No Dragons Press

Episode 22: “Watching and Waiting”

Thanks for listening!

No Dragons Press

Episode 21: “Troublesome Intent”

Show Notes for Episode 21

Hey everyone, thanks for listening. Today is episode number 21, and I hope you enjoy this week’s chapter.

Remember to check out nodragonspress.com/podcast for more info and links to the illustrated chapters over at Ascraeus Press, and take a look at patreon.com/nodragonspress for ways to contribute and be a part of the No Dragons Press universe. I really appreciate your support.

Now, here is chapter 21, “Troublesome Intent.”

Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this week’s chapter.

Take a look at nodragonspress.com/podcast for more info and links to the illustrated fiction series, and if you’re enjoying the story and you know someone else who might enjoy it too, help spread the word. Thanks and see you next week!

No Dragons Press

Episode 20: “And Then There Were Four”

Show Notes for Episode 20

Today, there are no show notes.

The world is rough. Keep being kind to each other, OK?

Thanks for listening!

No Dragons Press

Episode 19: “The Point of an Arrow”

Show Notes for Episode 19

These are the show notes from No Dragons Press: Episode 19, “The Point of An Arrow”—also known as “The Yes Episode.” You’ll see why.

So. I pretty much had the greatest weekend ever. You’ve heard about my friend Lisa before, and if you’ve been following me on Twitter or Instagram (@nodragonspress) you know all of this, but—this past Saturday November 5th, Lisa and I went to Chicago to see Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman.

Anderson Rabin and Wakeman (ARW) at the Chicago Theater. OH MY GOD.

Quick bit of background info if you don’t know: these are all ex-members of Yes, which is an absolutely phenomenal band from the 70s that you absolutely 100% need in your life. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman are what you’d consider “classic lineup” and Trevor Rabin had a shorter stint with them in later years when guitarist Steve Howe left for a while, but at that point Rick Wakeman was gone.

Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. Being amazing.

It’s kind of long and convoluted and in retrospect it sounds a little strange, but over the band’s very long career they morphed and split and ex-members kind of morphed into side projects that were basically Yes, and that’s pretty much what this tour was, another “not quite Yes but basically Yes” band. I KNOW it sounds silly, but you know, individual members would leave for various reasons and they’d have to be replaced, and over the course of SEVERAL DECADES…

Rick being a boss, AND the Cubs win the World Series! What is this life??

Anyway, there was a point in I think the early 90s where the two parallel bands at the time kind of came together and did one giant album and tour, and as far as I am aware, that’s the only time Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, and Rick Wakeman have played Yes tunes together.

So this wasn’t just “members of Yes,” this was a really special combination of people for Yes fans from back in the day, and especially because just last year we lost Chris Squire, the bass player, who was actually the only member of the band who never left, never took a break.

Chris Squire. Is incredible.

Anyway, the concert was AMAZING, and they were all clearly having a fantastic time. Jon sounded as perfect as ever despite having recently turned 72, Rick Wakeman was wearing a fantastic cape (as were Lisa and I), and the rest of the band (who were not at any point members of Yes) fit right in: the drummer didn’t stop smiling once, the bass player did a phenomenally respectful and amazing job with Chris Squire’s parts.

Rick Wakeman and Lee Pomoroy. Amazing.

SO. Anyway, they played for about two hours, maybe longer, and they did a great sampling of material from all different eras, some expected and not-so-expected stuff from the early years and a bunch of later stuff that was a really good education for me, because I’m really not as familiar with 80s and 90s Yes, I’m pretty firmly 70s.

AND: Rick Wakeman walked out into the crowd with his keytar and came super close to us, and I only hope that at some point he saw two young women wearing sparkly capes absolutely losing their minds with joy.

No caption necessary *dies* #rickwakeman

A video posted by Maggie Gibbs (@nodragonspress) on Nov 5, 2016 at 10:29pm PDT

(Did I mention we were wearing capes? I wasn’t kidding.)

So I suppose, if your experience of Yes is limited to “Roundabout” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (yes, that was somehow mostly the same band), and if you want to learn a little bit more about them, and why Yes fans are so diehard, and why Rick Wakeman is SUCH a wizard, a good place to start might be The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge, in that order.

There’s also really great concert footage out there on YouTube of a three-disc live album they recorded in the early 70s, I’ll throw a link in the show notes for Episode 19 on nodragonspress.com/podcast in cast you want to check that out. The sound quality isn’t astonishing, but the actual footage is an absolute treasure.

ANYWAY. Total whirlwind adventure in Chicago, amazing show, great time with Lisa. If you know nothing about Yes and this all meant nothing to you, or if you’ve only heard stuff from the 80s, check out the records I mentioned earlier and let me know what you think.

I literally do not know what I used to listen to before Lisa introduced me to progressive rock via Yes, they’re just one of those bands where you can listen to a record several times in a row and have a completely different experience each time depending on what you’re listening for and which instrument you’re focused on.

So! On with the episode…

Hey everyone, thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed chapter 19!