Yes co-founder Jon Anderson hasn't strayed far from his property since the beginning of California's coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Anderson says a bad situation became all the more frightening when he was rushed to the hospital the day officials in the Golden State began imposing restrictions on social gatherings, fearing COVID-19 patients could overwhelm the medical system if nothing was done to flatten the proverbial hospitalization curve.
"I live with my wife Janie up in the mountains away from the village up in central California and I slipped on the steps and broke my foot in two places," Anderson tells Q104.3 New York's Sonstein Sessions with Shelli Sonstein. "So I had to get a big ski boot ... put on. And I was on crutches for a month. I couldn't carry anything or do anything, so my wife became the goddess taking care of me."
While he healed, Anderson said he spent everyday in the studio working on music.
Anderson's 1,000 Hands album was re-released this past July via Blue Élan Records.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has since gotten back on his feet, and he says he's been busier around the house, making up for the cooking and cleaning he couldn't do while he was injured.
"I'm walking around the gardens of the house every day now for the last week," he added. "I've been able to walk properly. It took a long time to fix and I'm enjoying walking around and counting ... I actually walk a mile every afternoon...12 times around the garden."
Anderson began work on 1,000 Hands around 1990 with the idea that he would fill the album sessions with musicians that had made an impact on him over the years.
The diverse cast of artists includes many of Anderson's bandmates in Yes, including Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe, as well as others like Rick Derringer, Chick Corea, Stu Hamm and Ian Anderson.
Though the album was initially shelved when Anderson left the studio to tour with Yes, producer Michael Franklin reminded him of the album around 2016 and urged him to try and finish it.
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