The Kansas band that almost made it big in the 70s

EMPORIA (KSNT) – Fyre from Emporia were a good distributor away from widespread popularity with their 1977 album “Pyromancy.”

When The Blue Things broke up in early 1968, Rich Bisterfeldt moved back to Kansas to start anew. He had started Fyre in Los Angeles, California with minor success. Their music is described

as a mix of classic rock, hard rock and progressive rock, with individual songs featuring aspects of country, funk and folk.

Arguably the band’s biggest break came when they were scheduled to play at Robert Kennedy’s reception at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. Guitar-player/songwriter Marvin Hunt said the group was en-route to the hotel when they were informed of Kennedy’s assassination, and the gig was canceled.

Despite difficulties in California, Fyre made a name for themselves back in Kansas. Bisterfeldt founded a record label, Stone Post Records, which he used to promote the band, and he became connected with regional figures in the music world.

“We used to rent out National Guard armories across the state,” Hunt said. “There were hundreds of people coming to these in places like Concordia, Hays, Junction City and Emporia.”

Hunt said that Bisterfeldt got the band a spot to record at Leon Russell’s studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma now recognized as The Church. It was here the band got connected to audio engineer Tom Russell (unrelated to Leon). Fyre must have impressed Tom Russell quite a bit because after their session was over, he offered to let the band record at Leon Russell’s personal home studio.

Leon’s home studio was state-of-the-art, featuring a 40 track Stephen’s recording deck, while his professional studio, The Church, only had 16 tracks. These recording sessions would go on to be used on Fyre’s first singles like “That’s Just The Way / Why” from 1975 and “Make It Good (Estamos Aqui’) / Dreams” from 1976. Russel would go on to invite the band to record more at the legendary Broadway Sounds Studio in Mussel Shoals, Alabama where they finished their debut album.

To Hunt, it felt like Fyre was really getting off the ground. The group attended Billboard’s International Music Industry Conferences in 1977 where they got to talk up the band and get connected to industry leaders. By the time “Pyromancy” came out, they already had a review in Billboard Magazine and ads running. 

Hunt said Bisterfeldt did all the promotion through Stone Post Records out of Emporia with his sister Jann. They had landed Fyre a distribution deal that had the album sent to radio stations, record stores and publications across the Midwest, but it was extremely limited. While they had plenty of good results, it just wasn’t enough to put the group in a national spotlight. Hunt said he left the band in 1978 to focus on school, and he would end up being replaced.

All was not over for Fyre. They would go on to record more singles, tour and attempt to sign with a larger management company. A letter written by Jann “Jacki” Bisterfeldt in March of 1978 shows the group was in contact with people like Norm Winter, perhaps the most successful publicist of the 70s and 80s, who represented artists like Michael Jackson, Elton John and Bob Dylan. But nothing ever came of it. By 1981 the band had released their last single “Who Am I To Blame / T.J.’s Last Ride.”

Although Fyre’s existence as a band was brief, they had a taste of the ‘rock n roll’ life, more than most bands even today will ever experience. For a band that was effectively DIY, the success that Fyre had was unprecedented. From getting booked at Robert Kennedy’s infamous reception, to packing armories in Kansas, to Leon Russell’s studios in Tulsa, to getting reviewed in Billboard Magazine, Fyre’s short career was anything but ordinary. The impact they made on Kansas music can still be felt today, according to Hunt and the Kansas Museum of History.

Where Fyre packed National Guard Armories and created their own record labels, today bands fill dusty basements or living rooms to the brim and create DIY coalitions. The DIY ethos that Fyre helped to foster in the state is alive and well within the community of local musicians. 

In 2019 Fyre was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. Several original members have since passed, including founding members Bisterfeldt and John Richard. Hunt still lives in the area and is playing at the Retro Cocktail Hour 30th Anniversary Party on Feb. 27, 2026 at Maceli’s Banquet Hall in Lawrence. 

You will be able to read about The Blue Things, Fyre and many more bands at an exhibit being put together at the Kansas Museum of History. If you have any information or artifacts from Fyre, or any other Kansas band from the 60s/70s, you can email the State Archives Director at the Kansas Historical Society, Micheal Church.

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