DeWayne Interviews Ronnie Platt | Lead singer of Kansas

With a legendary career spanning fivedecades, KANSAS has firmly established itself asone of America’s iconicclassic rock bands. This "garage band" from Topeka released theirdebut album in 1974 after being discovered by Wally Gold, who worked for DonKirshner,and have gone on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide.Composinga catalogue that includessixteenstudio albums and five live albums, KANSAShas produced eight gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums (Leftoverture, Point ofKnow Return, Best of KANSAS), one platinum live album (Two for the Show), onequadruple-Platinumsingle ‘Carry On Wayward Son,’ andanother triple-Platinum single‘Dust in the Wind.’ KANSAS appeared on the Billboard charts for over 200 weeksthroughout the ‘70'sand ‘80's and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughoutNorth America, Europe and Japan. ‘Carry On Wayward Son’continues to be one of thetopfive most played songs on classic rock radio, and ‘Dust In the Wind’ has been played onthe radio more than three million times!The summer of2020markedthe release of “TheAbsence of Presence,” KANSAS’ssixteenthstudio album, which debuted at #10 on Billboard’s Top Current Albums chart.The wide-ranging progressive rock album,releasedbyInsideOut Music,follows-up2016’s “The Prelude Implicit,” which debuted at #14 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart.Throughout 2016-2022, the band celebrated the anniversariesof multi-Platinumbreakout albums “Leftoverture” and “Point of KnowReturn” with anniversary tours forboth albums.Bothtours were commemorated with live album releases “LeftovertureLive & Beyond” (2017) & “Point of Know Return Live & Beyond” (2021).The band is currently comprised of original drummer Phil Ehart, vocalist/keyboardistRonnie Platt, keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin,guitarist Zak Rizvi,violinist/guitarist JoeDeninzon,bassist/vocalist Dan McGowan,and original guitarist Richard Williams.Drummer Eric Holmquist is currently performing on drumswhilePhilEhartcontinues torecover from a major heart attack.With no signs of slowing down, KANSAS continues toperform in front of large and enthusiastic audiences.Along withconstanttouring, KANSAS continues to remain a fixture of Classic Rock radioand popular culture. The bandcontinues to reacha whole new audience through theirunmistakable presenceinvarious commercials,live sports broadcasts,popular videogamesRock Band,Guitar Hero,and Grand Theft Auto;theband’sdocumentary film“KANSAS: Miracles Out of Nowhere,”anda guest appearance on The CW’s television show‘Walker.’The band’ssongshave also beenincludedin various television shows such as‘Supernatural,’‘Reacher,’‘All Elite Wrestling,’‘South Park,’‘The Office,’and‘TheSimpsons;’as well asblockbusterfilmsincluding‘Old School,’‘The Suicide Squad,’‘Anchorman,’‘Pitch Perfect,’and ‘Happy Gilmore.’