Harry Wayne Casey is still KC to Sunshine Band fans; talks April 8 show in Tempe
One of the more indelible musical-related images of the '70s: Boyish Harry Wayne Casey blissfully bouncing behind the keyboards, the heart, soul and energy behind such brassy dance-floor faves as "That's the Way (I Like It)," "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and "Keep It Comin' Love."
As the lead singer, songwriter and producer behind KC and the Sunshine Band, Harry Wayne Casey became a major force in the music industry, offering a funky pop sound that got swept up in the disco tidal wave. When shimmying in white polyester suits became passe, KC adapted, scoring more hits like the ballads "Please Don't Go" (No. 1 in 1979) and "Yes, I'm Ready," an old-school duet with Teri DeSario.
Casey, 66, dissolved the Sunshine Band in the mid '80s but reformed the outfit in the '90s; by that point, '70s nostalgia was in full swing. He's been on the road ever since, with a 15-member group designed to make you want to pull out your boogie shoes. He called to talk up the band's April 8 gig at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
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Question: Compare performing now to the ‘70s.
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Answer: It’s more fun for me now, actually. In the ‘70s, it was very lonely for me.
Q: How so?
A: I felt isolated. I had guards outside my door. I couldn’t go anywhere; I couldn’t do anything. It was a very lonely time, especially on the road. I’d be in my hotel room, and there would be 5,000 people downstairs in the hotel. I wanted to be downstairs, in the middle! I was kind of isolated and locked away.
Q: Now the crowds may be smaller, but’s it's a better experience?
A: It’s great. It took me 40-something-odd years, but I was always really nervous when I came into contact with people. I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to say. It’s a completely different world now.
Q: What do fans say when you meet them?
A: A lot of times it’s stories about how the music has inspired them or they went through a personal crisis and the music got them through. (Laughing.) Maybe it’s how they met each other and what they did to the music.
Q: Even though you get these stories from different people, there must be a lot of similarities. Does that ever get tiring?
A: Surprisingly, they’re all a little different in some way. Yes, there’s a lot of “I danced to that song during my high-school years,” but a lot of times it’s just different situations. And it’s fun. When I do meet-and-greets, people will say to me, “Man, I bet you’re tired of doing this.” And it’s like, wow, I wasn’t thinking that at all.
Q: You’ve made it known you weren’t fond of the disco label. How do you feel about it now?
A: I wasn't too happy with the word “disco.” Donna Summer tried to run away from it, but I embrace it now. It’s really something that I was involved in bringing to fruition. But they keep relabeling music. It was R&B, then it was disco, then I had a record in 1984, “Give It Up,” and it was new wave. I mean, what’s the purpose of that? It’s all R&B pop.
Q: You were so energetic on stage in the ‘70s. What's it like now?
A: I have even more energy than I did then. Because of the choreography, I’m not behind the keyboards as much as I was in the ‘70s. I’m a lot more involved in what’s happening on stage.
Q: How much of your energy comes from the audience?
A: The crowd really controls every artist’s show. Just like the audience feeds off the band, we feed off the audience. You can tell when one side is a little louder than the other side, things like that. But the two elements create one element.
Q: When one side of the crowd is more reserved, what side do you focus on?
A: You know, it really used to kind of bother me, but now I just really play back and forth. But you kind of watch for where you need to go.
Q: Do you make eye contact with people in the front?
A: Sometimes I don’t, but I try to. I’m looking at them, but it may seem like I’m looking beyond them. I try to make everyone feel involved. I’m conscious of eye contact sometimes, and sometimes I make a connection. The other thing is sometimes you can make people feel a little weird or awkward if you make eye contact, so sometimes you kind of look at the crowd and you get a feel for people.
Q: Your audiences have always been diverse. You really blended black and white crowds.
A: I was raised in a gospel church and my mother loved R&B music. It was all I ever heard from a young age, growing up. Music is really a wonderful thing. It brings people together. I never looked at people as different; I saw them as different people, but not as different colors.
Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova.
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KC and the Sunshine Band
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8.
Where: Tempe Diablo Stadium, 2200 W. Alameda Drive.
Admission: $29.99-$200.
Details: 480-350-5265, go.ordermytix.com/event/ballpark.