Carry on, Kansas

An interview with the iconic rock band scheduled to play the Festival at Sandpoint

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

With nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums, two platinum albums and hits like “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son,” the classic rock band Kansas has forever secured its place in music history. The band continues to produce new material that honors long-term fans and entices new ones, and will perform at the Festival at Sandpoint on Friday, Aug. 1 as part of its non-stop national tour.

Taking the stage at War Memorial Field (801 Ontario St.) at 7:30 p.m. will be legendary guitarist Richard Williams alongside keyboardist Tom Brislin, guitarist Zak Rezvi, violinist and guitarist Joe Deninzon, bassist and singer Dan McGowan and percussionist Eric Holmquist, standing in for drummer Phil Ehart. Lead singer and keyboardist Ronnie Platt, who took over from Steve Walsh in 2014, said the band is hoping Sandpoint will break the recent pattern of extreme weather on tour.

“This run of shows has just been crazy — between torrential downpours of rain and extreme heat,” Platt told the Reader. “Fourth of July, we played in Ohio, and it was like 115 degrees on stage. Poor Zak; the last two songs, he was delirious. We had to carry him from the stage to the van. He had heat exhaustion.”

None of these rockers are strangers to the dangers of tour and have committed to playing through storms and personal injury for the love of the music. For his part, before coming to Kansas, Platt had played in bands all his life. He worked his way through the cover band circuit in Chicago until becoming lead singer for progressive rock band Shooting Star. As a life-long fan of Kansas (and a talented musician who’d frequently covered its discography), Platt was a natural by the time he first took the stage with the band — not that that quieted his nerves.

“Are you kidding? I was scared to death,” said Platt. “It’s one thing to be playing ‘Wayward Son’ with your cover band, and it’s another thing singing ‘Wayward Son’ with Kansas. The intensity level kind of goes off the charts at that point.”

Joining his favorites on stage was akin to winning the lottery, according to Platt — “a 10-billion-to-one shot.” 

Listening to his performances, and to the many new songs he’s written for the most recent albums, Prelude Implicit and The Absence of Presence, you wouldn’t know he’s a newer addition to the band. According to Platt, Kansas has been a part of his life for so long that the classic sound comes naturally to him.

“You’re a product of your influences, and I’ve always said that I’ve developed my voice from intensely, forensically dissecting the guys that were my inspirations: Steve Walsh, Steve Perry, Lou Gramm, John Anderson, Geddy Lee, Brad Delp,” Platt said.

It also helps that he’s always had a passion for songwriting and experimentation. Platt has been performing and writing songs in his free time for decades, but he never expected to actually sing on a Kansas album, let alone write for one. Yet the very first song he pitched, “With This Heart,” received a resounding “Yes” from fellow band members, and then the writing credits kept stacking up.

“To have Phil come to me and go, ‘We’re going to do a new studio album’? A studio album of new music that I’m going to be singing on that’s underneath the Kansas label? I mean, I’ve already won the lottery once; this is the second lottery win.”

The new music is still undeniably Kansas and, in Platt’s opinion, gives a level of “validity” to the band’s newer members. Kansas is about the music, not the individuals playing it.

“There’s a reason why symphonies are still playing Beethoven and Mozart — they’ve been gone a long time. I haven’t seen ’em walking around the Denny’s lately. It’s the music, it’s not the performer,” said Platt.

As both a musician and fan, Platt is careful about when and how he embellishes the older songs to ensure he’s honoring the music — a choice that Kansas lovers everywhere appreciate.

“I have such a high respect for the music,” said Platt. “‘Dust in the Wind’ — it’s hard to wrap your mind around how many times that studio recording’s been heard, by millions and millions of people over and over again. If I were to embellish that or put my own spin on it, people would either think I’m a lousy singer or singing it wrong. I keep things pretty respectful.”

Platt said that his past 11 years with the band have been one highlight after another, with momentum steadily growing as music from the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s experiences a resurgence in popularity. Each show brings new generations of fans to engage with the timeless songs.

“It’s so great to be doing Kansas shows and see people who were original fans who are in their 60s and 70s, and their kids and their grandkids,” Platt said. “Just last week, I saw a whole group of kids who were probably in their mid-teens, and they weren’t just sitting there waiting to hear ‘Wayward Son.’ They were getting into every song. How great is that?

“It’s like riding a wave, and I don’t see it falling,” he added.

Tickets are still available for the Friday, Aug. 1 show at festivalatsandpoint.com/kansas for $85.16. Listen at kansasband.com.