Kansas

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=592540" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=125 BGCOLOR="#AAAAAA" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c467d1euxmic.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Kristi Singer</b></FONT><B>     </b><B>|     </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kristi Singer"><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kansas"><U>Kansas</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id183.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Karyn Rochelle"><U>Karyn Rochelle</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id184.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Keb Mo"><U>Keb' Mo'</U></A>   |   <B>Kansas</b>   |   <A HREF="id207.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="KC and the Sunshine Band"><U>KC and the Sunshine Band</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id226.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kenny Chesney"><U>Kenny Chesney</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Samples"><U><B>Back to Articles</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Kansas</div> <div> <B>More Than Just Dust In The Wind</b></div> <div> <B>The voices of Kansas sound off on multiple lead vocals, the joy of harmony, and paying your rock 'n' roll dues</b></div> <div> By Kristi Singer</div> <div> Singer Magazine feature: January 2003</div> <bR> <bR> <div> "It's been thirty years now and we're still doing this... it's truly awesome. I think we get along better - we're older, we're wiser and things are maybe even better than they were," says Robby Steinhardt, vocalist and violinist for Kansas.</div> <bR> <div> Things were good for Kansas during the height of its popularity in the '70's and '80's. The band's signature blend of elaborate musical arrangements with rock energy was in vogue, and four of its albums went platinum while five albums and two singles achieved gold status. After a number of changes from the original 1972 lineup (vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh, vocalist/violinist Robby Steinhardt, guitarist/keyboardist Kerry Livgren, guitarist Richard Williams, bassist Dave Hope and drummer Phil Ehart), culminating with the current arrangement without Livgren and with bassist/vocalist Billy Greer, Kansas continue to flourish in the new millennium. </div> <bR> <div> In celebration of thirty years, the band released a two-CD retrospective, The Ultimate Kansas, in July , and its first DVD, Device Voice Drum, in October. </div> <bR> <div> <B>It Takes Two... or Three</b></div> <div> Most bands have only one lead vocalist, but Kansas has two - Robby and Steve - with additional vocals supplied by Billy. Steve says that having more than one lead singer is a luxury. </div> <bR> <div> "There's no bright spotlight on any of us. This is a band; we all grew up together. We're all attached at the hip. I've tried to get out on a solo career. It didn't work; it doesn't work. I don't feel so bad because it didn't work out for Mick Jagger, either."</div> <bR> <div> "It's wonderful to be singing with such great singers and to be able to have those kinds of lead vocals and harmonies like that," says Robby. Along with the two primary voices of Kansas, BIlly Greer plays a unique support role. According to Steve, Billy alleviates vocal stress from him, especially considering his higher vocal range.</div> <bR> <div> "My delegated role in Kansas is as backing vocalist," agrees Billy. "Steve and I have similar sounding voices and I'm able to sing some of the high parts that if he had to do night in and night out, would take a real toll on his voice. I'm able to relieve some of that strain and give him space to breathe every now and then. When you get good vocal harmonies going there's times when it sends chills up my spine. We do have three really good vocalists in this band. Steve has always been one of my favorite rock 'n' roll singers and Robby does a good job as well. The combination of those two voices is the classic Kansas sound."</div> <bR> <div> Billy believes that backing vocals are of the utmost importance to achieving a full sound. "I've been influenced by the Beatles, who were a great vocal band, and it's just something that's been a part of every band I've ever been in - good, tight, strong vocals. I think it's just like icing on a cake. There are some great lead vocalists out there, but putting harmony in at the right place and at the right time can change the whole texture of a song and push it over the top."</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Voices of Experience</b></div> <div> Steve, Robby and Billy all have advice to offer aspiring singers. Speaking from experience, Billy sys that it's important to put yourself in situations where the right person will hear you - like he did when Steve asked him to join Kansas. "You need to practice, perform, and get our chops down. I've been with Kansas for seventeen years, but I've been playing music for over thirty years. The first fifteen of that was playing in clubs, for birthday parties just anything and everything to pay my dues," Billy recalls. "You have to put yourself in situations and take advantage of anything that will help you get heard and don't be afraid to stick your neck out and take a chance. That's what it takes. You never know when someone's going to hear your song and say 'I could do something with this guy.'</div> <bR> <div> "When we were eighteen or nineteen, we left everything behind and we all moved into a band house, where we did nothing but pay for our equipment and barely had sustainable income for a hamburger a day," Steve remembers. "We lived on a dollar a day. That's what each of us got. Kids these days aren't willing to make that endeavor, they're not willing to make that sacrifice. They've got to have a luxurious life. And everybody I tell this to looks at me with this blank look - 'what do you mean I gotta quit my job?' That's exactly what I mean."</div> <bR> <div> Summing it up, Steve says "You just have to say, 'I believe this to be my calling and I'm going to find a bunch of guys who feel the same way. And if we're good and lucky we might bust down a door or two."</div> <bR> <div> "If you hang in there, no matter what happens, eventually something will happen," declares Robby. "I'm convinced of that. Although I've got to say it's a little bit harder these days than it used to be. There's a lot more competition - hundreds of releases coming out every week and you never really know what's going to happen to whom. But if you've got that stick-to-itiveness, eventually something should happen. You kick at a tree with ripe apples on it long enough, you're bound to get some apples down from it."</div> <bR> <div> <B>Exploring Kansas</b></div> <div> For more on the band, check out:</div> <div> www.kansasband.com</div> <div> www.legacyrecordings.com</div> <div> www.sonymusic.com</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Ultimate Kansas</b></div> <div> The best of Kansas' music from 1974 to 1983 is captured on the Epic/Legacy two-CD collection, The Ultimate Kansas. Billy Greer says the package is "a collection of everybody's favorite songs," while Robby Steinhardt calls it "the best of the best." The new compilation's 26 songs more than double the number of tracks on the bands triple-platinum selling 1984 collection, The Best of Kansas.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Kansas on Film</b></div> <div> Kansas' first DVD, Device Voice Drum, contains a live concert featuring performances of hits like Dust in the Wind, Carry On Wayward Son, and Point of Know Return. The band rented out Earthlink Live in Atlanta, Georgia for three days to shoot the DVD. It features archival footage, interviews with band members and behind-the-scenes material recorded by band members with handheld cameras. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>