Proto-Kaw Interview Transcript

Lynn Meredith (Proto-Kaw) Interview
Sunday, March 13, 2005

Chicago , Illinois
By Melissa Palmer

Melissa: This is Melissa Palmer. I’m reporting from Chicago after the Proto-Kaw show, and I’m sitting here with Lynn Meredith, the lead singer of Proto-Kaw. First of all, I want to say thank you, Lynn , for sitting down with me and answering my questions.
Lynn : [nods his head]

1) Melissa: One of the first things I’d like to know is what exactly brought Proto-Kaw together again after 30 years?
Lynn : Well we had some original recordings from the early 70s that were discovered. They had been kinda floating around and somebody discovered them on the internet, actually, and they ended up in the hands of a record company that specializes in re-releasing recordings from the 70s, and they called Kerry and asked if they could remaster them and re-release them, and that caused him to call us to get permission, and that started it all again in 2002.

2) Melissa: So exactly how difficult or easy was it to get you guys back together?
Lynn : It wasn’t real easy. Our original drummer lived in Florida . One guy lived in Idaho . We couldn’t find the guy in Idaho for a long time. None of us had seen each other, other than John Bolton and I, in 30 years, and it was just a real awkward thing to come back together. We decided to have a CD release party and from that, we jammed a little bit, and that was the first time we had seen each other in 30 years, and from there, we thought hey, you know there’s some magic and should we get together and jam some more? That led to recording songs and led to reforming.

3) Melissa: Excellent, and we’re glad you guys did, definitely, because you really rock.
Lynn : Thank you.

4) Melissa: I’m impressed with your energy and your originality. So, what exactly have you been doing for 30 years, you personally?
Lynn : I have been a college football coach and a business man, primarily. I went back to school and got a degree in Education, and taught Social Sciences in high school, and then went on to college, and was a football coach, and left coaching in the late 80s, and I’ve been in business ever since.

5) Melissa: So you’ve been a pretty busy guy.
Lynn : And raised three kids, too.

6) Melissa: Well, I’m assuming that you continued to practice your music, obviously, and singing.
Lynn : I hadn’t sang in 30 years until we got together for this.

7) Melissa: Really? Oh wow, that’s impressive!
Lynn: I hadn’t sang at all, so this kinda brought it back.

8) Melissa: So can you tell me what any of your musical inspirations have been?
Lynn : Well, really not a lot different than they were 30 years ago. I was always a Progressive Rock fan. I like good vocalists, since I am a vocalist. Steve Perry of Journey and a lot of guys like that are awesome. My major influences have been things like King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa.

9) Melissa: The basic Progressive Rock icons.
Lynn : Exactly.

10) Melissa: Right, excellent. Well, so the third album, that’s all going to be original material?
Lynn : It is. We are in the process of recording that right now and hope to have it released in September.

11) Melissa: In September, okay. As far as touring, this is a pretty short tour you guys are doing now, but what we are most excited about is NearFest coming up in July. That’s going to put you in front of 1500 people. How is that going to feel?
Lynn : We’re excited about that. It’s a good opportunity for us, and it gets right to the heart of our market, the Prog Rock guys. We like to play for any size crowd and anybody who wants to hear us, so we’re excited for all opportunities.

12) Melissa: So, as far as NearFest and the new album, where do you suppose you guys are going to go from here? Do you think you are going to continue on?
Lynn: Yeah, we’re going to continue to see where it all goes. We really haven’t put any conditions on getting back together. We didn’t think we’d record, and then we did, and then we didn’t think we’d play live, and then we did, and then we didn’t think we’d play dates more often, and then we did, so we’re just really seeing where it goes. We’re not setting ourselves up to be disappointed.

13) Melissa: Okay, one more question. That goes back to the beginning. How exactly did it feel when the band broke up originally, and Kerry went on to form the third version of Kansas , and they took off with phenomenal success. Was there any remorse or regret?
Lynn : No, not at all. That’s just the way it went, and life goes on, and I don’t look back. You just kinda close ranks, march on, and that’s what you do. I don’t regret any move I’ve made in my life or anything that happened. It was all for good reason, and it’s made me who I am today. It was a great learning experience for me, and I’m just fortunate to be able to go back to something I love.

Melissa: Well, that’s excellent. Thank you very much. I appreciate you speaking with me.
Lynn: I appreciate it.

Prog Palace Radio would like to give special thanks to Lynn Meredith for taking the time to sit down with us.