Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.49 08/04)
excerpts from an interview with Lynn Meredith (Vocals), John Bolton (Saxophon, Flute), Brad Schulz (Drums) and Dan Wright (Keyboards)
Brad: It is surprising to me that these old recordings are popular. I know that back when we made them, we got some positive responses from a couple of record companies. Also, I met a man in Wichita in the middle 70s who had a copy of those four songs we recorded. I don't remember how he had gotten them. Evidently, some hard core Kansas fans obtained it and they liked it back then. But I can understand it. Sometimes I like things also that are sort of raw and non-embellished.
Dan: A little surprised, I guess. But more than that I felt "vindicated" that the music we were playing really did have value and was...well....cool! Further knowing that the stuff we played 30 years ago was just about 30 years ahead of it's time!
John: Surprised but not shocked in that even the primitive cassette tapes that I had and played for fans over the years revealed an excellent group playing well written material. Everyone felt that this music should be released some day.
What lead to the decision for the reunion of Proto-Kaw?
Brad: Good Orderly Direction? I don't know.
Dan: I think that obviously the release of the first CD was a big factor. I also KNOW that in the back of the mind of every guy that played in Kansas II, was a latent desire to do it again. However, we all had really gone on with our lives and the notion of EVER doing that music again seemed unrealistic.
Lynn: We all wanted to reunite..but we didn’t know how we would sound, so we were a bit cautious and took a “wait and see” approach. When we found out that everyone was still very good, things began to gel musically very quickly.
John: Call it fate.
When do you had the idea of recording a new album?
Dan: Kerry brought it up at the first reunion get-together we had at the Westport Coffee House in Kansas City. He took us all outside to the parking lot and asked if we might be interested in doing a 2nd CD. What do you think our reaction was?
Lynn: We discussed it at our first reunion in 2002, but it did not become reality until March of 2003. At that time we decided to just get together and take up to two years to record again…but once we started…we really liked what was happening and decided to finish as fast as our schedules would allow.
How difficult or easy was it to play and compose together again after all theses years?
Brad: I wasn't there for the first jam. I thought that when I got together with the band for the first time playing together again, we were pretty sluggish and rusty; actually, I was a bit worried that time had taken too big of a toll. But after a couple of days, we were sounding tighter and the rhythm was coming back. I expected Kerry to be good but I was surprised at Lynn's voice especially - better than before in my mind. Dan's fingers were getting back into shape and of course his creativity was as good as ever. I hadn't appreciated John's creativity as much 30 years ago but I was impressed by the way he was coming up with endings and flute parts that really embellished the songs. I had always missed playing with these musicians and I am delighted to get another chance to do so. A chance that I never thought I'd have again.
Dan: I am a totally self-taught musician. The only real "lesson" I ever had was Kerry showing me stuff when we played together in "The Gimlets" in high school. Therefore one might say that it's easy to pick back up after a 30 year layoff, because I didn't know what I was doing then and I don't know what I'm doing now! Actually, it's a bit like riding a bicycle. It took practice to get my "chops" back, but mentally it really was not that difficult.
Lynn: I was really scared. I had not sang or recorded in 20 years and was unsure if I could even sing again. Once the recording began though, my voice came back nicely and I actually feel it is better now in many ways than it was years ago.
John: I felt that we took up where we left off 30 years ago rather effortlessly. It took a while to get the chops that are necessary, but the ideas seemed to be stored up. We had some incredibly creative sessions. This fact comes out on the CD.
Did you feel any pressure on recording the new album or did you just follow your personal inspiration and complete musical freedom?
Brad: I'd be lying if I said there was no pressure. When we first started, it was going to be a "no hurry" type thing. Then, the next thing I new, the drum track had to be laid down first and the timetable seemed to be moved up. Kerry surprised us all, I think, by how quickly he went to work and got the songs ready to record. He sent me my parts on practice CDs and I tried my best to learn the songs in short order. I actually had quite a bit of time but sometimes these things don't lend themselves to cramming, if you know what I mean. If you're asking if there was any pressure from the composer to do things a certain way; not at all. Kerry was very cool, open to suggestions, and willing to let us put our own styles into the songs.
Dan: Kerry definitely has his idea of what things should sound like, which is cool because after all, they are his compositions. Having said that though, Kerry allows and encourages each musician to add their own interpretation to the music. Sometimes his comment is "do something here" which pretty well leaves it wide open. This music was learned-relearned to do the recordings. The music is not at this time "gig tested". I hope that changes significantly in the future, though. I find that playing music live gives us a chance to add our own perspectives, licks, embellishments, etc. to the stuff we play. It develops over time. If we ever get to play a significant amount, these pieces will definitely sound a bit different. Plus which, when we do solos (my personal favorite!) we can play whatever the heck we want.....as long as it's good.
John: I can’t remember pressure. Initially going back into the studio caused me to be nervous, which passed after a session or two. We all showed up prepared and Livgren is a laid back producer, so both of these facts helped.
Have you received any feedback from the current Kansas members, what they think about the "old" and the "new" recordings?
Dan: Nope. I think Kerry communicates with Phil a bit, but you know, the Proto-Kaw guys didn't communicate with EACH OTHER for 30 years!
Can you tell a little bit more about the material, that is included on the “Special Edition” of “Before became after”?
Lynn: The bonus cd includes a live version of “Belexes”. That song was one we did in the early 70’s and was later recorded by the famous Kansas. We performed that song in January at a reunion concert in Kansas City. Also on the disc are the songs, “It moves you” and a single edit version of “Words of honor”. It also includes a 14 minute video of the band discussing how all of this came about with early photos and footage from our first reunion worked in…a bit like a PBS documentary film. "It moves you" was scheduled for the main cd, but was moved to the bonus when we recorded "Words" and the Lawyer song. It was a song Kerry wrote years ago and we did a “soft” version of it.
How did the Reunion concert went overall?
Brad: We were well accepted. It was unclear how many people came to hear us and how many were there just because of the night life in that area of K.C. It was quite an experience and I'm looking forward to doing more live performing with this band after we get even more familiar with the material.
Dan: Pretty well I guess. As of this time we have only played once and that was at a party in Kansas City on January 9th, 2004. The audience was mostly made up of friends and family, so we got a real nice reaction!
John: The one gig we did play, and there will be more, we “pulled it off”. It was a great feeling to do that after only 7 rehearsals, which were all studio settings. Stretching it all out on stage and then nailing it was exciting. I will never get over that night, which is a good thing. It was like winning a playoff game in terms of accomplishing something everyone appreciated…. the fans and us. No one expected us to be better than ever, but we were. We proved some things that night.
Any plans to play on any progressive rock festivals or to go on tour?
Dan: Aahhhhhh...yes...my personal favorite thing.. PLAYING LIVE!!! Well, we have a couple of bookings in the local area this summer. Right now, there are several of us with what you might call "straight gigs". I have worked at my present job for 28 years. I have a family to support, and if I could do that by playing music, I would LOVE it! So...for now our festivals and tours will be a bit limited, I suspect. But if the CD does well then who knows?
Lynn: We hope to play as much as our schedules will allow. Since we are not full-time musicians now…we have to balance regular lives with playing live. We don’t even have an agent at this point! Much depends on the success of this new cd. If it is received well…I believe there will be ample opportunities to play live again. It is something we would love to do. We all would like to go to Europe and do a tour. We have received many nice emails from European fans and think our music is well received there.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2004