Alan White is
considered by many to be one of the greatest rock drummers of
all-time. With forty-plus years of performance experience and appearances
on over fifty albums, Alan’s dossier reads like a who’s-who of rock
legends. With his consummate professionalism and easy-going nature, Alan
continues to be an inspiration to fellow musicians as well as fans.
In the summer of
1968, Alan was asked to join Ginger Baker’s Airforce, a new group being put
together by the former drummer of Cream and other noted musicians from
England’s music scene including Steve Winwood, formerly of Traffic.
In 1969, Alan received
what he thought at the time to be a prank phone call, but was actually John
Lennon calling to ask Alan to join the Plastic Ono Band. The next day
Alan found himself learning songs in the back of an airliner en-route to
Toronto with Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton and Klaus Voorman. The ensuing
album, Live
Peace in Toronto,
sold millions of copies, peaking at number 10 on the pop charts.
Alan’s
association with Lennon continued, recording singles like ‘Instant Karma’
and the subsequent landmark album, Imagine, with Alan providing
drums for the title song, ‘Jealous Guy’, and ‘How Do You Sleep at Night’.
Alan’s work with Lennon led to an introduction to George Harrison, who asked
Alan to perform on the album All Things Must Pass, including the hit
single, ‘My Sweet Lord’, released in 1970.
In June 1972, while on
tour with Joe Cocker, Alan got a phone call from his manager, who said that Yes
wanted him to join the band. His current tour was ending so he flew back to
England for a meeting with Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, who told him that he
was joining Yes or “they were going to throw me out the third-story window,”
recalls Alan.
Three days later, on
June 30th, Yes, along with their new drummer, opened their US tour before 15,000
fans in Dallas, Texas. Alan and Yes gave each other three months to see
if it would work out, and more than thirty years later, Alan is an integral
part of the band, having played on every Yes studio and live album recorded
since.
Founded in 1968
by Chris Squire and Jon Anderson, Grammy-award winning recording
artists YES have created some of the most important and influential
music in rock history, such as iconic pieces “Roundabout,” “Close to the Edge,”
“I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Starship Trooper,” and
countless others. Its albums, including Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from
Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Going For the One and 90125, have been certified
multi-platinum, double-platinum, platinum, and have sold over 50 million
records total in its career that has so far spanned almost five decades. Among
the world’s most influential, ground-breaking, and respected progressive rock
bands, YES continues creating masterful music that inspires musicians,
fans and music lovers around the world.
Time off from the Yes’
hectic touring and recording schedule allows Alan to pursue other projects as
well. With longtime friend and technical guru, Reek Havok, he formed
‘Crash and Bang’, to provide music for the entertainment industry, including
video games and television shows. “It also serves as a testing ground for new
music hardware and software and new approaches to music and it’s psychological
effects on the user and an excuse to plug the wrong things together just to see
what happens!”, adds Reek.
In 2005, Alan formed a
new band, aptly called White, who released their self-titled debut album in January 2006. White performs
regularly in the Seattle-area, when time permits.
In recent years, Alan
has performed with a variety of artists, including Spencer Davis, The Ventures,
Charlie Daniels and Eddie Money, to name but a few. In 2007, Alan played
alongside Keith Emerson, Simon Kirk and Yes bassist Chris Squire at the Ahmet
Ertegün memorial show, as part of the opening act for Led Zeppelin. He
also conducts numerous drum clinics around the country and around the world to
encourage and teach other drummers.
2017 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Alan and his wife Gigi
are very active in the Seattle arts community, serving on the board of
directors for Music
Aid Northwest,
Northwest Program for the Arts, and the Seattle Theatre Group. Alan is
also a member of the Seattle Chapter of The National Academy of Recording Arts
& Sciences.
A L A N W H I T E INTERVIEWED ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
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And don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the
Gs -the true story of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family
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‘Proud to be Politically Incorrect in Washington DC’ ... available now at
amazon.com.
Wishbone Ash is
an ingrained rock and roll phenomenon, and since the bands induction in
1969, they’ve continued to captivate ardent followers as well as
contemporary fans. The band’s latest release is entitled Elegant Stealth, and like a fine wine, their music seems to improve with age.
The British progressive rock group was originally led by the commanding guitar-duo of Andy Powell and Ted Turner. Wishbone Ash are pioneers for spotlighting two lead guitarists and immortalizing the Gibson Flying V guitar. The Flying V became the bands trademark and would instantly identify the group.
In 1970, the group opened for Deep Purple. While Purple’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore warmed up on stage during a sound check, Andy Powell
walked onstage and began jamming with Blackmore. Blackmore suggested
the band to producer Derek Lawrence, who later helped the band score
their first record deal with Decca/MCA Records. Their debut album Wishbone Ash was released in December that very same year.
The band’s most commercially successful release came in 1972 with Argus (Named “Best British Album of the Year” by Melody Maker). The early, original, and most successful line-up of Wishbone Ash featured Andy Powell (guitars/vocals), Ted Turner (guitars/vocals), Martin Turner (bass/vocals) and Steve Upton (drums). Wishbone Ash became one of England’s most popular hard rock acts during the early to mid 70’s under the management of Miles Copeland III.
Despite numerous personnel changes throughout the decades, Wishbone Ash
has managed to churn out 23 quality albums. The band has remained in
the limelight despite erratic changes in the music industry, perhaps due
to remaining close to its roots while recording and touring
extensively. Andy Powell has also worked on sessions with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Kashif, Stewart Copeland, Renaissance and many other legendary artists.
In 1988, Andy joined Ted Turner on the “Night of the Guitar”
tour featuring Randy California (Spirit), Steve Howe (Yes), Leslie West
(Mountain), Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), Robbie Krieger (The Doors),
Jan Akkerman, Peter Haycock(Climax Blues Band) and Steve Hunter(Mitch
Ryder, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper).
The current line-up of Wishbone Ash features original lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter Andy Powell, Bob Skeat on Bass, Muddy Manninen on guitars and Joe Crabtree on drums. Their latest release Elegant Stealth will transport you to the band’s glory days of the 1970s. Elegant Stealth is a superlative mix of progressive rock virtuosity. Andy Powell defined his career with Wishbone Ash by disclosing …”We love the life, we live the life, and the life has been good to us.”
I caught up with Andy Powell between gigs. Wishbone Ash
had just played Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland the night
before and the band was headed for their next show in Sellersville, PA.
Here’s my interview with original Wishbone Ash guitar virtuoso/singer/songwriter/ Andy Powell. Ray Shasho:Andy thank you for being on the call today, are you living in the states these days? Andy Powell: “I live in Connecticut and have
been here for twenty five years. I know your area pretty well, use to
vacation down there and of course did at least three or four albums in
Florida.” Ray Shasho: You guys played at the
Rams Head in Annapolis last night. I worked at WNAV as a deejay there
back in the late 70’s. The Baltimore/Washington DC area has always been a
hub for Wishbone Ash fans. What was the audience reaction to the new album? Andy Powell: “It was great, they loved it.
They wouldn’t let us off the stage. We had people coming in from
California, the UK, and one lady sailed to the show. (Laughing) So it
was a great night.” Ray Shasho: You mentioned the Florida connections …. What about AshFest? Andy Powell: “Yea, we did that down in Port
St Lucie at the Sandpiper Club Med a couple of years ago. We’ve also
done them on cruise ships, and we have one every year in the UK… and yea
that was a fun time.”
“We’re looking to do another one if we can. We actually did a poll on
Facebook to see how many folks would actually like to do it again. If
you go to our homepage, it’s linked to our Facebook page and you’ll see
the poll.” Ray Shasho: So what goes on at AshFest? Andy Powell: “Typically it’s an opportunity
for fans from all over the world to meet, that’s first and foremost. We
usually have a couple of Ash tribute bands which is fun, and we actually
have fans with their own bands playing our music. We sometimes have
workshops, guitar lessons, and last time had mint guitars by Lucio who
made guitars and displayed all his great pieces there. But yea, it can
be anything; it’s like a festival really. But the website is always the
first Port of Call to see what’s going on.” Ray Shasho: What I admire the most
about Wishbone Ash is that the band has stuck to its roots throughout
the years and hasn’t “sold-out” commercially. Another band that comes to
mind that also stuck to its roots is Savoy Brown, and I had this same
conversation with Kim Simmonds. Andy Powell: “Yea it’s true … I don’t want to
say we haven’t gone off the rail from time to time in a forty two-forty
three year career. But one of the pieces of advice that I always
thought is to be true to your instincts. We’ve tried singles but
realized we’re really a live band … an album band, and we basically play
to our strengths now and that’s what we do. I think if you listen to
our new album ‘Elegant Stealth’ you’ll hear the format … the sound
intact and plenty of scope for us to flex our muscles and be who we
are.” Ray Shasho: Wishbone Ash distinguished itself by spotlighting dual lead guitarists and of course the notorious Flying V. Andy Powell: “In the early 70s all bands
needed their own individual standards sort of experimentation and each
band had its own star, whether it was ‘Yes’ or ‘Jethro Tull,’ and for us
it was the twin lead guitars and it stuck with us and served us well.
It added a real melodic threat to the sound… a lead guitar/rhythm guitar
format wouldn’t be so melodic. The twin lead guitar really gives
identity to our sound.” Ray Shasho: What sparked the idea for having two lead guitarists in the band? Andy Powell: “Well strange enough I use to
play solo in R&B bands and would work with horn sections. The idea
was we’d sit around and try to think about using the guitars like a horn
section punctuating a song. One of the first songs we wrote was “Blind
Eye” and you can hear very definitely those guitar parts in the song
sounding like a horn section. So really that’s where it came out of …
those teenage Australian bands, Hammond organ, horns, and ear training
actually. I never realized there was ear training, and that lent itself
to working out the guitar parts when we formed Wishbone Ash.” Ray Shasho: Another British band that comes to mind with twin lead guitarist is Status Quo. Andy Powell: “There are a few bands that use a
two guitar line-up and they use them in different ways, Quo is one of
them. But certainly in this country The Allman Brothers were a premium
example of a twin lead guitar band.” Ray Shasho: Status Quo is such a great band, but never seem to make it happen here in the states for some reason. Andy Powell: “Yes and they’re huge in Europe.” Ray Shasho: Another band huge in
other parts of the world but unfortunately not in the states is Golden
Earring. I did a piece on them for their 50th anniversary, and not many
people in the U.S. realize the longevity of that great band. Andy Powell: “I know… they have such depth, I
mean they go back to the early 60s. That’s a good comparison to us.
They are a band that definitely had a similar type of mystique.” Ray Shasho: Do you have any regrets for not scoring huge commercially? Andy Powell: “Not really, everyone would like
more fame and fortune, but we’re all passionate about music and enjoy
what we do and overall we love the life, we live the life, and the life
has been good to us. If you can function financially on the way … then
that’s a nice bonus for a musician. I’ve been fortunate and music has
been good to me.” Ray Shasho: Some of your influences
are Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac founder), Django (Jean) Reinhardt
(Founder of Jazz guitar), and The Shadows. Andy Powell: “Yea, it’s all the stuff you grow up with and get use to. It’s all good for me and still inspires me.” Ray Shasho: Did you also grow up listening to American Blues and artists like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters? Andy Powell: “Absolutely, my favorite blues
player was probably Albert King. I love Albert King’s playing and
writing, it’s fantastic. Of course I’m familiar with all of the King’s
…Freddie King, B.B. King, and all those players that influenced British
guitar players back in the day …big time!” Ray Shasho: Kim Simmonds(Savoy Brown)
told me that it was virtually impossible to find American Blues
recordings in England; someone had to share their knowledge of the genre
with you. Andy Powell: “It was very much an underground
thing. I like to think that the Brits in some way re-educated the
public because it was endangered of getting overlooked. They would get
the records off from New York and bring them back on cruise ships and
liners, and there was an underground club of people and enthusiasts that
were sharing this stuff around … and there was really nothing on the
radio.” Ray Shasho: The Brits were huge proponents for rejuvenating American Blues. Andy Powell: “And the rest is history. It’s been along torturous ride for the blues but it’s got prominence now.” Ray Shasho: You did some session work with George Harrison? Andy Powell: “I played with George and played with Ringo … fun times in the early 70s.” Ray Shasho: What was your perception of George Harrison? Andy Powell: “Just a really humble guy and modest, kind of cool sense of humor and a very gentle man.” Ray Shasho: Talk about the connection between you, the band, and Ritchie Blackmore. Andy Powell: “Ritchie was one of the first
guys to give us a break. We opened on a show with Deep Purple and I
started jamming with him on stage during the sound check. He saw our
show and asked if we had a record deal and I said actually we don’t. So
he made a recommendation to a producer friend and before we knew it we
were being signed by MCA/Universal and we were on our way …it was great.
So I owe a big debt to Ritchie to be honest.” Ray Shasho: Do you still talk with Ritchie? Andy Powell: “Funny enough, I moved to a town
in Connecticut and it turned out that he lived there also. I hooked up
with him again in the late 70s and I think he moved on to Long Island.
But there was a brief reconnect there.” Ray Shasho: The band’s latest release Elegant Stealth is a terrific album and reminiscent to the 70s glory days of Wishbone Ash. Andy Powell: “Thank you so much. Like I said
earlier the sound is intact and it’s a very honest way of recording the
album. We’re getting great reaction from it … the fans love it and say
we’re still productive and creative … so it’s all good!” Ray Shasho: Some of my favorite songs
on the CD are “Man With No Name” a powerful tune with Beatlelistic
overtones and I also really like “Heavy Weather.” The selections are an
incredible mix of music and I can actually hear other classic bands in
many of the songs. Andy Powell: “There’s a lot of variety on
this album and we’re fans of music too, we don’t want to be copyist, but
you can’t avoid a little bit of influence coming here and there.” Ray Shasho: I feel it’s one of the best albums Wishbone Ash has put out in quite a awhile. Andy Powell: “I think you’re probably right and we appreciate it. We feel it too …you know?” Ray Shasho: Andy, talk About the Road Works series. Andy Powell: “Fans love to hear live
recordings and what we try to do is record stuff on the go and offer
that service to fans. So we’re recording every show so our fans can
relive the concerts and actually hear something played live. We’ve got
(2) in the series so far and planning to do another one. So it will just
be an ongoing thing. You can pick up Road Works directly from our
website. “This is Wishbone Ash- A Rocumentary DVD” will also be
available later this year in the states.” Ray Shasho: No confirmed Florida concert dates yet Andy? Andy Powell: “I would love it. We don’t get too many invites down there but we’re certainly looking to get something going in November.” Ray Shasho: Andy, thank you so much
for being on the call today, but more importantly for all the great
music throughout your brilliant music career. Andy Powell: “Beautiful, I enjoyed the interview, keep in touch Ray!” Wishbone Ash official website http://wishboneash.com/
Purchase Elegant Stealth –The latest release by Wishbone Ash at Amazon.com
Order Road Works at http://wishboneash.bigcartel.com/ Special thanks to the great Billy James of Glass Onyon PR for this interview.
Official website http://glassonyonpublicity.wordpress.com/
*Coming up next my interview with Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush Contact columnist/author Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com Order or download Ray Shasho’s exciting memoir ‘Check the Gs’The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com for only .99 cents!
Ray Shasho has quite a memory, especially when it comes
to what songs played on the radio during important times throughout his
youth. Combining his nostalgic recant of Billboard’s Top 100, like some infomercial for a Time-LifeOldies
CD collector’s set, along with his detailed whimsical recollections
while growing up, and you have the “soundtrack ” for a truly enjoyable
story called Check the Gs: The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business. ~~Pacific Book Review
Time off from the Yes’
hectic touring and recording schedule allows Alan to pursue other projects as
well. With longtime friend and technical guru, Reek Havok, he formed
‘Crash and Bang’, to provide music for the entertainment industry, including
video games and television shows. “It also serves as a testing ground for new
music hardware and software and new approaches to music and it’s psychological
effects on the user and an excuse to plug the wrong things together just to see
what happens!”, adds Reek.
