That was a great show. Mahogany Rush opened and the floor cleared out while they reset the stage. I ended up directly in front of Steve Walsh. Walsh was always my pick for for best live rock vocalist from that era. Not only could hit every note that was on the record but he'd be more powerful and hold it longer.... Oh, and he did hand stands on his keyboard Rig....
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Dave Hope - Kansas
- Thread starter GaryLC
- Start date
That was a great show. Mahogany Rush opened and the floor cleared out while they reset the stage. I ended up directly in front of Steve Walsh. Walsh was always my pick for for best live rock vocalist from that era. Not only could hit every note that was on the record but he'd be more powerful and hold it longer.... Oh, and he did hand stands on his keyboard Rig....
Maybe whatever he had on underneath that was worse.
I'm quite sure you are correct!!
Dave has been my biggest influence from his crushing pick attack to his vibe. I was ridiculously obsessed (as with Squire and Ray Schulman) with his playing for the first 2 years of being a bassist. His tone varies from album to album due to production (compare Kansas ST to Leftoverture to PoKR to etc...) but his style always shines though. I have seen him with a P-Bass, Ric, Sabre, Steinberger ('82), and a G&L but mostly it was full on Fender. What a killer bassist!
I was at that Saratoga show too! The first time I saw them was in Springfield (I think
) a couple years before that. What a band, those songs were epics unto themselves. Magnum Opus is brilliant!
Yeah... In fact, I distinctly recall that the bass I bought back in 1979 was part of my quest to get a big, ringy, Kansas/Yes sound...
I ended up buying a Kramer DMZ 6000 and, played with my fingers, I managed to cop quite the Kansas/Yes sound (I have never been able to get my head around using a pick!)
I always liked the first Kansas album, and then Song for America. My favorites over the later hit albums.
I saw Kerry Livgren A.D. live in 1985- a good time, that. That band was very Kansas-esque with a different drummer (Dennis Holt), vocalist (Warren Ham), and keyboardist/vocalist (Mike Gleason). They did three (or four, depending on how you count them) albums and some touring, and then folded. Look up some of that music. I like Dave Hope's work with that group.
Also, I saw Kansas - with Robby - at the Tennessee Valley Fair in 1999. Billy Greer was a very competent bass player in Dave's stead, and also a very, very good vocalist. He's from the Knoxville area originally. He's still playing with them. I think we need to start a thread about Billy, if there isn't one already. I'll check.
There will never be anything like Kansas in their 70's heyday, ever again. That blows me away to think that it's been 37 years since their debut album. BTW.. RIP, Don Kirshner, while we're at it.
Let's see, what else can I throw out- I went to a service at Dave Hope's church in Destin back in the mid-90's and talked to him briefly. Then I went out for seafood, beer, and a walk on the beach, and counted that a pretty remarkable day.
I saw Kerry Livgren A.D. live in 1985- a good time, that. That band was very Kansas-esque with a different drummer (Dennis Holt), vocalist (Warren Ham), and keyboardist/vocalist (Mike Gleason). They did three (or four, depending on how you count them) albums and some touring, and then folded. Look up some of that music. I like Dave Hope's work with that group.
Also, I saw Kansas - with Robby - at the Tennessee Valley Fair in 1999. Billy Greer was a very competent bass player in Dave's stead, and also a very, very good vocalist. He's from the Knoxville area originally. He's still playing with them. I think we need to start a thread about Billy, if there isn't one already. I'll check.
There will never be anything like Kansas in their 70's heyday, ever again. That blows me away to think that it's been 37 years since their debut album. BTW.. RIP, Don Kirshner, while we're at it.
Let's see, what else can I throw out- I went to a service at Dave Hope's church in Destin back in the mid-90's and talked to him briefly. Then I went out for seafood, beer, and a walk on the beach, and counted that a pretty remarkable day.
I'll resurrect this thread.
I've always been a Kansas fan, but never got to see them live back in the day's with Dave Hope, seems like every time they came around, I was doing something else.
I was trying to find what gear he used, but apparently, thanks to this thread, he pretty much was a P-Bass man.
I do have something to add however. I read an interview a a long time ago, I think it was with Kerry Livgren, that said they used to alternate between the name White Clover and Kansas so just they could book more gigs. "Just by chance when we were discovered, we were booked under the name Kansas, thank god."
I've always been a Kansas fan, but never got to see them live back in the day's with Dave Hope, seems like every time they came around, I was doing something else.
I was trying to find what gear he used, but apparently, thanks to this thread, he pretty much was a P-Bass man.
I do have something to add however. I read an interview a a long time ago, I think it was with Kerry Livgren, that said they used to alternate between the name White Clover and Kansas so just they could book more gigs. "Just by chance when we were discovered, we were booked under the name Kansas, thank god."
Dave's in my top three favorite players; has been for 30 years. Great lines. And if you haven't heard "Two for the Show", do yourself a favor. Best live album EVER!
From the one photo, looks like he's using a 1 U preamp on top of a Crown DC300A. When I saw them at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, it looked like he was using marshalls there, but I always wondered if he was using JBLs in the cabinets - maybe some of those K145s... But it was definitely a P-Bass, no doubt about that back then... Yes, a very Rick type sound, with wirewounds. I would guess (from the sound) that he was using Rotosounds (what I used on my P-Bass back then).
