Alan will be happy to answer your questions about drumming, music in general, YES, sports, or even cooking (Alan is a gourmet chef, in case you didn't know). Click here to send a question to Alan. Here are some selected Questions and Answers from the past:

From: Cosmic Charlie

Hi Alan!
If I get a response, I'll be more then thrilled. I have been a Yes fan for, well I guess 23 years now. I am REALLY happy to see the classic yes together again. I saw your show in Minneapolis last November, and wow, it was the best Yes show I have ever seen. i do have a few questions to ask of you in general, and hope you can answer them in all sincerity. First, I am wondering why you guys don't vary the set list night to night? I guess I was kind of bummed to see you bumped Close to the Edge foe And You and I for the Europe shows. Why not alter each tune night from night. Second. What are the changes of ever seeing the studio Keys material ever performed live? there is some great stuff there: Mind Drive, Be the one, that that is. Also, one more thing. I am really hoping hat the next album, you guys really PUSH the envelope. the music technology of today is amazing. I am hoping you guys will incorporate it and go, well over the edge. I feel like the Ladder made some attempts. I hope you don't feel like I'm being too critical, but I want my Yes of 2003 to go beyond what is out there now. I also look forward to the next US tour. And please, oh please, bring back gates, with Rick, let him go crazy! If that could happen, I'd poop my pants and die a happy man. Thanks for listening to a madman fan. If you are interested, please reply. If not I'll understand.

Your fan, Cosmic Charlie from St. Paul

P.S. Ok I'm a HUGE DEADHEAD, what is the deal with the tour with the Dead for 2004?????????

Hi Charlie,
Thanks for your enthusiasum ! It seems like you really pay attention to the music! We actually do change the set lists some times within a tour but not night to night it gets a little bit complicated if we are all not on the right page so we tend to stick to a basic format per tour. I am a big fan of performing some of the Keys material on stage and we have lots of requests to perform it. I am sure it is in the (minds) of all of the band members and it will happen eventually. We are all shaping up music in our heads and in our studios, induvidually and collectively and I am sure you will be pleased with the result.
All the best,
Alan White

From: Sebastian Gatti

Dear Alan:
I am a great fan form Argentino (so excuse my english). I think that Yes is one of the biggest bans ever (with Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppellin and Queen). I have almost every thing you can buy here. I went to Rick´s concerts here but I want to see you all around here, is there a chance that you came here? I hope my dreams will come true and I will listen Roundabout here.
Sebastian
gattisebastian@yahoo.com.ar

P.S: What means to you work with John Lennon and George Harrison? Was like Yes for you

From: Rob Inglis

Hi Alan,
First I would like to thank you and Yes for the three great shows in Seattle last year. I have been a fan since the Fragile days and have seen the band many times. In my opinion you are only getting better all the time. The highlight of the three shows was Revealing Science.....always thought that would never be played live again. A profound spiritual moment for me and, I'm sure, many others at the Paramount theater. I've been a "drummer" for several decades and am now playing a Turkish dumbec, learning intricate finger work and unusual time signatures. Its quite exciting. Haven't sat at a full kit for a long time but it may happen again. I was once a huge Dave Clark Five fan and loved their big drum sound. Well maybe we will run into each other some day as I am now a forever Seattle resident. Muchas gracias for many years of Yes and the fabulous rhythms.
Rob Inglis
robncecily@earthlink.net

Hi Alan
I have been a big fan of Yes music for over 20 yrs now, your life's have truly been blessed and I want to thank-you for the inspiration, because one night after seeing you play a concert in San Diego in the 70s I to decided to learn to play the drums and pursue music. My question for you Alan is do you have a DVD on the market yet covering your drumming style or maybe one of your clinics? This would be so great to have in my training library. You are truly in my eyes one of the best drummers of all time with a band that reaches and touches the spirit in us all.
Thank you / Stephen Down

What snares have you used throughout your years with YES, especialy 90125 to The Ladder. That is, if you have changed them at all. Do you use different snares for studio and stage? If so, which kind.

Also who were some of your influences in music, and in drumming?

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your email regarding snares. I currently own about 16 snares most of which are Ludwig.

On 90125 I used a variety of different ones: Ludwig 14 x 6 and a half Hammered bronze, Ludwig 14 x 4 Black Beauty engraved, Ludwig 14 x 6 and a half Maplewood.

Three tracks from The Ladder were recorded using the snare from my custom Orlich glass kit (the rest of the kit was not completed in time).

As far as musical influences- they range from Richard Wagner to Zappa and the Beatles, and just about everywhere in between.

All the best,
Alan

Dear Alan,
Today I would like to thank you for the two drum sticks that I received from you on November 9th, 2001 after the YES concert that took place on that day in Berlin. Do you remember this concert of the YESSYMPHONIC tour? Although several months have passed, I still have these unforgettable memories of this YES concert in my mind every day.

As I live in Berlin I was lucky to get tickets in the first row. My seat was just in the center in front of Jon, and so I often could establish eye contact with Jon and with you (I was the person with the flowers for Jon).

As I love YES music more than anything else I would like to tell everyone about this wonderful music. For this reason I have created a YES home page on the Internet. I would like for everyone to learn about the YES music, its meanings and effects. Maybe you have the chance to take a look at the home page. I would be very happy about that. http://mysterios.bei.t-online.de/

It was never before that I have seen so many happy people after a concert like after a YES concert. Every man who has learned about the mystery of this music can consider him- of herself very happy and has a valuable gift for all of his or her lifetime. I feel especially lucky to live in this time when you are on this world and create such marvelous music. And it is a great gift that there are CD players and computers so that everyone can establish contact with like-minded people and press the 'Play' button of their CD player countless times.

I think there would be a paradise on Earth, if all people valued and implemented the message of YES music. Yet it is so saddening that genuine values, quality and deep insights have no place in this media-oriented world full of corruption. That is why I feel the strong need to do everything I can so that YES music will never be lost and forgotten and will continue to live in the coming generations.

A dear friend (who is also a big fan of YES) was so kind to translate this message from German into English. I wish you, your family and the other members of the YES group all the best, many ideas for new songs and a lot of energy for the daily struggle in the corrupt music business.

Best wishes from Kerstin of Berlin

Dear Kerstin,
Thank you for your email. It is very satisfying to hear from someone who who truly understands the music of YES and be sure that the band and myself appreciate hearing from people that are such great fans.

Be asured we are constantly working on new ideas!

All the best wishes,
Alan

I remember reading some time ago that a session player did the drumming on The Beatles' first single. The name of the drummer, I thought, was Alan White! Was this you? A friend of mine, Gary Cohen, has informed me that you would have been about 13 at the time, and so we are both interested to hear it straight from you -- if you don't mind, of course. Best of luck with the next Yes music -- it's terrific that we can always look forward to more.
Sincerely,
Doug Perry

Doug: I get asked this question a lot. The guy who played on some earlier Beatles stuff was Alan Whithead. I get mistaken for him because of my association with all of the John Lennon work I did.

Do you approach writing/recording the drums differently to Trevor Rabin's style as you would to the classic Yes style? It would appear your style is more aggressive on "Talk" (for example) then on "Keys..."

Tony: Yes there is a difference somewhat in the approach to one's style in writing and recording, primarily because of the influence of the people you are creating new music with. However, I do not believe my approach to my instrument deviates vastly throughout the transition from " Talk" to "Key's".

I have been a fan of yours for more than ten years. I am an Indonesian and I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am also a musician. I have had some formal training in guitar, piano, and cello, but I also love to play drums. But on drums, I have not had any formal training. I have some questions about drumming:

1. In order to learn drums correctly, does one have to start from jazz?

2. I found that in your web site there are 26 rudiments. Do all drummers have to do those?

3. Those rudiments don't seem to teach how to play different rhythms such as rock,swing jazz, samba, afro-cuban etc. How does one learn so many different rhythms and do all drummers have to memorize them? Is it possible to combine them in music, such as combining an afro-cuban rhythm with swing jazz and rock?

4. I really love the "feel" of your drumming. You always make the music breathe. What is your approach in doing odd time signatures or polyrhythms?

5. What is the best approach for playing with another drummer in one band? (Like you did with Bill Bruford on the Union tour?) I saw the Yes Union concert at Portland, Oregon in 1991 and I really loved your drum duet with Bill Bruford. It really sounded like a percussion ensemble. How do you write music for two drums?

Iwan:

1. Not really, but listening to all kinds of music helps to understand and play a variety of different styles.

2. Most Drummers who wish to read music go through the learning process of these 26 rudiments.

3. Yes, most drummers memorize all of the " Basic Rhythms " and it is very creative to incorporate different styles into one piece of music.

4. The "feel" you talk of is through many years of practice and my approach to odd time signatures has been part of my style for many years. I enjoy the challenge of incorporating them into new pieces of music because creatively it is very satisfying to be able take the feel into different realms.

5. It is very difficult to play with another drummer and get it right but with lots of practice you can make it work and you have to be very forgiving.

Back in the early eighties (around '83), I was fortunate enough to cohost a drum clinic here in Hopkinsville, KY featuring you and A.J. Pero. I seem to remember during the portion of the clinic where you played solo, and again later with A.J., you played the syncopated rhythm figure that you introduce at the beginning of That, That Is (after Steve's intro piece, with brushes and then with sticks). My question is, do you often find yourself with ideas like that, which you might "kick around" for months or even years, and that wind up being used long after you first came up with them? If so, do you find that you perhaps refer to "jam tapes" or other archives periodically to refresh your memory or rediscover these ideas?

Steve: You must have a good memory! Yes I used this rhythm for my solo and then years later adapted it to a piece of music the band created. However, I wrote all of the chords in this piece of music as well.

Yes, we sometimes refer to older tapes and just update them.

Thank you Steve.

My son, Matthew gave you a tape of his drumming at the Seattle Auction, where you were with Donn Bennetts Drum Shop. I wonder if you had a chance to listen to it. I have been teaching him since he was about 4, and now feel he's ready to move on. He loves playing and loves to hear your drumming and would really like to have a chance to study with you on your schedule. I know you said you only take on a student by referral from time to time, but just think, what if a kid that's only 9, with a great set of chops, had a high profile instructor? How far could he go ? Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Alan White - Matthew Kelly.

No matter what your answer is, the pair of sticks you gave him signed are a prized possession, and I'd like to thank you for giving them to him.

Craig: Thanks for mentioning my name in the same sentence as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.