Friday, April 16, 2004 | 8:25 a.m.
As the bassist for prog-rock giant Yes, Chris Squire has spent 35 years anchoring his band's musical excursions.
He has also been the British group's rock of a different sort, as its only musician to appear on every Yes single album -- 19 studio efforts.
Thirteen other members have passed through the lineup. Six have left, then returned to the fold. Yes has even split into two bands, then re-formed as a giant ensemble.
And through it all, Squire has remained the lone constant.
"I just think other people used to go away and work on their solo projects and leave me holding the baby," Squire said in a phone interview from the band's Seattle rehearsal space this week.
"But obviously, it's a good thing for me. I've enjoyed being there the whole time."
On Wednesday, Yes brings its 35th anniversary tour -- and its "classic" lineup of Squire, vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Alan White -- to the Mandalay Bay Events Center for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Tickets are $35, $45 and $65.
The 55-year-old Squire created Yes in 1968 with Anderson after a chance meeting in a London pub.
"I was introduced to Jon and we sat down in this bar and started talking about who we liked (musically)," Squire recalled. "When we discovered that we liked a lot of the same artists, we agreed to get together and write a couple of songs and develop stuff from there.
"But who knows? We could have written a couple of songs and parted company."
Fortunately for the legions of devoted Yes fans worldwide, Squire and Anderson stayed together. That is, until Anderson took a brief sabbatical from the band in 1980 while Squire pressed on to record that year's "Drama."
After Anderson returned for 1983 comeback album "90125," Yes' winding road took an even more unexpected turn in the late 1980s. Squire found himself at odds with several of his longtime bandmates, who formed a competing group called Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe.
That outfit's lone studio album is listed in a selected Yes discography in the liner notes of new compilation "The Ultimate Yes," to Squire's dismay.
"It shouldn't be in there, really," he said. "It isn't (a Yes album)."
Ultimately, Squire said, Yes' ever-changing lineup has keyed important musical growth.
"Strangely enough, a lot of the changes are probably why the band is still around," he said. "Because all through our career, when we had new people come in, they came in with new ideas as well. So it set up a slightly different Yes, with interaction between different players.
"Most notably, '90125' with (guitarist) Trevor Rabin was a slightly different direction for the band, but it was good to have his input. And later in the '90s with (guitarist) Billy Sherwood. He brought in a lot of good music."
In celebration of its anniversary, Yes has opted for a special stage set for this tour. The creator? Roger Dean, whose psychedelic album art is as much a part of the band's lore as classic rock staples "Roundabout" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
"We've spent quite a bit of money on a Roger Dean stage set that's got all kinds of inflatable landscapes and stuff like that," Squire said. "It's a bigger show, designed for the arena stage.
"We haven't carried that stuff around for a long time, probably since the late '70s. We thought it would be a treat for our fans, and hopefully we'll pick up some new ones too who are interested in seeing that."
Quick hits
A look at a few of the shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:
The Boston Bar & Grill (1030 E. Flamingo) is the place to be for hip-hop fans this weekend, with two promising late-night bills on tap.
Tonight, Freestyle Fellowship MC Aceyalone stops by, with support from the Drunken Immortals. Tickets are $25.
On Saturday, veteran rapper Del the Funky Homosapien, Hieroglyphics mate Pep Love and the Souls of Mischief's Tajai team up. Tickets are $30.
DJs Mondee, Chasekillz and Dscifur are scheduled to spin tunes throughout both nights. Doors open at 1 a.m. both nights, with performances set to begin at 2 a.m. Ticket prices drop to $15 after 4 a.m.
For more information, call 368-0750.
A decade after their mainstream rock hit "Self Esteem" put them on the map, the Offspring plays UNLV's Cox Pavilion Monday night at 7 with opening acts the (International) Noise Conspiracy and theSTART. Tickets are $25.
The Offspring's seventh album, December's "Splinter," features the Southern California band's usual blend of hard rock and punk, with a bit of ska mixed in. First single "Hit That" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart earlier this year
Shut out of this weekend's Phish and moe. shows? There's more jam-band goodness on the way, with Moon Doggies West (1750 S. Rainbow Blvd.) hosting funky Massachusetts outfit the Addison Groove Project Tuesday night at 9. Tickets are $12.50.
On sale
Phil Collins plays the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Aug. 28. Tickets are $75, $90 and $125 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the MGM Grand box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.
Kenny Chesney performs at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with Rascal Flatts and Uncle Kracker on June 12. Tickets are $45, $65 and $85 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Mandalay Bay box office and through TicketMaster.
No Doubt returns to the Palms' Rain nightclub on June 27. Tickets are $75 and $150 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Palms' box office and through TicketMaster.
Wyclef Jean stops by the Palms' Skin Pool Lounge on June 11. Tickets are $25 and were to go on sale this morning at the Palms' box office and through TicketMaster.
Peter Frampton plays the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts on June 5. Tickets are $68 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Aladdin box office and through TicketMaster.
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