OT: Kansas guitarist Rich Williams on Long Live Rock tonight

[Rockwriter]

Hey everyone:

For those of you who are interested and didn't see this on the front page of MelRock, tonight is the debut episode of my new live call-in show on Blog Talk Radio. This is a cooperative venture between me and Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited. The show is called Long Live Rock, and the debut airs tonight at 8 PM EST / 7 Central at this link http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LongLiveRo ... h-Williams

You can listen live via streaming at that link, or you can call in to the call-in number and listen over the phone. If you have a question you want to ask Rich, just follow the prompts when you call in. I think it says something like, "If you have a question for the host, press so-and-so". That will get you in line to get on the air. The show will also be archived for streaming and download later on.

Thanks, I hope everyone is well.

Sterling

[Rockwriter]

Here is the link ot the archived episode from Sunday's show http://www.wewillrockyoublog.com/2009/1 ... live-rock/

I was happy with this for a first show. Thanks everyone who listened! I hope all is well.

Sterling

[Everett]

I'm quessing i'am speaking for myself here but wovld there be any chance you could get gary richrath for any kind of interview? I think that would be interesting conversation.

[Rockwriter]

I'm quessing i'am speaking for myself here but wovld there be any chance you could get gary richrath for any kind of interview? I think that would be interesting conversation.

I actually tried to get Gary for We Will Rock You very recently, but the reality is that Gary hasn't done any interviews in a long time because Gary doesn't WANT to do any interviews. He feels burned by the past, and if you know much about Gary, he hasn't been in a very good place in his personal life for a long time, and I doubt he will ever be in any shape to play in public on a regular basis again in his life. He has nothing to promote and nothing to gain by talking about the past, so I'm doubtful he's going to give any interviews any time soon. I hope for the best for him, but we have to be realistic.

Sterling

[yogi]

What he has to gain is that he is a guitar legend along the lines of Neal Schon.

He has many fans that would like to know what in the hell he is up to.

So he has been burned in the past boo hooo.


Would love to hear what a guitar god is doing now!!

[Rockwriter]

What he has to gain is that he is a guitar legend along the lines of Neal Schon.

He has many fans that would like to know what in the hell he is up to.

So he has been burned in the past boo hooo.


Would love to hear what a guitar god is doing now!!

Well, you probably really don't, is a diplomatic way of putting it.

Sterling

[yogi]

Sterling,

I REALLY do.

I LOVED REO when he was in the band.

Nine Lives is one of my favorite LP's of all time.


So yes I REALLY would love to know why he dropped off the map.

He is a guitar god & REO has suffered TREMENDOUSLY since his departure!!!!!

[Everett]

Sterling, I REALLY do. I LOVED REO when he was in the band. Nine Lives is one of my favorite LP's of all time. So yes I REALLY would love to know why he dropped off the map. He is a guitar god & REO has suffered TREMENDOUSLY since his departure!!!!!

Agree with you yogi 9 lives is probably their best pre hi infidelity album. I love dave but gary was the heart & soul of classic reo. Just wish i was alive to see them in there prime....

[Rockwriter]

Sterling,

I REALLY do.

I LOVED REO when he was in the band.

Nine Lives is one of my favorite LP's of all time.


So yes I REALLY would love to know why he dropped off the map.

He is a guitar god & REO has suffered TREMENDOUSLY since his departure!!!!!

Well, I can't say for sure since I'm not around the man, but I can share my one and only story about him. This was when I was in my first job as a writer, working freelance for a publication in Atlanta in the early Nineties. Richrath came to town, this was when he had out a solo album entitled 'Only The Strong Survive', I believe. He was booked in a small club I had actually played at, so I checked it out for curiosity's sake. I thought, how bad could it be?

As it turned out, pretty bad. He came out, and from the first song it was apparent that he was intoxicated to the point of barely being able to keep to his feet. He had that awful bloat that serious alcoholics get, and he looked unbathed, unshaven and just terrible. He was playing okay, but his band was nothing special, and they kinda scraped through the first few songs. I should mention that there were, in all sincerity, fewer than fifty people there, and that's being kind. It may have been fewer than twenty-five. A few songs in he went to this acoustic on a stand and starts in on some song, and nothing is coming out, so he just stops. He's standing there and he doesn't seem to know what to do, and finally this little tech guy scurries out and starts messing with it. Gary tried to make a weak joke by saying, "Has anybody here seen Spinal Tap?" and some guy at the back shouted, "I'm looking at it right now!" It was horrifying, just really awful standing there watching this once-proud guitar legend wallow around in a quagmire of self-destruction. Horrible.

As far as I know that album and tour mark the last time he's done anything other than a few one-off concerts with REO. Like I said, I don't know the man, but reports from people we know in common seem to indicate he's even worse off now. I know a lot of fans have it in their heads that one day he will rise Phoenix-like from the ashes and resume his rightful place in REO, but in this instance I'm going to guess probably not. I sincerely doubt he's capable of doing so. And so the band has moved on, and perhaps rightfully so. What else are they supposed to do? Wait for a day that may very well never arrive?

Like I said, maybe it's better not to know what he's doing now.

Sterling

[yogi]

So were his alcohol problems the reason that REO got rid of him in the first place?

Or did REO(Kevin) giving him the size 12 help cause these alcohol problems??

Back in the day he was a guitar god.

[Rockwriter]

So were his alcohol problems the reason that REO got rid of him in the first place?

Or did REO(Kevin) giving him the size 12 help cause these alcohol problems??

Back in the day he was a guitar god.

You can see each of their perspectives on this in the REO Behind The Music episode, which you can see on YouTube in sections. They all agree that the whole band had alcohol/drug problems, and then most of them got clean, but not Gary. That's the genesis of a lot of it, and then of course Kevin started to have more success with ballads and Gary was more and more alienated, and so on and so on . . . it's the same old story with different names. I'm sure all of the participants see it very differently. I agree, he WAS a great guitarist in his prime.

Sterling

[yogi]

I never knew REO did a Behind The Music.

I would have really liked to see it.

I was an REO fan back when Gary was in that band.

Didn't Gary's replacement play for Wang Chung?

If true, talk about a major bitc h slap, they were BRUTAL!!!! One of the worst bands EVER!!!!!!!!

I saw them warm up the Cars back around 1985 and they TRULY were not even close to good enough to play bowling alleys, funerals, or roller rinks.

Maybe they might have been good enough to play a Waste Management retirement party but not without some major major practice.

They( Wang Chung) rivaled Quarterflash as THEEEEEE worst band EVER!!!!!!!!

[Everett]

I never knew REO did a Behind The Music. I would have really liked to see it. I was an REO fan back when Gary was in that band. Didn't Gary's replacement play for Wang Chung? If true, talk about a major bitc h slap, they were BRUTAL!!!! One of the worst bands EVER!!!!!!!! I saw them warm up the Cars back around 1985 and they TRULY were not even close to good enough to play bowling alleys, funerals, or roller rinks. Maybe they might have been good enough to play a Waste Management retirement party but not without some major major practice. They( Wang Chung) rivaled Quarterflash as THEEEEEE worst band EVER!!!!!!!!

I think that was bryan their current drummer that played with wang chung. According to mith dave was reccomended by nugent.

[yogi]

Good to hear because being replaced by a guitarist that at any moment could break out in Dance Hall Days or start Wang Chunning tonight could send even a MAD spokesperson to drink.