I reside in Scottsdale,AZ which I am a native. I was the youngest of five siblings of whom were all musicians including myself. My older brothers were huge Yes fans going back to 1971. At the age of 10 I saw my first Roger Dean LP cover, Close to the edge. I vividly remember observing how Yes was spelled on the cover and thinking that is amazing! It was the beginning of many years of attempting to duplicate, especially during many a boring classes in high school. I was able to clone it pretty well except the bottom of the Y that winds around to the S, mine was always too narrow. I then opened up the album cover and was entranced by the artwork inside. I found myself thinking about it days after . I then became a huge YES fan like my brothers but I became a huge Roger Dean fan as well. I purchased my copy of “Views” in 1978 when I was 16 years of age. And of course I bought “Views 2” upon its arrival. But then came the day when I discovered at a local record store the large print posters of Mr. Deans work! Every time I got paid I would zip over to the record store and buy 2 or 3 until I had purchased all they had available. Now understand in the late 1970s in Scottsdale most of my fellow students and I were very much into the partaking of quality herb and believing we were experts and philosophers playing music and attempting to woo the girls. There is very definitely a reason my message is lengthy and verbose…. All the guys in my class of 1980 were typical regarding the decor of their bedrooms, their walls contained the Farrah Fawcett posters, R. Crumb black light posters, centerfold, sports, etc. And your bedroom represented who you were so the cool guys had an image to worry about. You see, almost every day at lunchtime would end up at one of a handful of us whose parents both worked or in my case had a divorced mother who had to work. So convienently many lunch hours were spent partaking in the “boheimian” ways of the world because when one (or more) entered my bedroom it was an entrance into a world unlike one had ever experienced. Roger Dean’s artwork covered every square inch of my walls including the ceiling ( reserved solely for YESSONGS triple album artwork. People would just sit mesmerized, stoned and not wanting to leave! Ogling not just YES album artwork but Greenslade, Babe Ruth, Budgie, the Virgin label design and the pieces not assigned to a band such as the mechanical warrior on horseback or one my favorites the ship that appeared as a fly! I became the enigmatic dude that the girls would inquire about to my friends wanting know all about his room! It was legendary and I have the high school yearbook to testify for me
“Man you had the most awesome room dude.” All that being said, I still posses my Roger Dean print poster collection. As the years went by I had a few of them professionally framed and the others remain neatly rolled up in separate canisters. Time tends to take a toll on posters if one does not take the nessesary steps to preserve them. I am 58 now and I still cherish my Roger Dean collection today. Thank you Roger that still remains one of my favorite chapters of my life! I look forward to following the evolution of your latest work via these videos. Great concept…..Clay Stamper, Scottsdale Arizona
I reside in Scottsdale,AZ which I am a native. I was the youngest of five siblings of whom were all musicians including myself. My older brothers were huge Yes fans going back to 1971. At the age of 10 I saw my first Roger Dean LP cover, Close to the edge. I vividly remember observing how Yes was spelled on the cover and thinking that is amazing! It was the beginning of many years of attempting to duplicate, especially during many a boring classes in high school. I was able to clone it pretty well except the bottom of the Y that winds around to the S, mine was always too narrow. I then opened up the album cover and was entranced by the artwork inside. I found myself thinking about it days after . I then became a huge YES fan like my brothers but I became a huge Roger Dean fan as well. I purchased my copy of “Views” in 1978 when I was 16 years of age. And of course I bought “Views 2” upon its arrival. But then came the day when I discovered at a local record store the large print posters of Mr. Deans work! Every time I got paid I would zip over to the record store and buy 2 or 3 until I had purchased all they had available. Now understand in the late 1970s in Scottsdale most of my fellow students and I were very much into the partaking of quality herb and believing we were experts and philosophers playing music and attempting to woo the girls. There is very definitely a reason my message is lengthy and verbose…. All the guys in my class of 1980 were typical regarding the decor of their bedrooms, their walls contained the Farrah Fawcett posters, R. Crumb black light posters, centerfold, sports, etc. And your bedroom represented who you were so the cool guys had an image to worry about. You see, almost every day at lunchtime would end up at one of a handful of us whose parents both worked or in my case had a divorced mother who had to work. So convienently many lunch hours were spent partaking in the “boheimian” ways of the world because when one (or more) entered my bedroom it was an entrance into a world unlike one had ever experienced. Roger Dean’s artwork covered every square inch of my walls including the ceiling ( reserved solely for YESSONGS triple album artwork. People would just sit mesmerized, stoned and not wanting to leave! Ogling not just YES album artwork but Greenslade, Babe Ruth, Budgie, the Virgin label design and the pieces not assigned to a band such as the mechanical warrior on horseback or one my favorites the ship that appeared as a fly! I became the enigmatic dude that the girls would inquire about to my friends wanting know all about his room! It was legendary and I have the high school yearbook to testify for me
“Man you had the most awesome room dude.” All that being said, I still posses my Roger Dean print poster collection. As the years went by I had a few of them professionally framed and the others remain neatly rolled up in separate canisters. Time tends to take a toll on posters if one does not take the nessesary steps to preserve them. I am 58 now and I still cherish my Roger Dean collection today. Thank you Roger that still remains one of my favorite chapters of my life! I look forward to following the evolution of your latest work via these videos. Great concept…..Clay Stamper, Scottsdale Arizona