Classic Group Kansas Will Rock The PAC

A simple lyric. A single guitar riff. One solitary note. Few bands can evoke the need to tap one’s foot, snap one’s fingers or burst into song with just one of these things. And yet, for more than four decades, the legendary rock group Kansas has been able to do just that.

On Saturday, May 7, the band will bring its trademark classic rock sound to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The band will be visiting Westhampton Beach as part of a multi-state tour celebrating the 37th anniversary of the release of its self-titled 1974 debut album.

In the early days, there were many incarnations of the then Topeka, Kansas-based band and holding onto members was a challenge, according to guitarist Rich Williams. Keeping the band together was an issue before the band signed with the late legendary music producer Don Kirshner (often referred to as “The Man With the Golden Ear”) in 1974. Several members quit the fledgling band for other careers or interests, Mr. Williams said during a telephone interview from the band’s home base in Atlanta, Georgia.

“To the other guys, it was just a hobby to them, but we thought, ‘Hey, we want to do this, and we can do this,’” he said.

Mr. Williams, the longtime guitarist for the legendary rock-and-roll group, recalled the early days of the original band, which included Phil Ehart and Dave Hope.

“I played with Phil in my junior year, and Dave and I went to the same school, so everyone pretty much knew everyone,” he said.

A staple of the rock-and-roll scene since the early 1970s, the band has earned eight gold albums and three sextuple-platinum albums—1976’s “Leftoverture,” which produced a hit single,

“Carry On Wayward Son;” “Point of Know Return,” which was released in 1977 and included the title track and “Dust in the Wind;” and the compilation “Best of Kansas”—as well as a platinum live album, “Two for the Show.”

Although the band has undergone numerous personnel changes, Mr. Williams, Mr. Ehart and singer/songwriter Steve Walsh—whose previous band White Clover was an early-days Kansas rival back in the group’s hometown state—have remained at the core. They are now joined by bassist Billy Grier and violinist David Ragsdale.

While demand for the anniversary tour is exciting for him and his bandmates, Mr. Williams said that he is most proud of the band’s Collegiate Symphony Tour, which was inspired by a 2009 collaboration with the Washburn University Orchestra in Topeka. Those performances raise funds and awareness for college and university music programs. The continuing response, Mr. Williams said, has been overwhelming thus far, with scores of colleges expressing interest in being a part of the program.

“We’ve been working as much as we want, whenever we want, and allows us freedom to do what we want to do, such as doing great programs that are helping great causes,” he said.

At heart, however, Mr. Williams said that he still enjoys the thrill of performing after nearly 40 years in the music industry. He said that he especially loves playing in the intimate atmosphere that a small theater, such as the PAC, can provide.

“Larger venues are very different. You can’t really connect with people the way you can at a place like the PAC,” he said. “When you can see the cigarettes that a guy has in his pocket a few rows ahead of you, that’s what’s great. You can have a conversation with someone 15 feet in front of you, give guitar picks to a kid, and sometimes, the picks even get stuck to your forehead— it’s the light moments like that which humanize the whole event.”

Clare Bisceglia, executive director of the Westhampton Performing Arts Center, said she was thrilled at the prospect of having the legendary group rock the house.

“I only like to bring in people with a real history to play here, those with a passion for what they do, and that is certainly Kansas,” she said. “They are a great classic rock group, and the atmosphere here gives them a rare opportunity to play at an intimate hall.”

Mr. Ehart, who also gave a telephone interview last week, said that he certainly welcomed the challenge of playing in New York again.

“I always loved playing in the state of New York ... Obviously there is no place like it,” he said.

Kansas will play the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $65 to $95. For reservations, visit whbpac.org or call the box office at 288-1500.