Introduction to the interview by Jody Denberg in 2000

In 1995 Yoko Ono fans had no clue that she was about to release one of her best albums ever, and that she would then follow it with an international tour that played primarily intimate venues to appreciative concert-goers. The album Rising and its attendant performances brought the Plastic Ono Band aesthetic of electrifying, emotional improvisation into the '90s, only this time Yoko's main foil was Sean Lennon fronting the band IMA. He looked startlingly like both his dad and mom by sporting wire-framed glasses and almost waist-length bushy black hair tied into a pony tail. Sean played guitar and piano throughout, welcomed members of Soundgarden and R.E.M. to the stage to jam and even attempted a few of Yoko's patented vocal gyrations. vThe music and performances the two collaborated on during 1996 were a Lenono fan's dream come true... ...And a hard one to imagine considering Yoko's musical journey during the ten years prior. In 1986 Yoko Ono released the glossy and spotty Starpeace and followed it with a global tour that was well received in most countries; in America all but a few of its dates were cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales. Though the Starpeace World Tour was a formidable career retrospective it focused on Yoko's songcraft more than her spontaneity.

In 1992 Rykodisc released Onobox - a 6-disc boxed set that thankfully made Yoko's recordings available on CD for the first time - but it too broke no new ground. And in 1995 the album New York Rock was foisted upon unsuspecting Onofans. It too featured (primarily) previously-released Onosongs - only this time they were sung by cast members of an off-Broadway play inspired by Yoko's music. A nice concept for those who didn't want to hear Ono sing but appreciated her words, but what about those of us craving new material of a piece with Mindtrain or Why? Rising was the faithful's unexpected blessing, and it began an unprecedented stint of new, high caliber work from Yoko Ono that continues to this day.

Speaking with Yoko in her hotel room a few hours before the tour's final U.S. show at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe, I, like most of her fans at the show that night, simply wanted to say "thank you, thank you, thank you." Well, O.K., I did have a few questions as well...