| ||||
|
The "almost" official blog for everything Todd Rundgren Related........................................................................................................................................................................... Please visit the sister facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ma4utopia?ref=hl
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Todd Rundgren returns to Clevelands Agora
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Todd Rundgren returns to Clevelands Agora
Friday, October 12, 2012.
October 12th and 13th, 2012 - presented by RundgrenRadio.com. Ticket onsale date TBA.
Hotel group rate available at Embassy Suites Rockside. Code is RUN.
RundgrenRadio.com will be presenting back to back "Unpredictable Todd Rundgren" concerts at Cleveland's Agora Theatre on October 12th and 13th of 2012. Rundgren has decades of history with the Agora but the last time he performed there was in 1995.
"We're excited about bringing Todd back to the famous Cleveland Agora for these back to back concerts. He has a rich history with the Agora franchise touring as Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Back To The Bars, and TR-i The Individualist to name a few", Melinda Cain of RundgrenRadio.com said. "This will be Todd's first time performing his Unpredictable concerts in Cleveland and the best way we've found to describe what the shows are like is to tell fans to pretend Todd and three accompanying musicians are performing in their den for a house concert", she added.
One of the three musicians accompanying Todd for the Cleveland concerts is bassist Kasim Sulton, who has performed live as a solo artist at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom and Winchester's in the past. The other two musicians joining Todd will be guitarist Jesse Gress and a percussionist to be named at a later date.
Todd Rundgren has released over 30 albums either as a solo artist or with his bands Nazz, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Utopia, and The New Cars. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972. Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including Straight Up by Badfinger, Stage Fright by The Band, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf, and Skylarking by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was animated by Rundgren on commercially available Amiga Computers.
His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and "Bang the Drum All Day" featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers.
The Agora Theatre and Ballroom (commonly known as the Cleveland Agora, or more simply, The Agora) is a concert club located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Agora name was previously used by two other Cleveland venues in succession, the latter of which was destroyed by fire in 1984. Following the fire which destroyed the Agora Ballroom on East 24th Street, club owner Henry LoConti, Sr. decided to move to the 5000 Euclid Avenue location.
Following extensive renovations, the new Agora Theatre and Ballroom, the third Cleveland venue to bear the Agora name, opened in October 1986. The current Agora was the site of a live recording on the 1996 reissue of Patti Smith's Horses album. The current Agora venue, known as such since 1986, first opened in 1913 as the Metropolitan Theatre. On December 29, 2011, the LoConti family donated the Agora to MidTown Cleveland Inc., a nonprofit organization.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtV_VP-gvjA
Monday, July 9, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Interview written by Robert Silverstein
Todd Rundgren
interview written by Robert Silverstein
Anybody still remember 1968? One of the memorable pop events from the year that saw return to the roots albums by The Beatles (The White Album), The Beach Boys (Wild Honey) and The Rolling Stones (Beggar’s Banquet) remains the ‘68 album debut from Philadelphia’s power pop sensation, The Nazz. Simply called Nazz, the album turned the pop scene onto the rapidly developing talents of the quartet’s songwriter and guitarist Todd Rundgren. Both musically and fashion wise, The Nazz took their cues from hip ‘60s Britpop trendsetters like The Who and The Yardbirds and in that respect Rundgren & company were light years ahead of most American bands from that period. Ending on a down note, the band managed nevertheless to release two excellent power pop albums and a collection of what he now calls ‘odd-ments’ entitled Nazz III. If there was an up side to the breakup of The Nazz it was the arrival of Rundgren as a solo artist, recording studio wizard and trendsetting pop pundit. The 1972 double album masterpiece Something/Anything, 1973’s A Wizard, A True Star, and his ‘75 Faithful album still shine as favorites from the early years, and when one considers the sheer number of albums released, it’s apparent that post-Nazz, between 1970 and 2000, Todd has released a prodigious array of solo works—this in addition to the numerous albums recorded with his fusion rock band Utopia. In late 2002, thirty three years after the ‘69 Nazz Nazz album came out on Screen Gems Records (through Atlantic Records), Rundgren remains a perennial topic of interest in the music world. A new reissue agreement with Sanctuary Records has brought forth a superbly packaged double CD Nazz set in addition to an ongoing series of various live Rundgren archive CDs and DVDs entitled The Todd Rundgren Bootleg Series. The first two CD titles in Sanctuary’s Bootleg Series include the double CD Live At The Forum - London ‘94 and the first CD release in the Utopia Bootleg Series - KSAN 95FM Live ‘79. Uniformly packaged with good liner notes and rare photos, both "boots" sound fine and offer a rare, detailed glimpse into Rundgren’s legendary prowess as a performing musician. Speaking to us live from Hawaii on December 11, 2002, Todd was in a pretty humorous mode as he spoke of the Nazz period, the Bootleg Series, his underrated and overlooked 2000 studio album One Long Year, his fondness of the internet, his guitars and his lifelong appreciation of The Beatles.Robert Silverstein: RS
Todd Rundgren: TR
RS: Todd, it’s Robert Silverstein from 20th Century Guitar magazine and mwe3.com.
TR: How you doing?
RS: How are you today?
TR: Not so bad.
RS: Amazing to be able speak with you. You’re in Hawaii now?
TR: Yes...the modern marvels of science! (laughter)
RS: Which island do you live on?
TR: On Kauai, that’s the western most
RS: Don’t you miss the snow?
TR: So far, that I haven’t missed. I get to the mainland enough, I’ll see plenty of snow.
RS: Isn’t there snow on Maui this time of year?
TR: The big Island (Hawaii). The big Island has some tall volcanoes on it and on the top of one of them it does snow.
RS: We had a blizzard here on Long Island last week and today we’re getting freezing rain so we’re under the ice so to speak!
TR: Lovely! And it isn’t even winter yet.
RS: I really miss Hawaii. How long have you lived there?
TR: Six and a half years now.
RS: I remember Haleakala and driving up the Hana Road. I speak sometimes with the great Hawaiian guitarist Kapono Beamer, who’s in Oahu. Did you ever hear his stuff? He’s one of the greatest Hawaiian guitarists/composers I’ve heard.
TR: Yeah, I know of him. I haven’t met him personally but I know of the Beamers.
RS: It’s great to see The Nazz albums reissued in 2002 as a double CD retrospective called Open Our Eyes - The Anthology. How did the deal with Sanctuary Records to release your archival music happen?
TR: The Nazz technically isn’t archival. If we knew that the masters had existed they probably would have belonged to Rhino. In point of fact, The Nazz...there are a few demos and stuff that existed, but The Nazz didn’t do a whole lotta stuff in the studio that wasn’t eventually released already by Rhino. But I think that because of the deal that we made with Sanctuary over the archive they evaluated and felt there was enough there to do a whole series of releases. For completionists, they’ve gathered together all of that Nazz stuff—I can’t imagine that there’s anything else existing in the world that they haven’t collected. (laughter) The rest of the archive—that could be said to be almost a bottomless pit (laughter). I don’t even know what’s in it and Sanctuary probably has as good an assessment of what’s there as anybody does but they haven’t given me a whole collated list. They just say, ‘okay, here’s a show from 1980, will you approve this and let us release it?’. And the other difference, I think is that Sanctuary is concentrating on the DVD releases. There’ll be alot of video as well as some of the more standout live shows in the last several years.
RS: So, have you been involved with these releases, overseeing them?
TR: Well I don’t fully oversee them. They decide first of all, which shows they want to put out. I just tell them whether I think the show is of adequate quality—sound and performance wise. Sometimes there’ll be, oh a few numbers in a show that just aren’t going to pass muster! (laughter) And sometimes the people who put these together, they’re what we call completionists—they don’t care how badly the song is performed. They just want to have a copy of it. (laughter) But my standards haven’t changed simply because the show is a part of history. I think we still don’t want to put out anything that’s blatantly awful just because it presents something you haven’t heard before. (laughter)
RS: So Sanctuary will be doing DVDs too? Have they come out yet?
TR: No they haven’t but the first two DVDs are in the works as I understand it. And I haven’t seen the video part, I’ve only been given the audio part to approve. I probably have seen the video at one point (laughter) but they don’t give me the full DVD, they just send the audio for approval.
RS: I was one of your first teenybopper fans out here on Long Island who bought the first Nazz album when it came out I guess in ‘68 and then in ‘69 I bought the red vinyl Nazz Nazz Lp.
TR: Oh great.
RS: Whose idea was it to release the Nazz Nazz Lp on red vinyl? No one had done that before!TR: Well when I was growing up, I used to listen to these 45 rpm records that were recordings of The Boston Pops Orchestra doing sort of light classical music like “Chicken Reel” and “The Skater’s Waltz”. And I had a whole collection of those that I used to listen to when I was 2 and 3 years old on a little 45 rpm record player. And I would listen to the music and I would gaze through the colored vinyl records. And when I finally had an opportunity—well I wasn’t in a position to demand, but I beseeched that we get a record put out on colored vinyl. And I guess the whining worked, at least for one record, and then years later when I put out Something/Anything I pulled the same trick. One record was blue vinyl and one record was red.
RS: My copy had two black vinyl records at the time.
TR: I think it was only the first 5000 records. The excuse the record company usually uses is that virgin vinyl—which is necessary for these colored releases—was in short supply. As the ‘70s went on, that was another casualty of the oil embargo that we had in the late ‘70s. That’s when the quality of vinyl records started to go down because they began using more recycled vinyl and the problem with recycled vinyl records is that sometimes they can’t get all the paper off where the label was. Melt the vinyl down and then it’ll have little bits of paper in it which’ll cause the record to skip.
RS: I remember the first two Nazz albums, and especially Nazz Nazz were very high quality vinyl pressings.
TR: Well, I hope so because it’s...virgin vinyl! (laughter) Never been used before.
RS: You mention The Who and The Move as being a couple big early influences on The Nazz. Could you mention some of your other early musical influences?
TR: Well The Yardbirds were a big influence. We were always into the rave-up kind of thing. Let me see now...The Beatles of course, but The Beach Boys were an unusual influence in that we were into sort of the heavy guitar stuff. At the same time we were just as inclined to do these thick harmonies behind our lead vocalist. So it was unusual I guess—the combination of things. On one hand, The Who and The Yardbirds and these other sort of rave-up bands from England and then at the same time the more harmonious part of The Beatles and The Beach Boys...that kind of thing.
RS: Do you remember the first record you bought?
TR: The first record I ever bought. Well let me see. The first pop record I ever bought was, I believe was The Beatles Second Album.
RS: That was the American one right?
TR: Yeah, the American second album (laughter), not the British one. It was a clooge of two different albums at that point.
RS: That’s the one with “Roll Over Beethoven” on it.
TR: Yeah, I remember that. I used to sit down and listen to that. At the time I was fascinated by the bass drum on it.
RS: It’s interesting that the lead off song on the Nazz Open Your Eyes box set, “Loosen Up” - is a song spoof of the Archie Bell & The Drells “Tighten Up”. Where does that song fit in the Nazz repertoire?
TR: Yeah, we were some fun-loving guys for a while. We’d crack a joke. A few of our songs were tongue-in-cheek in a way (laughter) so...by the time we got into the studio for the second time yeah, we were really into goofin’ off a little bit.
RS: Was that song supposed to be on the Nazz III album?
TR: Well what was the second Nazz album was supposed to be a double album. The label was disinclined to release a double album so we had to split the record up into what turned out to be the second album and then remnants which were collected and came out in various versions as a third album. But there were not three sets of sessions. It was only two. We only went in the studio to record two albums (laughter).
RS: Was that why the order of songs was changed on the box set—to reflect the original double album concept for the second Nazz album?
TR: I think so...and I don’t even remember where our original running order might have been. At this point it’s probably moot. Most people remember the second album as it was released and the third album is kind of an unusual collection of odd-ments.
RS: It’s amazing that “Hello, It’s Me”, originally from the first Nazz album, is actually the first song you wrote.
TR: Yeah, it was. Curiously enough it was a ballad but I was kinda always moping about some girl at some point. And I don’t think the fact that it came out—or was known as the first Nazz single—was something that happened by design either. We put out “Hello, It’s Me” as the b-side of “Open My Eyes” and “Open My Eyes” didn’t take off for some reason and eventually they flipped it and “Hello, It’s Me” did. And that caused the band to sort of last a little bit longer then it would have naturally. I was going out and meeting the band to do gigs after I had quit (laughter) because “Hello, It’s Me” had become successful enough for us to make some money at it. So the band would sort of get together and go do a gig or two, make a little money, and then go our separate ways again and that didn’t last for very long either.
RS: Looking back on it, the lead off track to the Nazz Nazz Lp, “Forget All About It A While” has got to be one of the great lead-off album cuts from the ‘60s.
TR: At that point, I was into doing something of a concept album. It wasn’t supposed to be Sgt. Pepper per se, in that we weren’t all dressing up in weird costumes and adopting some sort of fictitious pseudonym (laughter), pretending to be another band. But by that point I was starting to think in terms of a greater concept in terms of albums instead of singles. The Beatles were the first band to sort of redefine the record market in terms of...one factor...it was originally 45’s. You couldn’t be successful unless you sold alot of 45’s. And then just around Sgt. Pepper I guess The Beatles proved you could be successful separately from how successful you were selling 45’s because Sgt. Pepper had no singles on it at all. And that woke alot of people up to the possibilities of doing long form records, made up of songs still, but doing long form records that didn’t depend on hit singles to be musically successful.
RS: It’s great that there’s a web site that has the complete lyrics to all The Nazz stuff. (http://RoCeMaBra.com/todd/lyrics) I finally figured out the lyrics to“Forget All About It”—If you haven't got time to rest, then take the record off now! (laughter)
TR: Ah-ha...It was sort of a demand for full attention! Kind of petulant in a way. (laughter)
Forget All About It
Everyone's got to have a cause or two
No one's changing enough to help you
There's something basically wrong
Everywhere, we revolve out of our time
And we know that's there's
nobody listening to people like us
But for now, for awhile
We just forget all about it awhile
Forget all about it awhile
For awhile
Thoughts of life, lots of women, thoughts of love
These are things that we can't be sure of
And every minute you live takes you
a minute towards when you must die
And we know there are
times when I'm not even sure I'm alive
But for now, for awhile
We just forget all about it awhile
Forget all about it awhile
For awhile
No one's fit to run the world, as far as I can see
The only person fit to run my world is me
But that's just one of my own personal crusades
And for now I'm not complaining, not campaigning
If you haven't got time to rest, then take the record off now
RS: Also the Nazz Nazz track “A Beautiful Song” was the first rock song I heard on an album to run nearly 12 minutes!
TR: (laughter) Jimmy Webb’s fault probably! Yeah, “someone left the cake out in the rain”.
RS: Any reflections on how you created “A Beautiful Song”?
TR: Well, I always had musical designs that transcended rock form, I guess. I’d always wanted to be a musician but until Beatles came along, the only way you could be a musician was to be a serious musician and learn how to play an instrument so you could get a job in an orchestra perhaps. But The Beatles proved that you could play a guitar and make a lifelong avocation of it, more or less. Or make enough money to retire on (laughter) I guess. So, from that point on of course I wanted to have a band and to be in a band but I never gave up these sort...my fascination with classical composers and composing for the big unit, you know, the orchestra. So, that was another indulgence, that having an album budget allows you to exercise. And I did it on both the Nazz records and on rare occasions on my own records as well.
RS: I was also always interested in knowing the story behind the Nazz Nazz song “Meridian Leeward”.
TR: I really don’t know, actually. Some things are so far in the murk. It may be just some words that I heard and then figured ‘Oh, I’ll write a song about this, what ever it is’...(laughter). I’m trying to replay the lyrics in my head to see if I recall anything significant, except for maybe a hostility to policemen. (laughter) It was just supposed to be a silly love song (laughter), just a goofy song.
RS: It was kind of Zappa-esque and showed another side to your early songwriting.
TR: Quite possibly if we were into demonstrating our musical deftness that we might attempt something like Frank Zappa but I don’t think we were ever that overt. You know, I was a big Frank Zappa fan but never imagined that I would be in a Frank Zappa like band. But then years later of course, we had a Mahavishnu-like band (laughter) with the first version of Utopia for instance.
RS: The Nazz double CD box set features quite in depth liner notes. It’s great that you were on hand to supply so many great memories.
TR: You mean still alive? (laughter)
RS: Did The Nazz get to play any prime time TV shows like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson?
TR: We did no really big TV shows. I know that our video got played on American Bandstand and we might have been on there as well (laughter). American Bandstand you never did anything live, you lip-synched. We did a couple of local shows including one including one that was hosted by Terry Knight, in the Michigan area. I remember doing that. And I remember thinking it was sort of like a cheesy Hullabaloo and remembering afterwards how much we hated lip-synching and wished to avoid it. Let me see now...yeah the video archives on The Nazz are pretty slim. There’s not a lot, I don’t think.
RS: I was reading in the Nazz box notes that the first gig The Nazz played was supporting The Doors in Philadelphia in June 18, 1967.
TR: Well it was sort of the first big gig, not the only gig.
RS: Any stories from that concert? Did you get to see The Doors play that night?
TR: Yeah we did. We got to watch them from the wings. I wasn’t that impressed with them. I was interested in what Ray Manzarek was doing because that was sort of something unusual. Covering the bass with his left hand on this funny keyboard thing and playing the organ at the same time. He had a particular style, you know it was interesting. So I think for us, we were more interested in the other players in the band than we were in Jim Morrison’s histrionics which we thought were kind of amusing. I always thought he sang sort of like...not like Frank Sinatra, more like Dean Martin (laughter). He had this croon-y quality that, I don’t know, I just didn’t think fit.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Toddfest West update
Hi everyone--
You can RSVP up until the day before, but if you want your laminate personalized please send your name and title of song to put on laminate by Fri, 7/6. We've extended the deadline a few days.
Hello everyone--
>>
Yes, Ded Ringer is in the process of re-learning three tunes (If Not Now, When?,
Crybaby, and There Goes My Inspiration) for the fest, and will perform a few of
our original tunes, too. We'll have the lyrics to these three tunes such that we
can do sing-alongs with everyone, which would be cool, because that's the area
in playing TR's tunes that we're lacking in (we can cover most of the
instrumentation, but it's almost impossible to do justice to the vocals!). After
Ded Ringer is done playing, we'll open it up to a jam session - I'll leave my
drums set up if any other drummers are "in the house" and would like to jam, and
the rest of the instrumentation would come from others bringing their axes.
<<
You can RSVP up until the day before, but if you want your laminate personalized please send your name and title of song to put on laminate by Fri, 7/6. We've extended the deadline a few days.
The song can be anything -- whatever is in your head these days, your fave,
whatever -- just for fun!
It's looking to be another fun gathering -- hope to see you there!
Your ToddFest/West planners
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone--
Time continues to fly by -- the date for ToddFest/West is growing
closer!
If you are planning to attend, please send your RSVP with your name and
song title as you would like them to appear on your laminate by 7/1/12. RSVPs
will be accepted up until the date of the fest, but if you want a personalized
laminate you will need to respond by 7/1/12.
If anyone wants to get together for a pre-fest jam session, respond soon
and we'll try to make that happen! Here's a little info Steve sent on live
music at the fest....
And again, the details....
When -- Saturday, July 28 starting at 1pm
Where -- The Lafonds home in Campbell, CA -- exact location will be sent
closer to the date to those who RSVP
Dog alert -- There are sweet, furry critters in this household, so plan
accordingly if you have allergies.
Note -- Campbell, CA is close to San Jose if you're considering airports.
Let us know if you need recommendations for lodging.
RSVP -- Reply to RSVP2012@ToddFestWest.com by July 1 to have your TFW-12
laminate personalized with your name
For those of you who are new to TFW, it's an annual gathering of fans,
friends and family to spend a day with like-minded Todd peeps. It's a casual
event and a potluck -- and it's free. Every year we have both new and returning
attendees. Lots of socializing and all sorts of goings-on such as sharing
stories and memorabilia, watching videos, playing and singing TR tunes, and
simply hanging out and talking and having a great day! You can find out more
about past fests at
And a little story for those who are wondering why this date -- 1995 was
the first fest at my home in Sacramento and one of the attendees was two year
old Korie Lafond who has enthusiastically attended almost every fest since then.
She's now in college and leaving for a year abroad in early August and didn't
want to miss the fest. This is a true sign of the community that the fest has
cultivated over the years and touched me deeply!
Look forward to seeing many of you soon! Let us know if you can make it,
have questions or need other info.
Your 2012 TFW planners -- Roger and Cece Linder, Debbie Sommer, Kim, Steve
and Korie Lafond
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Eddie Zyne ...Give the Drummer some please.....
http://www.metromusicmayhem.com/columns/july/drummer/drummer-7-12.html
Each month we will be featuring different
drummers and styles of music, letting them speak their mind on all aspects of
drumming, equipment, what they love about the drums, philosophies and their
reflections on music from the drummers unique perspective.
Please contact us if you would like to share your thoughts at info@MetroMusicMayhem.com.
Please contact us if you would like to share your thoughts at info@MetroMusicMayhem.com.
|
Eddie Zyne Stay Inspired
Eddie never gave up that good things were coming, even if there wasn't a single sign of anything on the horizon. He had always lived life at the ready. So just stay prepared, keep your spirits up, believe that something's coming and never give up. If you quit, you'll surely never get what you're after. But if you keep believing in yourself, even when others have long given up, you'll always have a chance. Even after Eddie finally got to perform with Todd, he still has that hotel room key and continues to live by the words on it, "Stay Inspired". |
Friday, June 29, 2012
RundgrenRadio.com will be presenting back to back "Unpredictable Todd Rundgren" concerts at Cleveland's Agora Theatre on October 12th and 13th of 2012.
Rundgren Radio To Present Back To Back Todd Rundgren Concerts at Cleveland Ohio's Agora Theatre
RundgrenRadio.com will be presenting back to back "Unpredictable Todd Rundgren" concerts at Cleveland's Agora Theatre on October 12th and 13th of 2012. Rundgren has decades of history with the Agora but the last time he performed there was in 1995.
RundgrenRadio.com will be presenting back to back "Unpredictable Todd Rundgren" concerts at Cleveland's Agora Theatre on October 12th and 13th of 2012. Rundgren has decades of history with the Agora but the last time he performed there was in 1995.
"We're excited about bringing Todd back to the famous Cleveland Agora for these back to back concerts. He has a rich history with the Agora franchise touring as Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Back To The Bars, and TR-i The Individualist to name a few", Melinda Cain of RundgrenRadio.com said. "This will be Todd's first time performing his Unpredictable concerts in Cleveland and the best way we've found to describe what the shows are like is to tell fans to pretend Todd and three accompanying musicians are performing in their den for a house concert", she added.
One of the three musicians accompanying Todd for the Cleveland concerts is bassist Kasim Sulton, who has performed live as a solo artist at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom and Winchester's in the past. The other two musicians joining Todd will be guitarist Jesse Gress and a percussionist to be named at a later date.
Todd Rundgren has released over 30 albums either as a solo artist or with his bands Nazz, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Utopia, and The New Cars. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything?
During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including Straight Up by Badfinger, Stage Fright by The Band, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf, and Skylarking by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was animated by Rundgren on commercially available Amiga Computers.
His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and "Bang the Drum All Day" featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers.
The Agora Theatre and Ballroom (commonly known as the Cleveland Agora, or more simply, The Agora) is a concert club located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Agora name was previously used by two other Cleveland venues in succession, the latter of which was destroyed by fire in 1984. Following the fire which destroyed the Agora Ballroom on East 24th Street, club owner Henry LoConti, Sr. decided to move to the 5000 Euclid Avenue location.
Following extensive renovations, the new Agora Theatre and Ballroom, the third Cleveland venue to bear the Agora name, opened in October 1986. The current Agora was the site of a live recording on the 1996 reissue of Patti Smith's Horses album. The current Agora venue, known as such since 1986, first opened in 1913 as the Metropolitan Theatre. On December 29, 2011, the LoConti family donated the Agora to MidTown Cleveland Inc., a nonprofit organization.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Ethel and Todd Tour info
Tell Me Something Good - Touring 12-13
with special guest Todd Rundgren
As each generation comes into its prime it affects the contemporary musical environment, bringing in elements of the sounds it grew up with. These days, we are surrounded by references to the culture and sounds of the 1970’s; the era of funk, glam rock, early minimalism, the bi-centennial, Watergate, and the Vietnam War. The 70s was a restless, intelligent, dissatisfied time- a decade of contradictions, a decade of loss, a decade of discovery.
As each generation comes into its prime it affects the contemporary musical environment, bringing in elements of the sounds it grew up with. These days, we are surrounded by references to the culture and sounds of the 1970’s; the era of funk, glam rock, early minimalism, the bi-centennial, Watergate, and the Vietnam War. The 70s was a restless, intelligent, dissatisfied time- a decade of contradictions, a decade of loss, a decade of discovery.
ETHEL celebrates this vibrant decade in a program that is scheduled to include Lou Harrison's Quartet Set (1972), a seminal example of cross-cultural concert music, as well as Kimo Williams' Quiet Shadows, a hauntingly beautiful Vietnam - inspired work, arrangements of music by Sun Ra, and a fascinating new work by rising star Judd Greenstein that incorporates the sound of synthesizers from the 1970s.
Central to this program is the thrilling collaboration between ETHEL and ‘70’s icon, Todd Rundgren. Having toured together in the United States and Europe in 2005, they found a deep connection and ongoing friendship in their passion for authenticity and their curiosity about what’s emerging. Each has assaulted the boundaries of convention with dynamic creativity. The energy onstage is explosive and beautiful.
Todd Rundgren appears courtesy of Panacea Entertainment. Image courtesy of Lynn Goldsmith / LGI.
Todd Rundgren appears courtesy of Panacea Entertainment. Image courtesy of Lynn Goldsmith / LGI.
2012 US Tour
October 17 2012 - Philips Center - University of Florida | Gainesville, FL
October 19 2012 - Palmer Auditorium - Connecticut College | New London, CT
October 20 2012 - Zeiterion Theatre | New Bedford, MA
October 21 2012 - Berrie Center for the Performing Arts - Ramapo College | Mahwah, NJ
October 23 2012 - Redfern Arts Center - Keene State College | Keene, NH
October 24 2012 - Midland Theater | Newark, OH
October 26 2012 - Clowes Memorial Hall - Butler University | Indianapolis, IN
October 28 2012 - Clarice Smith PAC - University of Maryland | College Park, MD
October 30 2012 - American Theatre | Hampton, VA
November 1 2012 - Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts | Cerritos, CA
November 3 2012 - Mondavi Center - University of California | Davis, CA
Special RundgrenRadio tonight Mark "Flo" Volman
| ||||
|
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band shine brightly at State Theatre - REVIEW
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band shine brightly at State Theatre - REVIEW
Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 10:43 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 11:29 PM
EnlargeRingo Starr and His All Starr Band perform Tuesday night at the State Theatre in Easton. Express-Times Photo | STEPHEN FLOODRingo Starr and His All Starr Band performs gallery (16 photos)
Starr and His All Starr Band — which included rock veteran Todd Rundgren and Toto axe man Steve Lukather on guitar, Santana keyboardist/organist Gregg Rolie and bassist Richard Page, of Mr. Mister —brought their tour to the State Theatre.
Starr let the rest of his band file out first before coming from the side of the stage to a nearly deafening roar and applause from the crowd, taking the stage flashing peace signs on both hands.
Remarking on his fourth visit to the theater — he performed at State in 2010, 2006 and 2003 — Starr joked, "The world stood still. And then Ringo came to town."
Starr's wry sense of humor was prevalent as he kept the energy up, joking between songs and responding "And I love you, too" to the continuous shrieks of "I love you" from the crowd.
"Love is love, you know," Starr said, later quipping, "I always love it when it's a deep voice."The drummer's set blended songs from his solo career —including his 1971 hit "It Don't Come Easy" and the song "I'm the Greatest," which was written for Starr by former bandmate John Lennon — and Starr's "other" band, The Beatles ("Don't Pass Me By" and the Fab Four's rendition of The Shirelles' "Boys").
Starr also sprinkled in tunes off his 2012 release, the aptly named "Ringo 2012." This included the upbeat "Wings" and "Anthem."
With a plethora of talented — and well rehearsed — musicians surrounding him, Starr made sure to let his musical companions have their turns in the spotlight.
The band, sans Starr, who exited the stage, stirred up the crowd with an extended and impressive spin through Santana's "Black Magic Woman." It was the first of two Santana representations, following an earlier take on "Oye Coma Va."
Rundgren, sporting lime green pants and frequently banging away on a sea foam green Fender Telecaster, also had an opportunity to flex his muscles. He led the band, and the crowd, through the rock classic, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad."
Later in the night, Rundgren put down his guitar, grabbed a pair of drum sticks and jumped in front of two tympani drums for a raucous, sweltering rendition of "Bang the Drum All Day," with Starr smiling from ear to ear as he kept a steady beat perched behind his drum kit.
Starr spent most of the time on stage not as the house drummer, but as the front-man; dancing and swaying along to the music. Nearly every song ended with many, if not most, of those in attendance on their feet.
One of the biggest thrills of the night came when Starr led the crowd through a sing-a-long of The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." During the song, one fan held up what appeared to be a cardboard submarine, bopping it along to the music.
Starr made sure to share the love, which was reciprocated by the rest of those on stage.
"You can't imagine the what it's like to be on stage with the heartbeat of our generation," Rundgren said.Lukather stood out among the All Starrs, laying down a blistering, frenzied solo during "Oye Coma Va."
Starr and Co. closed out the night with arguably his most popular Fab Four vocal contribution, "With A Little Help From My Friends," and Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."
It was clear throughout the night that Starr was having fun on stage — looking less like a 71-year-old pop icon, and more like an exuberant teenager discovering the power and joy of rock 'n' roll for the very first time.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Slideshow: Ringo Starr and All-Starr Band celebrate a birthday at Jones Beach
Slideshow: Ringo Starr and All-Starr Band celebrate a birthday at Jones Beach
FORMER BEATLES RINGO STARR GOES POP WITH ARTWORK IN NYC
Former drummer for The Beatles, Ringo Starr talked to Artisan News to discuss his charity art show at the Pop International Galleries in New York City.
Special RundgrenRadio show this Thursday
Thursday.
RundgrenRadio.com
8:30pm ET on THURSDAY June 28.
Special guest Mark Volman will be on to discuss Todd's Revival Camp. Also, Doug & CruiserMel will be discussing the next RR promoted Todd gigs coming up on 10/12-13 and continuing the post-Rockford discussion.
Mark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. Volman became a stand-out figure upon joining the Mothers of Invention under the tutelage of Frank Zappa. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "Flo".
Monday, June 25, 2012
interview BACK STAGE AXXESS.COM
Todd Rundgren (Ringo Starr's All Star Band ) Interview
By: Thom Jennings
Monday, June 25, 2012
We sat down and talked to Todd about his second go round with Ringo and the All Star Band and what does playing with Ringo personally mean to him. Sit back and enjoy a pleasant conversation with Todd Rundgren.
GO TO THIS LINK TO VIEW THE VIDEO INTERVIEW
http://www.backstageaxxess.com/backstage/Interview.php/Todd-Rundgren-2012
.
For more information on Todd in general, please go to: Todd Rundgren.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)