Jay Schellen has been with Yes for almost a decade though he didn't become the full-time drummer until the passing of Alan White after 50 years in the band in 2022. As Yes are taking their Fragile Tour to the UK this April (and we covered the tour on episode 263, beware of setlist spoilers), we sat down with Jay to learn more about his long career, journey to Yes and the band's future.
Jay grew up in New Mexico and developed an early love of music and drumming. At a young age he moved to LA and immediately connected with Yes alum Tony Kaye who became a mentor, brother and friend to Jay. From there he worked with many bands and artists like Peter Banks (Yes), Billy Sherwood (Circa, Yes) and Geoff Downes (Buggles, Asia, Yes). Once he made his way into the orbit of Yes, it was a no brainer for him to fill in when Alan White was unavailable, to share the stage with Alan and eventually be hand-picked as his successor.
We talk about Jay's amazing career, the fun of playing Fragile in its entirety, their upcoming tour of the UK & Europe this spring, new music coming from Yes this year and a return to Japan and the US. Visit yesworld.com for tickets and updates on Jay and Yes.
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