Around Hear

"How many albums did we sell?" asks Kansas' signature alto, Steve Walsh, with his tongue barely in his cheek. Pete Morticelli, president of Kansas' new label, Magna Carta Records, says that the group has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, but Walsh and founding guitarist Kerry Livgren seem impressed by this number, especially Walsh.

Whatever money the group was shorted all those years prior probably long ago went up someone's nose or otherwise fed an ego, and for the first time in 17 years all the members of the original lineup have reunited to tour and record an album of new material for Magna Carta -- sort of.

"Actually, I record all my parts down in Atlanta," Walsh says of the city where he has lived for years. "And whenever I'm ready, I just put 'em on an MP3 and e-mail them up to Kerry." Not exactly what you would expect to hear from a perceived-to-be dinosaur from the age of album rock who speaks with Tommy Chong's cadence. But despite the band's name, Kansas has adapted quite nicely to technological evolution.

"I think the whole digital thing is sort of blown out of proportion," retorts Kerry Livgren when asked whether the technology took any of the edge off the band's analog-spawned sound. "Yeah, when it first came out, I suppose there was a difference in the tone quality, but now the technology has come such a long way that you can use this (digital) equipment to make it sound however you want." Put another way: "I've got an analog machine that's sitting over there right now collecting dust," he says, pointing to a contraption that serves as a drink stand in the corner of his studio/barn.

Of course, the equipment isn't the only thing that's changed since this lineup last recorded together. Billy Greer, the group's bass player for the past 15 years, will give you the "more weight, less hair" cliché when asked about recording with the original band intact, though that might be because the group rarely, if ever, recorded this new project in the studio together. Still, there were some troubled times for the members of Kansas as the group's stay at the top of the charts came to its inevitable end. Some, like Livgren and original bassist David Hope, turned away from the rock and roll lifestyle and found religion -- these two collaborated on a Christian Rock project called AD. Hope landed in Florida working for a church and has written a biblical book titled Looking at Luke Through the Eyes of Hope, while Livgren ended up on a nice spread southwest of Topeka, a farm that provides that kind of tranquil seclusion for which most artists would work a lifetime. The others stayed with the group and weathered a series of personnel changes over the years, continuing to bang out the crowd-pleasers at venues ranging from state fairs to minor-league ballparks to arenas for classic-rock festivals.

As for the new record, don't expect much of a change from the tried and true formula that afforded Kansas the stature as kings of progressive rock, especially in the lyrics. After all, Livgren's songs have always been cryptically spiritual, like a stoner's Creed, but now making the connection between the song's narrator and author is not such a stretch.

"I write songs the same way I always wrote them," says Livgren, "and I still write about the same things too. But that doesn't mean I'm going out there with some agenda or anything, just like I never was before. The only difference now may be that the songs are the same, but they are Christian in the sense that a Christian wrote them, with his perceptions and views of the world coming into play. But that doesn't make it a Christian rock song."

Walsh is noticeably silent throughout this exchange about the effects of dogma on his group of merry men -- a discussion that wouldn't take place if Livgren and Hope were still solo. Walsh's silence makes you wonder whether he is being indifferent or polite, but the answer to that question comes when I ask Walsh whether he will be back from Atlanta for the group's gig singing the national anthem at the Royals' home opener on Friday, April 7.

"You better be," interjects Livgren in jest.

"Oh, I will be," replies Walsh, "just as long as I get paid."

As long as the banks are open, the reunited ones will carry on the next night, Saturday, April 8, at Station Casino to prime for a summer of shed and festival tours.

Respect your Elders
The Elders are like this area's anti-Kansas. The six-piece boasts former members of The Rainmakers, Shooting Star, Fools Face, The Secrets, and the Tommy Shaw Group, but the rock they currently play is Celtic, not classic.

"If you can play this type of music, why wouldn't you want to?" multi-instrumentalist Brent Hoad asks rhetorically. "The traditions of Celtic sounds and language are very deep, and we'll never get to the bottom of it, but it's something that we continue to explore and grow with. Nobody in this group cares if you look like a pop star, and we don't. That's not important to us; it's just important to continue playing great music and improving."