After several years of playing in Georgia bands, Steve Morse now is in Kansas although he really never has left Atlanta.

That makes sense to music fans who know that "Kansas" is the name of a popular rock band of which Augusta-raised Morse is a lead guitarist.

Prior to Morse joining the group, it became known for hits such as "Dust in the Wind" and "Carry On My Wayward Son."

All of the members of Kansas, except for Richard Williams, have moved to the Atlanta area, Morse said in a recent telephone call from his 40-acres farm outside Atlanta.

In Kansas' often shown video of the group's hit single, "All I Wanted," blond, long-haired Morse is seen in close-ups at the end of the video playing electric guitar solos interspersed with close-ups of Steve Walsh singing.

Morse also recently received international attention by being shown on the April issue cover of "down beat" magazine. The headline on the cover says, "Steve Morse...Guitar Power."

Morse has had an instrumental - no pun intended - role in many major rock groups including The Dixie Dregs, The Dregs" and The Steve Morse Band.

His musical reputation is such that Morse has been selected "Guitarist of the Year" in annual polls conducted by the well-respected "Guitar Player" magazine.

"I've been named to the 'Gallery of Greats,'" Morse said as if almost not believing at such a young age - 32 - he could be in such company.

Morse said he first came to know members of Kansas with they came to shows of The Dregs.

"I was finishing my solo album when drummer Phil Ehart called me and asked if I would like to play on Kansas' next album," Morse recalled. "The invitation wasn't like, 'Do you want to join our band, yes or no?,' but it was more like, 'Would you like to do something on our next album?'"

That initial invitation, however, turned into a longterm commitment with the band for Morse.

Morse started his musical career in Augusta, playing in several put-together bands. His parents, Kenneth and Jean Morse, are doctors and professors at the Medical College of Georgia.

One of those early garage bands was Dixie Grit with fellow Augustan Andy West.

West and Morse met in the late 1960s while in the same class at the Academy of Richmond County. They were separated when Morse was expelled from the school for refusing to cut his long hair.

Morse went to Westside High School in Augusta for awhile, and then on to Augusta College which he also attended with West. The two, during this time, had formed The Dixie Dregs in 1972.

The name came because the new band was made of the Dregs, or leftover members, of Dixie Grit.

Morse continued his education at the University of Miami where he met other musicians (violinist Allen Sloan and drummer Rod Morgenstein) who eventually became part of The Dixie Dregs. West came down to Miami to join the newly-formed group.

The Dixie Dregs in 1975 released a white cover album with no art work. Only about 1,500 copies were made of the album, which today is regarded as a collector's item.

"A lot of the albums were destroyed by accident when they became damaged and warped," Morse recalled. "We were living the lives of bachelors then in Florida, and we ended up actually using the records like place mats.

"That was the last time I ate off my records," Morse said with a laugh.

Although album was limited pressed, it showed off the unique nature of the group in doing a classical-jazz-rock-country mixture with no vocals. That album was partly responsible for The Dixie Dregs being signed in February 1977 to Macon, Ga.-based Capricorn Records.

That company then a monster recording outfit with acts such as Wet Willie, Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band.

The Dixie Dregs (and later just The Dregs) recorded the albums "Free Fall," "What If" and "Night of the Living Dregs" for Capricorn and then the albums "Dregs of the Earth," "Unsung Heroes" and "Industry Standards" for Arista Records.

Like most good things, The Dregs came to an end, but not Steve Morse who has found another successful niche in his career.

Like in "The Wizard of Oz," there is another whirlwind in "Kansas," but this new musical tornado is named Steve Morse.