Where did Kansas come from?

Bert Saraco

Ok, the devil came from Kansas. But where did Kansas, the band, come from?

Well, according to Seeds of Change, the autobiography of Kerry Livgren (writer, guitarist, keyboard player, founder), part of the answer to that musical question lies with ... guess who?

"The organ music at my church gave me a love for baroque music, especially that of Bach ... " says Livgren in chapter 5, Musical Influences. Later, in that same chapter, he continues ...

"Procol Harum had a major impact on me. When I heard their albums Procol Harum and Shine On Brightly, I felt that they were everything I wanted to be musically at that time rolled up in one ball. Their lyrics were mysterious, sometimes eerie, and their songs dealt a lot with life and death. Their music also displayed a fair amount of classical influence (this was especially evident in Repent Walpurgis)."

Smart man, that Kerry Livgren! Not bad on the guitar and keys, either! Kerry's first solo album after the break-up of the group was also called Seeds Of Change. The book, Seeds of Change, is written by Boa & Livgren and was published in 1983 by Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Westchester, Illinois, 60153: ISBN 0-89107-265-9.

It's an interesting look at the origins of a band, the music business, the rock life-style and Livgren's spiritual quest through it all. The Procol Harum reference doesn't hurt, either.