Asia gathers its English stars for stateside tour

Kirk Baird

Friday, June 29, 2001 | 9:07 a.m.

The term "supergroup" is a bit of a misleading, since there's usually nothing super about them.

Consisting of well-known members of successful rock acts -- both current and "formerly of" -- the bands are rarely more than vanity projects by over-indulgent musicians who want to jam with friends and colleagues.

That's why for every Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Cream and Blind Faith there's a Firm, GTR or Chequered Past.

Then there are those supergroups, such as the Traveling Wilburys and Power Station, that, while managing some radio hits, never really amounted to more than a novelty act.

And do we need to mention Coverdale-Page?

Ultimately, these all-star bands tend to mirror their sports equivalent during the all-star games: all style and flash with very little in the way of sincerity or substance.

But record labels know the value of name recognition. And what better way than to bill a band as a "supergroup"?

Such was the case for '80s arena prog-rock band Asia, which performs Saturday at Sunset Station's Club Madrid.

Asia's original line-up, consisting of guitarist Steve Howe of Yes; bassist and vocalist John Wetton of King Crimson; drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson Lake and Palmer; and Geoff Downes of the Buggles, was the first band signed by the then-fledging record label Geffen.

Looking for a way to promote the English band -- particularly in the United States -- the tag "the first supergroup of the '80s" was coined for Asia.

"It was used by the record company as a convenient marketing tool," said Downes in a recent phone interview from his studio in Wales. "I think people looked on that and thought, 'That sounds interesting.' It at least brought the band to the table in terms of interest.

"Having said that, if the record had not been a good album, I don't think any amount of supergroup hype would have made any difference at all to the sales of the album."

But the publicity may have backfired.

Expectations for the band were high, and its eponymous 1982 debut album sold five million records, fueled by such hits as "Heat of the Moment," "Sole Survivor" and "Only Time Will Tell."

And tensions in the band mounted as the success came quicker than anyone in the group imagined.

So a year after Asia's sophomore offering, "Alpha," sold two million records and spawned the top 10 single "Don't Cry," for the members of the band, the increased success "was the straw that broke the camel's back," Downes said. "We couldn't learn how to deal with it."

One by one the members of Asia left the band. First Howe in 1985, followed by Wetton and Palmer five years later, leaving Downes as the only original member.

"The reason why Carl and Steve went back to their original bands was more to do with the original bands getting started again," he said. "Not speaking for Carl, but he probably considered Emerson, Lake and Palmer as his baby. And Yes, in many ways, was Steve's baby. For me, Asia was my baby."

Although Downes had previously been a member of Yes, replacing longtime band keyboardist Rick Wakeman, he basically served as a glorified session musician, playing parts written by other musicians rather than himself.

It was Asia that gave him his starting point, he said, which is why he's so adamant about keeping the band going.

So after he recruited vocalist and bassist John Payne to replace Wetton, and with studio help from Howe and Palmer, in 1992 Asia released its fifth album, "Aqua," though on a new record label, since Geffen had dropped the band a year earlier.

"It was almost like being dumped by your best girlfriend," Downes said of Asia and Geffen parting ways. "I think that scared the other guys off a bit in one way or another. From that point on, we've been rebuilding (the band).

"Without an active record label behind you, it can all become very rudderless," he said. "You somehow manage to struggle through and make studio albums here and there as you go."

During the '90s Asia released four studio efforts -- including a greatest hits/new songs combination, "Then and Now." And for every new record there was a new lineup to go along with it. The only constants it seems, besides the band's dwindling record sales, has been the pairing of Downes and Payne.

But the band's fortunes are changing, Downes maintained.

Asia's new album, "Aura," was released earlier this month in the states on the small Wind Storm Records label, after previously only being available as an import.

"With this album we started to get some recognition back to the band; 'Oh, this is what Asia's doing now.' That vindicates some of the work we spent during the last 10 years rebuilding it," he said.

There's also the new lineup, which features veteran rock drummer Chris Slade of the Firm and AC/DC, among others, and up-and-coming guitarist Guthrie Govan.

"Having been in all the other incarnations of Asia, this version is particularly strong," Downes said. "Everyone gets on, and it's not unusual in Asia's history not to."

Which made nixing a series of reunion concerts with the original members recently that much easier, he said.

"I felt in the end too much water had gone under the bridge and we'd done quite a lot since then," Downes said. "In that respect I wasn't really that keen on carrying on without John Payne being involved. I think whether or not the original band will resurface is not going to be a possibility."

As it stands the latest line-up of Asia is going out on a summer tour in the states, followed by Europe, South America and, yes, Asia. And plans are for the band to record another album soon as well.