Kansas Keeps Recording to 'Scratch the Itch' as 'There's No Money in It'

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Courtesy Kansas

Rich Williams is the founding guitarist of Kansas.

Progressive arena-rock legends Kansas are a dozen shows into the 50th Anniversary Tour, subtitling the 50-city run after its latest career-spanning compilation, Another Fork in the Road. In advance of the band’s St. Louis stop tomorrow, I spoke with founding guitarist Rich Williams on the phone from Pittsburgh, where the tour was kicking off that night. Williams, along with drummer Phil Ehart, is one of two original members and has not only represented a key sonic element of the band with this complex acoustic and electric guitar constructions but has been one of the most identifiable visual markers of of he band — the big man with the giant afro back in the band’s golden years and whose eye patch, the result of a childhood fireworks accident, covers his right eye.

Williams spoke — still with the old Topeka drawl — about the band’s commemorative endeavors, the origins of the Kansas sound, being from the 34th state in the union and playing the Fox Theatre.

Congratulations on 50-plus years of Kansas. Did you have a hard time picking the tracks that would be included on the new compilation, Another Fork in the Road: 50 Years of Kansas?

For the first time ever, we were kind of hands off. The record company [Inside Out Music] are such fans that they wanted to put this together from a fan’s perspective. From our perspective, we probably would have approached it very similarly to what we’ve done before, and they wanted to do it a little bit differently, so we let them carry the ball with it. They wanted to represent each album and each decade, and we decided to trust their opinions.

The compilation starts with a newly recorded version of “Can I Tell You” from the 1971 debut album. How did that come about?

Any time something like this comes out, it’s become kind of expected to include something that hasn’t been released. And we thought, “What if we re-record a song? What would make sense with respect to this album? What’s the song that first got us heard by [label boss] Don Kirshner?” “Can I Tell You” was paramount to Kansas even existing, so it became the obvious choice. We wanted to have a current version with the current lineup, so it made sense to us.

How did you build the setlist for the 50th anniversary?

We’re adding some stuff that we haven’t played in a long time, some of it in a really long time. We’re trying to represent the legacy of the 50 years and throw it all in a box and start picking things out. The learning curve, though. I haven’t played some of these songs in 45 years. But I have a leg up on some of the other members because I was there and understand the arrangements, but it’s been a long time since I’ve put on headphones and gone through these things to find my guitar part.

Can you talk about how the Kansas sound came about in the first place? For instance, what fueled all those changing time signatures and complex symphonic arrangements?

Like most people, we were in bar bands playing the music of the day, but we were a band that tried to wedge in some of our original material. We kind of cut our teeth on the rock & roll of the times — Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, soul music, Creedence Clearwater. We came from a rock approach and Phil always beat the crap out of the drums. As things progressed, we wanted to get out of the bar circuit and maybe do an album. And when Kerry Livgren joined the band, he was writing some very interesting, progressive stuff. Then we added a violin, so we had a symphonic sound and progressive approach to writing. But underneath, we were still a rock band. We were not delicate players; we had no jazz chops. That gave us a more rock edge than a lot of our contemporaries.

How about your guitar parts? How are those written originally, and do those parts change shape from tour to tour?

So many ways and with constant mutations. Sometimes something is written on the keyboard, and you try to find a counterpoint to it, or you are following the left hand a bit, but it’s never an exact formula. I’ve always been able to find my way. You take your ego out of it and play what the song needs. Steve Morse was in the band for two albums. So some of the things he did took the place of the violin passages, so there are things that mutate over time. Everyone brings a bit of their own personality into it. A second guitar is an integral part of it, so we give everybody an opportunity.

What are you noticing about your audiences on recent tours?

The last 8 or 10 years, we’ve noticed a much younger crowd. “Why are you here?” Sometimes it’s, “We grew up with this. You're my dad’s favorite band.” But lately it’s been Supernatural fans. That show has moved tens of thousands of new fans toward us. It’s been remarkable. All these young kids. We were in Wisconsin, and these kids told us they were there because of Supernatural, and that was the first I’d ever heard of it. With “Carry on Wayward Son” being the official unofficial theme song of that show, it’s been a game-changer for us in terms of the demographics of our fans.

Do fans still come up to you and talk about Kansas, the state?

Well, first, I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan, so that’s been an easy conversation over the last three or four years. I think most people who we talk to now know that we’re not really based out of Kansas anymore. In the early days, people didn’t know anything about Kansas, so we could tell them anything. We would say things like, “Wow, this is my first time on an elevator,” and they would buy everything.

You have said that the band is still working on material for a new album. What motivates you to keep going into the studio?

Well, it can’t be money. Because there’s no money in it. Hard product just doesn’t sell. In the ’70s and ’80s, it wasn’t that hard to have a gold record. But now, there is just a dwindling rock market. The reason to record is really to scratch the itch. You want to create something new. As long as you're in a band that’s been creative, you can’t go too long to see what we can do next. It’s just a matter of finding time to do it. You really have to want to do it because you're taking yourself out of the [touring] marketplace for six months while you're doing something that will make you feel good and keep you relevant with your fan base, which is very important, but there’s no financial reward. But I’m sure we will do it. There’s a few songs in the can already. Inside Out has been a fantastic label for us. Any time we have something ready to go, they want the record.

Well, we look forward to seeing you in St. Louis.

We’ve only played the Fox a few times. The first time we played there, we said, “Finally! We made it! We’re playing the Fox!” It’s just an iconic place to play, like Red Rocks. Some places just have a certain level of emotional importance. The Fox in St. Louis is right up there at the top of the list.

Catch Kansas at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Fabulous Fox Theatre(527 North Grand Boulevard, fabulousfox.com/events/detail/kansas).Tickets are $45 to $125.