RONNIE PLATT SHARES ON HIS MUSICAL JOURNEY AS HE GETS READY FOR HIS HOMETOWN CONCERT
Kansas/Ambrosia • July 24 • RiverEdge Park, Aurora
ONE ON ONE WITH RONNIE PLATT
by Kristen Kucharski
It would be remiss of me not to mention that I absolutely love Ronnie Platt’s story. He grew up in Bellwood, Illinois, went to Proviso West High School, was a blue collar worker, driving a truck for a company in Carol Stream while picking up side gigs playing for Shooting Star and ARRA when he received a call in 2014 from Kansas to be their lead singer.
“Imagine not only getting the job with Kansas, which was epic in itself, but finding out that Kansas was going to put out new material,” Ronnie says. “In a business filled with rejection, I never anticipated that my first lyrical submission, With This Heart would be accepted. Imagine my excitement when they said this is great…which led to many more songs.”
Ronnie grew up simply with memories of riding his bike and playing ball. He listened to WLS and WCFL back in a day when radio was very diverse exposing him to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jackson 5, Carpenters, Deep Purple, and everything and anything from rock to easy listening to Motown; however, he is a self admitted “Prog Snob” because he’s always been drawn to progressive music – like Kansas, YES, and Rush.
He has fond memories of his hometown and is both a Sox and Cubs fan as his cousin, who worked for WKKD-FM radio (now 95.9 The River in Aurora) was an avid Sox fan and his grandfather was a loyal Cubs fan. Ronnie has been to many baseball games; however still on his bucket list is attending a Chicago Bears Game.
Ronnie loves Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company on Clark in Chicago and he is excited to play at RiverEdge Park in Aurora since it's across the street from his old stomping ground, Two Brothers Roundhouse where he played with ARRA, Chicagoland’s Original Classic Rock Tribute Band.
Over the years, he has performed at many venues with Kansas and each experience emits grand emotions
“Playing in the The Chicago Theatre was over the top for me – it’s home,” Ronnie shares. “You go back into the dressing room area and see the walls that are signed by so many famous huge stars like Frank Sinatra. Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet is the most breathtaking theater you have ever seen. Can you imagine being on stage at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville – standing where Elvis performed? The Smith Center in Las Vegas – you walk into this theater and it’s so beautiful. The Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City – its state of the art – really incredible.”
Ronnie’s excitement and energy is felt as he talks about the first time he performed for 100 people and the first time he performed for 100,000 in Blue Ash, Ohio just outside of Cincinnati; and even though he has been in the band for eight years now, performing 99 shows each year at times, there are still so many Kansas songs, they have yet to perform live, such as one of his favorites, Away from You, Windows, and No One Together.
When most are thinking of retiring, Ronnie plans on riding this train as long as possible and says that driving a truck for most of his adult life prepared him for being on the road touring.
He is living his dream alongside people he would call his best friends. His days are filled with an endless slide of jokes, fun, and laughter.
Perhaps one very futuristic day you might find him settling down with time to ride his 2012 Harley Street Glide, currently fondly referred to as his $25,000 garage ornament, and tinkering around the house perfecting his handyman skills.
In the meantime, life as a Carol Stream truck driver is simply Dust in the Wind.
Buy Tickets for Kansas with Special Guest Ambrosia HERE for July 24th at RiverEdge Park in Aurora.
About Kansas
With a legendary career spanning nearly five decades, KANSAS has firmly established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. This “garage band” from Topeka released their debut album in 1974 after being discovered by Wally Gold, who worked for Don Kirshner, and have gone on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide.
Composing a catalogue that includes sixteen studio albums and five live albums, KANSAS has produced eight gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums (Leftoverture, Point of Know Return, Best of KANSAS), one platinum live album (Two for the Show), one quadruple-Platinum single ‘Carry On Wayward Son,’ and another triple-Platinum single ‘Dust in the Wind.’ KANSAS appeared on the Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the ‘70’s and ‘80’s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ continues to be one of the top five most played songs on classic rock radio, and ‘Dust In the Wind’ has been played on the radio more than three million times!
The band is currently comprised of original drummer Phil Ehart, bassist/vocalist Billy
Greer, vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale, keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin, and original guitarist Richard Williams. With no signs of slowing down, KANSAS continues to perform in front of large and enthusiastic audiences around the world
About Ambrosia
In the year 1970, four young musicians from the South Bay of Los Angeles, came together to create a new invigorating style of music. Exploring the possibilities of progressive classical and world influences, yet rooted with the soul of the blues and R&B, Joseph Puerta, Christopher North, David Pack, and Burleigh Drummond created a new sound that was defined and recognized as, “Ambrosia.”
Originally labeled as America’s answer to the progressive invasion of such English acts as “Yes” and “King Crimson”, the group quickly proved it was all that and much more as its albums painted aural landscapes covering the gamut of musical styles and attracting the collaboration of such cultural icons as, Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Alan Parsons. In its brief recording history, Ambrosia garnered 5 Grammy Nominations, 5 Hit Singles, Heavy FM Airplay, and the admiration and respect of the musical community. All this was in addition to Sold Out concerts around the world
