stepped in front of him. At the end of the session he framed off a nicely finished piece of art about 14" Wide x 17"High. Jon put his hands on his heart then held them out to Cher and then held them up to his lips to blow a kiss and a smile before he left. Of course several people asked if she was going to keep it.... Wa Do! Thank You! Jon

Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan
Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan	Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan
Courtesy of Sarah Bronson, © 2002 Sarah Bronson	Courtesy of Jim Allan, © 2002 Jim Allan
Courtesy of Greg Chance, © 2002 Greg Chance	Courtesy of Judy Bambrick, © 2002 Judy Bambrick
The band enjoyed meeting the fans, who lined up to get autographs from the start of the Q&A session. They especially liked talking to the children. Everybody left with somthing special.
Jon Anderson original "Doodle" Medium : Sharpee on Tablecloth

Finally, the band had to go, as they had graciously stayed quite a bit longer than expected to give as many autographs as possible. They had planned their sound check for 4:00 and knew their time with us had run out. They bid their adieus, and took off to prepare for the concert. Soon thereafter, the Yescapade ended, and everyone went on to the next event, the *main* event, the Yes concert, which was spectacular. You can find all the concert reviews up at YESWorld. Speaking of YESWorld, we'd also like to say how nice it was to have Mike Tiano and his wonderful wife Cindy come by for a visit

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