All Good People

The civil rights movement raged on in the United States, while many wondered why equal rights weren’t already the standard way of life.We suffered the tragic loss of Martin Luther King, Jr. And yet we achieved the dream of walking on the Moon.There are those who would say that the 1960’s brought the world more musical chapters than any other time in history. People looked to music, not only for entertainment, but to make statements of how strong they felt love was, or how they felt the world needed to be, or simply how angry they were at the times they lived in.Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd… These were some of the bands who helped mold rock music into something magical. Among them all, wasThe music was groundbreaking. It broke the rules. It was jazzy, yet edgy; intense, yet understanding; progressive and thought provoking. Now, 36 years later, the music that is “Yes”, is celebrated by “All Good People”.In 2005, guitarist: Steve Adams, drummer: Merrill Hale and keyboardist: Kevin Burkhart created the nucleus for a band whose very existence is driven by the desire to perform some of the greatest music ever conceived.After holding a few auditions that wielded little to no options, the three were tipped off about local bassist: Michael (Dilly) D’Leora, who unbeknownst to them, had dreamed of being part of just such a project since the late nineties, and asked him if he would be interested in assuming the role of Chris Squire.When the four of them played together for the first time, (Roundabout for Michael’s audition), they knew it was meant to be.The band then started looking for the voice of Jon Anderson.Charlie Swift, a long time friend of Steve’s, temporarily came in on vocals.After the first two well received shows, Charlie left the band to return to “Second Hand Buzz” as the drummer.“All Good People” was once again put to the task of finding a lead singer.In early March 2007, Rich Ray joined the band to take on the role of “Jon”.Rich is "stoked" to have the opportunity to perform music that has meant a great deal to him since he was 14 years old. Jon Anderson has always been one of his all time favorite and most revered singers, and when he saw the ad seeking a singer for a Yes tribute band, he knew he had to jump at the chance.Rich also sings for a metal band, AK-47, that plays out and around in the Portland area. He has a great love for all styles of music, but favorite bands include Yes, Zeppelin, Soundgarden, Ween, Guided by Voices, the Flaming Lips, and most recently, Mastodon.Rich moved to Portland 7 years ago from Greensboro, NC with his wife Ali, and they now can share their lives with their beautiful daughter, Celia Violet who will be 2 in August. He is very thankful and happy to live in a town with such a vibrant musical community, and to have the good luck to be in a band with musicians passionate enough to pull off the challenging arrangements of Yes!The band continues to add new songs to the ever growing list, and have vowed to stay true to the magic that is, and will forever be, the music of “Yes”