Missouri 1994-95 Line Up: "DON’T BOTHER THE BAND" TOUR

In 1994, "Movin On" seemed to be enjoying a lot more airplay than it had only a few years previous and Ron was definitely growing bored of his day job. After some prodding from friends and "Dave Maygers", Vice-President of "United Entertainment", Ron decided to take "Missouri" back out on the road in the summer of 1994. By now, most of the original members of "Missouri" had either signed on with other groups or were busy pursuing other interests in life, so Ron enlisted the help of "Dave Maygers" to check around and see if he could round up some really great musicians for the band from "United Entertainment’s" musician roster.

First, Ron contacted Missouri's original drummer from the debut album, Bill Larson. Bill could always be depended on to lay down an incredibly steady beat for any band, and Bill was ready to get back on the road. After auditioning a few other dynamite musicians suggested by Dave, Ron filled the remaining spots in the band line up and HIT THE ROAD.

Chris Jones , Chief, was a friend of Dave Maygers and a long-time keyboard dude with "Charlie and the Stingrays". No one seems to know why he's called "Chief," except for his excellent keyboard work.

When Chris Wiliker fired up his bass set-up, Ron knew immediately he was the obvious choice. "Solid as a rock." Chris and Brett Eklund had already made quite a name for themselves as great musicians with their own group, "Casinova", and playing in K.C. bands such as "LeatherToys." Chris and Brett also had a least two other projects going on while doing shows with "Missouri." Brett filled in with acoustic guitar behind "Missouri" on shows while Chris sang vocal backup and played Bass.

Jim Bingston, former lead-guitar man with "Orphan" and some other well known Kansas City bands filled in perfectly for "Missouri’s" lead slot and helped to make the band sound very much like the original group.

Ron and the guys also decided that the band needed a little something different on stage this time out, so he enlisted a good friend of Wiliker’s, "Julie Flood" to do some killer violin work and background vocals to help beef up the bands sound. Julie had her own band "Majesty" happening, but made time to perform on the " Missouri " dates.

For the next two years, "Missouri" would perform at: "Spiritfest" in K.C., "Sandstone Ampitheatre in K.C.K., "RiverPort Stadium" in St. Louis, and many-many other large venue shows throughout the Midwest. April Wine / Mountain / Kansas / Little River Band / REO /FogHat / and Steppenwolf are on the short list of groups "Missouri" shared the stage with during those two years.

But, musicians are easily bored , time moves on, and the band members grew restless to try to strike out on their own musical paths. So, after doing their last show at "Beamers Garage" in Shawnee, Kan., Ron disbanded the group one more time.

He was soon seen scouring through catalogues and recording periodicals to purchase all the high tech recording goodies he would need to set up his own 24-track Midi and Digital Studio where he could write, record and generally enjoy his music without the pressure and craziness of life on the road.

Meanwhile---"Movin On" can still be heard on air in Kansas City, Lake of the Ozarks and in St. Louis, as well as many other cities and major markets. "Movin On" started airplay on 8/7/77, over 30 years ago. That is an incredibly long run on the airways for a little ol' band from K.C. –

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