Tom
Tom Matlosz has duplicated Steve Howe’s guitar and string setup nearly to the model year, and has created tone nearly indistinguishable from the original. He is likely the biggest Yes fan in the band, is the only one with vanity Yes license plates, and has met Steve Howe a number of times.
Tom was born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1954. After taking up the guitar at age seven and playing in bands during his high school and college years, Tom’s musical career was forced to yield to his family responsibilities and professional career. Still Tom continued working independently, learning Steve Howe’s riffs and style, studying every nuance in detail. A chance reply to a musicians magazine want ad lead to affiliation with Patrick Imus, Alex Chigos and Sound Chaser.
Tom’s love of progressive rock started at age seventeen, when he saw his first YES concert, the Fragile tour, the Academy of Music in NYC in 1972. “I recall sitting in the first row of the balcony section. Seeing Rick Wakeman in that sequined cape and hearing the tonality of his mellotron and minimoog did something to me spiritually. Later that night, when I saw Steve Howe wailing away on his big Gibson jazz box during the Yours Is No Disgrace encore, I was hooked forever. The Tales From Topographic Oceans concert at Madison Square Garden and the Relayer concert at Roosevelt Stadium firmly cemented my love of YES music.”
Tom Plays:
1979 Gibson ES-175D
1974 Gibson ES-345TD
1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom
Taylor NS34ce Classical Guitar
Martin 000-18 Steel String Acoustic Guitar
1957 Fender Dual Six Professional Steel
Jerry Jones Coral Electric Sitar
J. Montes Rodriguez Spanish Laud (Lute)
G&L ASAT Classic Electric Guitar
G&L Legacy Electric Guitar
Rickenbacker 360-12 Electric Guitar
Amps and Effects: Fender Twin Amp; Line 6 DT-50 2×12; Fender Acoustasonic Jr; Digitech RP-21D; Line 6 HD500; Ernie Ball and Morley Volume Pedals; Fishman Acoustic Pickups/Preamp; Gracie Performer Guitar Stands
Questions for Tom? Email him!
Sound Chaser: A Tribute to Yes Music 
Hey Tom – thought you would want to see this.
Buck
Gater 98.7FM
Yes founder Peter Banks dead at 65
Former Yes guitarist Peter Banks has died at age 65. The rocker passed away at his home in London on March 8, according to a post on his website.
Former Yes member Billy Sherwood has confirmed the news via Facebook writing, “Peter very recently played on the new prog collective 2 project I’m writing/producing, as well as the days between stations record I worked on. As a Yes fan … this is sad news indeed. It was an honor to work with Peter on many productions. He will be missed!!!”
Banks co-founded Yes with his former The Syn bandmate Chris Squire in 1968 and played on the group’s self-titled debut album and the follow-up “Time and a Word.” The guitarist quit the group in 1970 and formed a new band, Flash. He also performed and recorded with Zox & the Radar Boys, which featured a young Phil Collins.
Banks enjoyed two decades of critical acclaim as a solo artist with albums including “The Two Sides of Peter Banks” and “Instinct.” He reunited with Yes in 1991 for a concert in Los Angeles and collaborated with his former bandmates on the 1997 album “Something’s Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969-1970.” Paying tribute to the late guitarist via Twitter, collaborator and friend Steve Hackett writes, “I’m sorry to hear of Peter Banks’ passing … a great pal and a great guitarist.”