Illinois Entertainer October 2016 | Page 53

continued from page 20 do feel like part of that family. It’s a great feeling. IE: Why did it take so long to get Kansas back in the studio? RP: I just think that they had a couple of members that were just tapped out creatively. Nothing against Steve - you gotta give Steve an endurance award for being with the band for 40 years on and off- but I understand when you do something for such a long time that you’re enthusiasm might not be there like it was at first. But that only brings me to throwing kudos to Phil and Rich, who after doing this for 43 years, still have a desire to ambitiously want to add to such an amazing library of music. The rest of us are thanking them for it that’s for sure, especially myself and Dave Manion, who came on at the same time as me and I affectionately call “Mr. Lightning Fingers,” and then of course Zak Rizvi, who’s an amazing guitar player, writer and producer. IE: Did you personally feel any pressure going into the sessions since they were your first with Kansas? RP: Imagine what’s in the back of my mind thinking “okay, I’m writing lyrics for a band Kerry Livgren wrote lyrics for.” No pressure there! (laughter). I was in the studio and I was about to cut my first vocal track and Phil walks into the studio room, puts his hand on my shoulder and says “now look, I want you to relax, I want you to enjoy yourself and have fun with this. Do the best job you can and just totally put out of your mind that 2.1 million Kansas fans are waiting for this right now.” Gee, thanks Phil! IE: Besides making up for lost time, Kansas also has a history as widespread as its progressive origins to the MTV-era. To what extent did you try to incorporate all of those elements while still crafting the record you guys wanted to make? RP: I really feel like we hit the target on all those marks. Take “The Voyage Of Eight Eighteen,” which is an intense multi-part, multi-dynamic song that is just the stereotypical, classic Kansas song. It has so many parts and is the epitome of prog rock. There are a couple songs like that, but then you’ve got a couple songs that are almost heavy metal guitar-sounding, then you’ve got a couple darker, more moody songs that have very intense subjects. Then you’ve got what I consider radio-friendly songs, like “The Unsung Heroes” or “With This Heart.” This album has many dimensions and it’s reflective of all the different phases that Kansas has gone through. But on the flipside of that, it’s not like we really had that focus when we were writing these songs. It just happened to turn out that way. When you have the insane talent of the members of this band combined with having pent up creativity for years and years, each song starts to take on a life of its own and it starts to build its own path, so it’s really amazing how many different avenues we’ve traveled with this record. IE: Did you intend to have a new record timed with the 40th anniversary of Leftoverture? RP: I don’t think so. I think it just happened that way. When David and I joined the band, I don’t think Phil and Rich even anticipated a new album, but they discovered the new enthusiasm and it became infectious. It just seemed to accidentally fall into place with Leftoverture celebrating its 40th anniversary, along with a new album. And boy, what a treat for Kansas fans to be able to incorporate everything into the new show. You’re gonna get a show that spans 43 years of Kansas, from the first album all the way up to The Prelude Implicit. Good timing for me don’t you think? IE: In your opinion, what are the elements that have allowed Leftoverture to endure for all these years? RP: I think back to my perspective of listening to Leftoverture back then and the music just seemed so rich, so deep, so multifaceted with so many parts, yet the parts also had a cohesiveness. You’d go from such extreme dynamics, yet they were adjacent to one another without losing a feel or a mood. To me that was just mesmerizing and it’s just stuck with me. God, a song like “The Wall” is timeless. When I listen to the studio version of that, it’s as thought-provoking to me now as it was 40 years ago. And of course “Carry On Wayward Son” continues getting played to this very day…Just in the time I’ve been in the band, I’ve started to see younger and younger people at our shows. And that makes me feel so good to know that this music can grab the attention of some younger music lovers because it’s really inspiring and deep. It’s nice to witness that, and as the band calls it, “job security.” PETE BERWICK Kansas appears at the Copernicus Center, Chicago, on Friday, November 4. MON & THURS IN OCTOBER 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM POTBELLY 9330 76TH PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WISCONSIN 262-842-0246 TUES & WED IN OCTOBER 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM POTBELLY 1519 S. RANDALL RD. ALGONQUIN, ILLINOIS 847-458-1775 THURSDAYS IN OCTOBER 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM CUDA'S BAR & GRILL 27045 GRASS LAKE RD. ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS 224-788-9145 BINGO NIGHT & LIVE MUSIC FRIDAYS IN OCTOBER 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM POTBELLY 6641 GRAND AVE. GURNEE, ILLINOIS 847-855-7415 SUN OCT 2 , OCT 16, NOVEMBER 6 10:00 AM - NOON THE LODGE 899 MAIN ST. ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS 847-224-2590 FRIDAY OCT 28 9:00 PM LOONEY BIN 201 S. SCHUYLER AVE. BRADLEY, ILLINOIS 815-933-8232 Albums and updated live dates: www.peteb