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Steve Carney is the co-founder of Fragile and driving force behind the band's development. Steve was introduced to the music of Yes in 1972, and has remained a loyal follower of the band ever since. Fragile is the realisation of a long held dream for Steve and comes after many years success in other diverse musical areas.
In the aftermath Steve was offered the job of lead vocalist with Airrace, an outfit featuring John Bonham's son and managed by Peter Grant of Led Zeppelin fame. However, along with an offer of the same position with the progressive outfit Pallas, Steve rejected the approaches and formed Zero One Five with ex-members of Tagus and Fortune. Once again Steve came close to realising that elusive record deal, this time with the independent label Cherry Red. This time it was musical rather than business differences which put an end to plans, and in 1985 the band folded.
Steve's story continues with a recent conversation here . . . Whilst retaining an interest in his wife's musical business commitments and holding down a demanding day job, Steve has pretty much devoted the last five years to the development of Fragile and its activities. Steve recounted his memory of events in a recent discussion with www.yestribute.com "The original plan was to do a couple of gigs at pub venues just to prove it could be done, and 1998 that's as far as we could see. Since then there has been eleven band members, two CD releases, an award winning website, UK and International gigs at high profile rock venues, media coverage, the development of the band as a songwriting force, and recognition from the world wide Yes community. Its been a marvellous experience, and we have made many new friends and acquaintances through Fragile". Steve's role in the band is crucial to its continued success "I suppose I am a bit 'Andersonesque' in that I kind of direct things. I don't think of myself as the band leader, more a conduit or facilitator to make things happen. I am surrounded by excellent musicians and this makes things easy from an artistic perspective. My role is to represent the guys, set the agenda, negotiate the deals, and deliver on the practical logistics, it's not a romantic role, but its necessary if you want things to happen".
Finally,
looking back over the last twenty five years of music making since he hit
the London pubs with Camera, where do Fragile fit in?. For me its been
the most enjoyable part of my musical life, and that's why I am still doing
it. I came close in the early and late eighties to 'making it', but it
was a time of back stabbing and double dealing, and I don't think I was
half the performer and vocalist I am now. No, with Jon, Tom, Mitch and
Rob, I feel very comfortable and talk a common language, and after a break
of nearly fifteen years it's great to be songwriting again. It feels like
a time of opportunity again, and who knows where it will go. Whatever,
it's been a great ride and I hope it lasts for as long as possible!"
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Steve's
first official live gig was in 1979 as a member of a covers band called
Camera. The group gave Steve his first experience of live performance and
lessons were very quickly learnt on London's pub circuit!, however the
offer of a job in a progressive outfit called Tagus provided Steve with
a fresh and more exciting challenge. Between 1980 and 1981, Tagus carved
out a fine reputation for their mixture of innovative original titles and
well crafted rock covers. However, in the prevailing post punk atmosphere
of the time the band were unable to find real success and they folded just
a year before Marillion sign-posted the revival of interest in progressive
rock.
Putting
aside the disappointment, Steve followed up a lead from a band called White
Noize who he had crossed paths with on the London circuit. The group were
a hard rock outfit with a large following in South East London who were
looking to broaden their sound, and in October 1981 the band returned to
live performance with Steve as frontman. During the next two years the
group changed their name to Fortune and success quickly followed. By 1982
the group had established a residency at London's famous Marquee Club,
and interest from Jack Barrie the club's owner (and close associate of
Yes in their early years) led to an appearance at the 1983 Reading Rock
Festival supporting Marillion and Black Sabbath. Albums were subsequently
recorded for both EMI and Phonogram, but in 1984 Fortune disbanded following
the collapse of a recording deal.
In
a dramatic development, 1985 saw ex-members of Fortune come together with
some new musicians in an effort to relaunch the bid for international commercial
success. This time it was hard rock with a pop blend, and the name of the
band was Sing Sing. The years of 1986 and 1987 saw Sing Sing touring the
UK and Europe, and recording material for various continental based record
labels. 1987 also witnessed Sing Sing coming second out of 2000 acts in
the UK to secure the runner up spot in that year's Yamaha sponsored talent
search. The second place was costly with the group missing out on a trip
to Japan's Budokan Theatre to support Darryl Hall & John Oates by one
solitary point. 1988 saw another lengthy UK tour and a consecutive second
placing placing in that year's Yamaha UK Band search. At this point Steve
decided it was time to move on, and 1989 saw a concerted effort to achieve
success as a solo artist and recognition in that year's Yamaha competition
for his top thirty placed title "Running From A Storm". As the new decade
dawned, and somewhat disillusioned by ten years of effort trying to make
it as an original artist, Steve decided it was time to turn his attention
to other areas.
Between
1989 and 1993, Steve went back to his roots and relearnt his stage craft
by performing covers in a variety of musical formats including the highly
successful club duo Candy-O, and the excellent showband State Of The Heart.
In 1992 Steve met his wife Kim through State Of The Heart, and their mutual
interest in blues music led to the formation of Carter Patterson. From
1993 until 1995, Carter Patterson gigged extensively on the London pub
circuit carving out a fine reputation for their rootsy rhythm and blues.
At the same time Steve and Kim established their own showband Station To
Station and explored other musical areas (Steve in particular with the
excellent Yes flavoured recording project entitled Just).
So
as the 1990's came to a close, the one constant in Steve's musical life
came back into sharp focus with the 1998 Open Your Eyes Tour. Just as the
classic Yes line-up of the seventies had first inspired Steve to get involved
in music, there now remained only one dream to realise.. to perform Yes
music before the century came to a close. That aspiration has now been
achieved, but the success of Fragile and the pleasure it brings has inspired
Steve to continue with the project. Steve is clear in his reasons for doing
so "We do it because we love Yes music, and because it brings us and others,
immense joy. Those who doubt our motives misunderstand us, and if we wanted
only commercial and financial success there are countless Abba and Beatles
tributes to join!. The argument that we are trading on the success of others
is facile, to play Yes music is a challenge and no mean achievement in
itself. As with classical music, the Western European tradition is one
of re-interpretation and longevity, Fragile continues that legacy by performing
the music of YES."
And
what about the small matter of being the vocalist and front person? "Singing
Jon's parts has become comfortable after nearly five years of doing it,
and lines that were a nightmare at the beginning are easy now. I have never
tried to imitate him or indeed pretend that I am him, and indeed that's
just plain stupid as there's only one Jon. Nonetheless, people seem to
like my way of interpreting Jon's vocals, and if it works.. well that's
fine. One critic recently said that the only thing in common that I had
with Jon was gender, and that was from a so called musician and Yes expert.
That outburst kind of made me realise how much we had achieved and the
envy it sometimes stokes up. The reality is that any musician of talent
would love the challenge of performing Yes music, but the difference is
that we put our necks on the line and did it. I don't have time for bedroom
players who carp about about a particular chord shape, I'd rather talk
to the punter whose paid a fiver and been in Yes heaven for two and a half
hours!".
Is
Steve still a Yes fan or has being so close to the music altered his relationship
with all things Yes? "I am still a Yes fan and that won't change, its in
the blood!. But though playing the music I have learnt to view them on
two levels, one as a fan, and the other as a performer. I now see them
more as masters of their trade and remarkable human beings, rather than
demi-gods or quasi-religious figures!. At our gigs we try to make Yes music
fun and accessible, just as it was in the early years of the band".
