DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280067

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUE VanHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   54 lines

KC COMES TO FESTIVAL AMID ECHOES FROM PAST, NEW ALBUM

WHETHER IT'S General Motors, Burger King, Old El Paso or Budweiser shilling their wares to the funky sounds of KC and the Sunshine Band's '70s mega-hits ``That's the Way (I Like It)'' and ``Get Down Tonight'' or the singer himself making the chat show rounds, it seems you can't turn on the television these days without bumping into KC and the glittering disco past.

And Tommy Boy Music is betting we haven't had our fill of polyester and platforms yet. The record label, home to rap acts Coolio and Naughty By Nature, will soon be releasing ``Yummy,'' KC's first studio album in years.

``It's up-tempo stuff,'' the singer, born Harry Wayne Casey, explained recently before a gig in Atlantic City, ``stuff to make you feel good, in the vein of KC and the Sunshine Band with a little '90s twist. It's great (to be recording), but I've been in the studio working on stuff for the last couple of years anyway. It's a lot easier these days than it was originally.''

The group brings hits old and new to the American Music Festival at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Friday.

The new album follows KC's 1995 release, ``Get Down Live,'' a 17-track collection culled from his early '90s concert tours through the United States, Asia, Japan, South America and Australia.

``It makes them feel good,'' KC says of his music's apparently enduring and international appeal to folks young and old. ``There's newer people - we get a real wide variety (of fans), demographically - but I really think it just makes people feel good.''

KC's return to the spotlight follows his 1980s missing-in-action status, when he was doing ``nothing, just retired, partying, traveling. I really had no plans of ever recording again. But you can only party and travel so much.

``I was kind of bored and started missing the excitement of being on the stage and everything. Basically, I started it up on my own again like I always did and then went from there. Now I

have management, agents, stuff like that.''

And a coterie of licensing lawyers, too, judging by the myriad KC-accompanied commercials whose royalty income the singer nonchalantly describes as ``not bad.''

When he's not on the road, KC divides his time between homes in Miami and Durham, N.C., which he finds ``quiet and peaceful, the people are real nice.''

In addition to the new album, which should be out late this year or early next, KC's been keeping busy with charity and soundtrack work, contributing to the forthcoming Robin Williams ``Flubber'' flick, among others.

But working hard is just the way KC likes it.

``I'm pretty busy, but I've chosen to be,'' he said. ``Before, I'd take a lot of time off. But now I just want to keep going.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo

KC and the Sunshine Band... KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

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