Steve Howe (musician)

Steve Howe
Steve Howe performing with Asia, 2006.
Background information
Born	(1947-04-08) 8 April 1947 Holloway, London, England
Genres	Progressive rock, art rock, instrumental rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Atlantic, Relativity, Eagle, InsideOut, Voiceprint, Caroline, HoweSound
Associated acts	Yes, Asia, GTR, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, Bodast, Tomorrow (formerly The In Crowd), The Syndicats, Explorer's Club
Website	stevehowe.com
Notable instruments
Gibson ES-175 Signature model Gibson ES-345

Stephen James "Steve" Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes. He has also been a member of the Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Asia, and GTR, as well as having released 19 solo albums as of 2010.^[1]

Life and career

Early life and bands

Stephen James Howe was born on 8 April 1947 in Holloway, north London and is the youngest of four children. He grew up listening to brass band music. He cites several influences from his parents' record collection including Les Paul and Tennessee Ernie Ford. In addition, Howe listened to classical guitar and jazz, citing Barney Kessel^[2] as a primary influence, "his playing was a remarkable mixture of 'single line' and 'chords', ya know, which inspired me to believe that any guitarist who doesn't understand chords won't be able to play much in the single line because they relate so much". Howe also credited Wes Montgomery and Chet Atkins, whom he first heard in 1959, as a major inspiration. Howe said he took from Atkins, "the idea that one guitarist could play any kind of guitar style."^[3] Howe attended Holloway School.^[4]

Howe received his first guitar, an f-hole acoustic, as a Christmas present from his parents at age 12 and eventually began playing in local halls.^[5] He bought his first electric guitar, a solid body Guyatone, around 1961,^[6] and one of the guitars he is most identified with, a Gibson ES-175D, in 1964. About this guitar, Howe said: "No one was playing archtop, hollowbody guitars in a rock band. People laughed at me and thought I was really snooty. To me, it was an object of art, it wasn't just a guitar."^[3] He made his first recording, Chuck Berry's "Maybellene", in 1964 with The Syndicats, who were produced by Joe Meek. He and other members of Tomorrow took part in a pie fight in the 1967 comedy about Mods in London, Smashing Time, starring Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, and Michael York. In 1968, he recorded albums with both Tomorrow (initially called The In Crowd) and Bodast.^[3][7]

Howe declined offers from both The Nice and Jethro Tull while waiting for a record deal to materialise for Bodast, but the group's prospective label went bankrupt. He was then approached by the members of Yes as a possible replacement for Peter Banks, who had appeared on the group's first two albums.

1970–1981: First Yes run

In June 1970, Howe joined Yes and after a few gigs, including the Lyceum Theatre, London, (where the version of "Clap" on The Yes Album was recorded),^[8] the band retreated to a farm in Devon to rehearse and write new material. Howe was pictured with the group on the non-Europe jacket of their second album, Time and a Word, which was released in August, although it was Banks who had actually played on the recording. The first Yes album Howe played on was The Yes Album. Howe's electric and acoustic guitars, combined with Jon Anderson's vocals, Chris Squire's bass, and Tony Kaye's keyboards were seen as an essential part of the band's early sound. Released in 1970, the album was a commercial breakthrough for the group. After the departure of Kaye in 1971, his replacement by Rick Wakeman for the following album, Fragile, created the classic Yes sound of Anderson–Howe–Squire–Bruford–Wakeman associated with the peak of the band's early achievements as with Fragile, the group had released one of their most successful works, a milestone album which raised their stature as one of the most prominent progressive rock groups of the time. In the spring of 1971, both Wakeman and Howe had contributed to the recording of Lou Reed's first solo album as session musicians, working together for the first time on this occasion.

To his already-formidable assortment of electric and acoustic guitar sounds, Howe added a unique approach to pedal steel guitar in the next album, Close to the Edge, released in 1972. His classical training along with his penchant for ongoing experimentation, helped produce a playing style unique among rock musicians, while the group as a whole took a position as a leading progressive rock band.^[9] Following Close to the Edge, Howe played on Tales from Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Going for the One and Tormato, becoming one of the most successful bands of the decade. Two of these five albums achieved platinum certification in the US, and the other three were certified gold.

In October 1975, Howe released Beginnings, his first solo album.^[10] It featured Yes band members Alan White, Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz and reached number 63 in the US and number 22 in the UK charts. His second solo album, The Steve Howe Album, was released in November 1979.^[11] Howe played alone on half of the tracks, while others again feature White, Bruford and Moraz, along with vocalist Claire Hamill. Since 1991, Howe has released a solo recording almost every year, ranging from acoustic to progressive to a Bob Dylan tribute. In 2001, Howe released Natural Timbre, exclusively with acoustic guitars. His son Dylan, now a respected jazz musician, played the drums on his 1998 all-instrumental solo release, Quantum Guitar,^[12] while Elements, released in 2003, featured both Dylan and Howe's younger son Virgil (keyboards and vocals), as part of a project called Remedy.^[13]

In early 1980, Anderson and Wakeman left the group and were replaced a few weeks later by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.^[14] 1980's Drama, saw a stylistic change for Yes, incorporating elements of new wave into their progressive rock blend. Howe continued with the band until Yes officially split up in early 1981. Although the group was back together less than a year later, Howe was not included in the new line-up. Over the next few years, Howe contributed to several albums produced by Horn for other artists (including Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda). Yes released three albums without Howe (being replaced on guitar by Trevor Rabin), 90125 in 1983, Big Generator in 1987, and Talk in 1994, each of which affirmed the group's new direction, leaning more towards the pop rock and new wave genres.

1981–1995: Asia, GTR, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, and second Yes run

In 1981, Howe, John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K.), Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), and Geoff Downes (The Buggles, Yes) formed the band Asia,^[14] but after two popular albums and a few hit singles, Howe left the band over differences with Wetton.^[15]

In 1985, Howe formed the supergroup GTR with ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Their only album, GTR, reached number 11 in the US, and was certified gold. The album's lead single was also successful, reaching number 14 on the Hot 100. However, Hackett's interest in pursuing solo projects spelled the end of the group.^[15] The group also disagreed about how the band's revenues should be split.

In 1988, Jon Anderson asked Howe, Wakeman, and Bill Bruford if they could take part in his next project. Howe contributed several song ideas to the eventual Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album. The new quartet was virtually the Close to the Edge Yes line-up reformed (minus Squire), leading to minor legal battles over ownership of the name "Yes".^[15] Eventually, under pressure from both management and label, they all joined forces with the members of the "official" Yes (Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire and Alan White) as a "mega-Yes" lineup to record the album, Union, which was released in 1991. Although the album was quite successful, Howe left the group for a second time the following year.

In 1991, Howe contributed a flamenco guitar solo to the epic number one single "Innuendo" by Queen, something he said he was very proud to have played on.^[16] When Geoff Downes reformed Asia in 1992, Steve returned to play guitar on Aqua playing on six of the album's 13 tracks, as well as playing on their Aqua Club tour as a special guest. In 1993, Howe played the guitar and co-produced Symphonic Music of Yes, an album of orchestral arrangements of classic Yes tracks. He then left the band after the Victory Music label left him out of an invitation to participate in the studio sessions that lead to 1994's Talk.

1995–present: Third Yes run, Steve Howe Trio, and return to Asia

Howe rejoined Yes for a third time in 1995 for the recording of Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2, the two double albums containing both live and studio tracks.^[17] Since Keys to Ascension, Howe has appeared on all the albums recorded by Yes. Thereafter, over the following five years, the group released Open Your Eyes in 1997, The Ladder in 1999 and Magnification in 2001, before going on a four-year hiatus between 2004 and 2008. Following their hiatus, Yes released Fly from Here in 2011 and Heaven & Earth in 2014.

On 24 May 1996, Howe received an honorary doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) from Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York.^[17] Also in 1996 he played with Asia on a song called Ginger meant for Arena, but was left off the album and was released on Archiva Vol. 1 later that year. He also added his guitar to two of the songs from Aura, released in 2001.

In 2007, Howe founded the Steve Howe Trio, a jazz band completed by his son Dylan on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ. The Steve Howe Trio has released two albums: a studio album, The Haunted Melody in 2008 and a live album, Travelling in 2010.

Howe rejoined the other three founding members of Asia in a 25th-anniversary reunion tour in late 2006. Since that time Asia have released a DVD, Fantasia, and a new CD of music called Phoenix in April 2008. In early 2010 the band released their second reunion CD, Omega. The band's third reunion album entitled XXX was released in July 2012. On 10 January 2013, Howe left the band for the third time,^[18] to focus on Yes, his solo work and his trio.^[19] The three remaining founding members decided to carry on without him. He was replaced by Sam Coulson.^[20]

In March 2015, a two-disc, 33-track collection of Howe's solo material was released as Anthology. Howe supported its release with a solo tour of the UK in April 2015.^[21]

Accolades

Howe was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in Guitar Player magazine five years in a row (1977–1981) and in 1981 was the first rock guitar player inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame.^[14] The only other two guitarists to win the "Best Overall Guitarist" category for the "Gallery of Greats" are Steve Morse and Eric Johnson.

Gibson Guitar Corporation, the maker of Howe's second electric guitar (which he was still playing forty years later), said that Howe "elevated rock guitar into an art form" and "helped define a new style of music known as art rock." In a tribute to Howe and his personal favourite ES-175 guitar, Gibson produced a Steve Howe Signature ES-175 in 2002.^[22]

Personal life

Steve has been a vegetarian since 1972 and mostly avoids taking pharmaceutical drugs.^[23][24]

In 2012 Howe spoke of his long-term practice of Transcendental Meditation:

I had been experimenting with different approaches to meditation for some time and then in 1983 I picked transcendental meditation as the one for me. I'm still doing it. I really like it and so do a lot of other people. It's not demanding. It's not about a religion. ... It's had a major, positive effect on me. I know that for sure.^[24]

Discography

Bibliography

• The Steve Howe Guitar Collection, Steve Howe with Tony Bacon (Photography: Miki Slingsby). First British Edition published by Balafon 1994 (ISBN 978-1-871547-64-1). A book detailing with photographs Steve Howe's collection of guitars, lutes, lyres, mandolins and pedal steel guitars.
• Steve Howe Guitar Pieces, Steve Howe tablatures, 1980, Wise Publications; rééd. éd. International Music Publications, avril 2000.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Howe.

• Steve Howe – Guitar Rondo (official website)
• Discography at Yescography
• Perry, Shawn. The Steve Howe Interview. www.vintagerock.com.
• Asia on Classic Rock Central – 1983 audio interview clips with John Wetton, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe