Legendary guitarist STEVE HOWE is featured in a new interview with CLassic Rock Revisited founder Jeb Wrighht discussing his work with ASIA and YES. An excerpt is available below:

Jeb: Asia is 30 years old! You have a new album as well. You are also in Yes. Steve, how do you keep up the pace?

Steve: "I don’t know if can! I have been for several years. In 2008, which was two years after Asia started back up with the original lineup, and then Yes kicked in. It has been a tall order and it is not always easy. I respect that it is a great opportunity for me."

Jeb: There is a question that has been bothering me. Asia is a band that works so well with the original four, and not nearly as good without the original four. Yes, however, is a band where everyone, at one time or another, has come and gone, including you, yet it still works. What is the difference between the two?

Steve: "It must be personalities. Asia had a long break where we didn’t do anything and Yes has perpetuated all of these years. That has required people to come and go and it has meant we need to get new blood sometimes, as well. Asia is really quite different as it doesn’t work unless it is the original guys. You could claim the same for Yes and say that we should bring back the original guys, but Bill Bruford is, sadly, retired. Peter Banks and Tony Kaye are both very good musicians, but it wouldn’t be the same as what we do now, or what we did in the past. Yes and Asia are very different kinds of creatures, really."

Jeb: You are able to take your skills and apply them in different ways, which has to, as a guitar player, be nice.

Steve: "Yes, but it is not a pushover; it is not easy. It is not quite as easy as you make it sound, but it is okay."

Jeb: The new Asia album is very good. The songs are good and there is a good mix of musical flavors. How did this album come to be? Was it special because it was the 30th anniversary of the band?

Steve: "We lucked out going back with Mike Paxman producing this one. It was a clearer time and we had a concise agenda. We knew the label was crying out for an album that was a bit summery and up-tempo. They wanted us to not go into the ballad area, which we are kind of good at, really. We went with it and it was a good time for the writing and the recording. I do really feel this is a stronger album than both Phoenix and Omega, although there are things on both of those albums that I really like. I also think it is ahead of Alpha."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Confirmed Asia tour dates include:

September

26 - Osaka, Japan - Sankei Hall Breeze
27 - Zepp, Japan - Nagoya

October

17 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie
18 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theater
19 - Westbury, NY - Westbury Theater
20 - Philadelphia, PA - Keswick
21 - Wilmington, DE - Opera House
23 - Syracuse, NY - Turning Stone Casino
25 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse
26 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun
27 - NY, NY - Best Buy Theater
28 - York, PA - Strand Capital

December

15 - Tavistock, UK - The Wharf
16 - Holmfirth, UK - Picturedrome
17 - Edinburgh, UK - Queen’s Hall
19 - Salisbury, UK - City Hall
20 - Birmingham, UK - Town Hall
21 - Manchester, UK - Royal Northern College of Music
22 - London, UK - o2 Shepherds Bush Empire

Asia 2012:

Geoff Downes – keyboards

Steve Howe – guitars

Carl Palmer – drums

John Wetton – bass and vocals