Biography
Formed as an art rock supergroup whose participants share deep connections to prog giants Yes, CIRCA: launched their career in 2007 via the self-titled debut Circa: 2007. The original roster featured Alan White on drums, Tony Kaye handling Hammond and keyboards, Billy Sherwood on vocals and guitar, plus guitarist Jimmy Haun. After issuing two further albums, the group stabilized around Sherwood, Kaye, drummer Scott Connor, and bassist Rick Tierney, issuing their fourth LP, Valley of the Windmill, in 2016.
Sherwood’s ties to Yes extend to the late-’80s spin-off Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, where he and his ex-Lodgic bandmate Jimmy Haun contributed session work. In subsequent years both musicians deepened their involvement with Yes and its related projects. Following several Yes-linked endeavors in the mid-2000s, Sherwood and Kaye elected to establish a dedicated band, enlisting Haun and Yes drummer Alan White to create CIRCA:. Their first recordings appeared as Circa: 2007, which the quartet promoted with select North American performances that same year. By late 2008 Jay Schellen had taken over the drum chair, and the revised lineup produced the follow-up Circa: HQ in 2009. Later that year several CIRCA: members joined Toto singer Bobby Kimball in a fresh collaboration called Yoso—a name blending Yes and Toto—releasing one album in 2010 before the outfit dissolved in 2011, leaving Sherwood and Kaye as the sole remaining core members.
Adding drummer Scott Connor and guitarist Johnny Bruhns, CIRCA: returned to the studio for their third album, And So On, in 2011. During 2012 Sherwood moved to guitar while bassist Ricky Tierney joined, and this configuration captured the 2013 live set Live from Here, There & Everywhere. After inking a deal with Frontiers Records, the band delivered their fourth long-player, the intricate and proggy Valley of the Windmill, in summer 2016.
Sherwood’s ties to Yes extend to the late-’80s spin-off Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, where he and his ex-Lodgic bandmate Jimmy Haun contributed session work. In subsequent years both musicians deepened their involvement with Yes and its related projects. Following several Yes-linked endeavors in the mid-2000s, Sherwood and Kaye elected to establish a dedicated band, enlisting Haun and Yes drummer Alan White to create CIRCA:. Their first recordings appeared as Circa: 2007, which the quartet promoted with select North American performances that same year. By late 2008 Jay Schellen had taken over the drum chair, and the revised lineup produced the follow-up Circa: HQ in 2009. Later that year several CIRCA: members joined Toto singer Bobby Kimball in a fresh collaboration called Yoso—a name blending Yes and Toto—releasing one album in 2010 before the outfit dissolved in 2011, leaving Sherwood and Kaye as the sole remaining core members.
Adding drummer Scott Connor and guitarist Johnny Bruhns, CIRCA: returned to the studio for their third album, And So On, in 2011. During 2012 Sherwood moved to guitar while bassist Ricky Tierney joined, and this configuration captured the 2013 live set Live from Here, There & Everywhere. After inking a deal with Frontiers Records, the band delivered their fourth long-player, the intricate and proggy Valley of the Windmill, in summer 2016.
Albums