I don’t remember this well – at least not when it happened,
that is – but the outcome of this event is something that shaped me
forever. It was Christmas, 1968 and I
was 4. My paternal grandparents came to
visit and my grandpa pulled out his violin to play Christmas Carols with my
grandma playing piano. I had never seen
a violin before, and I was transfixed on it and the sound it made. I watched my grandpa drag the bow across the
strings and move his fingers, and for some reason it just made sense to
me. I said, “I can do that!” and my
grandpa handed me the violin- and guess what.
I could do it. And, yes, I could
play in tune. My family was gobsmacked,
and I was completely hooked.
When I turned 7, I was dared to try to play bass, and I did-
and that’s a story for a different time.
The thing I want to impress here is that even though I became a bassist,
I never stopped being a violinist. I continued
to play violin all thru elementary school, Jr. and Sr. High, and really only gave it
up after high school. (I still own a violin and viola and do play them, but not nearly as much)
Trouble was that I really didn’t have that much affinity for
“legit” music. As the player of a
classical instrument, composers like Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi and Beethoven are basically
your bread and butter. I could play that
stuff (once I learned how to read music) but it was never “me”- then again, I
wasn’t really sure who I was as a player, but classical was definitely not the
thing.
When I went into 5th grade, I started hearing artists
like Stephan Grappelli, Joe Venuti and Ray Nance. These guys were doing things I kind of liked,
but couldn’t really identify with.
Players like Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Goodman and Allen Sloan were taking
things in a direction that was closer to what I thought I wanted to do, but
they lacked a certain melodic quality that was needed for me.
Then I heard the song “Lonely Wind”- and time just STOPPED.
I had never heard anything like this. It wasn’t just the violin in it- the song had
a majesty I had never heard before; the vocal just SOARED and it seemed like they
were speaking to me. I made every effort
to get ahold of the first Kansas album, their eponymous debut effort- and when
I did finally get it, I was completely and irrevocably hooked by what I heard,
most notably the song “Journey from Mariabronn”.
That was my introduction to Robby Steinhardt and what was
possible in music.
Robby was the whole package to me- a complete artist and
showman, a phenomenal player and equally adept singer and writer. He didn’t look like the rock stars of the
day- wearing overalls, he looked like he’d be more at home in a corn field than
on a stage. That persona never changed
thru the next several albums – “Song For America”, “Masque” and then the
juggernauts of “Leftoverture” and “Point of Know Return” and follow-ups like “Monolith”
and “Audio Visions” – Robby’s presence and playing on those incredible works
were the thing that separated Kansas from every single band out there. NO ONE sounded like them, and NO ONE sounded
like him.
As a bassist, I do claim Dave Hope, the bassist from Kansas
as a primary influence on me as a bassist, right along with Jaco Pastorius,
George Hawkins, Anthony Jackson, George Porter, Scott LaFaro and all the rest-
but Robby was my constant muse and was (and still is) my primary influence as a
musician. Everything I’ve ever written
musically has been done with his musicality in mind- from his ability to add
serious grit to vocals on songs like “Lightning’s Hand” and “Mysteries and
Mayhem” to his soaring lines on “Nobody’s Home” and “Paradox” – Robby’s
influence is there on me, palpable and undeniable.
Robby went thru some personal stuff after “Somewhere to Elsewhere”
that negated his ability to continue with the band, and even though I really do
love what David Ragsdale has brought to them (and he is a SPECTACULAR player),
the band hasn’t been the same without Robby’s vocals or his delivery both on
violin and vocally. I have, sadly, heard
a few stories about Robby and his dealings with folks during some of that time
that does not paint him in a particularly good light, but I know that everyone
makes mistakes and goes thru stuff – and I prefer not to dwell on any of that. I really wanted to hear some new music from
him, but…..
Now he’s gone.
I know how silly this may seem to some- I’m waxing on about
a man I never met that was in a 70’s super group that was larger than life, but
here’s the deal and this is why it’s such a gigantic thing to me- it was during
that time when I first heard Robby that I was physically abused by a couple of
family members, and it was Robby and Kansas that somehow got me thru that, and for
that I am eternally grateful. If songs
like “The Wall” and “Closet Chronicles” and “Portrait (He Knew)” hadn’t been there
for me to disappear into, I honestly don’t think I would be here today. If tunes like “A Glimpse of Home”, “Hopelessly
Human” and “Angels Have Fallen” weren’t part of my world, I don’t know where I’d
be. And while it was Kerry Livgren who wrote
those songs and Steve Walsh was the one who did the lion’s share of the
singing, it was Robby with his overalls, wild hair, menacing stare, unbelievable
feel and formidable chops who brought all of that home for me and make it so
that I could identify with that and feel part of it.
I know we hadn’t heard anything from Robby in quite awhile,
but I knew he was still out there, and there was always the possibility of
something new. Now, that won’t happen,
and I am left feeling both sad and grateful for this man – again, who I never
met – and the part he played in my life.
I’m going to miss him terribly, but I have his work to listen to and
remind me of what is possible.
Thank you, Robby.
Rest well.