Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Being that the very first time I saw Yes I got to spend a lot of time with Chris discussing music, guitar synths, etc., that most certainly left a very lasting impression on my 18 year old brain!

Jeff, does Chris remember the previous times you've met him? With the years between and the amount of fan meetings he has, that would be a lot to ask to remember. Just wondering.

One word, age (too many ... fill in the blank). I did ask him at the MOMM Saturday evening during the 75th when he told me to come back with him to that private area with the food after the concert. He says he vaguely remembers, but at the time he was quite distracted with some pestering women, so it was hard to get Chris' full attention (perhaps he was thinking about those horseshoes he wanted to get!). As I recall he seemed aggitated that evening about what...?

The next evening at the HOB he seemed like a totally different, more upbeat person.

That picture is great---looks like a 3/4 size guitar! Is he that big?

Yeah, he is a big dude!

Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffrey......

That was cruel....I LOVE IT, but cruel...

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE HANDS! Has anyone noticed that Chris has been playing without his pinky for the past few??? years? There was a video on Youtube where he was playing a SYN version of Hold Out Your Hand, and he never used his pinky. The amazing thing is that is still sounds the same! Dammit, I need about 20 more fingers to play like him and I still can't do it justice. LOL.

One of these days.....OH, before I forget, didn't Charly try to get CS to view this site? Did anything ever come of it? Anyone know anything?

I can't pretend to think that I'm the biggest Squire fan here, but I wasn't at the 75th shindig, and I *am* the biggest Squire fan I know personally.

I still remember exactly the moment - a buddy had lent me the Yessongs LP, and I was playing it with headphones at home so as to not bother anyone else. All of a sudden that great dynamic bit in The Fish, where he's playing so quiet you almost can't hear it (and yes, I did in fact crank the volume up!), and then the big bang where head just about exploded. I knew I wanted to make that kind of noise one day!

I would submit my name and handle for consideration!

Jeff, Chris did appear to be, I wouldn't say put out, but somewhat out-of-sorts at the MOMM that night.

And Yes, Chris is a very large man. I though I had big hands but when he laid his back on mine his fingers and palm area were larger by a bit!

Tony, I also noticed watching him he played with 3 fingers almost exclusively, unless you count the thumb over the top of the fretboard. He did do that. On my 2004 4003 and 4004C I can't always do that clean, but on the slimmer necked '91 4003S I can, though for me it is unnatural and throws off my timing and thought process.

Alisha We received a package today.. I cannot wait to go out and get a frame for it..it is going in the living room asap..Thank you thank you thank you... I am so excited!

This thread is a sore spot of sorts for me, but dang it, I'm going to jump in anyway, since this may be my only time.

Many of us have monuments in life - that day you can reflect on and know exactly what you were doing at that moment. Some of these monuments are private, like the passing of a loved one, or the birth of a child, or personal epiphany that still remains secret. And some monuments are very public & shared: The day JFK was shot - likewise with MLK Jr, John Lennon, and the untimely deaths of many other greats. These are always intriguing to talk about because we can all share our side of the "Where were you when..." story.

One such monument for me was the day I first heard a Rickenbacker bass. I know this may sound trivial even to the most die-hard fans & gear-heads, but this moment was profound to me, so what are ye gonna do... I was nine years old, and on a road trip going through Mississippi riding in the back of my dad's Datsun 260Z. For those not in the know, the 260Z is a two-seater and wasn't really designed to accommodate a passenger in the back seat. So for the few hundred miles of this trip, I was crouched down on my side with my head on the floor. The rumbling of the motor and the road were a preponderance to palate, but the stereo was cranked loud enough to make the trip bearable. 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' had just concluded when this odd reversed-swelling piano sound came on which was punctuated by arrhythmic acoustic guitar chords. This unique intro began to build, then jumped into a groove when the bass & drums kicked in with what we all now know as 'Roundabout.' At age nine, I didn't know enough about music or instrumentation to know what was making that captivating sound I heard coming from Chris Squire's bass. It could have been a tuba for all I knew. But my niavette aside, it grabbed me in a way that no other instrument or sound ever has. And from that day forward, I was obsessed with it, and was driven to figure out what it was, and one day possess it, do it, bring it into my life however one would once it's form was identified. It was actually a couple of years before I discovered who Chris Squire was and what kind of bass he was playing. That's when I ate up 'The Yes Album', 'Fragile,' and 'Close To The Edge' incessantly. What Chris Squire did with that bass, that SOUND, was just magic to me. And to this day I'm not sure what that potency is about, but I dig it!

As much as Chris Squire has influenced my playing and love for the Rick 4001 bass, I can't say that I'm a fan; certainly not in the same sense that a lot of people here are. I've NEVER seen Yes live. But trust me, I've wanted to for the majority of my life. I had chances when I was young, but I was often getting into trouble and getting grounded or punished or whatever, and subsequently I missed out on many of life's rich pageant in this way. But that excuse only works for my kid years, I know. As an adult, I never made it happen either, this time citing lame excusing like always being broke or too busy or whatever. But those excuses don't hold much water given that I've known LOTS of broke and/or busy people that did whatever they could to see the bands they loved.

These days I do a lot of holding my head in my hands in shame and kicking of myself in my own posterior when it comes to the subject of Chris Squire fanship. I truly agonized over not being able to meet CS at the 75th Anniv Confluence. I can only cite the same excuses as before - too broke, too busy. But for what it's worth, the thing I was too busy with was a show of my own that was scheduled for the same night that CS played at The House Of Blues. So in a way, it's admirable that I was dedicated to my own musical commitment - but you KNOW where my heart was! I would have loved to meet Mr. Squire that weekend, but there's the part of me that knows that while this opportunity would be monumental to me, the fantasy vs reality aspect of said encounter would be heartbreakingly anti-climactic. This is of course the fault of my own grandios expectations that stem back to sophomoric manifestations of what meeting my idol should be like, and how I always envision it - how that meeting played out in my head. Hoping for some kind of warm acknowledgement over my adulation just isn't realistic coming from a man who has received so much in his lifetime, and heard it all expressed in so many ways.

The mindset of hero-worship is just impossible for me to get past with a few certain people, Chris Squire being at the top of the list. I mean, I could never do what Jeff Scott did - hang out with the Yesmen & jam, or have a conversation over breakfast... HA! No way, brother. I'd be too preoccupied with crapping my pants to be able to maintain a shred of dignity in such a situation. Well, at my age now, I MIGHT be able to foster a facade of control and mask my internal anxiety within a hundred mile vicinity of CS, but odds-makers know that's not where the smart money is. And at Chris's age, I think the one predominant human factor that may break through my anxiety would be how the years may appear to have beaten him down. Coming face-to-face with someone who has shaped my life & love of music in such a timeless way and seeing him dulled and perhaps struggling in a sense, would bring me to tears. And how could that be fun for him? He'd walk away from our encounter saying: "My... what an unfortunate weepy fellow." But stories like Jeff's and others I've heard about what a gracious and congenial sort CS is at least gives me an idea of how gracious I'm sure me would be in the presence of my befuddlement if we had ever met. But given the spotty memory that comes with age and prolonged exposure to thousands of people over a lifetime, even the most pleasant encounter would soon be lost. People age and die, and Chris Squire is certainly not precluded from this fact in spite of his musical legacy. And in the absence of the man, the music will continue to resonate and garner the idolatry which it deserves; for the art, not the artist, should be coveted, nor conversely, scrutinized. I anticipate that I may live to see the passing of this great artist (knock on maple,) and when the fans gather to pay respects, or give tribute in the form of toasts and tales of admiration & personal regard, I will be alone, sitting on my 4x12 cab on a rooftop somewhere pounding out the bassline to Siberian Khatru on my 4001 with my amp cranked to 10.

Mark,

That was great. Thanks for sharing, powerful stuff.

I actually discovered how much I loved music when the Moody Blues released Nights in White Satin.

That song started the entire Prog thing for me. I heard it on a juke box in Mt. Snow Vermont when I was just a lad and it haunted me for MONTHS, until my older brother gave me the album for Christmas back in the day.

I can't remember WHICH Yes song was my first, but it was MOST LIKELY Close to the Edge. A friend turned me onto YES, ELP, and RUSH. He also sold me my first bass and a Kustom amp. He also gave my first lesson. I was hooked on bass and CS from about 1977.

Mark -- that is a fascinating bit of writing !!! Very thought provoking and insightful.
I hope that Mr. Squire gets a chance to read some of these tributes that the Forum members have penned..... very good stuff.
Cheers - Rich F.

Hey Tony - thanks for the kind reflection. 'Nights...' is another truly amazing album.

HA! I remember those Kustom amps! When I was in Jr High School, we had a huge 2x15 cab that looked like you could fold a bed out of. So plush!

Greetings, Richard. Thanks. Love your moniker! Nice!

Mark, I'm like you in that I always envisioned what I would say and how my encounter meeting Chris would be like. When the time came, I was pretty tongue-tied. The situation was not conducive to sitting down and having a real conversation (we were all in a room at the HOB and he was there for the Meet & Greet), but it was a pretty emotional moment on my part and I fumbled through some of what I wanted to relate about his meaning in my life and how I appreciated the body of his work. The prog music of Yes and Chris' bass playing vibrate with my soul in a way no other music has. Corny, maybe, but there you have it.