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You can see Edgar Winter -- who changed the way live rock 'n' roll keyboard is played by strapping one on like a guitar -- on stage at Festival in the Park.

Edgar Winter really doesn't have to be on the road any more.

The man who wrote the anthemic rock hit "Frankenstein" gets plenty of money in royalties whenever that song is played. And it's played a lot -- commercials, movie soundtracks, on classic radio stations. He also writes new songs for commercials and movies and does a good bit of acting.

But Winter gets a kick from playing live, and he has no plans to give it up.

"I don't think you'll ever see me doing that farewell tour, and the next farewell tour after that," he said, laughing. "I love to play, and I like to get out there and run around and work up a sweat.

"I get tired of people complaining about being on the road ... stay at home if you don't like it. We've got a crew, and people to take care of us. We're doing what we most love. I consider it a privilege ... I'm never going to quit."

You can see Winter -- who changed the way live rock 'n' roll keyboard is played by strapping one on like a guitar -- on stage tonight, headlining Festival in the Park's opening day. And you can be sure that you'll hear songs you know. Winter says he never tires of playing "Frankenstein," "Free Ride" and other songs he has either written or recorded in his three-decade career.

"I know there are classic rock artists that don't seem to enjoy doing their hits as much," Winter said in a telephone interview earlier this month. "But I know I do. They bring back memories for me, and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't still be around."

'Hulking monster'

Sometimes, artist and song are linked so strongly as to become nearly synonymous. Winter and his instrumental rocker, "Frankenstein," are a good example.

It was a No. 1 hit in 1973 and has shown up repeatedly on the pop culture landscape since then. Get with any two semi-knowledgeable musicians and mention Winter's name, and they're very likely to get some grit in their voices as they impersonate the song's distorted hook line.

Turns out, it is no yoke on Winter's neck. In fact, it's his favorite song to play live.

"There's so much improvisation in that song," he said. "Unlike a big hit where people expect it to be done a particular way, it's almost like a jazz song in the sense that it's got the memorable head [melody] ... and as long as people hear the 'duh, duht, duht, duh -- duh-duht, duh, duh -- da nant, nant, da-nant,' they're good with it. It's a big free-for-all. Everybody jams."

Even now, he writes new sections of the song, and promises a section where he and drummer Dave Goodstein trade solo licks.

By that point in the song, the multi-instrumentalist Winter will be on saxophone.

"It's an ever-evolving opus that I never tire of playing."

He doesn't mind at all that so many advertisers have wanted to use the song in commercials.

"I know some artists are sensitive about their songs being commercialized in that way," Winter said. "But I love it.

"It might be different if it was a real personal love song where you thought the message was being subverted in some kind of way. But with 'Frankenstein,' it's like, Oh! Here's the hulking monster."

Taking the keyboard out front

Winter wrestled another big, hulking monster around stages in the 1970s, in the process showing keyboard players the way to get out front the same way that guitarists and singers do.

It started with this thought, he said: "I just really got frustrated sitting behind a massive band of keyboards. Nobody can see what you're doing ... I want to get out and boogie."

So he took an old Univox keyboard and had a strap attached to it. The only problem: It weighed 40 pounds.

"You're stalking around with that, it'll wear you out after about a half-hour," he said.

Now he has a couple of boards that are no more than 10 pounds.

"I can swing it around and do anything with it," he said.

Not that there isn't a bit of a stink attached to that particular revolution. Ever heard of the keytar? It's about half the size of a regular keyboard, with a "neck" that players use to add expression to their notes.

"I happen to think those are pretty silly, with the guitar neck," he said. "You can't do anything with it. I use at least a five-octave" instrument. "I want to be able to play real parts, not just solo fragments ... I'm serious about it when I do it."

Jamming with Ringo

Other players take him seriously, too. In June, he'll be going out on a summer tour with Ringo Starr and his 10th All-Star Band. It'll be his second tour with Starr, the ex-Beatle drummer. The band includes multi-instrumentalist Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), keyboardist Gary Wright ("Dream Weaver") and jazz-rock heavy Gregg Bissonette on drums. Winter can't wait for the tour.

Later this year, Winter has at least one date scheduled with his brother, Johnny -- an icon of blues-rock guitar playing -- with whom he began his career. The Texas-born blues brothers went their separate ways in the 1970s, and only recently began reuniting for live performances and recordings.

White trash and George Hamilton's tan

They're great musicians, but another thing Edgar Winter and his older brother share is albinism. Edgar Winter has typically displayed a sense of humor about it, naming one of his earliest bands White Trash. Recently, he appeared in a Miller Lite commercial that played up the contrast between Winter and the preternaturally tan actor, George Hamilton. They played twin brothers.

Coincidentally, Winter and Hamilton had just met a few weeks before they got the commercial offer, at Hamilton's cigar bar. They hit it off great -- Winter played some piano, and Hamilton told Hollywood stories to Winter and his wife, Monique.

Still recording

Recent CDs "Winter Blues" and "Jazzin' the Blues" are about exposing his audience to the styles that influenced him.

Backing him on the old and the new songs will be Doug "Doug E Rap" Rappoport on guitar, Koko Powell on bass and vocals, and drummer Goodstein.

Winter said he promised a fun show, and wanted to close by telling fans: "Till I see you, get ready to rock and roll."