As they prepare to begin their first North American tour in 15 years, the members of Genesis are not yet prepared to say if their reunion will lead to more touring or even some new music.
“We do quite often talk about things, and we’re certainly not averse to the possibility of doing something (more),” keyboardist Tony Banks told Billboard.com at a press conference yesterday (Sept. 5) in Toronto before Genesis played an “open rehearsal” show for about 350 contest winners and VIPs at the Air Canada Centre. The tour opens tomorrow at nearby BMO Field.
But, Banks added, “We’re not planning to do anything beyond this (tour). The idea of maybe a few more shows once this is sort of working, perhaps in other parts of the world, is attractive, I think. In terms of writing and everything, I think we’re a bit loath to get into the whole kind of cycle of writing and recording and promoting. Those days are probably behind us.”
Banks, along with bandmates Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, did say they hoped to stage some special concerts to recreate “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” with founding frontman Peter Gabriel and former guitarist Steve Hackett. It was a proposal to do those shows in 2004 that inspired the current Genesis reunion after Gabriel declined in order to work on a new album, but the “Lamb” idea is still an active concern.
“Peter’s the guy you’ve got to ask,” Banks said. “I think we’re all quite up for it, and I think Peter’s quite up for it, in a way. But he can’t make a decision. He’s always been a bit like that.”
Collins, however, noted that in terms of returning to Genesis, Gabriel “has the furthest to travel … ’cause it’s a long time back for him. It’s not such a long time back for the three of us.”
Wednesday’s rehearsal show indicated that Genesis will be playing the same two-and-a-half hour show in North America that it did earlier this summer in Europe, touching on all or part of 26 songs from throughout its career. The production has been scaled down a bit to fit arenas rather than stadiums, with the primary focus being a large, angled screen behind the band that shows live footage and prepared video material.
A new oral history, “Genesis: Chapter and Verse,” will be published on Sept. 18. Rutherford, meanwhile said a DVD of Genesis’ July 14 show in Rome and a CD featuring “some of the best versions of the songs we did through the European tour” are both due out before Christmas. The group released a two-CD anthology, “Turn It On Again — The Hits: Tour Edition,” earlier this week.
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