Where and When was your first time with YES?

[soulsearcher]

so,
let's describe the our first YES experience..

mine came about when i was barely 16..
i was young and beautiful and open to all the experiences that came my way..
my boyfriend wanted me "listen to YES" so, trusting him, i aquiesced and he boldly took me by the hand and ushered me up to his bedroom.

the day was cold, but in his bedroom , it was hot..he really knew how to turn up the heat when his mom wasn't around.
i suspect she knew..but there was no use trying to tame our rebelious hearts.

i slowly take off my sweater to reveal my lacy tank top and lay on his bed, full of anticipation for what was about to happen.

i never did this before.
would i like it?
would i be the same afterwards?

full of wide eyed trust, i yearned for him to begin..
i watched him slowly pull out the album from it's sleeve. it was so big and shiny and black..it seemed bigger that the albums i had seen in the past..i knew it was just a precurser to the amazing experience that lay before me..

i waited in anticipation as he gently touched the needle to the eagerly awaiting vinyl.. i could tell he had done this before ..many times..yet, because this time it was with me..it was special.
this time, he was playing for me.

the crackle of the needle moving through the grooves of the LP was just a tease that seemed to last forever..then a note.. a note that began a love affair that would span decades.

music filled my body as Wondrous Stories danced around the room...there was no part of me that was untouched..
the melody entered me..
my ears accepted gratefully....my lips sang....my body tingled..
it was as if this music had always known me, had always waited just for me to devour it's sweetness..yet it was my first time.
i knew, deep down in my heart..it would not be my last.

i wanted more.
i wanted to hear different songs, different albums, different arrangements.
i just wanted to pour the music all over me..cover myself with the simple sticky sweetness and the complex shameless showiness of it all.
i wanted to hear it again, and again..i was insatiable!

this moment would be a part of me forever, and i gave as much as i received to everything YES.

i fell in love that day.
with the man.
with the music.
and i still am in love with both decades later..


* Please share your first encounter with the group. And, try to be as graphic as possible.

[umgy]

My first time was not with Yes ;)

[tardistraveler]

My first time was not with Yes ;)

She's asking for your first time WITH Yes . . . ;)

. . . their music, that is . . .

[soulsearcher]

She's asking for your first time WITH Yes . . . ;)

. . . their music, that is . . .

exactly.
and with detail.
LOL!!

[tardistraveler]

It was a hot, humid, rainy June night in Tennessee . . .

Our plans to see the Allman Brothers had fallen through, due to the rain, as it was at an outdoor venue, so the concert was postponed.

Desperate to satisfy our lust for music, we traveled to our friends' house, with whom we had planned to see the Allman Brothers . . . we poured out our sorrow and agony that we would not be hearing live music on that night . . .

Our friend said, "Yes is playing Memphis" . . .

Yes? I paused to consider this alternative . . . the desire for live music pulsed through my soul . . . I grasped at this possibility the way an addict seizes heroin . . . injecting this fresh idea into my veins . . . Yes! I was ready!

We piled into the car and drove like the madmen we were to Memphis, pulling into the parking lot only moments before the concert was to begin . . . only to find . . .

. . . an empty parking lot . . .

The desolation seized my soul, sending me back into despair . . .

Inquiring at the ticket office, we found that the concert had been . . . postponed . . .

AAUGHHHH!!!!!

The disappointment . . . the renewed anticipation . . . the despair once again . . . it was almost too much to bear as we drove to Overton Square . . . to drown our sorrows in a crowded bar, with only recorded music to soothe our desires . . .

Part 2 to come . . . Lust Fulfilled! :winknudge

[soulsearcher]

It was a hot, humid, rainy June night in Tennessee . . .

Our plans to see the Allman Brothers had fallen through, due to the rain, as it was at an outdoor venue, so the concert was postponed.

Desperate to satisfy our lust for music, we traveled to our friends' house, with whom we had planned to see the Allman Brothers . . . we poured out our sorrow and agony that we would not be hearing live music on that night . . .

Our friend said, "Yes is playing Memphis" . . .

Yes? I paused to consider this alternative . . . the desire for live music pulsed through my soul . . . I grasped at this possibility the way an addict seizes heroin . . . injecting this fresh idea into my veins . . . Yes! I was ready!

We piled into the car and drove like the madmen we were to Memphis, pulling into the parking lot only moments before the concert was to begin . . . only to find . . .

. . . an empty parking lot . . .

The desolation seized my soul, sending me back into despair . . .

Inquiring at the ticket office, we found that the concert had been . . . postponed . . .

AAUGHHHH!!!!!

The disappointment . . . the renewed anticipation . . . the despair once again . . . it was almost too much to bear as we drove to Overton Square . . . to drown our sorrows in a crowded bar, with only recorded music to soothe our desires . . .

Part 2 to come . . . Lust Fulfilled! :winknudge

:dog:
i'd rep you , but i've rep'd you over and over and over again, and i'm exhausted!
it was good rep, though.
i guess we are going to have to wait a little while until i can use my button again.

[Scottie]

so,
let's describe the our first YES experience..

mine came about when i was barely 16..
i was young and beautiful and open to all the experiences that came my way..
my boyfriend wanted me "listen to YES" so, trusting him, i aquiesced and he boldly took me by the hand and ushered me up to his bedroom.

the day was cold, but in his bedroom , it was hot..he really knew how to turn up the heat when his mom wasn't around.
i suspect she knew..but there was no use trying to tame our rebelious hearts.

i slowly take off my sweater to reveal my lacy tank top and lay on his bed, full of anticipation for what was about to happen.

i never did this before.
would i like it?
would i be the same afterwards?

full of wide eyed trust, i yearned for him to begin..
i watched him slowly pull out the album from it's sleeve. it was so big and shiny and black..it seemed bigger that the albums i had seen in the past..i knew it was just a precurser to the amazing experience that lay before me..

i waited in anticipation as he gently touched the needle to the eagerly awaiting vinyl.. i could tell he had done this before ..many times..yet, because this time it was with me..it was special.
this time, he was playing for me.

the crackle of the needle moving through the grooves of the LP was just a tease that seemed to last forever..then a note.. a note that began a love affair that would span decades.

music filled my body as Wondrous Stories danced around the room...there was no part of me that was untouched..
the melody entered me..
my ears accepted gratefully....my lips sang....my body tingled..
it was as if this music had always known me, had always waited just for me to devour it's sweetness..yet it was my first time.
i knew, deep down in my heart..it would not be my last.

i wanted more.
i wanted to hear different songs, different albums, different arrangements.
i just wanted to pour the music all over me..cover myself with the simple sticky sweetness and the complex shameless showiness of it all.
i wanted to hear it again, and again..i was insatiable!

this moment would be a part of me forever, and i gave as much as i received to everything YES.

i fell in love that day.
with the man.
with the music.
and i still am in love with both decades later..


* Please share your first encounter with the group. And, try to be as graphic as possible.
I'll have to get back to you after that... I'll be in the shower if anyone needs me. Leave a message after the tone.

[Scottie]

It was a hot, humid, rainy June night in Tennessee . . .

Our plans to see the Allman Brothers had fallen through, due to the rain, as it was at an outdoor venue, so the concert was postponed.

Desperate to satisfy our lust for music, we traveled to our friends' house, with whom we had planned to see the Allman Brothers . . . we poured out our sorrow and agony that we would not be hearing live music on that night . . .

Our friend said, "Yes is playing Memphis" . . .

Yes? I paused to consider this alternative . . . the desire for live music pulsed through my soul . . . I grasped at this possibility the way an addict seizes heroin . . . injecting this fresh idea into my veins . . . Yes! I was ready!

We piled into the car and drove like the madmen we were to Memphis, pulling into the parking lot only moments before the concert was to begin . . . only to find . . .

. . . an empty parking lot . . .

The desolation seized my soul, sending me back into despair . . .

Inquiring at the ticket office, we found that the concert had been . . . postponed . . .

AAUGHHHH!!!!!

The disappointment . . . the renewed anticipation . . . the despair once again . . . it was almost too much to bear as we drove to Overton Square . . . to drown our sorrows in a crowded bar, with only recorded music to soothe our desires . . .

Part 2 to come . . . Lust Fulfilled! :winknudge
But before I do I pause and then party down. :rcking:

[CybrKhatru]

I wish I could contribute to this thread....but sadly, I cannot.

Other times with Yes, absolutely...but not the first!

[tardistraveler]

I wish I could contribute to this thread....but sadly, I cannot.

Other times with Yes, absolutely...but not the first!

How could you have a second time with Yes without first having a FIRST time??? :confused:

We've ALL had a FIRST Yes experience . . . :winknudge

[soulsearcher]

I wish I could contribute to this thread....but sadly, I cannot.

Other times with Yes, absolutely...but not the first!

your first time is very special matt.
you should keep it sacred to yourself.
you don't have to share it like i did.
but i can't help it ..i guess i am just a little tart.
LOL!

[CybrKhatru]

your first time is very special matt.
you should keep it sacred to yourself.
you don't have to share it like i did.
but i can't help it ..i guess i am just a little tart.
LOL!

LOL..aw cmon!

Maybe I need to give this'un some more thought....

[cjreyes]

It hasn't happened yet! :winknudge: I heard they're pretty Hot!!!

[soulsearcher]

It hasn't happened yet! :winknudge: I heard they're pretty Hot!!!

HELLO!!
we're doing it right now.

[CybrKhatru]

It was late. Very late.

A buddy of mine had lent me a stack of Yes albums. He said, "try these, you'll like them."

So, turning the lights down, and turning the stereo on, I dropped the needle onto side one of Close to the Edge.

At first I was kinda disoriented. I thought, "What in the hell is THIS?! It's different, but I am intrigued by it." I kept listening.

I knew I really dug the middle part with all the vocals and Rick's church organ. THAT was stellar stuff.

It would be a few more encounters with this music before I was a complete goner, but this was the start.

[soulsearcher]

It was late. Very late.

A buddy of mine had lent me a stack of Yes albums. He said, "try these, you'll like them."

So, turning the lights down, and turning the stereo on, I dropped the needle onto side one of Close to the Edge.

At first I was kinda disoriented. I thought, "What in the hell is THIS?! It's different, but I am intrigued by it." I kept listening.

I knew I really dug the middle part with all the vocals and Rick's church organ. THAT was stellar stuff.

It would be a few more encounters with this music before I was a complete goner, but this was the start.



notice, the nostalgia in that we all got to hear that needle lovingly drop onto vinyl..
for a few fleeting moments, anticipation rushed through our bodies..
the richness of sound yet to be teasing us..

i bet the younger kids were cheated out of that unbelievable experience.

[Scottie]

notice, the nostalgia in that we all got to hear that needle lovingly drop onto vinyl..
for a few fleeting moments, anticipation rushed through our bodies..
the richness of sound yet to be teasing us..

i bet the younger kids were cheated out of that unbelievable experience.
I thought this thread was going to be about sex. As I understand it younger kids get that too. ;)

[CybrKhatru]

Hey, I've always said that there's something very alluring about vinyl records. :lmao:

[soulsearcher]

I thought this thread was going to be about sex. As I understand it younger kids get that too. ;)

this thread is definitely NOT about sex.
i never said anything like that.

and the younger kids may have had their first time with YES, but i doub't it was with vinyl.

[Jackaranda]

It was in the back seat of a car in the Kentucky countryside...I was stoned and I heard AGP and Starship Trooper from Yessongs. Life was never the same after that...summer, 1975.

[Scottie]

this thread is definitely NOT about sex.
i never said anything like that.

and the younger kids may have had their first time with YES, but i doub't it was with vinyl.
Re-read your first post.. It was hawt! ;)

My friends brother who was a couple of years older than both of us had Fragile & CTTE.

His meticulously categorized row of albums which may have contained the un-Godly (at that time) amount of 100+. Most of which I had never heard before. This was ‘75, I was only 13 but was intrigued at first then blown away shortly thereafter.

It was additionally exciting because it was sort of a clandestine operation. Stealing his brother’s albums for a 40 minute clip, then replacing them so that he wouldn’t ever know by the time he got back home.

I lost touch with this friend in ‘77. Always blamed myself because his mother walked in on us while partaking in some ganja then subsequently he was forbidden to ever see me again. Fact remained that he was the bigger pot head than me. :lmao:

[Jonah]

My first time with Yes was in the back of a car.
It was The Clap, I seem to remember.

That's not quite true.

I had just been collected from the railway station by my cousin and he was playing Yessongs on a cassette. I only got to here one track before I was dropped off again. I knew he didn't like me.

Three years later I was a paper boy. A great job, but I kept blowing away in a strong breeze. One day, I was collecting the money on a Friday night and a guy opened the door and there was this music blasting out. I was mesmerized and asked him what it was. He said it was Yours Is No Disgrace, by Yes. I remember that I once saw YES carved out into a wooden desk at school. (Note - I also noticed ELP carved out and thought that someone was mis-spelling a plea!).

Then a few years later Wondrous Stories came on the radio, but I didn;t get to hear who it was by.When I got to school, my friend came running over and said, 'I heard a brilliant song on the radio?' I asked - 'About 10 past eight?' 'Yes!' was his animated reply. Oh, how we got excited!
The next night I went round to his house and he had bought the record. Actually, it was Black Betty by Ram Jam. Wondrous Stories must have been on either before or after it. But, I went along with it and we have been good friends ever since.

I then bought Going For The One and have never looked back since.

[True Believer]

I was about 15 or so. At a schoolfriend's house for the evening. Her older brother had The Yes Album. He put it on. Life hasn't been the same since.

[soulsearcher]

My first time with Yes was in the back of a car.
It was The Clap, I seem to remember.

That's not quite true.

I had just been collected from the railway station by my cousin and he was playing Yessongs on a cassette. I only got to here one track before I was dropped off again. I knew he didn't like me.

Three years later I was a paper boy. A great job, but I kept blowing away in a strong breeze. One day, I was collecting the money on a Friday night and a guy opened the door and there was this music blasting out. I was mesmerized and asked him what it was. He said it was Yours Is No Disgrace, by Yes. I remember that I once saw YES carved out into a wooden desk at school. (Note - I also noticed ELP carved out and thought that someone was mis-spelling a plea!).

Then a few years later Wondrous Stories came on the radio, but I didn;t get to hear who it was by.When I got to school, my friend came running over and said, 'I heard a brilliant song on the radio?' I asked - 'About 10 past eight?' 'Yes!' was his animated reply. Oh, how we got excited!
The next night I went round to his house and he had bought the record. Actually, it was Black Betty by Ram Jam. Wondrous Stories must have been on either before or after it. But, I went along with it and we have been good friends ever since.

I then bought Going For The One and have never looked back since.



i doubt many have ever looked back, but i am, of course, biased.
ahhh yes, wondrous stories.
an irresistable temptress i must say.

[CybrKhatru]

Wonderous Stories is a very intoxicating tune. I was introduced to it via Classic Yes, which I'd purchased and was getting into before the night I described earlier.

Getting into CTTE and Awaken...that was total immersion. The moment of epiphany. Before then I dug a few songs here and there, but after....well, you know the rest! :lmao:

[luvyesmusic]

Hi, Denise. I started a thread under Yes music called Where, when&How did you discover Yes and who was with you. There's some good stories there. p.s. Diane's story is killer. I read it under meet the moderators.
peace and love
Rob

[tardistraveler]

Hey, I've always said that there's something very alluring about vinyl records. :lmao:

Sensual . . . ;)

[Timmo]

I was 9.

My brother got TYA for his 16th birthday.

He put on YIND and I started dancing around in my underwear.

T'was the start of something beautiful.

[SilverShoes]

Let's see...my first time with Yes...well, probably the first time I ever heard ANYTHING by Yes, was the snippets of Tempus Fugit and I believe Roundabout that appeared in a documentary MTV made, at the time of the Asia In Asia concert, called The Road To Asia.

But the first song I heard by them was probably Owner Of A Lonely Heart, courtesy MTV. I saw all the 90125 videos as they were released (well, I didnt' see ALL of the Leave It videos, but I saw a bunch of them), and thought all those songs were cool. I also remember seeing 9012Live on MTV, which furthered the interest.

But I kept hearing these stories about these songs that Yes did that took up an entire LP side. I remember thinking, "What can you do with a song that takes up an LP side". At the time, it would have never occurred to me have a jam or improv that goes for 20 minutes or whatever (even though I had heard Frampton Comes Alive and Uriah Heep Live, somehow the long tracks on those two albums didn't register as being nearly LP side length).

So anyway, one day I found myself at the record store, and ended up buying an old cassette (the tape shell itself was pink and came in this black plastic slipcase, kinda like what they put 8-track tapes in, only it was plastic instead of cardboard, and the slipcase had the front cover artwork on paper glued onto it, like they used to do with 8-tracks). I think I picked Relayer because that was the one that looked the only one of the ones that looked interesting that I could afford (I think I had like 5 dollars in my pocket that day).

And I guess that was what...well, it didn't send me down the rabbit hole, I was already down the rabbit hole (thanks to my brother Robert), but I guess sent me down another one.

This was about 1985 when all this happened.

[oliasdoug]

Oooooooo, I love telling this story as much as I love telling about my first time with Tangerine Dream...but we'll save that for another thread. I actually remember my first Yes momentS (<--intentional plural...you'll see why) like they were yesterday. Thank God for good long-term memory.

First moment, Part I: Summer of 1971, my home town of North Platte, Nebraska. I'm on lunch break from my first job (dishwasher at a Greyhound Bus Depot restaurant...you may all now groan loudly along with me), & I truck on over a few blocks to our local mom & pop record store, Murphy's Modern Music. They have it set up in there where you can listen to a 45 or an opened album before you buy it; I can't COUNT the number of times I went in there just to listen to a few 45s. Anyway, as I'm thumbing through the albums, I come across this greenish filtered photograph of some interesting-looking longhairs...it's called THE YES ALBUM. I remember thinking, "Hmmm....cool name for a band!" I looked on the back: "Hmmm...cool song titles." Then I went to peruse the Billboard Hot 100 list, and I noticed my first Yessong: "Your Move." They happened to have a copy of the 45 & I asked them to put it on for me. Now, I am going to give you my honest first reaction, and please, don't anyone shoot me. I remember thinking the opening was cool--"Hmmm....3-part a capella harmony, not unlike CSN." Then, as the song played, I remembered being...not very interested, but intrigued with the sound of the lead singer's first-tenor voice. Hey, I was a kid of 15 at the time....so sue me. That was pretty much the last I heard of Yes. For awhile.

First moment, Part II: Fast-forward to January of 1972. I'm listening to our local Top 40 radio station, and the DJ puts on this record called "Roundabout." It's the edited 45 version, of course...but I distinctly remember thinking, "THIS is a COOL SONG." When he said it was by Yes, I remembered hearing them at Murphy's, not being very interested, and subsequently thinking, "Well, these guys are good after all." Promptly went down to Murphy's & bought the 45. (Still have it today.) THEN, not too long after that, I was listening to a very, VERY cool radio program out of Little Rock, Arkansas, called BEAKER STREET. This radio program had the distinction of being the ONLY UNDERGROUND FM ROCK RADIO PROGRAM...ON AM RADIO. KAAY-AM, to be exact. They had a full-powered omnidirectional antenna that allowed them to broadcast far & wide, & when my fellow North Platters got wind of Beaker Street's existence, you simply WERE NOT COOL if you didn't listen to it every night. I actually can't recall if it was on 7 nights a week, but I do recall that it ran (I think) from 10 pm until 1 in the morning, and the redoubtable Clyde Clifford--BEAKER STREET's DJ extraordinaire--turned me on to MANY prog rock bands of the day that I know I might not have heard about otherwise. But I digress. I do remember the night Clyde played the 8-minute version of "Roundabout"...and that was it, folks. My life was irrevocably changed. I had a "wow" moment that I've never forgotten. The next day, I RAN down to Murphy's and bought the cassette of FRAGILE...and played the damn thing to DEATH. Within a short period of time after that, I heard Clyde play "Yours Is No Disgrace"...and I ended up having a "WOW" moment that eclipsed even the first one. I RAN back down to Murphy's soon afterward, noticed that YIND was on The Yes Album ("Oh, the one with 'Your Move' on it--cool!"), & immediately plunked down money for The Yes Album on cassette. And, surprise-surprise, I ended up playing THAT one to death, too. At some point after that, I, in a moment that can only (seriously) be described as spiritual in nature, I fully realized that Yes had become my new favorite band...transcending even The Beatles, and even replacing The Moody Blues as my favorite progressive rock band. As time went on, I took a great deal of pride in turning everyone I knew on to the music of Yes. It was an awakening in the truest sense of the word. No band had ever had such a profound, life-changing effect on me....and I say again, not even John, Paul, George & Ringo. At this point, words fail me to adequately express how much I love this band. I have had the pleasure of meeting Steve, Alan & Tony so far, and I hope to have the pleasure of meeting all the remaining members before I (or they) exit this world...just to thank them profusely for providing me & my world with a music that is technically brilliant, spiritually rejuvenating & eminently appealing in all possible ways. It has been a wonderful 36 years loving My Favorite Band, and I hate to think what my life would be like today had I never been turned on to their incomparable music...have seen them (only) 9 times in concert since the summer of 1975 & if I had the $$, I'd follow them around like a Deadhead. And I am DELIRIOUSLY grateful that Circa: has come into existence thanks to the presence of Yes.

The music of Yes, my friends...often imitated, NEVER duplicated.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share this with all of you. Peace & Love........Doug from San Diego.

[soulsearcher]

Hi, Denise. I started a thread under Yes music called Where, when&How did you discover Yes and who was with you. There's some good stories there. p.s. Diane's story is killer. I read it under meet the moderators.
peace and love
Rob

yes, but THIS thread is to describe IN GREAT DETAIL..your emotional ..romance paperback-sesque first encounter..LOL!

[Metal Marc]

My first time with Yes...it was Autumn of '78. I was either going to turn 6 or had already turned. I am from a music-loving family: we all love music, and most of us (5 out of 6) either play and/or sing. By the time I started school, I could sing more pop, rock, polka, and country songs than I could kids songs.

I was riding in the backseat of our car with my sister (driving) and my next-oldest brother. We were going to pick up my oldest brother. I was in love with Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen" and it was playing on the radio. Right after this particular play, they went right in to "Long Distance Runaround". My ears perked up a little when I heard that little guitar lick at the beginning, and I loved the chorus. The DJ didn't say who it was at the end so I asked my brother. He said, "It's Yes. They're kinda wierd." That was the end of that.


--- AFTERWORD -------

Several years later (either '82 or '83), I was at a friend's house when I heard "Long Distance Runaround" again. I went out into the living room and there was Zach's dad playing Classic Yes. A few days later, I stole that tape from him ( :frown: ). Bad, I know, but after that I got into Yes something fierce. And then came 90125, but that's a different story.

[relayerjim]

My bedroom.
I have 3 older brothers.
I had no say in what got played in that room.
My brother Michael put “The Yes Album” on and that was it.
My brothers really seemed to love how I took to Yes and from that day on I got a little more respect and I didn’t get picked on as much.
When I asked to play that album, they said Yes.
In a way, it really changed my life.
It was like I was growing up to them.
…a great time in my life

[milestownyes]

Fragile- Liked it quite a lot. I didn't know it would be the foreplay for Close To The Edge. CTTE: It changed my entire sense of reality and I've never been the same since. That was almost thirty-five years ago.

[Fly By Light]

My first time with Yes...it was Autumn of '78. I was either going to turn 6 or had already turned. I am from a music-loving family: we all love music, and most of us (5 out of 6) either play and/or sing. By the time I started school, I could sing more pop, rock, polka, and country songs than I could kids songs.

I was riding in the backseat of our car with my sister (driving) and my next-oldest brother. We were going to pick up my oldest brother. I was in love with Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen" and it was playing on the radio. Right after this particular play, they went right in to "Long Distance Runaround". My ears perked up a little when I heard that little guitar lick at the beginning, and I loved the chorus. The DJ didn't say who it was at the end so I asked my brother. He said, "It's Yes. They're kinda wierd." That was the end of that.


--- AFTERWORD -------

Several years later (either '82 or '83), I was at a friend's house when I heard "Long Distance Runaround" again. I went out into the living room and there was Zach's dad playing Classic Yes. A few days later, I stole that tape from him ( :frown: ). Bad, I know, but after that I got into Yes something fierce. And then came 90125, but that's a different story.

Welcome to Yesfans, Marc! What a unique 1st Yes experience. You had great taste in music as a youngster. How lucky you are to have a musical family.

~Krista

[Malcolm Birkett]

so,
let's describe the our first YES experience..

mine came about when i was barely 16..
i was young and beautiful and open to all the experiences that came my way..
my boyfriend wanted me "listen to YES" so, trusting him, i aquiesced and he boldly took me by the hand and ushered me up to his bedroom.

the day was cold, but in his bedroom , it was hot..he really knew how to turn up the heat when his mom wasn't around.
i suspect she knew..but there was no use trying to tame our rebelious hearts.

i slowly take off my sweater to reveal my lacy tank top and lay on his bed, full of anticipation for what was about to happen.

i never did this before.
would i like it?
would i be the same afterwards?

full of wide eyed trust, i yearned for him to begin..
i watched him slowly pull out the album from it's sleeve. it was so big and shiny and black..it seemed bigger that the albums i had seen in the past..i knew it was just a precurser to the amazing experience that lay before me..

i waited in anticipation as he gently touched the needle to the eagerly awaiting vinyl.. i could tell he had done this before ..many times..yet, because this time it was with me..it was special.
this time, he was playing for me.

the crackle of the needle moving through the grooves of the LP was just a tease that seemed to last forever..then a note.. a note that began a love affair that would span decades.

music filled my body as Wondrous Stories danced around the room...there was no part of me that was untouched..
the melody entered me..
my ears accepted gratefully....my lips sang....my body tingled..
it was as if this music had always known me, had always waited just for me to devour it's sweetness..yet it was my first time.
i knew, deep down in my heart..it would not be my last.

i wanted more.
i wanted to hear different songs, different albums, different arrangements.
i just wanted to pour the music all over me..cover myself with the simple sticky sweetness and the complex shameless showiness of it all.
i wanted to hear it again, and again..i was insatiable!

this moment would be a part of me forever, and i gave as much as i received to everything YES.

i fell in love that day.
with the man.
with the music.
and i still am in love with both decades later..


* Please share your first encounter with the group. And, try to be as graphic as possible.

Blimey O'Reilly..not read another post on this thread yet and maybe I shouldn't...wowser..

Who are you???

OK...live show encounter or just plain old encounter?....many people know mine so I won't bore them or anyone else. I will just return to post 2 and read on!!..

[Malcolm Birkett]

It was a hot, humid, rainy June night in Tennessee . . .

Our plans to see the Allman Brothers had fallen through, due to the rain, as it was at an outdoor venue, so the concert was postponed.

Desperate to satisfy our lust for music, we traveled to our friends' house, with whom we had planned to see the Allman Brothers . . . we poured out our sorrow and agony that we would not be hearing live music on that night . . .

Our friend said, "Yes is playing Memphis" . . .

Yes? I paused to consider this alternative . . . the desire for live music pulsed through my soul . . . I grasped at this possibility the way an addict seizes heroin . . . injecting this fresh idea into my veins . . . Yes! I was ready!

We piled into the car and drove like the madmen we were to Memphis, pulling into the parking lot only moments before the concert was to begin . . . only to find . . .

. . . an empty parking lot . . .

The desolation seized my soul, sending me back into despair . . .

Inquiring at the ticket office, we found that the concert had been . . . postponed . . .

AAUGHHHH!!!!!

The disappointment . . . the renewed anticipation . . . the despair once again . . . it was almost too much to bear as we drove to Overton Square . . . to drown our sorrows in a crowded bar, with only recorded music to soothe our desires . . .

Part 2 to come . . . Lust Fulfilled! :winknudge

Ladies!!!!...please..a sense of decorum if you don't mind!!!

(I'm loving it really..now back to post 5..or is it 6?)

[Malcolm Birkett]

.

[BILL HERWIG]

my first paying concert was yes at boston garden. my very first sneek in concert was the yardbirds--- pretty kool---if i only knew who the hell they were! (at the time) back to yes, they were loud, powerfull on the stage---wakeman was scary to say the least. but i have follwed them thru all there tribulations--an still luv em. my most memorible concert was jimi hendrix mind blowing would be an undertatement. janis joplin opened for him, she was great also.25th row floor--what a show!!!!! i get goose bumps just reliving it!!!!!!

[astral_stardust]

My first experience of Yes actually has 2 parts to it. The first I can't really remember that well, so I have to rely on what my mom told me. I'll start from the beginning.

When I was really young (around 2 years old), my parents listened to classic and prog rock. My mom claims she'd put on the albums and even though I could barely even walk, I'd try and dance to it. (She says my favorites were Yes, Kansas, and Styx.) She said it was so funny watching me get excited and try to dance, but almost always fall down. So I got an early start, while all my friends were off listening to sesame street.

Fast forward to when I was about 19 or so, a few years ago. I was listening to an online radio station for classic rock and all of a sudden, it started playing the album Classic Yes. In particular, the live version of Roundabout. Something struck deep inside as I realized I'd heard it before a long, long time ago. It was the sort of nostalgic feeling you get when you can just barely recall the original experience, if at all, but you know it happened because of the pleasant feeling associated with it. (I hope this makes sense; it's hard to put into words.)

And then I looked up the album cover art. There are no words to describe the powerful experience of listening to Yes and looking at Roger Dean art at the same time. There's no other similar feeling.

After asking my mom about it, she confirmed what I thought, that I'd heard and loved it before. I agonized over all the years in between that I had to live without Yes in my life, but quickly decided the best thing was to make up for all the lost time.

I immediately downloaded the song and set upon collecting everything Yes ever put out. And after listening to that one song probably thousands of times in the last couple years, I'm still just as happy as ever to hear it.

I think this is the only place I could be so explicit; everyone else thinks I nuts when I talk about Yes. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't "get" it. I like other bands, but music would not mean anything to me if I couldn't ever listen to Yes again.

[soulsearcher]

My first experience of Yes actually has 2 parts to it. The first I can't really remember that well, so I have to rely on what my mom told me. I'll start from the beginning.

When I was really young (around 2 years old), my parents listened to classic and prog rock. My mom claims she'd put on the albums and even though I could barely even walk, I'd try and dance to it. (She says my favorites were Yes, Kansas, and Styx.) She said it was so funny watching me get excited and try to dance, but almost always fall down. So I got an early start, while all my friends were off listening to sesame street.

Fast forward to when I was about 19 or so, a few years ago. I was listening to an online radio station for classic rock and all of a sudden, it started playing the album Classic Yes. In particular, the live version of Roundabout. Something struck deep inside as I realized I'd heard it before a long, long time ago. It was the sort of nostalgic feeling you get when you can just barely recall the original experience, if at all, but you know it happened because of the pleasant feeling associated with it. (I hope this makes sense; it's hard to put into words.)

And then I looked up the album cover art. There are no words to describe the powerful experience of listening to Yes and looking at Roger Dean art at the same time. There's no other similar feeling.

After asking my mom about it, she confirmed what I thought, that I'd heard and loved it before. I agonized over all the years in between that I had to live without Yes in my life, but quickly decided the best thing was to make up for all the lost time.

I immediately downloaded the song and set upon collecting everything Yes ever put out. And after listening to that one song probably thousands of times in the last couple years, I'm still just as happy as ever to hear it.

I think this is the only place I could be so explicit; everyone else thinks I nuts when I talk about Yes. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't "get" it. I like other bands, but music would not mean anything to me if I couldn't ever listen to Yes again.


i totally understand and i totally get it..yes is the best!

[soulsearcher]

My first time with Yes...it was Autumn of '78. I was either going to turn 6 or had already turned. I am from a music-loving family: we all love music, and most of us (5 out of 6) either play and/or sing. By the time I started school, I could sing more pop, rock, polka, and country songs than I could kids songs.

I was riding in the backseat of our car with my sister (driving) and my next-oldest brother. We were going to pick up my oldest brother. I was in love with Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen" and it was playing on the radio. Right after this particular play, they went right in to "Long Distance Runaround". My ears perked up a little when I heard that little guitar lick at the beginning, and I loved the chorus. The DJ didn't say who it was at the end so I asked my brother. He said, "It's Yes. They're kinda wierd." That was the end of that.



--- AFTERWORD -------

Several years later (either '82 or '83), I was at a friend's house when I heard "Long Distance Runaround" again. I went out into the living room and there was Zach's dad playing Classic Yes. A few days later, I stole that tape from him ( :frown: ). Bad, I know, but after that I got into Yes something fierce. And then came 90125, but that's a different story.

i am so glad you posted here marc!
great story!

[Yesguitarman]

I first heard YES in 1971, early during my senior year in high school. The bass player in our band back then introduced me to the YES album. Just prior to graduation 1972, I attended my first YES concert, the Fragile tour, at the Academy of Music in New York City. I'll never forget sitting in the first row of the balcony section and seeing Wakeman in his sequined gold cape. I'll absolutely never forget Steve Howe prancing about the stage with his big Gibson jazz box guitar. That was definitely different, not your everyday Stratocaster, Telecaster or Les Paul.

My freshman year in college saw the release of Close To the Edge, followed sophmore year by Tales From Topographic Oceans. I was devasted when Wakeman left and was replaced with Patrick Moraz, but what a contribution he made. I caught the '75 tour at the old Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. I've been a YES fan ever since and have lost track of how many times I've seen YES in concert.

Alas, I've only met Steve Howe. I had the opportunity to meet him twice. Need to meet the rest of the boys one of these days, though chances of meeting Rick appear to getting slim as he likely won't be on the next and probable final tour.

[Lifeseeker66]

i totally understand and i totally get it..yes is the best!

Hey Denise, so sorry I missed this thread, or just didn't get the title enough to happen in to it. My earliest recollections of yes were at the age of 5-7ish.

I think I remember hearing Close to the Edge material first... the organ parts in the middle, probably. My oldest brother had an 8-track player (remember them?) and he was playing the organ parts for my parents to hear. I can remember running in and out of the house and hearing "Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha" of Sound Chaser in the background.

I returned to Yes in my teenage years (thirteen, just before high school). I found alot of my brother's old 8-tracks and listened to The Yes Album, CTTE, Fragile, Olias of Sunhillow, Fish out of Water, Tales from Topographic Oceans, Relayer, and Going For the One. I was just DRAWN into the Yes musical experience. As I was about to enter high school, Drama was a new album which I immediately embraced and attended both shows in Philly, first with elder brother, then with elder brother, elder sister and friends (I'm the youngest sib).

Thanks for asking! It was nice taking this trip down memory lane and recollecting the formative years. Yes music touches my soul in a way that no other music ever has, and probably never will.

David

[PJH]

I heard Yes for the first time in about 1971. I remember my sister playing YIND from the Yes Album and the thing that blew me away was the tone of the Hammond. (Still one of the best Hammond tones I've heard).

I then made it my priority to get all of their albums by using my pocket money etc to get my hands on them.

Growing up in South Africa I was also a massive Trevor Rabin fan. When I first heard "Owner" and then found out it was Yes with Trevor I went straight to the record shop and bought it.

Big Generator was actually the first CD I ever bought.

I also had the fortune of meeting Rick Wakeman at a niteclub in Johannesburg in 1982. He was actually a really nice guy and when I told him that I was a huge Yesfan he asked me if I would like to sit with his group of friends at the restuarant. I got the chance to ask him a whole lot of questions about Yes without him (Drama and 90125).

I distinctly remember that his most recent solo release was "Criminal Record". He was really pleased that I had heard it and liked it.

Peter.

[yesyadda]

These are all such great stories!

[relayeire]

so,
let's describe the our first YES experience..

mine came about when i was barely 16..
i was young and beautiful and open to all the experiences that came my way..
my boyfriend wanted me "listen to YES" so, trusting him, i aquiesced and he boldly took me by the hand and ushered me up to his bedroom.

the day was cold, but in his bedroom , it was hot..he really knew how to turn up the heat when his mom wasn't around.
i suspect she knew..but there was no use trying to tame our rebelious hearts.

i slowly take off my sweater to reveal my lacy tank top and lay on his bed, full of anticipation for what was about to happen.

i never did this before.
would i like it?
would i be the same afterwards?

full of wide eyed trust, i yearned for him to begin..
i watched him slowly pull out the album from it's sleeve. it was so big and shiny and black..it seemed bigger that the albums i had seen in the past..i knew it was just a precurser to the amazing experience that lay before me..

i waited in anticipation as he gently touched the needle to the eagerly awaiting vinyl.. i could tell he had done this before ..many times..yet, because this time it was with me..it was special.
this time, he was playing for me.

the crackle of the needle moving through the grooves of the LP was just a tease that seemed to last forever..then a note.. a note that began a love affair that would span decades.

music filled my body as Wondrous Stories danced around the room...there was no part of me that was untouched..
the melody entered me..
my ears accepted gratefully....my lips sang....my body tingled..
it was as if this music had always known me, had always waited just for me to devour it's sweetness..yet it was my first time.
i knew, deep down in my heart..it would not be my last.

i wanted more.
i wanted to hear different songs, different albums, different arrangements.
i just wanted to pour the music all over me..cover myself with the simple sticky sweetness and the complex shameless showiness of it all.
i wanted to hear it again, and again..i was insatiable!

this moment would be a part of me forever, and i gave as much as i received to everything YES.

i fell in love that day.
with the man.
with the music.
and i still am in love with both decades later..


* Please share your first encounter with the group. And, try to be as graphic as possible.

It was a hot, humid, rainy June night in Tennessee . . .

Our plans to see the Allman Brothers had fallen through, due to the rain, as it was at an outdoor venue, so the concert was postponed.

Desperate to satisfy our lust for music, we traveled to our friends' house, with whom we had planned to see the Allman Brothers . . . we poured out our sorrow and agony that we would not be hearing live music on that night . . .

Our friend said, "Yes is playing Memphis" . . .

Yes? I paused to consider this alternative . . . the desire for live music pulsed through my soul . . . I grasped at this possibility the way an addict seizes heroin . . . injecting this fresh idea into my veins . . . Yes! I was ready!

We piled into the car and drove like the madmen we were to Memphis, pulling into the parking lot only moments before the concert was to begin . . . only to find . . .

. . . an empty parking lot . . .

The desolation seized my soul, sending me back into despair . . .

Inquiring at the ticket office, we found that the concert had been . . . postponed . . .

AAUGHHHH!!!!!

The disappointment . . . the renewed anticipation . . . the despair once again . . . it was almost too much to bear as we drove to Overton Square . . . to drown our sorrows in a crowded bar, with only recorded music to soothe our desires . . .

Part 2 to come . . . Lust Fulfilled! :winknudge

"Her hands wandered down to the hard bulge in my pants. I reached in and grabbed it - a casette of The Yes Album - out of my pocket, to her delight."

schwinggg!!!

I had heard bits of Yes on the radio and at home due to having older brothers... I looked at Fragile and thought it was neat-o... but when things really came together is the first time I heard YIND... I put my headphones on per usual, and switched to a station that was playing an incredible guitar solo which jumped back and forth between my ears... within moments I realized this must be Yes - having been familiar with their sound from ISAGP and Roundabout - and I realized it was awesome! unlike anything I'd ever heard...