IBERIA PARISH — Most people never get the chance to meet their heroes. Even fewer get the opportunity to stand beside them and carry on their legacy. For New Iberia native Scott Bernard, that dream has just become reality.
“Ever since I can remember, music has been the path I wanted to take,” Bernard said. “There’s no lightbulb moment, it’s just always been.”
Bernard comes from a musical family and jokes that he may not have had much of a choice.
“Shoot, I think I would’ve been kicked out if I weren’t a musician,” he laughed.
He picked up the guitar at nine years old, joined his first band soon after, and by 16 was already playing with Top 40 club groups. But the small-town stages weren’t enough to contain his ambition.
“We moved to Nashville in 1999, and it wasn’t an easy decision,” Bernard recalled. “I had one guitar, an amp, and a dream or whatever.”
In Nashville, he carved out a career playing in bands, working as a studio guitarist, recording for local artists, and writing and recording his own material. That hard work eventually led to a connection that would change his life.
A few years ago, Bernard met Tom Brislin, the current keyboard player for Kansas. Two years later, Brislin called him with a question that left Bernard stunned: would he be interested in subbing for Rich Williams, the band’s original guitarist?
“I grew up a huge Kansas fan. Huge. So that was like a no-brainer for me,” Bernard said.
On Wednesday, the news became official: Bernard has been named the newest member of Kansas. It’s a full-circle moment for the lifelong fan, who saw the band as his very first concert at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette.
“It’s completely surreal,” Bernard said. “My first concert was Kansas at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette. And I was a fan since then. They were always, them and the Beatles, my two favorites. So to be asked to help further the legacy of a band like that and someone whom I so admired… I mean, I listen to Kansas all the time. You ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you I’m a ridiculous Kansas fan. So to be asked to do this was mind-blowing.”
For Bernard, the fan in the crowd has officially become the guitarist on stage.
