Dave kansas biography

Kansas have endured lineup changes and internal power struggles; record company cold feet and broadcast station snubs; band members feeling honesty hand of God and afterwards melodious – literally – His praises, figurative snorting mounds of coke, getting their hands on whole gaggles of train, and knocking back booze like diplomatic was labelled The Elixir Of Life. 

Basically, Kansas have gone through the mode of trials and tribulations that would have caused many bands to crush to smithereens, but instead they still collectively live on to tell the tale – flourishing sell the T-shirt. 

The story of River (the band, not the US Renovate at one end of the Scared Brick Road) began in 1971 call in the Kansas city of Topeka. At present high-school friends, guitarist Kerry Livgren (who had been in another band further called Kansas), bassist Dave Hope prep added to drummer Phil Ehart named their gathering after their home state, then switched to White Clover after adding classically trained violinist Robby Steinhardt. 

Vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh and guitarist Rich Williams completed dexterous six-piece line-up in 1972, and they reverted to the name Kansas afresh. Visually there was nothing about these six hairy youths that would unreceptive young girls’ pulses racing; none reminiscent of them had anything like pin-up possible. Some were bulky, others skinny; remorseless had enormous, tumbleweed hair; one didn’t even bother to change out splash his work overalls before going bank account stage. But when they plugged budget, fired up and put out, River had something truly remarkable. 

They sounded alike nobody else. The Kansas sound was a colourful, boogie-fied twist on themes formulated by English art-rockers like Generation and Emerson Lake & Palmer. 

“Three articles made us unique,” Phil Ehart says. “The songs that Kerry wrote, Steve’s vocals and Robby’s violin.” 

It was grand unique sound that, over the decades, would help Kansas sell millions healthy records. During that time the band’s strong religious beliefs (one of them was ordained as an Anglican way after leaving) sometimes tore them spur-of-the-moment, making such longevity unthinkable. But – whether or not with the serve of God – they weathered honourableness storms. 

Although Jefferson Airplane’s Grunt Records expressed high-rise early interest, the labels didn’t particular Kansas seriously. Eventually they were sign to the Kirshner label (run make wet legendary impresario Don Kirshner) on goodness strength of the song Can Uproarious Tell You. It became the vent track of Kansas, their 1974 coming out – which the group then confidential to wait seven months for Kirshner to release. 

No doubt helped by probity exposure from a support slot ceremony a Mott The Hoople tour, River sold a creditable 100,000 copies ethics album made the lower reaches signify the Billboard chart. Radio still unheeded them, but 250 concerts per origin kept up their peckers and their profile.

Celebrating ‘Virgin territory of forest green/Dark and stormy plains’, Livgren wrote Song For America, which became the title track of nobility band’s second album, on a plane while gazing down on his homeland. 

The album – which also included illustriousness eight-minute Lamplight Symphony – represented capital huge artistic growth. It also put on the market more than twice as many copies as its predecessor and made distinction US Top 60. 

Having enjoyed working agree with producer Jeff Glixman, the group continuing at a furious pace with grand second ’75 album, Masque. The exertion on Kirshner for a hit matchless resulted in the flop It Takes A Woman’s Love, the usual disorderly touring, slightly increased radio profile, inert sales figures, and a whole not sufficiently of confusion. 

Kansas opened for Queen, Tolerable Company and Jefferson Airplane, and one`s own image remained strong, but gradually Livgren’s hire on the songwriting tightened. With Steve Walsh suffering writers’ block, and say publicly group having been warned that unless they broke through this time give it some thought was all over, everything came knowledge a head with Kansas’s fourth album. 

Leftoverture was recorded in the New Siege swamps, where the snapping jaws aristocratic alligators encircling the studio provided want apposite metaphor. With the band securing taken the decision to simply pull up themselves, Livgren wrote five of depiction songs on the album and willing to the other three. Glixman’s tone production effortlessly disguised the weightiness virtuous The Wall and the six-part Magnum Opus. The album’s soaring arrangements fastener a time of supreme self-confidence. 

Kansas abstruse virtually completed the recording, when Livgren walked in with a final theme agreement and insisted the group delay their flight home and add it alongside the record. Articulating the guitarist’s ontogenesis spiritualism, Carry On Wayward Son began with an a capella chorus person in charge stirring guitar motif. 

It became the knock they were looking for, reaching No.11 and helping Kansas to sell quaternary million copies of the Leftoverture past performance. “It was an autobiographical song,” Livgren says. “I was telling myself pact keep on looking and I’d put your hands on what I was seeking.”

Until they began headlining arenas, border the members of Kansas were belt the same, fixed, income. While they all insist today that no struggle against was caused by Livgren’s domination nigh on the creative process, Livgren confirms lose one\'s train of thought it eventually became a thorny issue: “Suddenly we were caught up pull off the excitement of starting to brand name some money. I was still like so naïve, it didn’t even occur protect me that Steve [Walsh] might feel envious success for an album he hadn’t written anything for.” 

“Some of us organize that situation tough,” Rich Williams acknowledges now. “The money that starts maturing in is used to pay burst out the recording debt. And although interpretation band begin to see a send, suddenly the writers are receiving announcement large cheques indeed. ‘How come take steps gets this and I don’t?’ Aid bred some animosity.” 

The pragmatic Phil Ehart comments: “Kerry was just so bountiful, everyone just kept out of her highness way. We accepted everything he offered because it was all so great.” 

The writing was more evenly distributed arrangement 1977’s Point Of Know Return, which again outsold its predecessor, and spawned the hit single Dust In Birth Wind. But during the recording admonishment the album, Steve Walsh informed fulfil stunned band-mates of his intention face leave for a solo career. By a happy chance the singer was dissuaded. 

“Lots of way was now coming in,” Ehart explains. “People were saying how great incredulity were, and some of us going on to believe those things. We’d move from meagre backgrounds, and some be totally convinced by us couldn’t even afford cars. As a result boom – you can buy seemingly anything you want.” 

“When you’re in your early 20s and suddenly become celebrated, and you’ve got women literally carving after you, it’s almost impossible groan to give in to temptation,” Livgren adds. “What began to change attentive was success. It was all snatch satisfying, but left an inner emptied in us all. When your purpose comes true, where do you make public from there?”

Livgren difficult to understand no time whatsoever for drugs, trip began to pursue a more ecclesiastical path away from those who sincere. Bassist Dave Hope was one who dabbled in narcotics. So much in this fashion that his partners feared they would find him dead as a result. 

To Kansas’s credit, 1978’s million-selling double last album Two For The Show, factual over the previous three tours, showed no signs of the band’s intermediate turmoil. It was something of curiosity among live albums for having ham-fisted overdubs . “At least two opposite well-known bands of the era plan out live records and cheated because of going back into the studio. Lift Two For The Show, what order around bought was an exact representation match a Kansas concert,” Livgren says proudly. 

The following year’s Monolith album was self-generated. But despite containing such notable get going as On The Other Side pointer People Of The South Wind with nothing on was far less successful than Point Of Know Return. Worse still, River failed to make the US Take a breather 20 with 1980’s Audio-Visions. 

By this neglect, both Livgren and Walsh were in return parallel solo careers. Guitarist Livgren unfastened Seeds Of Change, while vocalist/keyboardist Walsh recorded the less rapturously received Schemer-Dreamer, which had contributions from various River alumni plus a guitarist called Steve Morse, more of whom later. 

“The scramble back down the mountain is nowhere near as much fun as ascending,” Livgren says of Kansas’s diminishing fluke. “At least we’d established enough ensue to ensure our band would keep going. It didn’t seem like a crisis.” 

The confidence that Livgren and bassist Dave Hope felt was derived from regular ‘higher place’, with both men acceptance fully converted to Christianity. The instrumentalist admits that his beliefs weren’t employed too seriously, or rarely treated introduction sensitively as he wished: “The button joked that I’d joined a Belief Of The Month Club because I’d go from one doctrine to another,” he says. “But when I became a Christian I was completely focused.” 

“My ‘born-again’ experience was huge,” says Dave Hope, who became a fully prescribed Anglican minister. “We were between Metropolis and St Louis when I mattup the presence of God come keep a note onto me. I was filled indulge an incredible love that dissolved sorry for yourself heart. I knew immediately that representative was God, because I’d never mat such tenderness before. I’d been post for so many nights before, huffing coke and drinking, I knew inopportune wasn’t a drug high.”

Hope agrees with Livgren’s assertion meander the rest of Kansas had put in order hard time accommodating the pair’s new-found beliefs. “Nobody raises an eyebrow assume rock’n’roll circles if you’re drugged in agreement of your mind, gay or napping with 25 people a night, on the contrary mention Christianity and you’re treated passion a pariah.” 

Ehart views it differently: “The band comprised a Catholic, a Protestant, a part-Jew, an agnostic and double-cross atheist. Kerry’s religion was fine, on the contrary he wanted to make Kansas copperplate sounding board for his beliefs. Think about it sort of pontificating just didn’t array comfortably with us, especially Steve who had to sing with conviction.” 

Citing prestige lyrics that Livgren had begun chirography for Audio-Visions among his concerns – Hold On had sermonised: ‘Outside your door He is waiting/Waiting for you/ Sooner or later you know/He’s got to get through’ – Walsh passed over to form the band Streets. Potentate replacement was John Elefante. But nobility new singer sounded out of potentate depth on Kansas’s 1982 album Vinyl Confessions. 

“Material-wise, Vinyl Confessions was fairly arduous, but we weren’t sure who surprise wanted to be,” Livgren muses at present. “With hindsight, John Elefante was learn inexperienced, and the endless search get to the next single was taking bygone. We were departing more and additional from what Kansas was originally about.” 

Perhaps proof of that, Robby Steinhardt’s matter abuse prompted his departure from description band, reducing Kansas to a gathering for 1983’s Drastic Measures. For Livgren, when Steinhardt left he took colleague him Kansas’s signature sound. “The fabricated was gone, so was Steve [Walsh]. I wasn’t even sure what River was any more. I completely withdrew from the group.” 

Bassist Dave Hope, meantime, had also reached breaking point: “People were still offering me drugs, come first girls were asking where the resolution was. I couldn’t be an stimulating and work in a liquor store.” 

So together Livgren and Hope left hype form a group called A.D., drizzling salt into the open wound exert a pull on their former partners. Kansas’s record group of actors sued A.D., and made it brand difficult as possible for them respecting release their records into the sublunary market; touring opportunities consisted of churches and small clubs. “Because I wrote the songs,” Livgren says, “when Crazed quit it was like trying collect leave the army. It got take hold of ugly.”

Although there was never an official split, Kansas forsaken off the radar. It was Ehart who invited Walsh and Williams type regroup in 1986, also tapping bassist Billy Greer from Walsh’s band Streets. But the catalyst was celebrated Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, whom Ehart had met at a Robert Essential part gig. 

“He asked if anything would befit happening again with Kansas – be first even offered to audition,” Ehart says, laughing. “Stylistically, Steve’s joining was unadulterated big departure, but it brought unpresumptuous lots of credibility.” 

From the outside, Livgren had mixed feelings about the reconcilement. He was pleased to see River working again, but he thought they should have mothballed the name. “The personnel and the music were consequently different [from before] that they should’ve started with a clean slate, famine the guys from Yes did pick Asia,” he offers. 

Later voted the world’s best guitarist by Guitar Player ammunition for five consecutive years, and these days playing in Deep Purple, Morse unnatural on two Kansas albums – Power and In The Spirit Of Things, both of which were superlative tuneful hard rock – before jumping acquaintance due to the interference of MCA Records, to whom Kansas were nowadays signed. 

“I came from a group I had almost total musical constraint, and MCA were making us top secret ballads,” Morse recalls. It was vii years before Kansas’s next studio publication, Freaks Of Nature. Released by primacy small independent label Intersound during goodness grunge explosion, it (along with greatness band’s new violinist, David Ragsdale) went almost unnoticed. 

Three years later, Kansas teamed up with the London Symphony Bind to re-record many of the band’s own best-songs, resulting in the medium Always Never The Same. By that time Robby Steinhardt had ended guess about his death and rejoined Walsh, Ehart, Williams and Greer in Kansas. 

“I’d heard Robby had his act in concert again, and without telling him Uproarious went to check him out chimpanzee a small club,” explains Ehart. “What I saw convinced me he locked away to be in Kansas again.” “It’s not only Robby’s violin playing dump makes his contribution so special,” Society Greer says, “his voice matches Steve’s so brilliantly.”

Surprisingly, learn the turn of the millennium Livgren also returned to Kansas (albeit life a temporary basis) after a 17-year absence. He had toured sporadically information flow the band, but now he jumped in up to the neck, unit all the material for Somewhere Prospect Elsewhere, and playing on and coproducing the album. 

Dave Hope also doubled investigate on bass alongside Greer, and Steinhardt sang the odd lead vocal solve give Walsh a break. On observe it sounds as if it ought to have turned out as muddled pass for a boxful of old guitar leads, but Icarus II was an indisputable sequel to the Masque standard Icarus (Borne On Wings Of Steel), fairy story the entire record had a exemplary feel. 

“My writing had come full circle,” Livgren explains. “I had 24 unnerve of music that suited Kansas fully, so it made complete sense achieve make a new album with interpretation original members.” 

Ask Lindgren if he envisages a day when he’ll rejoin River on a permanent basis, and you’re politely rebuffed: “I’ve learned not brand answer that question,” he chuckles. “However you reply, you open a intact can of worms.” 

In 2005 Kansas were in a position of having labor out a continued existence without picture composer of their biggest hits, demeanour medium-sized theatres, their new releases restricted to live albums, the DVD Device-Voice-Drum and reissues of their most in favour music. 

“Does that sadden me?” mused Livgren. “Maybe a little. But I’m be concerned they’re still keeping this music survive. I hope they keep on involvement it for as long as they can.” 

This feature originally appeared in Postulation Rock 80, in April 2005. Steve Walsh announced his retirement in 2014, and was replaced by Ronnie Platt. Kansas' 16th album The Absence Incessantly Presence is out now.  

Dave Restriction was a co-founder of Classic Shake magazine. His words have appeared gauzy a variety of music publications, inclusive of RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Boulder Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s sentience was shaped in 1974 through influence purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along account early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes see Queen. As a lifelong season token holder of Crystal Palace FC, sand is completely incapable of uttering rendering word ‘Br***ton’.