Asia is absolutely delighted to announce The Heat of The Moment Tour, headlined by Asia and also featuring Focus, Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash and Curved Air and MC’d by artist Roger Dean.
The tour will commence on 3rd July 2024 and will incorporate 21 dates across the USA and Canada.
The tour has been masterminded by rock music keyboard legend and original Asia member, Geoff Downes (Buggles, Asia, Yes).
Asia was the biggest selling album of 1982, number 1 on Billboard for 9 weeks and pioneers of the MTV era! Downes’ brand new iteration of Asia first began to evolve last Summer, at the concert held in memory of late lead singer, songwriter and bassist, John Wetton (King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, UK, Asia, John Wetton Band, Icon). Downes invited old friend John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot, Kino, John Wetton Band, Icon) and new-comer Harry Whitley to join him on stage to celebrate Wetton’s life by performing some of the classic Asia hits. Such was the uproarious reception to their set, that Downes wondered if something magical was beginning to take shape.
“And so it was that the John Wetton tribute last August really reminded me how much Asia’s music belongs on the stage. The response to it all was literally…spine-tingling.”
Downes’ new-look Asia will once again feature Mitchell on guitars and Whitley on lead vocal and bass. The quartet will be made complete by the addition of Virgil Donati (UK, Southern Sons, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth) on drums.
Downes continues, “With the addition of Virgil Donati & John Mitchell, two of the finest musicians in the world in their respective classes, this is almost going full circle bearing in mind their previous close collaborations with John W. Completing this circle is also the amazing Harry Whitley who absolutely floored the audience with his incredible vocal interpretation of the Asia songs that John W and I so lovingly wrote over the years.”
The tour will also feature sets from other classic acts, Focus, Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash and Curved Air. All three support acts boast their founder bandleaders and have deservedly attained the status of legend.
Focus will be releasing a brand new studio album later in 2024. Led by the indomitable Sir Thijs van Leer, featuring original 1970’s drummer Pierre Van Der Linden, plus the virtuoso talents of Menno Gootjes on guitar and Udo Pannekeet on bass.
Martin Turner was lead vocalist, bassist, founding member and creative force behind 70’s rock music behemoth Wishbone Ash, best known for such classic albums as Argus and Pilgrimage.
Formed in 1970, Curved Air are one of the founders of progressive rock and a retrospective collection of their most influential and ground-breaking material is currently in the planning stages. Sonja Kristina (vocals) and Kirby Gregory (guitar) will treat audiences to an acoustic set featuring some of the band’s most memorable musical moments. They will be joined by violinist Grzegorz Gadziomski.
Each performance on the tour will be MC’d by legendary artist Roger Dean. For so many, Dean’s artwork is synonymous with the music of the time and stands to represent the very best of British rock music.
The final word goes to Geoff Downes, “I am convinced that John (Wetton’s) spirit is with us as we set out on this new adventure. After all, it is the Year of the Dragon – just as it was in 1982, when we released our first Asia album. It’s as though it was meant to be. Looking forward to seeing you there, my friends – bring it on!”
Heat Of The Moment 2024 Tour Dates:
Wednesday, July 3: Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
Thursday, July 4: Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
Saturday, July 6: Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA
Sunday, July 7: The Paramount, Huntingdon, NY
Tuesday, July 9: Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
Wednesday, July 10: Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ
Friday, July 12: Tropicana Showroom, Atlantic City, NJ
Saturday, July 13: Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA
Sunday, July 14: American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA
Tuesday, July 16: Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Spartanburg, SC
Wednesday, July 17: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Thursday, July 18: Columbia County Performing Arts Center, Evans, GA
Saturday, July 20: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
Sunday, July 21: Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL
Monday, July 22: Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa, FL
Wednesday, July 24: North Charleston PAC, North Charleston, SC
Thursday, July 25: Macon City Auditorium, Macon, GA
Friday, July 26: Saenger Theatre, Mobile, AL
Sunday, July 28: VBC Mark Smith Concert Hall, Huntsville, AL
Tuesday, July 30: The Arcada Theatre, St Charles, IL
Wednesday, July 31: The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI
Curved Air was formed in 1970 and ever present original member Sonja Kristina will be continuing to lead the band into the band’s 50th Anniversary year with a range of projects and a world tour.
The band will be recording a new studio album in 2020, along with contributing to the release of a 50th Anniversary Compilation which will include newly recorded tracks, featuring former and current members of the band, recording together in various combinations.
Curved Air will be touring the Americas, Japan, Europe and also appearing on Cruise to the Edge in 2020.
The 50th Anniversary year line-up has also been solidified with Curved Air welcoming back Kirby Gregory to the line-up after a break of 3 years. Kirby was originally in the heyday era line-up which recorded Air Cut in 1973. He returned to the band playing guitar for the recording of the very successful North Star album. Kirby was professionally committed to other projects from the end of 2015 until now, and he is looking forward to embarking on the 50th Anniversary World Tour in 2020.
The current line-up was completed when, after much searching, the band found and welcomed Grzegorz “Greg” Gadziomski to the line-up. Greg is a classically trained Violin player who likes to play in many genres but prefers Progressive Rock/Fusion as a particular passion. The band would like to acknowledge and thank Paul Sax who has decided to retire from touring after a lifelong career. Paul was a member of Curved Air from 2009 and the band wish him much happiness and peace in his retirement.
The accomplishments of the previous line-up and former members were recently showcased with the release of two titles on the band’s own Curved Air Records via Cherry Red: “The Curved Air Family Album” and “Live at Under the Bridge”.
“The Curved Air Family Album” features 26 tracks including rare and unreleased band and solo recordings, including by current and former members which Sonja Kristina described as “How appropriate that many Curved Air members past and present have contributed to a special collection called The Curved Air Family Album for our 50th year. I’m excited about this – it’s so great to hear all the unique sounds, surprising collaborations, eclectic songs and haunting instrumentals including from Francis Monkman, Darryl Way, Stewart Copeland, Kirby Gregory and Robert Norton – they all make for a very enjoyable double album.”
“Live at Under the Bridge” captures the band live playing Air Conditioning in its entirety, with special guests Darryl Way and Ian Eyre, as well as tracks from North Star and other Greatest Hits. Of this release, Sonja Kristina said “The 45th Anniversary of the release of Air Conditioning was a triumph of performance, musicianship, presentation and appreciative reception. Original and current members on stage together – what joy! Robert Norton’s pristine production perfectly captures the sound and energy of our night of celebration.”
The third album in the Curved Air Rarities Series finds the band headlining the second British Rock Meeting at Germersheim in Germany on 22ndMay 1973. What is of real interest to many fans will be the sheer panic which set in when the band realise that for some reason the guitar isn’t working. The band start playing a blues as they put themselves into a holding pattern instead of opening with their normal “It Happened Today” while they tried to resolve the issue, and we can hear Sonja say “what shall we do?”. This means the set we have is quite different to the norm, with the band improvising when they need to, and close with a 32-minute jam, which also incorporates some of “Vivaldi”.
My favorite is the simplicity in all the chaos, as the band gently work through “Melinda (More Or Less)”. This has always been one of my favorite numbers by the band, and with just gentle acoustic guitar and sympathetic bass, Sonja’ vocals are incredibly powerful. The reverb coming through the microphone is the only treatment she needs on her voice and puts all of today’s auto-tune singers to shame. The sound throughout is very good indeed, thanks to Armed Forces DJ Paul McGowan who had been allowed to record the whole festival, and the booklet contains essays from both Paul and Christoph Wagner along with an introduction from Francis Monkman. These, along with the photos and of course the wonderful music, capture a band at the height of their powers (this was not long after the ‘Phantasmagoria’ album). Due to the issues on the night, it isn’t a perfect set in some ways, while in others it shows a band on the edge, relying on intuition and musicianship to get through. 7/10 Kev RowlandCURVED AIR
Featuring Steve Hackett, Tony Kaye, Robert Berry, Billy Sherwood, Nick D’Virgilio, Curved Air, Dave Kerzner, Fernando Perdomo and others
London – Yesterday and Today is a tribute album to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary prog rock band YES.
The album features the following special guests: Tony Kaye, Billy Sherwood, Jay Schellen, Jon Davison, Steve Hackett, Nick D’Virgilio, Robert Berry, Francis Dunnery, Leslie Hunt, Marco Minnemann, Marisol Koss, Pat Sansone, Randy McStine, Robin Schell, Sally Minnear and co-producers Dave Kerzner and Fernando Perdomo
Six members of CURVED AIR appear on a newly recorded full band version of “Soon”.
The current bass player in YES, Billy Sherwood re-records Chris Squire’s signature bass track, “The Fish”, and current lead singer Jon Davison performs on an acoustic medley.
“YES turned 50 the year I turned 50 and Geoff Downes was one of the reasons I became a keyboardist myself! To celebrate and pay tribute to YES’s music with Geoff, Jon and Billy along with so many incredible musicians from different bands and generations has truly been a blast. YES are a big influence for me and my own music. This album was a great way for myself, Fernando and all of us to show our love for both the songs and the many great people who have been part of YES going all the way back to their very first album!” – Dave Kerzner, co-producer, Yesterday and Today
“The Beatles were my first love, then YES became the logical next step of evolution in my musical upbringing. YES have it all, songwriting equal to musicianship and creativity. The sonic bliss I got listening to their catalog incessantly when I was 10 years old left a permanent mark on me.
“As a producer, I am hugely influenced by the work of YES with Eddie Offord, Trevor Horn, Paul Clay and Tony Colton behind the board of their classic material. With the limited technology they had back then, they were able to create unparalleled sonic textures that were decades ahead of their time. Creating new versions of these songs was an incredible challenge even with today’s advancements in recording technology. Dave and I had so much fun amassing the gear and tweaking sounds to recreate all of the signature sonic elements of YES music.” – Fernando Perdomo, co-producer, Yesterday and Today
Tracks:
1. MACHINE MESSIAH (Featuring Nick D’Virgilio & Geoff Downes)
2. YOURS IS NO DISGRACE (Featuring Marisol Koss & Tony Kaye)
3. TURN OF THE CENTURY (Featuring Sally Minnear)
4. SWEETNESS (Featuring Pat Sansone)
5. SOON (Featuring Curved Air)
6. CINEMA (Featuring Steve Hackett)
7. CHANGES (Featuring Robert Berry)
8. I’M RUNNING (Featuring Robin Schell & Marco Minnemann)
9. ACOUSTIC MEDLEY: (Featuring Jon Davison)
i) YOUR MOVE
ii) AND YOU AND I
iii) WONDROUS STORIES
10. YESTERDAY AND TODAY (Featuring Dr. Danny)
11. LONG DISTANCE RUNAROUND (Featuring Leslie Hunt)
12. THE FISH (Featuring Billy Sherwood)
13. STARSHIP TROOPER (Featuring Francis Dunnery)
Almost 50 years after the creation of his classic rock anthem Vivaldi, Curved Air’s trailblazing violinist Darryl Way, has arranged and recorded the whole of Vivaldi’s masterpiece The Four Seasons and given it the same ‘rock’ treatment.
Way said of the project: “You cannot improve upon perfection, which the Four Seasons undoubtedly is, but I felt that the Four Seasons, a piece that has been a seminal influence in my life, would be fertile ground for a reinterpretation. Having said that, I have not changed any of the notes, except in some of the slow movements, where it is generally accepted that the written notes can be embellished. I have just added to the mix, rock instrumentation and rhythms, synth textures and in the slow movements, some chill out beats.”
The album is entitled Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in Rock and is released on the 4th of May 2018 via Cherry Red Records.
“I already had a good idea that a rock arrangement could work with Vivaldi’s music, from my work on the Curved Air track ‘Vivaldi’. The challenge was, to maintain Vivaldi’s original concept of the piece and tell the same story. Whether I have risen to that challenge is not for me to say, but if you were a fan of my Curved Air track ‘Vivaldi’, there’s a good chance you’re going to like this as well.”
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