Alex Robichaud - 6 inches of news

The Missouri State men’s basketball team will be short one player in off season work-outs this summer because he will be pursuing his life-long dream. Kyle Rausch, Blue Springs, Mo., senior, left Springfield shortly after the spring semester to reunite with his rock band, Abracadabras, in Kansas City.
Rausch, a 6’8” walk-on, officially announced he would not be returning to the basketball team. Rausch started at MSU as a wide receiver for the football team, and he turned to basketball when the team showed interest in him during intramurals. But Rausch has always wanted to be a musician, not an athlete.
“Music has always been my first love. I was raised in a musical family, and I have grown up being a musician,” he said.
Rausch is the drummer for Abracadabras, and his brother, Collin, is the bass player for the band.
“He has the lucky gift of being great at both music and sports,” Collin said. “He brings a lot to the band. He is an incredible musician and an awesome drummer, and he also draws a crowd by being the best looking member of the band.”
Kyle is thrilled to be in a rock band; he loves the entire process of being in a band.
“Songwriting is one of my favorite parts of being in the band. I like getting to use my creative side,” Rausch said. “But my favorite part is when we put that creativity to the public. I love playing in front of people and seeing what others get out of our music. The feedback from the audience is one of the most important parts to me.”
The Abracadabras have collected a following in Kansas City, and they are playing four Kansas City shows in July and one in Springfield on the 27th. “They are pretty innovative, despite being a throwback to the sixties. There aren’t any mainstream bands out right now that sound like (Abracadabras),” said Caleb Ebel, Blue Springs, senior and fan of the band.
And the band hopes to prove to everyone they are legitimate.
“A year from now, we should be on tour with an album under our belt,” Rausch said. “I think by then, we will be on the map nationally. We may not be the Beatles by then, but I think we’re moving forward.”

www.myspace.com/abracadabras