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He was a bit of a buffin and he was talking about additive synthesis and I said, No, I'm a
I I want additional synthesizers, you know.

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Hello and welcome to the Keyboard Chronicles, a podcast for keyboard players.

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I'm your host, David Holloway, and I'm pumped to be here with you.

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Also pumped to be with Mr.

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Paul Bindig.

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How are you, sir?

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I'm I'm equally pumped.

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I'm excited to be here.

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Yeah, look at and we've just had a great chat with Mr.

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Jeff Downs.

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Long-term listeners or viewers of the podcast may recall way back in episode thirty-eight,
seems an eternity ago, I had the pleasure of catching up with Jeff.

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And so for those of you that are interested in Jeff's full history, he covers a lot of the
earlier days in that interview, uh, his time with Asia and so on.

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The purpose of this one was just a bit of a follow-up chat um in the lead up to

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Yes, releasing their new album Aurora, which you and I have had a bit of a listen to,
Paul, and we're quite enjoying it.

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Yeah, the uh the the the title track is is really cool and it just shows off Jeff's
songwriting and orchestral keyboard layering capability to great effect.

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Yeah, so we we definitely talked to him in some depth about the album, but also his
approach to playing and his keyboard rig, which apparently still is around ten plus

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keyboards.

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And we do get some viewer questions answered.

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And so yeah, I'll let you jump in and listen and we'll talk to you at the end of the show.

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Jeff, it's an absolute honour and pleasure to have you back on the show, sir.

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How are you?

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Very good, thanks.

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How are you?

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It's we're we're a few miles apart, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

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Yeah, look I and I know you've been across those miles a few times, so now I'm really
excited to have you back and talk about uh the new album.

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So around the last time we spoke the quest had just been released or was about to be
released, and now you have Aurora releasing in just a few weeks.

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I just want to start off how did the creative and recording process for this outcoming
album differ from the recent albums?

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Well, it's uh it's fairly fairly similar but a bit more refined now.

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I think that a lot of the you know, the preparation for the album's done with a lot of uh
interaction with file changing and that kind of thing, exchanging ideas that way.

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You know, rather than it being the old fashioned way of everyone getting their heads down
in the studio and bashing away and seeing what comes out.

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it's a bit more refined the process in terms of being able to you know, exchange these
ideas and I think

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The main thing was that Steve was very much uh integral part of being the producer, so a
lot of the ideas have funneled through him and and that's really how we do it.

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But there's still there's still, you know, collaborations in the studio between either
Steve and myself or or Steve and Billy or me and Billy or whatever, you know.

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I mean we're we kind of w we just work through it and see what happens really.

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That's that's the the main thing.

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And speaking of the writing process, Jeff, I mean over the last decade you've brought some
fantastic compositional ideas to yes.

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On this upcoming album and uh which tracks can we look forward to on Aurora that maybe
have your signature on them the most, would you say?

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Well, I think they're you I'm pretty much all over it in terms of, you know, the the the
keyboard parts.

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I think maybe the keyboard profile's a bit higher possibly on this album.

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I don't know if we we did we didn't discuss the last album, Mirror to the Sky, but I s
this is I think Aurora is part of a trilogy of three albums that, you know, we've we've

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worked on certainly over the last five years and um I I think the the process has got, as
I say, f quite refined.

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I think we've managed to

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And you know, this band has been together the longest version of yes in history, so I
think we've got a good understanding between between the five of us how we want to move it

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forward.

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And um and as I say, having Steve in the sort of central role has been very, very good for
us because you know, if if anyone knows what yes should sound like, Steve's the man

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really, because he's been obviously the longest and you know, he's seen all the different
factions of yes throughout the years.

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Yeah, I mean he's that he's that red thread through the whole thing, which of course keep
keeps keeps that that centre.

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I look I speaking of your compositional approach and you were saying these days it's quite
elegant sharing files and ideas, listening to the the title track which has been released,

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Aurora, it's starts with that beautiful piano and then moves into that that orchestration.

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Is is that a song that that kind of started with that because that's the way the song
starts, or is is that the way the process works or was it less linear?

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Was it

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Was it still bouncing ideas backwards and forwards?

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I I think it started one of the one of the ideas for Aurora was a a a a track that John
and I were working on.

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But you know, the w the way the these tracks come together is a lot of uh experimentation.

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I don't think we've got you know, someone doesn't come along and say, Right, here we are,
this is the song and this is what we're gonna do They take on whole new new meanings and

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new ideas get thrown into the pot and then

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We kind of work through you know, how we extend that into being a full grown piece.

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And I think that, you know, if you're looking at probably the the deeper tracks on the
album when you look at just a track like Counter Movement for instance, which is a long

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piece, that's got, you know, everyone's input in in various factions.

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And so it's very much a case of us working together to to to put something, you know,
original into the equation.

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I think that's what we want to do, you know.

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Yeah.

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And and Jeff, I mean, s Steve Howe's spoken a number of times about how highly he rates
the band's collaborative spirit over these last few albums.

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So are there particular parts of the Aurora album where that collaboration really sh
shines through for you?

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Yeah, I d well I think, you know, really across all the tracks.

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I mean I as I say, counter movement is one that really stands out as being a full
collaboration between all of us and you know, I think that's probably one of the reasons

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why it's it it's it's a long track because it it has to do kind of incorporate everyone's
ideas and and you know, it it's it's made up of various sections.

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So that one I think is p particularly

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indicative of the collaboration of the five members of the band.

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But a as I say, you know, ev everyone is is batting in the same direction and I think that
we we try and uh we try and make sure that everyone's featured in all of the songs at some

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point, rather than it being, you know, a th this is my song and I'm and that's the way it
should be.

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It's very open, you know, I think we keep an open mind on a lot of the stuff.

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You you mentioned before, Jeff, that this is the longest version of of of Yes in its
entire history, which is something to be proud of.

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But also my understanding is you're also the longest serving keyboard player in the band
now as well.

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That's that's your title that you hold.

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And so as a result of that, I I'm I'm really interested in how your philosophy in uh
compositionally, but also in interpreting some of the the the more classic songs has

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evolved over the time you've been in the band.

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Well yeah, I d I think that uh it's always in the back of my mind that that you know
Yesha's got such an amazing history and and particularly, you know, in terms of keyboard

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players, you know, they're starting with Tony and then into Rick and and and Patrick.

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You know, and I think that even Igor, you know, the f our friendly Russian chap, you know,
I I think they've all they've all made a contribution and so from my standpoint, I try and

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pay due respects to all of those

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contributions that the keyboard players have done.

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And I think that it's you know, it's it it's it's quite a sort of musical challenge in a
way because you're talking about people with a lot of different styles.

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I mean my style is very different from say Tony or or Rick, you know, I think that, you
know, Rick's style was much more virtuoso and ex but I you know, my my whole thing that

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and and of course going back to Tony, his heavy ham and playing, all of that I've I sort
of take it on board.

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And so the the

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The keyboard parts that I I use certainly on these last three albums.

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I I've tried to encapsulate some of those great sounds that they you know, that they use,
not like mellotrons and you know, ham and organ and acoustic piano.

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I think they're they're very important to the actual essence of Yes's music and so I'm
always conscious of that, of keeping that in mind that I I don't depart too much and just

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say, Well,

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You know, I've got this great sound and that's all I'm gonna do on there.

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You know, I think that the actual core stuff that that I work on is very much oriented
around the classic instruments that that the previous keyboard players use.

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As I said, such as p acoustic piano, electric piano, um melotron, mini mug, all all those
kind of elements I think are very important to Yes's music.

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Agree totally.

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No, great point.

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And I mean your li your live sets, Jeff, are famous for sort of these really epic
sprawling structures.

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And so I mean, you're essentially a key part of the orchestra of the band.

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So what's currently the most mentally demanding ten or fifteen minutes of a a live set
when you play for you to pull off night after night?

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That's a tricky question.

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I don't I hope I do pull it off every night.

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I think, you know, the technology has given me a lot of support.

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As you know, I was always I'm very much into technology.

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I even going back way to the boggle stuff.

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So I was more fascinated, a as was Trevor, you know, I think that we we both had a sort of
meeting of minds there that both of us were very interested in in furthering music through

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technology as much as uh performance and you know, being

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been performer's one thing, but but also being able to encapsulate that technology is a a
completely different ball game.

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So I I try and steal a fine line between, you know, using experimental stuff but at the
same time, as I say, retaining that that sort of yes sound.

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But, you know, to to to do it live, it's it is a challenge because I try and not just
emulate that their uh the the the stuff in the past, but try to add my own

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stamp on it to some degree.

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And as I say, technology is a great help because a lot of the virtual synths that I use
are really emulations of of those great instruments as well.

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So I I try and condense it down as much as possible, but it's it's it's an interesting
fact from a more of a musicology point of view than anything else that that I can uh you

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know keep the the essence of the yes music but at the same time ex use my own
experimentations.

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Yeah, and and and that leads me to something I'm really curious about, Jeff, which is if
we think about the Aurora sessions and you know, I'm wondering what we can can h can

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expect to hear.

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So are are you relying on particular soft synths and sounds that that you may have used
when you're live, Rick?

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Or for th for these studio recordings, did you did you dig into some old original vintage?

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As you said, you know, getting those militones militant sounds.

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Yeah, what did you use for for for Aurora?

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Well, I think it would be a case of I mean obviously we're not we're not taken out on the
r road yet, but I I think it'll be a case of trying to parallel up.

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I mean, I I I keep the data so I know what sounds I used here and there and everywhere on
on the album.

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So it's not that it's not that difficult for me to uh to know that 'cause I'm playing
myself, you know.

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That that's a lot easier to be playing someone else.

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Um so I think yeah, I I I really just focus on

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The parts that I played.

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You can't obviously you know y there's a trillion overdubs on there, so you can't actually
physically emulate every single part unless you start running back in tracks, which we

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don't do.

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You know, I think the the part beauty of watching a band like Yes is that each guy's doing
his own thing and it in it in it, you know, it's not there's no tricks.

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There's no I have I'm got a big

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orchestral choir coming in at the back of me or or whatever, you know.

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I think that I try and keep it very organic.

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But, you know, as I say, it it is a challenge, but I've got lots of keyboards to be able
to put it on, you know.

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I've always got a piano there, I've always got a Hammond organ there.

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Uh so, you know, I that's been my thing from from the beginning really, is that I consider
myself to be much more of an orchestral keyboard player rather than a a single line

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virtuoso.

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guy soloing all over the place, you know, and my my my whole thing is about musical
textures.

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And you know, the people used to say to me, well, you know, particularly when when I was
doing Asia, for instance, and they talk about, you know, the wall of sound at keyboards,

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which was my thing, really, is of getting simulating orchestral instruments.

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You know, I could get an oboe sound out of a mini mug.

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I could get a string sound out of a RP Selena.

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So

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That was my thing was that was actually because I you know, I studied a lot of
instrumentation at music college, so that kind of carried me on through and and uh I find

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it very interesting.

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I still find it very interesting.

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I'm I'm fascinated to experiment and get these sounds together.

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Yeah, no, absolutely.

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And and that probably is a nice segue, Jeff.

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We ha we let our viewers and listeners know that we were going to be talking to you.

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Uh, and one of the friends of the show, Derry from Wales, so obviously much closer to you
than us, he he was very fascinated to find out more about your keyboard rigs.

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So as as you've just mentioned, you know, wall of sound, traditionally large keyboard
rigs.

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Derry's wondering, have you

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sort of been intentionally slimming it down in recent years and that he knows you were
down to sort of two keyboards with Asia, as you just mentioned, you know, when you last

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toured there, or are all those keyboards still in your mind pretty necessary just to have
that diversity of of stuff to draw on?

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Well, I've got a very different rig with yes.

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I think that you know, it you you can't imagine seeing yes with just maybe one one guy one
playing one keyboard, you know.

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I think that it's i the the the visual thing is as important as anything else.

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But at the same time I'm not saying I'm being flash and I've got a load of keyboards just
sitting there doing nothing.

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You know, I think that I I I wanna have, as I said, those all those sounds at my disposal
and it's great to be able to have the luxury of that.

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I mean, say for instance in in in Asia it's a much more tight ship in terms of what I can
do.

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So I can I can really get it down to two keyboards and I can put the verse verse sounds
across all the different zones and do it that way.

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Uh but I think with yes I I just like to have this the the fact that I can stretch out and
have, you know, maybe I'm I'm down to about ten keyboards now, which some people might

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think is a bit excessive, but you know, as I say, it's an interesting

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It's an interesting rig.

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There's quite a bit of old stuff in there because I think that, you know, I've got some
old s older synths in there, like a a Roland JP eight thousand, which is uh to me is a

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great sounding machine.

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I've got a few of those 'cause they they the they don't stand the test of time a lot of
these old synths, you know.

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So but I've got good cover w with the analog synths.

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I use a lot of Roland stuff and module and you know, I I just try and

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effectively make as big a noise as possible, you know.

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That's that's my geek.

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That's all it is, you know.

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I then f I used to have these arguments with these guys and said, Why have you got so many
so many synthesizers?

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You know, you go on stage, I mean one time I had twenty eight synthesizers on stage.

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And the guy said, Well, I said, you know, he he said, why don't you just take one and just
work it out?

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I said, Well I I wouldn't be able to get all the sounds I want to get out of one
instrument, you know and I think that I said

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You know, they said, Well, he was a bit of a buffin and he was talking about additive
synthesis synthesis and I said, No, I'm I said I I want additional synthesizers, you know.

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So that was my thing, was just having a great collection.

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You

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produce some incredible records throughout your career with with multiple bands and many,
many people know your work, even the people who don't think they know your work can know

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your work.

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When you're arranging your keyboard parts for yes though, does your producer brain ever
clash with your player brain, given that, you know, as you as you mentioned yourself,

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Steve's the main main man when it comes to producing yes?

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Well, I think when we did the keyboards on a on on Aurora and I I did quite a few sessions
with Steve, normally one on one with Steve and and and the engineer there.

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I think it was uh you know, we'd we'd listen to part of the track and uh and and I'd
discuss with Steve and say, What what do you think we should put in there?

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You know, so should we try a bit of electric piano or uh or should we go for something
completely different?

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You know, should we try and get some

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sound that's never been heard before.

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So as I say, you know, there's a s obviously there's solo elements in there, there's this
stuff between Steve and I up where we're sort of jeweling guitar and keyboards, you know,

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that's I think that's a very important part of Yes's music is that, you know, that you've
got that interaction between guitar and keyboards.

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And and I think that's one of the reasons why Steve and I got on so well, because, you
know, I've been working with Steve for

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forty five, forty six years since the drama album.

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So you know, we've collaborated on many things, not just Asia but, you know, all the
recent yes material, even stuff on on our s of our solo albums and and things like that.

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So there's there's a kind of understanding between Steve and I that you know, I try not to
get in his way and he tries to n not get in my way.

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And I think that, you know, we've got a great understanding there that

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that sometimes you can, you know, they're they're two elements, the frontline instruments,
they're they're they're they're the the main musical p stuff.

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I mean obviously you've got the rhythm section which is you know, the yes rhythm section
is historic and laying that ground stuff, but you know, the the actual musical textures

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and all of that comes really from the guitar and keyboards.

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You know, and to some degree the the vocal, back and vocals.

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So

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It's it's a case of really Steve and I sitting down together and saying, Look, what would
work on this section?

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Um what should we do here?

201
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And we say, Well, you know, maybe let's try a bit of Hammond on there, for instance.

202
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So we'll we'll fire spark up my Hammond organ and uh we'll expand.

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Sometimes it doesn't always work out.

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Someone says, No, it's not really you know, it's not really sitting that well.

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Let's try something else.

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There's a l as I say, there's a lot of experimentation and that's really pole part of the
creative process is that you've got to you've gotta try all these things out because

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sometimes the the wackiest idea and some sound you you persevere with it and go, Wow th
that that's that's pretty good, you know, that that that works well, you know.

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Yeah, no, great insight.

209
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And Jeff, I mean, another great partnership within the band is the songwriting
partnership.

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As you said, you you and Steve, but also you and John have developed a really strong
writing partnership in the modern era of of yes.

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What do you think it is about your respective musical backgrounds that makes that work so
effectively?

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'Cause you come from very different backgrounds.

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Yeah, well I think that's that's part of the the the charm of it.

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I mean, if you look at yes, we all come from really quite different backgrounds.

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And I think that that's one of the beauties of of the the way that we do collaborate.

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And and certainly, you know, jo working with John has really opened my eyes to a lot of
things because, you know, he's he's a sort of Californian boy, al albeit p schooled in

217
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progressive music, you know, there's always that

218
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is the the the the American s feel is very different from say the the the Western British
feel where our rhythm is much more straight, you know, we we deal with straight things.

219
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There's much more syncopation with with American mus music, uh you know, American jazz and
stuff like that has got you know, we don't really the British players are not really

220
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schooled in blues, you know, we're not we're not a blues based

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nation.

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I mean, there was some great British Bruce blues players but it's not native to our style
of music.

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So we're much more four square, you know, our our style of music.

224
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So in a writings uh context, working with someone like John, if you can make those two
elements work well together and uh you know, you have that transatlantic collaboration, if

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you can make it work really well, then I think it it's it's it's a joy to listen to for

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a lot of people because it it's an un creates a unique sound.

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I think in the same way that Yes did with uh Trevor Rabin and uh on the nine one two five
album and and beyond, I think that Trevor Rabin was much more of a you know, a heavy not a

228
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heavy metal player, but a more kind of modern type of guitarist.

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And I think combined with, you know, Chris Squire and Alan White's very British rhythm
section, I think that

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That was another great combination and I think that's what yes has been about all along.

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It it's it's experimentation of styles.

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I mean, for instance, if you go back to the relayer album that Patrick did, you know, he
bought in a very, very jazzy this f fla flourishing stuff that, you know, yes had not

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really experienced before.

234
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So I think that it's always developing thing.

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You know, yes music is something that has developed all over the years.

236
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It's gone through

237
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various influences that have been as a result of the the musicians who've been through the
the doors of yes over the years.

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And so it it's a great band and I I just thoroughly enjoy my con continuation with them
that uh you know we can get on and we can do new stuff.

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Jeff, uh we David and I, and David will correct me here, I think, but we we've had the
pleasure and privilege of interviewing something like a hundred and eighty plus at the

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time of recording and notable keyboard players.

241
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And particularly amongst the more modern prog players, y you often come up as a as an
influence.

242
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And one of the things that people often say about you is they they love the way that you
really serve the song.

243
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And you talked about it before, your style is not so much virtuostic, but more orchestral
building layers and that sort of thing.

244
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I'm I'm curious where does that come from?

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Where in your musical background does that approach come from and w has it always been a
natural thing for you to approach a song that way?

246
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Yeah, I think it comes from my my historic background.

247
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Uh I was in ch church choirs, my dad was a church organist.

248
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So there was a quite quite a discipline there to respect the the the the the song, if you
like.

249
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You know, and I think that uh you know, I gr I grew up singing anthons and I think a lot
of that was was is shown to be in, you know, particularly Asia with the big academic

250
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choruses and that kind of stuff, 'cause John John Wett and myself had very similar ideas
and that.

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department.

252
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But I d I think my main thing is has been that it's it's a respect for other instrument
instruments, whether it be a a vocal or or it be even a rhythm section.

253
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You know, you I I don't like to sort of tread on people.

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So in some ways if I could create this this almost like a backdrop of sound, that's one of
the things that that really interests me and something that I've always been you know

255
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always been drawn to.

256
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And so and that does

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That does parallel up into the writing side of things.

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I think that you you you're automatically drawn to respecting the song.

259
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And in some ways I think that was drilled home to me when I was doing writing T V jingles
and when I first moved to London from when I graduated from music college and I first

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moved to London.

261
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I think writing jingles really gave me a an insight into con condensing

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the ideas because you you had to be subordinate to the product that you were selling.

263
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You know, you can't you can't have a a huge orchestration behind when they're trying to
sell nappies or something like that, you know.

264
00:24:52,241 --> 00:25:02,809
So th there's a you you really have to pay not not second fiddle to the the the the the
thing that you're selling, but um I think you've got to try to enhance that.

265
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I suppose in the same way that, you know, film composers work is that you know they they
can't be over

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overpowering to the actual waters in the film.

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You know, that's the that is the the the central point of watching the actor perform his
his leading role, as it were.

268
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You know, you can't have, you know obliterated by by a a load of um Tim Pani or something
like that, you know, blasting over his lines, you know.

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So there's a there's a balance between creating music that's not no s as I said before,
not subordinate to the

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to the vocal line but but that that actually tries to enhance it and and and has its own
has its own space, you know.

271
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Yeah, perfectly put.

272
00:25:47,868 --> 00:25:56,357
And and Jeff, I do need to ask, you know, with Aurora about to drop and I'm assuming a
whole new cycle of touring coming up, how do you keep the touring life fresh for yourself?

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How I mean, as you know, it's a it's a thing of stamina doing a a longer tour.

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How do you keep that uh doable for you and fresh when you go back out on the road?

275
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Well, I think there's a lot of preparation.

276
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Uh you know, w certainly with Aurora, I d I d I mean, you can't go out and do a whole your
hole of your latest album.

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I mean a band like yes, you know, people wouldn't know people wouldn't know where to start
because it's unfamiliar territory to a lot of people.

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And also the the there are a lot of pass passing fans that come through that probably
haven't even got the album.

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So you have to sort of uh keep the balance of

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introducing new material.

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Which I th I think that the the the fans really appreciate.

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You know, certainly the diehard fans appreciate the fact that you're you're you're not
just sitting back and playing, you know, roundabout Starship Trooper and that's it.

283
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You know, I think that we try and add some deeper cuts, some historical deeper cuts from
Yes and also add probably a couple of tracks from from Aurora, maybe one from the last

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album, one from the previous album.

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we still do stuff from drama obviously that I was involved in.

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So it it's a balance really.

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You have to you have to keep the the fans satiated by playing some of the the great you
know, the great yes music, which is it's great fun for me because I you know, I love to

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play all of the old stuff like Close to the Edge or you and I and I mean that's a real
challenge.

289
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What recently we've been doing the whole of the Fragile album, which was great

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great thing to be able to do, you know, because doing a an entire album that I was not
involved with takes an enormous amount of preparation.

291
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So it's all about it's all about the prep and then the pre production.

292
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I think once once you get that behind you, then you can go out and play it and perform it
and enjoy it.

293
00:27:48,152 --> 00:27:48,943
Thank you, Jeff.

294
00:27:48,943 --> 00:27:53,447
We're getting towards the end of our time and thank you for being so generous with yours.

295
00:27:53,508 --> 00:27:58,573
But we have a second viewer question from one of our great supporters of our show, Tammy.

296
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And Tammy wants to know who is an artist either alive or dead that you wish you could
collaborate with that you haven't been able to?

297
00:28:07,970 --> 00:28:09,910
Well, there's quite a f quite a few.

298
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I mean, I well, live I'm not sure.

299
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Uh you know, I'm I'm schooled a lot of the old stuff and you know, sadly we've lost quite
a lot of a lot of uh great musicians and great people, certainly in recent years.

300
00:28:22,934 --> 00:28:33,457
But uh I'd actually I just often thought about this and I think that I'd really like to
get together with someone like Sting, I think, because um he's just such a great writer.

301
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Or also I'd like to be able to work with

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00:28:36,738 --> 00:28:44,604
the two guys from ABBA because I'm a huge admirer of their composition and certainly the
keyboard player Benny Anderson.

303
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Because people don't people don't say much about Benny Anderson.

304
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They'll turn around and say, well, yeah, he's a the the key keyboard player in ABBA, but
or he's a songwriter in ABBA.

305
00:28:53,990 --> 00:29:03,216
But Benny Anderson was very similar in a way to how I approached the keyboards in terms of
this orchestral approach.

306
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And and if you listen to a lot of the ABBA stuff

307
00:29:05,888 --> 00:29:12,021
It's very very deep and very uh intense with a lot of counterparts coming in.

308
00:29:12,021 --> 00:29:16,383
He's got some beautiful lines uh that that that come in.

309
00:29:16,383 --> 00:29:26,929
Which, you know, as I say, people don't necessarily ri they like it, but they don't
realise the depth of the composition that's gone into that and of course they're hearing

310
00:29:26,929 --> 00:29:29,794
and they're thinking Dancing Queen and all the rest of it.

311
00:29:29,794 --> 00:29:32,675
Which is great, you know, they're hearing the the the lead vocals.

312
00:29:32,675 --> 00:29:43,821
But underneath all of that there's a very, very clever, subtle musical foundation that uh
particularly Betty and Bjorn Alvaeus were very conscious of.

313
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So, you know, that's one of the that would be one of the the great collaborations I'd like
to get involved with.

314
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Whether it happens or not, I don't know, but there you go.

315
00:29:52,950 --> 00:29:53,711
Great picks.

316
00:29:53,711 --> 00:29:54,521
No, thanks, Jeff.

317
00:29:54,521 --> 00:29:55,612
Amazing picks.

318
00:29:55,612 --> 00:30:03,209
And so our last question, Jeff, and it's a it's a super general one is you've hopefully
got many, many more years left of creating great music.

319
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What impact do you want to leave the world with your music?

320
00:30:06,321 --> 00:30:12,194
You know, and hopefully thirty years time when you retire, what you know, what what impact
do you want to leave the world?

321
00:30:12,194 --> 00:30:21,752
I'll be if I retire in thirty years' time I'll be a hundred and five, which I I doubt
somehow, but yeah, I d I think that I I hope that I've made people happy and I hope people

322
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have enjoyed my music over the years and and I hope they keep playing it and you know,
hopefully I've got a few few more albums and a few more years left in me to uh continue to

323
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do that.

324
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:32,620
Yeah.

325
00:30:32,620 --> 00:30:37,666
And you certainly have made a lot of people happy with your music, Jeff, including these
two people talking to you right now.

326
00:30:37,666 --> 00:30:39,148
And we can't thank you enough.

327
00:30:39,148 --> 00:30:49,622
I know it's an incredibly busy time and we're super excited for the Full Aurora album and
I know it's a big thing touring this far down, but we we still dream of seeing Yes Down

328
00:30:49,622 --> 00:30:50,954
Under again at some stage.

329
00:30:50,954 --> 00:30:51,214
But

330
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I hope so.

331
00:30:51,956 --> 00:30:53,079
I hope so.

332
00:30:53,079 --> 00:30:53,700
Yeah.

333
00:30:53,700 --> 00:30:58,250
I think they they t do talk about it from time to time, so hopefully we'll get it through.

334
00:30:58,548 --> 00:31:00,501
I cannot thank you enough for your time, Jeff.

335
00:31:00,501 --> 00:31:02,072
It's been absolutely amazing.

336
00:31:02,072 --> 00:31:03,029
Thank you.

337
00:31:10,619 --> 00:31:11,611
And there we have it.

338
00:31:11,611 --> 00:31:18,681
So as we said at the start, Paul, Jeff's such a great guy, and it was really brilliant to
catch up with him again and see what's been happening the last few years.

339
00:31:18,850 --> 00:31:19,871
Yeah, it really was.

340
00:31:19,871 --> 00:31:28,337
And something I I didn't want to give away any intro, but he his thoughts on ABBA one
hundred percent mirror mine.

341
00:31:28,337 --> 00:31:29,778
I I always say that.

342
00:31:29,778 --> 00:31:38,854
There's there's so much complexity to their music, particularly from a keyboard
perspective, that people don't think about because it just sounds so cool and catchy and

343
00:31:38,854 --> 00:31:39,985
hooky and poppy.

344
00:31:39,985 --> 00:31:41,706
And that I think is a real art.

345
00:31:41,706 --> 00:31:47,832
So I I l I loved hearing him talk about that, but also about his his process and his
excitement for the new album and

346
00:31:47,832 --> 00:31:49,444
Great to see yes are still going strong.

347
00:31:49,444 --> 00:31:58,622
And hey, like he said, one of the great things about yes is they're still writing original
material, putting it out there and giving all their their fans old and new something new

348
00:31:58,622 --> 00:31:59,684
to listen to, which is great.

349
00:31:59,684 --> 00:32:00,362
Yeah.

350
00:32:00,362 --> 00:32:01,593
I hugely respect that.

351
00:32:01,593 --> 00:32:03,165
So no big thanks to Jeff for his time.

352
00:32:03,165 --> 00:32:07,108
A big thanks to you all out there for your time and to our viewer questions.

353
00:32:07,108 --> 00:32:15,375
So those two viewer questions were from our supporters that are either Substack, Patreon,
or YouTube members.

354
00:32:15,375 --> 00:32:23,052
For the sake of a couple of bucks a month, you too can join that cohort and get to ask
your own questions and potentially co-host a show and talk to a guest.

355
00:32:23,052 --> 00:32:24,424
yourself if that's your thing.

356
00:32:24,424 --> 00:32:28,808
Do check out either Substack Patreon or YouTube under the Keyboard Chronicles.

357
00:32:28,808 --> 00:32:33,414
um As I said, all the pricing and that is there and it really does help us keep going.

358
00:32:33,414 --> 00:32:39,841
Now speaking of shout-outs, I do want to shout out to those two uh people that we ask
questions on behalf of.

359
00:32:39,841 --> 00:32:44,450
So Tammy from Tammy's Musical Stu, thank you as always Tammy for your thoughtful
questions.

360
00:32:44,450 --> 00:32:44,700
Mr.

361
00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:47,591
Derry Evans from the Sunnyland of Wales, thank you, sir.

362
00:32:47,591 --> 00:32:48,961
the Dreamscapers, Mr.

363
00:32:48,961 --> 00:32:53,913
Paul Heaton, amazing ambient music creator on YouTube.

364
00:32:54,043 --> 00:32:58,044
Paul we discovered too late, only lived a matter of a few blocks from me.

365
00:32:58,044 --> 00:33:00,410
Disappointingly, he's gone elsewhere.

366
00:33:00,410 --> 00:33:05,537
Um otherwise it would have been nice to catch up with him face to face, and we probably
will do that at some stage.

367
00:33:05,537 --> 00:33:10,550
Dave and the team at the musicplayer.com forums and the keyboard corner in particular.

368
00:33:10,550 --> 00:33:14,213
And last but definitely not least, Mike Wilcox at Midnight Mastering.

369
00:33:14,213 --> 00:33:17,816
If you do have your own creations, he is the guy.

370
00:33:17,816 --> 00:33:20,399
So again, thank you all out there for your time, Paul.

371
00:33:20,399 --> 00:33:22,731
It's always a pleasure, mate, and we'll definitely be seeing you soon.

372
00:33:22,731 --> 00:33:24,702
We've got a few shows coming up.

373
00:33:25,174 --> 00:33:26,615
Yeah, we have.

374
00:33:26,675 --> 00:33:33,120
I'm I I'm excited, team to be working with David uh his band and my band are getting
together soon.

375
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:34,361
So that'll be that'll be great.

376
00:33:34,361 --> 00:33:43,034
We're gonna we're gonna go over to Sydney, which is about an hour away from where David is
and significantly more than that for for where I am.

377
00:33:43,034 --> 00:33:44,459
We're gonna play a show together.

378
00:33:44,459 --> 00:33:50,414
It was gonna be fun and we might even do some rubbish content that no one's interested in
while we're at the I don't know what

379
00:33:50,414 --> 00:33:51,352
You never know.

380
00:33:51,352 --> 00:33:56,966
Yeah, we we're the least interesting people in the world, but we could we could be really
self indulgent because this is a our show, so we can do it.

381
00:33:56,966 --> 00:33:58,087
That's right.

382
00:33:58,728 --> 00:34:09,566
David, be but before we be before we sign off I I really would love to draw attention to
this wonderful T shirt that was sent to me by our friend Tammy uh, who David mentioned to

383
00:34:09,566 --> 00:34:11,157
us before, a great supporter of the show.

384
00:34:11,157 --> 00:34:17,632
This represents the band Punch Drake Cabaret from Canada and

385
00:34:17,912 --> 00:34:18,582
Go check them out.

386
00:34:18,582 --> 00:34:19,722
They're pretty interesting band.

387
00:34:19,722 --> 00:34:28,028
The the best way I could describe them is if Rockability was first thought of as a musical
con concept around about the year 1985.

388
00:34:28,028 --> 00:34:28,979
That's what they sound like.

389
00:34:28,979 --> 00:34:35,193
So they've got a real sort of synth poppy sort of vibe that sort of blends in with the
rockability vibe.

390
00:34:35,193 --> 00:34:37,935
And their keyboard player is Rob the Robot.

391
00:34:37,935 --> 00:34:38,795
And he's pretty cool.

392
00:34:38,795 --> 00:34:43,909
He's got some really great 80s sort of sensibility sounds and layers with his synths, does
some percussion as well.

393
00:34:43,909 --> 00:34:44,959
So check him out.

394
00:34:44,959 --> 00:34:46,330
Punch Front Cabray, Tammy.

395
00:34:46,330 --> 00:34:47,736
Thanks for sending the shirt and

396
00:34:47,736 --> 00:34:51,089
Hey, if you want us to pimp your band on our show, we'll do it.

397
00:34:51,089 --> 00:34:51,630
We don't care.

398
00:34:51,630 --> 00:34:52,671
Yeah, get in touch.

399
00:34:52,671 --> 00:34:54,271
No, we love to do we love to do that.

400
00:34:54,271 --> 00:35:00,225
And I do have to say it is very easy to get a band name and merch wrong and it's very hard
to get it right.

401
00:35:00,225 --> 00:35:02,046
And Punch Try and Cabaret have got it right.

402
00:35:02,046 --> 00:35:06,338
I just think that is amazing, amazing name, amazing merch.

403
00:35:06,338 --> 00:35:07,529
Ten out of ten.

404
00:35:07,529 --> 00:35:08,719
I reckon that's great.

405
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:09,410
Yeah.

406
00:35:09,410 --> 00:35:09,930
Love it.

407
00:35:09,930 --> 00:35:11,041
It's certainly, yeah.

408
00:35:11,041 --> 00:35:13,152
There's many worse ones out there.

409
00:35:13,152 --> 00:35:16,814
No, thank you all again for listening.

410
00:35:16,814 --> 00:35:19,255
We are excited to see you again in a week or so.

411
00:35:19,255 --> 00:35:21,386
And until then, keep on playing.