Prog Rock Legend Trevor Rabin Talks About His New Solo Album, YES, Scoring Movies And More
I’m a pretty big YES fan, so when I was contacted to speak to Trevor, I said, well, ummmm, “YES!!” immediately.
His new solo album “Rio” drops on October 6th. Trevor talks about the new record, his first solo album since 1989. “Jesus I haven’t done a record in so long, I must get into it.” he said after speaking to working on music scores for movies for the past three decades. He told me he felt fresh doing the album, almost like it was his first one. He talked about creating, not only the music, but the cover art as well. Yes, that’s his painting on the cover.
He said the album is pretty diverse. “It still sounds like something from a record I’d make. I think while demographically it visits a lot of different areas, I think it’s pretty coherent and cohesive, stylistically of a record I’ve penned, if you’d like.”
We also discussed his working on movie scores and how it differs from making records. He’s done several of them. He told me his favorite movie he’s scored was either “Armageddon, or National Treasure or Bad Boys 2.” But he said Remember the Titans was one he’s really proud of also.
He told me about discovering music while growing up in South Africa. He said there was a lot of British rock. Led Zeppelin, Cream and the Beatles were big in his youth. Now, with the world a lot smaller, it’s easier to find music and bands to listen to. His son is a musician and producer, but he’s showing him music he’s never seen or heard before as well.
I’m a huge Chris Squire fan. Trevor told me about playing with the bass legend. “Having Chris Squire playing bass behind you is like having a bulldozer back there. You can’t relax.” He said the he was literally like a brother to him. He went into how he got hooked up with YES, and went onto talk about really being the impedance to the rebirth of the band. He said Chris tried getting him back into the band in the 90s, but he had a lot going on with scoring movies. He told very funny story about Chris thanking him for “revitalizing the back catalog of YES” after they broke out in the 80s.
He also spoke to a kid from South Africa being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. “It’s amazing…what an honor.”
What a fun conversation. Another one checked off the list of people I’ve never spoken to before. I found Trevor to be fun and easy to speak with. Great guy and really talented!
-Meltdown-
Rock Hall: Every Multiple Inductee in Its History
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is one of the most prestigious and controversial institutions in music. Every year, music fans can’t help but complain and rant about who’s in, who should be in and every other argument you can think of. Honestly, it’s sort of nice to have such a reliable constant in life. It’s the music nerd’s version of “death and taxes,” and that’s rather beautiful if you stop and think about it.
Of course, in order to be nominated and inducted into the Rock Hall, 25 years must have passed from the time of an artist’s first released recording. In the vastness of music history, this means many artists are eligible, but very few are inducted. Of those inducted, even fewer are inducted more than once.
For this list, we’re focusing on the very exclusive group of artists that are the Rock Hall’s multiple inductees. Some of the artists in this group are obvious, while some might be surprising. Keep scrolling to discovery who’s all a multi-inductee and learn some other fun facts, too.
But First, The Latest on the 2024 Rock Hall Class
The 2024 Rock Hall class was announced on April 21 on American Idol. This year’s class truly has something for everyone. The inductees include the following:
Performer Category
- Mary J. Blige
- Cher
- Dave Matthews Band
- Foreigner
- Peter Frampton
- Kool & The Gang
- Ozzy Osbourne
- A Tribe Called Quest
Musical Influence Award
(Given to a performing artist or group whose music and performance style have directly influenced and helped inspire and evolve rock & roll and music that has impacted youth culture.)
- Alexis Korner
- John Mayall
- Big Mama Thornton
Musical Excellence Award
(Given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.)
- Jimmy Buffett
- MC5
- Dionne Warwick
- Norman Whitfield
Ahmet Ertegun Award
(Given to non-performing industry professionals who, through their dedicated belief and support of artists and their music have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock & roll and music that has impacted youth culture. )
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. As previously reported, the 2024 ceremony will live stream on Disney+. An edited special will air on ABC at a later date, which will be available on Hulu the next day.
Meltdown started on the mighty WRIF on the evening of Halloween, 1995. Technically, his first on-air shift was the morning of November 1st. Moving to the Motor City from Buffalo, N.Y., he has built a career and family. Over his almost three-decade stint at RIFF, he's had the privilege to work with some of the biggest personalities in Detroit radio history. He boasts of being just the second-afternoon drive jock in the station's illustrious 53-year history.
Along with his love for rock music and attending concerts, he's also an avid Harley-Davidson enthusiast and hockey player. He plays year-round and manages to squeeze in a few charity games throughout the year. Meltdown writes about the Detroit Red Wings, rock music, and Detroit concert venues.
