With Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh shying away from writing new songs for the Heartland prog-rock institution Kansas, the rest of the band has decided to pick up the slack with Native Window.

Comprised of drummer Phil Ehart and other Kansans Richard Williams (guitar), Billy Greer (vocals/bass) and David Ragsdale (violin), Native Window will be releasing its debut self-titled album June 23 on StarCity Records, run by veteran Kansas producer Jeff Glixman.





Ehart nixes suggestions that Native Window was conceived because of any uncertainty surrounding Kansas.

"Well, it's not uncertainty," says Ehart. "It's just a situation of no new material for the band Kansas. And the guys who have usually written the material are either choosing not to write material or are doing other projects. So, the four of us just kind of went, 'Hey, you know, instead of sitting around whining about no new material, let's do something on our own.' So we did. And Native Window was born kind of out of necessity to scratch that new material itch. You can only play the old material so much and you kind of start yearning for something new to work on. So yeah, about two years ago, we started working on this and knew that Kansas is our main focus and that will always remain so. But when we had time off of the road, we'd come in and work on stuff and write stuff and that's kind of where it came from."

A little simpler, a little more straightahead, with swampy, blistering rockers like "Blood In The Water" sharing top billing with more surging, emotional triumphs such as the reflective "Still" and "Surrender," Native Window isn't necessarily a departure from the Kansas you grew up with. But neither will it give cause for critics to attack them for simply resting on their laurels.

To find out for yourself, visit www.nativewindow.com. A sampler of four songs will give you a taste of what Native Window is all about. Look for more on Native Window in this space and in the July 17 edition of Goldmine.