David Ragsdale leaves Kansas

[Old Frothingslosh]

David Ragsdale, violinist for Kansas, is leaving it to focus on personal matters, the band announced Monday afternoon on its Facebook page.

Ragsdale’s departure won't affect any scheduling of performances by Kansas.

“For 23 years, David Ragsdale has been the best bandmate anyone could ever hope to work with,” said Phil Ehart, the band's manager and drummer,

Kansas announced violinist Joe Deninzon as a replacement for David Ragsdale.

Deninzon – who uses a seven-string instrument and has been referred to as the “Jimi Hendrix of the violin” – leads the prog band Stratospheerius and has more than 100 recording credits to his name, having worked with the Who, Bruce Springsteen, Ritchie Blackmore and others over the years.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Yeah, saw that. Thant kinda sucks. And I'm seeing Kansas next week. Not familiar with this Deninzon cat but apparently supposed to be a hotshot violinist, so I'll give him a chance, like I do with Yes or any group I like when there's a lineup change. Should still be good. For Kansas, we now have 2 original members, one long tenured member and three post-2016 members. They got Yes-itis with the comin's and goin's, but what old band doesn't? I'm glad it wasn't Tom Brislin who left. He needs to stay!

[pianozach]

Never heard of him or his band.

[Gtkgasman]

Yeah, saw that. Thant kinda sucks. And I'm seeing Kansas next week. Not familiar with this Deninzon cat but apparently supposed to be a hotshot violinist, so I'll give him a chance, like I do with Yes or any group I like when there's a lineup change. Should still be good. For Kansas, we now have 2 original members, one long tenured member and three post-2016 members. They got Yes-itis with the comin's and goin's, but what old band doesn't? I'm glad it wasn't Tom Brislin who left. He needs to stay!

We saw him at Progstock in Nj few years back, I think you will like him. And he will do the Kansas tunes Justice. He can surely play - no doubt.

Kansas around my area in 2 weeks - we may go at last minute if nothing pops up. Playing 2 shows at the Keswick.

ps: And I would like to see Tom Brislin again also!!

[Sharp On Attack]

He's a Russian, probably a commie... (just kidding, he's great)

[downbyariver]

David Ragsdale and Jon Davison were on a Glass Hammer song called "Crowbone" together, part of the Ode to Echo album.

Anyhow, Ragsdale recorded some good albums as Kansas' violinist of record and I wish him well in his future endeavors.

I don't know anything about Joe Deninzon, but I do know being the violinist for Kansas is pretty much the apex of classic rock violinist jobs. You can't get a better job than that if that's your genre and your instrument. It's got to be hard work, though- especially when Kansas is one of its peak violin periods. From what I hear, if they even play a song from the non-violin years these days, they toss in violin.

I don't have a particular desire to see Kansas perform, but I really enjoyed their two most recent studio albums, The Prelude Implicit and The Absence of Presence, and would love to have a newer studio album from them to buy a download of.

With due respect to the musicians involved, I have no issue with most lineup changes as long as the band still sounds good and new albums of original material that are at least a little reminiscent of their iconic identity as a band keep rolling.

This is at least the second lineup change for Kansas since their most recent album, released in 2020, though. The first one was Zach Rivizi, who wrote most of the 2016 album and about half of the 2020 album moving on, and now David Ragsdale, their violinist of the last two decades is leaving. I don't know if Ragsdale has writing credits on the two most recent albums, but I wonder if violin/fiddle (They're the same instrument, you just call it the one thing if you're a classical orchestra and the other if you are a country western band- Kansas always calls it a violin, but the way they use it has aspects that call both naming conventions to mind at various moments) is such an odd instrument for a rock band that the violinist really winds up with uncredited responsibility for figuring out most of his own stuff on new music, how the violin fits into the melody the credited musician wrote.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I hope this stuff doesn't get in the way of doing a new album soon. I also hope, especially with the loss of Rivizi, that the lineup moves themselves don't signal lost interest in doing new material regularly. Rivizi was brought in because of what he could contribute in the studio, primarily.

The band basically ceased to exist as a recording band for a long time because original singer Steve Walsh only wanted to tour, but everyone else wanted to record, and came out with a new album really quick out of the gate when Walsh retired. So, the other aspects that worries me when I see people move on is whether or not they are losing the people who had the most enthusiasm for doing new material.

I mean, I think that's always a concern in the current era- the money is all in touring, so the albums aren't guaranteed. If you're an album oriented fan (as opposed to live music oriented fan), you're always kind of watching to see if a band is still involved in creating new albums or has just kind of slowly not made them until you realize that they are basically just a touring outfit at a certain point.

Tom Brislin is still there and was very involved with writing on the one album he was there for. That's sort of hopeful, I guess. I'd love to see him get a second and a third crack and beyond at writing and playing on some new original Kansas studio albums.

I probably shouldn't complain. I think there are four Kansas albums I don't own yet. Granted, they are the four I thought I'd like least (In some cases backed by actually having heard them without owning them), but I do have somewhere to go if I really want more Kansas and the band isn't giving it to me. . Most of the time when I like a band enough to care, I've got all their studio albums and really can't ever get a new one unless they make it.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Kansas was once in Yes' position as they had member/s who didn't want to record because they saw no point. Then some new blood comes in and there's a band resurgence with finally new material. There was a recent period when new Kansas was spankin' new Yes with vibrant new albums. Prelude Implicit and Absence Of Presence have such vitality and come close to the quality of their classic 70's material. Not completely of course, but the quality is there. A certain drive maybe lacking in the last two Yes ones if you match up those two last Kansas ones with H&E and The Quest. Now Yes are catching up with MTTS, but Kansas were on a roll. In fact, Absence of Presence and Pendragon's Love Over Fear are my two albums of the year for 2020, love those two the pandemic era albums.

I also would like Kansas to continue their creative streak, but it seems it has been slowed down by mass touring. They were on a roll. Any time a band has a '50 Anniversary Tour' or somesuch is, for me, not as celebratory as some would think it. It means endless tour and no new album for some time if at all ever again. However Tom Brislin has stated that he's been writing and some of it for Kansas, and that he would like to do another Kansas album, but the big tour is in the way. So at least there's some hope for new Kansas material. I'm a big fan of the Zak Rizvi-era, and I would love to see a new album even if Rizvi is gone. New writing will most likely fall mainly to Brislin but also possibly this new violin guy. Rizvi was great to have, too bad he's gone. Kansas were in limbo and dangerously close to the county fair/BBQ rib fest circuit for like 16 years, but then became a creative entity again. They were on a roll, love to see it continue.

By the way, what are the 4 Kansas albums you don't have/don't like?

[Sam I Am]

Kansas was once in Yes' position as they had member/s who didn't want to record because they saw no point. Then some new blood comes in and there's a band resurgence with finally new material. There was a recent period when new Kansas was spankin' new Yes with vibrant new albums. Prelude Implicit and Absence Of Presence have such vitality and come close to the quality of their classic 70's material. Not completely of course, but the quality is there. A certain drive maybe lacking in the last two Yes ones if you match up those two last Kansas ones with H&E and The Quest. Now Yes are catching up with MTTS, but Kansas were on a roll. In fact, Absence of Presence and Pendragon's Love Over Fear are my two albums of the year for 2020, love those two the pandemic era albums.

I also would like Kansas to continue their creative streak, but it seems it has been slowed down by mass touring. They were on a roll. Any time a band has a '50 Anniversary Tour' or somesuch is, for me, not as celebratory as some would think it. It means endless tour and no new album for some time if at all ever again. However Tom Brislin has stated that he's been writing and some of it for Kansas, and that he would like to do another Kansas album, but the big tour is in the way. So at least there's some hope for new Kansas material. I'm a big fan of the Zak Rizvi-era, and I would love to see a new album even if Rizvi is gone. New writing will most likely fall mainly to Brislin but also possibly this new violin guy. Rizvi was great to have, too bad he's gone. Kansas were in limbo and dangerously close to the county fair/BBQ rib fest circuit for like 16 years, but then became a creative entity again. They were on a roll, love to see it continue.

By the way, what are the 4 Kansas albums you don't have/don't like?

Going to miss Ragsdale - really liked his contributions.

Interesting question - I don't like the two done with Elefante singing and I don't really care for the Prelude Implicit. Other than that I pretty much enjoy all of their other work.

[downbyariver]

By the way, what are the 4 Kansas albums you don't have/don't like?

Audio-Visions, Vinyl Confessions, Freaks of Nature, and Somewhere to Everywhere are the four missing from my collection.

I might go back and get some or all of them eventually. Any of them particularly good or particularly bad?

I had reasons for skipping them, but I am not sure they apply anymore. Well, other than being cash strapped. That always applies. . But I find ways to buy albums periodically anyhow.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Audio-Visions, Vinyl Confessions, Freaks of Nature, and Somewhere to Everywhere are the four missing from my collection.

I might go back and get some or all of them eventually. Any of them particularly good or particularly bad?

I had reasons for skipping them, but I am not sure they apply anymore. Well, other than being cash strapped. That always applies. . But I find ways to buy albums periodically anyhow.

well....

1980's Audio Visions is a little more streamlined to fit in with the current AOR/pomp rock thing going on at the time - think Styx and bands like that. But not completely - It's still the classic 70's lineup with Steve Walsh and Robbie Steinhardt, and there are still some engaging and classic moments like No One Together and Curtain of Iron. But also some more basic (for them) rockers like Relentless, and of course the minor hit Hold On (everybody and their grandmother has a song called Hold On). It's the last one with Steve Walsh on it until 1986's Power, the last album of the classic 1974-1980 run.

Vinyl Confessions (1981) is the first with Elefante on lead vox. I actually like this one a little bit better than Audio Visions for some reason. Since you seem to have the rest of the 80's ones including the much maligned Drastic Measures (I actually dig it for its synth textures - it's Kansas' 90125 of sorts), then you may or may not have the 80's prejudice that many fans of classic bands go along with, and therefore may enjoy it. It's a bit of a transitional album, but still with Steinhardt on violin and Kerry Livgren. In some ways it's like Styx Cornerstone album but without the big hit like 'Babe'. It does have 'Play The Game Tonight'. There's some decent stuff here. It's not Masque by a longshot, but it has value.

Here's where it gets tricky for fans:

Freaks Of Nature is from 1995, and as such its in the grungey/heavier rock territory. It's got some decent songs here and there like Hope Once Again and Desperate Times, but Steve Walsh's voice sounds like he swallowed a live scorpion. It's passible in parts, but he sounds rougher when he tries to do the soarin' vocal thing. It's the first studio one with David Ragsdale on it though. It's ok to pick this up to complete the collection. I listened to it the other day and thought there was some decent enough bits to pull from to make a 'later years' CD-r compilation.

Then there's Somewhere To Elsewhere from 2000, which also has scorpion king vocals. Truth be told, this is Kansas' UNION album. It was supposed to be a reunion album of the classic Kansas lineup in addition to bassist Billy Greer, with Livgren, Hope and Steinhardt returning. Walsh was mostly absent from sessions and only contributed vocals from home and no songwriting. His voice wasn't the same, but there are some decent tracks like Icarus II, Distant Vision and Coming Dawn. But like Yes' Union and Styx' Brave New World, it wasn't quite the reunion that it was said to be.

Good to grab these eventually, I'm sure you'll find a bit to like on these. If you didn't scoff at any of the other 80's ones, Audio Visions and Vinyl Confessions may be of some interest. The 1995-2000 period isn't exactly worthless, but still my least favorite era. There's some stuff to like there too. Beware those vocals though. Not quite as cringe inducing as Live At The Whisky, but definitely not quite the same as in his heyday.

[downbyariver]

well....

1980's Audio Visions is a little more streamlined to fit in with the current AOR/pomp rock thing going on at the time - think Styx and bands like that. But not completely - It's still the classic 70's lineup with Steve Walsh and Robbie Steinhardt, and there are still some engaging and classic moments like No One Together and Curtain of Iron. But also some more basic (for them) rockers like Relentless, and of course the minor hit Hold On (everybody and their grandmother has a song called Hold On). It's the last one with Steve Walsh on it until 1986's Power, the last album of the classic 1974-1980 run.

Vinyl Confessions (1981) is the first with Elefante on lead vox. I actually like this one a little bit better than Audio Visions for some reason. Since you seem to have the rest of the 80's ones including the much maligned Drastic Measures (I actually dig it for its synth textures - it's Kansas' 90125 of sorts), then you may or may not have the 80's prejudice that many fans of classic bands go along with, and therefore may enjoy it. It's a bit of a transitional album, but still with Steinhardt on violin and Kerry Livgren. In some ways it's like Styx Cornerstone album but without the big hit like 'Babe'. It does have 'Play The Game Tonight'. There's some decent stuff here. It's not Masque by a longshot, but it has value.

[...]If you didn't scoff at any of the other 80's ones, Audio Visions and Vinyl Confessions may be of some interest.

I actually really like 80s music. Though Kansas didn't succeed in reinventing itself as well as bands like Genesis, Yes, Chicago and Asia (Which debuted in the 80s, but was a supergroup of prog musicians), Power does have a few really good tracks. Ironically, I think one reason I think In the Spirit of Things wasn't as good as it could have been is that they made it a concept album, an idea rooted in their own prog roots, but with a concept that didn't really work with the music they were playing. A few good songs there also, though.

I think at the time when I was considering Audio-Visions and Vinyl Confessions years ago, the main reason I skipped them is that they seem to sort of be peak "contemporary Christian fundamentalist evangelical" Kansas right before the guitarist quit to literally write Christian praise hymns. The Internet seems to portray that era as including people handing out religious tracts quoting Kansas songs and the whole nine yards, eventually forcing the lead singer, who wasn't into the new direction, to quit and do his own thing for a while, before returning once the guitarist was out, and restoring the band to it's more only vaguely spiritual roots.

I'm Episcopalian and try to hit a church service on Christmas Eve most years when there isn't a pandemic, but I'm really looking to relax when I'm listening to my rock music collection, and sometimes historically when the people in bands get "born again" they start producing music that brings up some of my own mixed feelings about religion, and reflects a very conservative fundamentalist evangelical worldview, whereas when I'm in a churchy mood, I'm more in the liberal scientific catholicy-protestant universalist (the "heresy", not the church ) camp with women and gay bishops, priests, and deacons, and evolution and global climate change still being real, racism being a sin, and, you know, if someone asks if I'm born again, I'm inclined to answer "Sure, I was born again when I was baptized as an infant, as established by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.", which kind of conflicts with the answers musicians who announced they are born again and the religious movements they join tend to give. Maybe the bigger issue is that I'm generally not really looking for praise hymns in my rock and roll collection, though. I do have a few hymns or blatantly religious songs that I liked in childhood and have segregated out in my collection so they don't come up when I'm not looking for them, but it's not in the main area of what I'm into.

All that said, Glass Hammer does some religious allegories and I've learned to appreciate a lot of their music. Similarly, I like some of the Spock's Beard and Flying Colors stuff. I draw the line at Neal Morse solo albums, though.

I don't even know if my perception of what these particular Kansas albums is even correct, and I might enjoy them even if my perception is correct. As I get older, my attitudes actually seem to get broader. I'm no longer afraid of some song about Jesus coming up on shuffle while I'm trying to round 3rd base with a girlfriend. I haven't dated in a long time (Not that I'm against it.). Also, any religious trauma I might have had from a rigid conservative Roman Catholic upbringing (You'll note I said I was Episcopalian now, which is a little like Catholicism for people too liberal to be Roman Catholics, with a small dose of mainline Protestantism on the side. ) has mostly faded with time and distance. But with so much music in the world, this kind of thing tends not to be the first stuff I seek out.

Are these albums actually getting into praise hymns? And if they do get really Christian-y, is it specifically kind of conservative and condemning liberal and catholic-y stuff, or just very general inclusive vibes?

Here's where it gets tricky for fans:

Freaks Of Nature is from 1995, and as such its in the grungey/heavier rock territory. It's got some decent songs here and there like Hope Once Again and Desperate Times, but Steve Walsh's voice sounds like he swallowed a live scorpion. It's passible in parts, but he sounds rougher when he tries to do the soarin' vocal thing. It's the first studio one with David Ragsdale on it though. It's ok to pick this up to complete the collection. I listened to it the other day and thought there was some decent enough bits to pull from to make a 'later years' CD-r compilation.

Then there's Somewhere To Elsewhere from 2000, which also has scorpion king vocals. Truth be told, this is Kansas' UNION album. It was supposed to be a reunion album of the classic Kansas lineup in addition to bassist Billy Greer, with Livgren, Hope and Steinhardt returning. Walsh was mostly absent from sessions and only contributed vocals from home and no songwriting. His voice wasn't the same, but there are some decent tracks like Icarus II, Distant Vision and Coming Dawn. But like Yes' Union and Styx' Brave New World, it wasn't quite the reunion that it was said to be.

Good to grab these eventually, I'm sure you'll find a bit to like on these. [...]The 1995-2000 period isn't exactly worthless, but still my least favorite era. There's some stuff to like there too. Beware those vocals though. Not quite as cringe inducing as Live At The Whisky, but definitely not quite the same as in his heyday.

Yeah, that's what I remember when skipping over the two records from that era, that Steve Walsh's voice no longer sounded very good on the audio samples of the albums. I was listening to a bit of Somewhere to Elsewhere late last night on a streaming service and the vocals didn't sound quite as awful as I remembered, though. Sometimes that sort of thing can get exaggerated in my mind over time.

I like grunge rock, so Freaks of Nature having a harder grungier feel than old Kansas isn't automatically a negative for me, but it is a negative if they can't pull it off well. If it sounds like I'm listening to some Kansas/Pearl Jam hybrid, well, good, I might enjoy that album, like I enjoy KISS' Carnival of Souls, which actually does sound like a grunge album, so I can enjoy it because I enjoy grunge. If, on the other hand, it sounds more like Kansas trying to do Pearl Jam or Nirvana and failing miserably, that could be unlistenable, though- like some of the aging white classic rockers who decided to give rap a try (I believe KISS tried that on a song or two and was much less successful in capturing the ambiance than they were with capturing the grunge ambiance on their grunge album. The Beach Boys also tried to rap- it was not exactly their finest moment. ).

[Soundwaveseeker]

I actually really like 80s music. Though Kansas didn't succeed in reinventing itself as well as bands like Genesis, Yes, Chicago and Asia (Which debuted in the 80s, but was a supergroup of prog musicians), Power does have a few really good tracks. Ironically, I think one reason I think In the Spirit of Things wasn't as good as it could have been is that they made it a concept album, an idea rooted in their own prog roots, but with a concept that didn't really work with the music they were playing. A few good songs there also, though.

I think at the time when I was considering Audio-Visions and Vinyl Confessions years ago, the main reason I skipped them is that they seem to sort of be peak "contemporary Christian fundamentalist evangelical" Kansas right before the guitarist quit to literally write Christian praise hymns. The Internet seems to portray that era as including people handing out religious tracts quoting Kansas songs and the whole nine yards, eventually forcing the lead singer, who wasn't into the new direction, to quit and do his own thing for a while, before returning once the guitarist was out, and restoring the band to it's more only vaguely spiritual roots.

I'm Episcopalian and try to hit a church service on Christmas Eve most years when there isn't a pandemic, but I'm really looking to relax when I'm listening to my rock music collection, and sometimes historically when the people in bands get "born again" they start producing music that brings up some of my own mixed feelings about religion, and reflects a very conservative fundamentalist evangelical worldview, whereas when I'm in a churchy mood, I'm more in the liberal scientific catholicy-protestant universalist (the "heresy", not the church ) camp with women and gay bishops, priests, and deacons, and evolution and global climate change still being real, racism being a sin, and, you know, if someone asks if I'm born again, I'm inclined to answer "Sure, I was born again when I was baptized as an infant, as established by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.", which kind of conflicts with the answers musicians who announced they are born again and the religious movements they join tend to give. Maybe the bigger issue is that I'm generally not really looking for praise hymns in my rock and roll collection, though. I do have a few hymns or blatantly religious songs that I liked in childhood and have segregated out in my collection so they don't come up when I'm not looking for them, but it's not in the main area of what I'm into.

All that said, Glass Hammer does some religious allegories and I've learned to appreciate a lot of their music. Similarly, I like some of the Spock's Beard and Flying Colors stuff. I draw the line at Neal Morse solo albums, though.

I don't even know if my perception of what these particular Kansas albums is even correct, and I might enjoy them even if my perception is correct. As I get older, my attitudes actually seem to get broader. I'm no longer afraid of some song about Jesus coming up on shuffle while I'm trying to round 3rd base with a girlfriend. I haven't dated in a long time (Not that I'm against it.). Also, any religious trauma I might have had from a rigid conservative Roman Catholic upbringing (You'll note I said I was Episcopalian now, which is a little like Catholicism for people too liberal to be Roman Catholics, with a small dose of mainline Protestantism on the side. ) has mostly faded with time and distance. But with so much music in the world, this kind of thing tends not to be the first stuff I seek out.

Are these albums actually getting into praise hymns? And if they do get really Christian-y, is it specifically kind of conservative and condemning liberal and catholic-y stuff, or just very general inclusive vibes?



Yeah, that's what I remember when skipping over the two records from that era, that Steve Walsh's voice no longer sounded very good on the audio samples of the albums. I was listening to a bit of Somewhere to Elsewhere late last night on a streaming service and the vocals didn't sound quite as awful as I remembered, though. Sometimes that sort of thing can get exaggerated in my mind over time.

I like grunge rock, so Freaks of Nature having a harder grungier feel than old Kansas isn't automatically a negative for me, but it is a negative if they can't pull it off well. If it sounds like I'm listening to some Kansas/Pearl Jam hybrid, well, good, I might enjoy that album, like I enjoy KISS' Carnival of Souls, which actually does sound like a grunge album, so I can enjoy it because I enjoy grunge. If, on the other hand, it sounds more like Kansas trying to do Pearl Jam or Nirvana and failing miserably, that could be unlistenable, though- like some of the aging white classic rockers who decided to give rap a try (I believe KISS tried that on a song or two and was much less successful in capturing the ambiance than they were with capturing the grunge ambiance on their grunge album. The Beach Boys also tried to rap- it was not exactly their finest moment. ).

For Freaks Of Nature, the production is rather raw and grungey and lacks the 'gloss' of earlier albums. It's kind of a DIY affair in some ways, I think its on some lesser label. You can just tell they made it without major label backing. It's ok stuff. No, I suppose the voice isn't quite as bad as its made out to be. Y'know, if a singer puts out an album after his voice goes a bit - that can still be ok, since the new music was created with the new vocal limitations in place and it is what it is. That's more acceptable to me than the singer trying to sing the older stuff and it sounding strained and flawed. The new stuff is made that way, but the old stuff you remember when he was in his vocal prime, if that makes sense. Greg Lake is another singer who had similar problems.

As far as the religious/hymn aspects of Kansas/Vinyl Confessions, actually nothing too overly preachy or churchy actually. I believe the most Christian track on there is 'Crossfire', which makes a reference to Jesus as 'the one who rose'(in the lyrics), and that's actually one of the best tracks on the album and worthy of being on a compilation. There's other lyrics that deal with finding purpose in life, turning away from material obsessions (Diamonds & Gold) and other serious matter, but that's not too different than a lot of Kansas lyrics. No 'hymn' sounding material, it's actually a regular rock album, just with lyrics coming from a Christian perspective. But Kansas has always been a spiritual kinda band, just that it's more specific on this particular album, but nothing much to scare off a Kansas fan. Audio Visions only has one Christian lyric in Hold On, which I didn't know it was until I read about it. Kerry Livgren's mid 80's band A.D. was much more Christian oriented but had some decent music on those albums after he left. I come from a similar background, so such lyrics don't bother me unless they're too clappy or kum-ba-ya.

In The Spirit of Things is an underrated one, and no, the concept doesn't quite work 100 percent. There are some fine things on that one, it's one of their more undervalued efforts. Some of the best songs on there are actually the slower, somewhat 'power ballad' type ones. That album is one of the only ones that actually boasts something like a power ballad, as Kansas aren't really a band known for having too much of a romantic side, really. Those songs were refreshing to hear.

[Sam I Am]

Audio-Visions, Vinyl Confessions, Freaks of Nature, and Somewhere to Everywhere are the four missing from my collection.

I might go back and get some or all of them eventually. Any of them particularly good or particularly bad?

I had reasons for skipping them, but I am not sure they apply anymore. Well, other than being cash strapped. That always applies. . But I find ways to buy albums periodically anyhow.

I particularly like Freaks of Nature and Somewhere to Elsewhere. Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope came back and made contributions to Somewhere to Elsewhere - Kerry wrote all the songs and it was a bit of a throwback. I love Freaks of Nature - Walsh/Ragsdale compositions for the most part.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Saw Kansas last night and they were great. New violin dude was hot to trot. Good mix o' songs from most of the eras. Earlier proggy stuff like The Pinnacle and Miracles Out Of Nowhere smoked. Tom Brislin - Yes missed out by not making this guy a member and doing a Yes studio album in 2003/4. Great 'boards. Like Yes, Kansas new members outnumber classic era guys, but everybody sounded great. Now Kansas, get in there and make me a studio album! Well, maybe not. I saw the second show on their US tour I think, so I think I might be waiting a while for that. But an enjoyable evening in Baltimore. See them if you like Kansas and they swing by your state.

[Sam I Am]

Saw Kansas last night and they were great. New violin dude was hot to trot. Good mix o' songs from most of the eras. Earlier proggy stuff like The Pinnacle and Miracles Out Of Nowhere smoked. Tom Brislin - Yes missed out by not making this guy a member and doing a Yes studio album in 2003/4. Great 'boards. Like Yes, Kansas new members outnumber classic era guys, but everybody sounded great. Now Kansas, get in there and make me a studio album! Well, maybe not. I saw the second show on their US tour I think, so I think I might be waiting a while for that. But an enjoyable evening in Baltimore. See them if you like Kansas and they swing by your state.

I really like Brislin - Yes did miss an opportunity with him I think. I have seen his band Spiraling when they opened for Camel outside DC. Tom also played with Camel on that tour - very talented.