Yes Drummer Discusses Band Transition
Jay Schellen, now Yes's full-time drummer, detailed his transition following Alan White's 2022 passing in a recent podcast, explaining how years of collaboration in side projects and tour substitutions prepared him for the role. Yes will release new music this year and continue their Fragile Tour to the UK in April, with potential expansion to Europe and America.
- Alan White, whom Jay Schellen replaces, was the longest-serving member of Yes, having joined the band in 1972 and remaining for 50 years until his death in May 2022. White himself had only three days to learn the band's music when he first joined to replace original drummer Bill Bruford. - Schellen’s connections to the band predate his time as a touring member; in the early 1980s, he played with original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye in the band Badfinger and later worked with bassist Chris Squire and current bassist Billy Sherwood in the project Conspiracy. - The transition began in 2016 when Alan White, recovering from back surgery, asked Schellen to fill in for him on tour. Starting in 2018, the two shared drumming duties on the road, an arrangement that continued until White's passing. - Schellen was officially named the permanent drummer in February 2023, with the band stating the decision was in accordance with Alan White's wishes. - The new music released by the band is the album *Mirror to the Sky*, which came out on May 19, 2023, and is dedicated to Alan White. This is Schellen's first album as a full member; he previously contributed additional percussion on the 2021 album *The Quest*. - With the passing of co-founder Chris Squire in 2015 and Alan White in 2022, the current lineup of Yes features no original members.
