The Gonzo Daily: LINK: Jon Davison interview

Jon Davison, once a singer for the tribute band Roundabout, is appearing with Yes on its current tour.

A year ago, Jon Davison, singer for Los Angeles prog-rock outfit Glass Hammer, was stunned when longtime chum and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins called him with exciting news: Yes bassist Chris Squire told him that his band had chosen a replacement for departing vocalist Benoit David, and Davison was it.

“Taylor basically told me I was going to get the call from them. So I was just waiting and waiting,” says Davison, who watched 120 minutes tick past until Yes’ manager finally phoned.

The singer, whose airy timbre so closely resembled that of founding Yes vocalist Jon Anderson that he fronted the Yes tribute band Roundabout for two years before joining Glass Hammer, simply was invited to join — no audition necessary.

Davison — who appears with Yes on its tour stop in The City on Tuesday, performing “The Yes Album” (1971), “Close to the Edge” (1972) and “Going For the One” (1977) — stepped onstage with his idols for the first time in New Zealand, after only five rehearsals.

“There was a tour already scheduled, for Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Japan, seven weeks later,” he says. “Benoit had gotten sick and they had to cancel some dates, and he was ready to quit, apparently, so they wanted to go straight ahead with me.”

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