Kansas Guitarist Rich Williams on Their ‘Aggressive’ Approach to Rock Music
Before the members of Kansas found their sound, they had a very different approach to rock music. Guitarist Rich Williams went so far as to describe their playing as “aggressive” and untrained. However, that changed when outside influences inspired the band to take a more orchestral approach.
Rich Williams credited the introduction of prog rock for Kansas’ sound
Fans may have a hard time imagining the band best known for hits like “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” having a heavy sound. But according to Williams, that was common for the founding members who played together as teens. In a recent interview with Guitar World, he recalled their playing style, saying:
“Prior to Kansas, Dave Hope [bass], and I had played together previously in a band. And we were playing the rock hits of the days, and because none of us were trained, we didn’t understand a delicate approach to anything.
Phil [Ehart] would beat the crap out of the drums, while Dave was an aggressive bass player, and for me, it was crank it up and play it aggressively! That was our approach to it.”
With time and a bit of practice, they perfected their skills, but it wasn’t until progressive rock became popular that Kansas found its sound.
“We had grown up with Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels and bands like that, American blue-eyed soul rock and roll. So those were our roots. But the progressive movement coming out of Europe and England was very eye-opening to us. And what we learned from that was to think outside of the box.”
Kansas fused together different styles to create their sound
With so many members in the band, it’s not surprising that Kansas’ sound is a fusion of hard rock, southern rock, and prog rock. However, many believe the band’s decision to add a violinist set them apart from other groups in the ’70s.
“With the violin, we didn’t want it to be fiddle,” Williams told Guitar World.
“We wanted it to be part of the sound. Robby [Steinhardt] would be playing a violin part, and I’d be playing a harmony with him, and maybe a synthesizer would be playing the third part of the harmony, too. So, we’d be creating like a string section of sorts — as if we were writing it for an orchestra — but we were still bashing the crap out of it. So, it was that approach to orchestrating with a violin.”
While they tried pop metal in the ’80s, it was only a short time before Kansas returned to their earlier musical style.
Rich Williams claimed Kansas ‘gave birth’ to American prog rock
While progressive rock began in Europe in the ’60s, Kansas was among the first to bring that sound to the United States. Williams gave credit to the band in a 2021 Guitar World interview, saying, “Not to sound pompous, but we pretty much gave birth to American prog bands.”
Not only did they introduce Americans to the genre, but apparently, they did it “pretty sneakily.”
“We were playing bars in Topeka, doing all the hits of the day — Motown, the British Invasion, all that — but we really wanted to do our own material,” Williams recalled. “So we’d slip in one of our own tunes and tell the crowd that we were playing the B-side of Smoke on the Water. We’d stretch songs out and go crazy, and the people loved it. It became our thing.”
Well, the band did something right because they’re now approaching their 50th anniversary. Kansas will honor its anniversary with a special tour titled Another Fork in the Road. The tour kicks off in June and will highlight Kansas’ best songs over the decades.
