Wizard Rundgren remains a truly weird star at Crest
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/18584/Wizard_Rundgren_remains_a_truly_weird_star_at_Crest
The title of Todd Rundgren's 1973 concept album, A Wizard, A True Star, always seemed half true: A studio wizard he may have been, a one-man band with eclectic influences and an ear for a great hook, but he was never quite the star he aspired to be.
Indeed, Rundgren, who made his recorded debut as a member of The Nazz in 1967, always seemed just a year or two behind the true trendsetters, and a bit ahead of the curve when it came to stardom. Despite several early hits -- "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" positioned him as a singer-songwriter in the mold of Carole King or Elton John -- his tendency to go off in five directions at once and a healthy skepticism about stardom itself seemed to push him in the direction of cult star rather than rock star.
Forty-two years and dozens of albums later, Rundgren remains a cult star, occasionally releasing albums but rarely selling many. But his cult is devoted and passionate, and Wednesday night he drew a half house of ravenous fanatics to the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento. The crowd of about 600 was fanatical, calling out to the singer between songs. One loutish fan even walked up to the apron of the stage to address Rundgren, who was in a mid-song vamp.
The draw wasn't just Rundgren. The concert was promoted as a chance to hear him perform, start to finish, that same 1973 album, A Wizard, A True Star, known in its day as the longest single album ever released on one vinyl long player, at approximately 50 minutes. Most albums of the time topped out around 40.
More a collection of electronics-mad moments or melodic flights of fancy than fully-realized songs -- one string of five songs are barely a minute each -- it was a curiosity then and remains so now. Wizard came out the same year as The Dark Side of the Moon, Quadrophenia, Aladdin Sane, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Band on the Run and Houses of the Holy; any album would have a hard time standing out. That Wizard, with its dye-cut cover (a Dali-esque portrait of Rundgren) and lacking a hit single, did even reasonably well was no mean feat.
Wednesday night, 36 years after its release, Wizard got another chance. The music, now extending well over an hour, came across powerfully. Freed of studio wizardry and abrupt edits, and of the density of the original studio sound, the music had a chance to breathe, and Rundgren's six-piece band, featuring old Utopia bandmate Kasim Sultan on bass and vocals, as well as Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, managed most of the tricky changes and bizarre shifts in tempo and tone.
That wasn't always easy. Rundgren's tastes, rooted in The Beatles' psychedelia and the orchestral soul of his native Philadelphia, had become informed over the years by the weird time signatures and tonalities of Frank Zappa's work -- "Cool Jerk" in 7/4 anyone? -- as well as the burgeoning glam rock of the early '70s. And then there was that whole singer/songwriter thing.
And Rundgren's rather dour sense of humor and irony (one refrain goes "You want the obvious/You'll get the obvious") tends to undercut much of what he does on an emotional level. Though he sang such soulful numbers as "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" and a soul medley that included the chestnut "La-La-La Means I Love You," Rundgren maintained an emotional distance that verged on cold at points. One is always aware that he is performing, most likely with tongue in cheek.
In that respect, Rundgren didn't help himself with the frequent costume changes that struck this viewer as something out of community theatre gone wrong. He emerged during the opening "International Feel" in an astronaut's spacesuit, and subsequent songs saw him in a red fat suit (inflated on one song, deflated on the next), an orange leisure suit and a Isaac Hayes-inspired satin-and-skin ensemble that looked ridiculous on Rundgren.
Still, the costumes were part of the fun, and evocative of the crazy-quilt of Wizard. A studio-inspired and electronically-created album, it came off better live than might have been expected. The pacing of the album, played mostly in its original sequence, lent itself to live performance. Musical peaks and lulls came through beautifully. Even the odd little between-song instrumentals and sonic tangents served to give Rundgren time for costume changes, and a chance for the band to show off.
By the time he and the band got to the soaring refrain of "International Feel" and then to the album's closing number, "Just One Victory," the evening was complete. A powerfully emotional anthem to hope, the song is free of irony and self-conscious wit, going to the core of '70s soul's optimism. It has long been Rundgren's show-closer, but set in its original context at the end of Wizard, it was even more moving.
Rundgren may remain mostly a cult star, but to have maintained that cult for three-plus decades is quite an accomplishment. And it should be said that Wednesday night's show, as rich as it was, neglected at least a dozen classic Rundgren songs. Even as part of the very short tour of Wizard, Wednesday night was a chance to celebrate not just an album, but the career of a man who, while perhaps not a wizard, is certainly a talented magician.
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Video: AWATS JUST ONE VICTORY 12/1/09 SF CA
Todd Rundgren introduces his band and performs Just One Victory from "A Wizard, A True Star" AWATS - Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, 12/1/09
opening setlist for the AWATS show on the west coast
Todd premiered the Todd Rundgren's Johnson material as the opening set for the AWATS show on the west coast
kasim / prarrie / jesse and todd performed the following set..
Todd Rundgren's Johnson setlist!
Dust My Broom
Stop Breakin' Down
Walkin Blues
Love in Vain
Sweet Home Chicago
Red Hot
Kitchen
Hellhound
Riverside
Crossroads
kasim / prarrie / jesse and todd performed the following set..
Todd Rundgren's Johnson setlist!
Dust My Broom
Stop Breakin' Down
Walkin Blues
Love in Vain
Sweet Home Chicago
Red Hot
Kitchen
Hellhound
Riverside
Crossroads
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
LAist interview
LAist Interview: Todd Rundgren
the boundary-defying musician, vocalist, composer, producer and original Zen Master of computer technology applied to music, embarks on a very special mini-tour this week, performing his 1973 release A Wizard, A True Star in its entirety in four California cities. This Friday at the Orpheum Theater, Todd and his band will reprise an album so full of music, the pressing required narrowing the grooves so that it could all fit. Covering just about every rock/pop genre even a journeyman fan could imagine, even inventing a few more in the process, it has over time been proclaimed Rundgren's White Album, OK Computer and Pet Sounds.
Acknowledged to be a musician’s musician - on 1972’s Something / Anything, he played all instruments - for this unveiling of A Wizard, A True Star Rundgren has enlisted some phenomenal support players. His touring band for this jaunt consists of drummer Prairie Prince (The Tubes, skinbasher on the Rundgren-produced Skylarking by XTC); bassist Kasim Sulton from Rundgren’s 70’s-era band Utopia; Cars keysman Greg Hawkes; guitarist Jesse Gress (Tony Levin, Robbie Dupree, Adrian Belew); saxophonist Bobby Strickland (The Band, Grateful Dead, Dick Dale), and pianist Ralph Schuckett (another Utopia vet whose session ledger includes James Taylor, Lou Reed, and George Benson though unfotunately not all on the same session). Expect a higher than usual turnout of studio technicians and Musicians Institute grads.
Backed by this fiery group of players, Rundgren will open with a set of “other material”, including songs he has never performed live, before launching into what is sure to be one of the highlights of LA music for 2009. Promising something more than a note for note duplication, he playfully remarks “This is not that”. Expect staging, costume changes and songs fully brought to life with Rundgren making use of his own theatrical sensibilities and Prairie Prince’s talent with set design. (You have to wonder what the visual motif on ‘Rock and Roll Pussy’ - Runt’s purported jab at John Lennon from Lennon’s year of exile in LA - is going to be).
Rundgren spoke to LAist on the phone from his home in Hawaii shortly before heading to LA to begin tour rehearsals.
The album that you’re performing at the Orpheum, A Wizard A True Star, came out in 1973, the same year as Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re An American Band and the New York Dolls’ debut album. Can you tell us what it was like having so many projects happening in such a short amount of time?
Well in those days the entire industry was a little different. It didn’t take months and months to make a record. I guess people didn’t have the idea of “perfection” that they do nowadays, where the idea is that enough perspiration can makes up for inspiration, uh, I don’t know. But it was not incredibly unusual for a producer, which I principally was at that point in time, for a producer to do three, four, as many as a half a dozen projects a year. Because they all took, more or less, an average of a month to record. Also it was just a time in my life where I had no other preoccupations but music. I also built a studio in New York, and that facilitated a lot as well, in that I could record some of my projects in my own studio or even produce from my studio. And that was a situation where we weren’t really under any kind of time limitations, in terms of what time we could come in to record, and how long we spent working. So that made our use of the studio time, I think, more efficient. And, I had no family to demand that I spend time with them. So I could spend all this time, you know, traveling or doing these productions in studios around the world, to record these various records.
Of all the albums that you could have chosen to give this kind of “live in entirety” treatment, why did you pick this one?
I didn’t choose it, and that’s how. I was on tour in England about a year ago, and our promoter approached me with the idea of doing the album once, in London. And he was inspired by the fact that a generation of younger musicians had begun to discover A Wizard A True Star, the record. And exactly how, I don’t know, how they discover that album from 1973 is mysterious to me. But in any case, a bunch of younger musicians were mentioning the record, and it was being sampled on records as well. So he thought it’d be a great way to introduce me to a younger audience in England by essentially doing a special event that would possibly feature some of these younger musicians. When word of that possibility got back to the United States, a group of fans decided that England was too far for them to go, and they wanted to see that album performed. So essentially, they found a venue in Akron and started promoting it themselves. By the time word of this got through the internet to all the fans, we wound up doing seven shows in five cities during the first ten days or so of September. So it went from being a single special event to being a series of dates and because the production is more elaborate than what I usually do, we can only do it in limited runs anyway. So we’re also doing these four dates in California, and we’ll finally make it to London in the beginning of next year, we’ll play a date in London and then a date in Amsterdam.
With all the different styles and textures on the tracks on A Wizard A True Star, how did you approach the recording? Was there a standard method of doing tracks live in the studio and overdubbing from there, or did that approach change with every song?
Well, in those days I had been working in a couple of contexts. One was the Something/ Anything context, which was me playing everything. And then there was the fourth side of Something/ Anything, and this is the record I did right before A Wizard A True Star. And the fourth side of that is all live sessions with a band. So I was not locked into doing things one way or another way. But this was the first project we did at the studio we built in New York called Secret Sound. We were still wiring up the console and stuff like that when guys were turning up to the first session. We’re frantically trying to get everything working while they were rehearsing the songs. So in some cases it would be like that, it would be live and very much resemble a live session, and in some cases it would be just me, by myself, and the biggest difference there was that I was essentially the engineer. We had no engineer to really operate the tape machine, I would have to turn it on and then run out and play whatever I was gonna play. Or, we did do a lot of recording in the control room.
So, much of our approach was out of the fact that we had our own environment to work in, and were freed of the usual limitations. I was… I could do anything I wanted that other studios might frown upon, like running it too hot or wiring things together in these weird configurations that they were not comfortable or familiar with. So it was really a different record from the stand point of how we worked. It was more like a college project or something. It wasn’t a typical kind of studio thing. Although I imagine that the Beatles had a similar kind of freedom in the studio, where you could take over a studio for a month and not have to share it with anyone else. So that was a principal element, the complete freedom to ignore the usual constraints of being in the studio.
There’s a very unique bass sound on some of those tracks, that’s kind of a quavering, wobbly bass sound. How did you achieve that effect?
We had a limited number of effects available to us in those days because it was all analog, you know, pre-digital. A lot of the vocal effects, nowadays they would use what would be referred to as a digital delay. Well there was no such thing in those days. If you wanted that kind of delay, you had to do it by an analog method. So we had a thing called a Cooper Time Cube which essentially was a couple of long pieces of hose inside a box, with a funnel speaker on one end and a microphone on the other end. So you would get this synthetic doubling effect, And one of the pedals we used to depend on a lot was called the Univibe, It’s essentially a classic effect that a lot of people used, Jimi Hendrix used it a lot on his guitar. Not so much on the bass. But we were working from a different kind of ethic, that whole idea that there were no rules that we were compelled to follow. So we would apply things that probably people didn’t think of. But using the Univibe on the bass, was, it wasn’t that unusual for the way we were working. Let’s just plug everything into everything else and see what it sounds like.
You were one of the first prominent musicians to offer a direct to consumer model for purchasing music over the internet. What did you find rewarding about that experience and, do you plan to continue working that way?
Well it was not exactly….it wasn’t based so much on sales. It was called Future Net. And the idea was that artists would get underwriting to create new music, and that the underwriters would get the chance to kind of look over the artist’s shoulder and peek at what they were doing. And so it was not a standard consumer model, it was supposed to be for people who were particularly devoted to certain artists.
And it was great for a while but the problem was, it was always a technological burden, and I needed to have the participation and the help of other entities. And at some point we sold it to someone who then proceeded to dismantle it. Put no money into it, starved it to death and essentially brought the whole enterprise to its knees. And it hasn’t recovered since. I would like to go back to the concept again, which is different from the standard, record sales. More sort of long term underwriting, and a different sort of relationship between the artist and the people who listen to the music. But at this particular point in time I’m too involved in musical things, I suppose, to get back into the whole technology trip. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get to a place where I will revisit the concept and try and re-prog.
Regarding the 2004 album Liars, did you begin with the concept before writing the songs or did you notice that you had a lot of songs with a common theme?
The concept evolved… I had done a little bit of recording but at the time, I was very sort of unfocused about it. I wasn’t really thinking I was ready. I was just… writing songs and recording them. And eventually I got to the point that I thought, I’ve got enough basic groundwork done, I should start to think about finishing a record. And I realized I wanted to do something that was conceptual, which I hadn’t done in a while. And I realized that at least some of this stuff I had been writing about was on the topic of, not just truth, but also reality and surreality and all these sort of glamours and things like that that I discovered, after ruminating, seem to be almost endemic in human character. And so after that, it almost started to write itself from a lyrical standpoint. Eighty minutes worth of music, all of it about that central topic. It turned to out to be a real goldmine, I guess, of ideas for things to write about. Once you realize and acknowledge the fact that this weird relationship that human beings have with the truth creates so much conflict, how much conflict and turmoil… that’s where most music comes from. It comes from turmoil. Most art is the product of some kind of turmoil deep inside that artist’s soul.
Working as a producer, have you ever worked on a project that ended up having an effect on your own music?
Almost all of my productions have had some eventual effect on my music. In many instances, I’m only interested in doing artists that present a kind of challenge. Production means a lot of things, and one of the things I don’t really feel should be in the category of production is simple babysitting. So if the producer is not making some of kind of contribution, and conversely becoming more and more educated about the act that he’s working with, then there’s not enough music in it for me. So I tend to choose artists that I’m not necessarily 100% comfortable with, and even then I’m trying to challenge us to come up with something beyond the mundane. And so in that sense, I’m always ideally learning something and getting something from the people that I’m working with, even if I don’t directly incorporate that into anything that I do. I mean, I did produce a country album once. I haven’t really done any country music. But in that sense, the answer is yes, I do get affected by the people I work with.
Are there any production jobs that you’ve passed over and later wished that you’d accepted?
Well, there are jobs that just, for whatever reason, just don’t happen. Because many artists are on a schedule, you know, they’ve gotta get a record done so they can go on the road and tour it, often can’t wait for you to finish another project that you’re working on and you lose the opportunity. I was working on a Tubes album when I was approached to do a Talking Heads record. And I was a big fan of the band and I was always disappointed I never got to do that. But ce’st la vie, you know? That’s the breaks. And there are other things that you get to do that make up for it. You know, I did an XTC record that was a Herculean task from a psychic standpoint. It was a very satisfying record to do, and a finished product that only I would have done. And those are the kinds of records that you’re waiting for, the ones that are the perfect match for you.
It was interesting reading XTC’s interviews in response to the production of that record, and, well, you’ve read them too...
It comes with the territory, I guess. You hope that your time with an artist will be pleasant and fruitful. And if it can’t be both of those, it can at least be fruitful. We helped their career, and beyond that, the turmoil just comes with the territory. Put it this way: it would have been horrible if we’d gone through all that AND the record sucked.
the boundary-defying musician, vocalist, composer, producer and original Zen Master of computer technology applied to music, embarks on a very special mini-tour this week, performing his 1973 release A Wizard, A True Star in its entirety in four California cities. This Friday at the Orpheum Theater, Todd and his band will reprise an album so full of music, the pressing required narrowing the grooves so that it could all fit. Covering just about every rock/pop genre even a journeyman fan could imagine, even inventing a few more in the process, it has over time been proclaimed Rundgren's White Album, OK Computer and Pet Sounds.
Acknowledged to be a musician’s musician - on 1972’s Something / Anything, he played all instruments - for this unveiling of A Wizard, A True Star Rundgren has enlisted some phenomenal support players. His touring band for this jaunt consists of drummer Prairie Prince (The Tubes, skinbasher on the Rundgren-produced Skylarking by XTC); bassist Kasim Sulton from Rundgren’s 70’s-era band Utopia; Cars keysman Greg Hawkes; guitarist Jesse Gress (Tony Levin, Robbie Dupree, Adrian Belew); saxophonist Bobby Strickland (The Band, Grateful Dead, Dick Dale), and pianist Ralph Schuckett (another Utopia vet whose session ledger includes James Taylor, Lou Reed, and George Benson though unfotunately not all on the same session). Expect a higher than usual turnout of studio technicians and Musicians Institute grads.
Backed by this fiery group of players, Rundgren will open with a set of “other material”, including songs he has never performed live, before launching into what is sure to be one of the highlights of LA music for 2009. Promising something more than a note for note duplication, he playfully remarks “This is not that”. Expect staging, costume changes and songs fully brought to life with Rundgren making use of his own theatrical sensibilities and Prairie Prince’s talent with set design. (You have to wonder what the visual motif on ‘Rock and Roll Pussy’ - Runt’s purported jab at John Lennon from Lennon’s year of exile in LA - is going to be).
Rundgren spoke to LAist on the phone from his home in Hawaii shortly before heading to LA to begin tour rehearsals.
The album that you’re performing at the Orpheum, A Wizard A True Star, came out in 1973, the same year as Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re An American Band and the New York Dolls’ debut album. Can you tell us what it was like having so many projects happening in such a short amount of time?
Well in those days the entire industry was a little different. It didn’t take months and months to make a record. I guess people didn’t have the idea of “perfection” that they do nowadays, where the idea is that enough perspiration can makes up for inspiration, uh, I don’t know. But it was not incredibly unusual for a producer, which I principally was at that point in time, for a producer to do three, four, as many as a half a dozen projects a year. Because they all took, more or less, an average of a month to record. Also it was just a time in my life where I had no other preoccupations but music. I also built a studio in New York, and that facilitated a lot as well, in that I could record some of my projects in my own studio or even produce from my studio. And that was a situation where we weren’t really under any kind of time limitations, in terms of what time we could come in to record, and how long we spent working. So that made our use of the studio time, I think, more efficient. And, I had no family to demand that I spend time with them. So I could spend all this time, you know, traveling or doing these productions in studios around the world, to record these various records.
Of all the albums that you could have chosen to give this kind of “live in entirety” treatment, why did you pick this one?
I didn’t choose it, and that’s how. I was on tour in England about a year ago, and our promoter approached me with the idea of doing the album once, in London. And he was inspired by the fact that a generation of younger musicians had begun to discover A Wizard A True Star, the record. And exactly how, I don’t know, how they discover that album from 1973 is mysterious to me. But in any case, a bunch of younger musicians were mentioning the record, and it was being sampled on records as well. So he thought it’d be a great way to introduce me to a younger audience in England by essentially doing a special event that would possibly feature some of these younger musicians. When word of that possibility got back to the United States, a group of fans decided that England was too far for them to go, and they wanted to see that album performed. So essentially, they found a venue in Akron and started promoting it themselves. By the time word of this got through the internet to all the fans, we wound up doing seven shows in five cities during the first ten days or so of September. So it went from being a single special event to being a series of dates and because the production is more elaborate than what I usually do, we can only do it in limited runs anyway. So we’re also doing these four dates in California, and we’ll finally make it to London in the beginning of next year, we’ll play a date in London and then a date in Amsterdam.
With all the different styles and textures on the tracks on A Wizard A True Star, how did you approach the recording? Was there a standard method of doing tracks live in the studio and overdubbing from there, or did that approach change with every song?
Well, in those days I had been working in a couple of contexts. One was the Something/ Anything context, which was me playing everything. And then there was the fourth side of Something/ Anything, and this is the record I did right before A Wizard A True Star. And the fourth side of that is all live sessions with a band. So I was not locked into doing things one way or another way. But this was the first project we did at the studio we built in New York called Secret Sound. We were still wiring up the console and stuff like that when guys were turning up to the first session. We’re frantically trying to get everything working while they were rehearsing the songs. So in some cases it would be like that, it would be live and very much resemble a live session, and in some cases it would be just me, by myself, and the biggest difference there was that I was essentially the engineer. We had no engineer to really operate the tape machine, I would have to turn it on and then run out and play whatever I was gonna play. Or, we did do a lot of recording in the control room.
So, much of our approach was out of the fact that we had our own environment to work in, and were freed of the usual limitations. I was… I could do anything I wanted that other studios might frown upon, like running it too hot or wiring things together in these weird configurations that they were not comfortable or familiar with. So it was really a different record from the stand point of how we worked. It was more like a college project or something. It wasn’t a typical kind of studio thing. Although I imagine that the Beatles had a similar kind of freedom in the studio, where you could take over a studio for a month and not have to share it with anyone else. So that was a principal element, the complete freedom to ignore the usual constraints of being in the studio.
There’s a very unique bass sound on some of those tracks, that’s kind of a quavering, wobbly bass sound. How did you achieve that effect?
We had a limited number of effects available to us in those days because it was all analog, you know, pre-digital. A lot of the vocal effects, nowadays they would use what would be referred to as a digital delay. Well there was no such thing in those days. If you wanted that kind of delay, you had to do it by an analog method. So we had a thing called a Cooper Time Cube which essentially was a couple of long pieces of hose inside a box, with a funnel speaker on one end and a microphone on the other end. So you would get this synthetic doubling effect, And one of the pedals we used to depend on a lot was called the Univibe, It’s essentially a classic effect that a lot of people used, Jimi Hendrix used it a lot on his guitar. Not so much on the bass. But we were working from a different kind of ethic, that whole idea that there were no rules that we were compelled to follow. So we would apply things that probably people didn’t think of. But using the Univibe on the bass, was, it wasn’t that unusual for the way we were working. Let’s just plug everything into everything else and see what it sounds like.
You were one of the first prominent musicians to offer a direct to consumer model for purchasing music over the internet. What did you find rewarding about that experience and, do you plan to continue working that way?
Well it was not exactly….it wasn’t based so much on sales. It was called Future Net. And the idea was that artists would get underwriting to create new music, and that the underwriters would get the chance to kind of look over the artist’s shoulder and peek at what they were doing. And so it was not a standard consumer model, it was supposed to be for people who were particularly devoted to certain artists.
And it was great for a while but the problem was, it was always a technological burden, and I needed to have the participation and the help of other entities. And at some point we sold it to someone who then proceeded to dismantle it. Put no money into it, starved it to death and essentially brought the whole enterprise to its knees. And it hasn’t recovered since. I would like to go back to the concept again, which is different from the standard, record sales. More sort of long term underwriting, and a different sort of relationship between the artist and the people who listen to the music. But at this particular point in time I’m too involved in musical things, I suppose, to get back into the whole technology trip. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get to a place where I will revisit the concept and try and re-prog.
Regarding the 2004 album Liars, did you begin with the concept before writing the songs or did you notice that you had a lot of songs with a common theme?
The concept evolved… I had done a little bit of recording but at the time, I was very sort of unfocused about it. I wasn’t really thinking I was ready. I was just… writing songs and recording them. And eventually I got to the point that I thought, I’ve got enough basic groundwork done, I should start to think about finishing a record. And I realized I wanted to do something that was conceptual, which I hadn’t done in a while. And I realized that at least some of this stuff I had been writing about was on the topic of, not just truth, but also reality and surreality and all these sort of glamours and things like that that I discovered, after ruminating, seem to be almost endemic in human character. And so after that, it almost started to write itself from a lyrical standpoint. Eighty minutes worth of music, all of it about that central topic. It turned to out to be a real goldmine, I guess, of ideas for things to write about. Once you realize and acknowledge the fact that this weird relationship that human beings have with the truth creates so much conflict, how much conflict and turmoil… that’s where most music comes from. It comes from turmoil. Most art is the product of some kind of turmoil deep inside that artist’s soul.
Working as a producer, have you ever worked on a project that ended up having an effect on your own music?
Almost all of my productions have had some eventual effect on my music. In many instances, I’m only interested in doing artists that present a kind of challenge. Production means a lot of things, and one of the things I don’t really feel should be in the category of production is simple babysitting. So if the producer is not making some of kind of contribution, and conversely becoming more and more educated about the act that he’s working with, then there’s not enough music in it for me. So I tend to choose artists that I’m not necessarily 100% comfortable with, and even then I’m trying to challenge us to come up with something beyond the mundane. And so in that sense, I’m always ideally learning something and getting something from the people that I’m working with, even if I don’t directly incorporate that into anything that I do. I mean, I did produce a country album once. I haven’t really done any country music. But in that sense, the answer is yes, I do get affected by the people I work with.
Are there any production jobs that you’ve passed over and later wished that you’d accepted?
Well, there are jobs that just, for whatever reason, just don’t happen. Because many artists are on a schedule, you know, they’ve gotta get a record done so they can go on the road and tour it, often can’t wait for you to finish another project that you’re working on and you lose the opportunity. I was working on a Tubes album when I was approached to do a Talking Heads record. And I was a big fan of the band and I was always disappointed I never got to do that. But ce’st la vie, you know? That’s the breaks. And there are other things that you get to do that make up for it. You know, I did an XTC record that was a Herculean task from a psychic standpoint. It was a very satisfying record to do, and a finished product that only I would have done. And those are the kinds of records that you’re waiting for, the ones that are the perfect match for you.
It was interesting reading XTC’s interviews in response to the production of that record, and, well, you’ve read them too...
It comes with the territory, I guess. You hope that your time with an artist will be pleasant and fruitful. And if it can’t be both of those, it can at least be fruitful. We helped their career, and beyond that, the turmoil just comes with the territory. Put it this way: it would have been horrible if we’d gone through all that AND the record sucked.
Monday, November 30, 2009
PR: Awats west coast show begin this week
Todd Rundgren's California AWATS Live tour begins this week
Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard, A True Star" album tour in California begins this week. The concerts will include an opening set featuring some songs he's never performed before live. Stops include San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Ventura.
Todd Rundgren during an AWATS Live soul medley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 29, 2009 – Todd Rundgren's full-album performances tour in California begins this week. The concerts will include an opening set featuring some songs he's never performed before live ---- Keeping his fans guessing, Todd has chosen not to comment on whether these songs are new material for an upcoming release or songs from previous albums.
Beginning December 1, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, Todd and his six-piece star-studded band will play the 1973 classic album "A Wizard, A True Star" in its entirety for the first time ever on the West Coast. Band members include: Utopia and Meatloaf bassist, Kasim Sulton; Tubes and Jefferson Starship drummer, Prairie Prince; keyboardist and founding member of The Cars, Greg Hawkes; Todd Rundgren's Utopia keyboardist, Ralph Schuckett; percussionist and horn player, Bobby Strickland; and lead guitarist and former music editor of Guitar Player magazine, Jesse Gress.
Rundgren has only performed the AWATS album live in its entirety seven times. The first ever performance on September 6th of this year was presented in Akron, OH, by two fans-turned-promoters from RundgrenRadio.com. The results were a sold out show, critical raves and unbridled fan demand for more performances.
The AWATS Live performance features not only the music but an elaborate stage extravaganza with multiple costume changes. According to Rundgren, the album was from an era when most artists were offering production-oriented live performances. "People were wearing costumes and they had special effects and lasers and that sort of stuff to enhance the shows. We'll truck a bunch of that out as well ... it's not just the music of the era; it's a presentation in the style of that era."
The California mini-tour :
December 1st in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
December 2nd in Sacramento at the Crest Theatre
December 4th in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre
December 5th in Ventura at the Majestic Theatre.
Ticket ordering information is available on http://www.awatslive.com. Todd and the band will take the show overseas in February 2010.
"A Wizard, A True Star" was included in the 2006 musical reference book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2003, British music critic Barney Hoskyns wrote in MOJO magazine that Rundgren's "A Wizard, A True Star" is simply the greatest album ever made.
Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard, A True Star" album tour in California begins this week. The concerts will include an opening set featuring some songs he's never performed before live. Stops include San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Ventura.
Todd Rundgren during an AWATS Live soul medley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 29, 2009 – Todd Rundgren's full-album performances tour in California begins this week. The concerts will include an opening set featuring some songs he's never performed before live ---- Keeping his fans guessing, Todd has chosen not to comment on whether these songs are new material for an upcoming release or songs from previous albums.
Beginning December 1, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, Todd and his six-piece star-studded band will play the 1973 classic album "A Wizard, A True Star" in its entirety for the first time ever on the West Coast. Band members include: Utopia and Meatloaf bassist, Kasim Sulton; Tubes and Jefferson Starship drummer, Prairie Prince; keyboardist and founding member of The Cars, Greg Hawkes; Todd Rundgren's Utopia keyboardist, Ralph Schuckett; percussionist and horn player, Bobby Strickland; and lead guitarist and former music editor of Guitar Player magazine, Jesse Gress.
Rundgren has only performed the AWATS album live in its entirety seven times. The first ever performance on September 6th of this year was presented in Akron, OH, by two fans-turned-promoters from RundgrenRadio.com. The results were a sold out show, critical raves and unbridled fan demand for more performances.
The AWATS Live performance features not only the music but an elaborate stage extravaganza with multiple costume changes. According to Rundgren, the album was from an era when most artists were offering production-oriented live performances. "People were wearing costumes and they had special effects and lasers and that sort of stuff to enhance the shows. We'll truck a bunch of that out as well ... it's not just the music of the era; it's a presentation in the style of that era."
The California mini-tour :
December 1st in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
December 2nd in Sacramento at the Crest Theatre
December 4th in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre
December 5th in Ventura at the Majestic Theatre.
Ticket ordering information is available on http://www.awatslive.com. Todd and the band will take the show overseas in February 2010.
"A Wizard, A True Star" was included in the 2006 musical reference book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2003, British music critic Barney Hoskyns wrote in MOJO magazine that Rundgren's "A Wizard, A True Star" is simply the greatest album ever made.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Interview: examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-27429-Classic-Rock-Examiner~y2009m11d25-A-Wizard-A-True-Star--An-Interview-with-the-Legendary-Todd-Rundgren
A Wizard: A True Star - An Interview with the Legendary Todd Rundgren
November 25, 1:08 PMClassic Rock ExaminerSonya Alexander
Todd Rundgren
onlineseats.comAt the end of the 60s, in the haze of the late stage of Beatles pop culture craze, lots of young men wanted to form bands. Some did so successfully, others didn't. One who did so successfully was the inimitable, enigmatic Todd Rundgren, who's progressive outlook and true musical skills keep his music as fresh, intimate and satisfying as a long embrace from an old friend. I recently had the good fortune of interviewing this brilliant, humble man via phone. Since he lives in an area of Hawaii considered the "Kansas of the islands" because of the frequent power outages, it took us a couple of tries to connect, but we eventually did.
Examiner: How long have you lived in Hawaii?
TR: I started coming here in the mid-70s to unlax. After Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, I figured that would be the best time to get some property here.
Examiner: Does your family live there with you?
TR: My children, I have five, are all grown up. My wife comes and goes, depending on what projects she's working on. I enjoy being alone, I enjoy my own company. It's the best thing for my work.
Examiner: You've had many personas as a performer. Which one are you now?
TR: A performing artist. I'm touring now. Have four dates on the mainland coming up. Like to mix it up by doing live shows. We already performed seven shows this past September and we'll be in Amsterdam and England next year.
Examiner: How was it doing "Live from Daryl's House," working with Daryl Hall again? How was it to work in such a casual atmosphere as opposed to in front of an audience?
TR: It was fun and relaxed. We cooked sausage. There was no rehearsal. though, and no dallying around once we started. Daryl and I have toured together before, as recently as a couple of months ago, at the closing of the Spectrum in Philly. In the early 70s, I did the album "War Babies" with him.
Examiner: You've toured with Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band. How was that experience?
TR: Fun. That was a while back. Toured with him a couple of times.
Examiner: Who were some of the musicians that were part of the group when you toured?
TR: Let's see....Nils Lofgren, Joe Walsh, Simon Burke, Burton Cummings, Zak Starkey, Ringo's son. He rotates the group, so it's always a different line-up.
Examiner: How would you define "rock and roll"?
TR: It's not a term, but a period of music, just like 'folk music'. People like to think that any music that has a guitar is rock and roll...that's not so. The Beatles weren't even rock and roll, though some of their earlier tunes were. They were pop. They grew into something more sophisiticated than rock and roll.
Examiner: How did you get into music?
TR: Well, the Beatles redefined music during those times. They showed that if you got four guys together, it was feasible to accomplish something in music. My first band was Woody's Truck Stop, which was kind of bluesy. Nazz was built from the remnants of that group. Its sound was more like The Who, the Beach Boys sound.
Examiner: You had an androgynous look during your early solo career. What was that influenced by?
TR: It was the times. Glam rock, dressing up, was in. Jazz musicians even went from suits to sequined dashikis! Might break out some of the same costumes on this tour, with some alterations...!
Examiner: What is it that you love about music?
TR: That it's essentially mystical. You don't really know how it works, really how you're able to affect people's emotions. It's magic. It's what keeps me interested. The depth, the subtlety. I guess I'm lucky that I was born with a sensibility to not only use the medium for myself, but to also know when it's working. A musician has some obstacles to overcome that are unique to his vocation. I was into record producing early on, so that keeps me going when I'm not singing. Some musicians are forced to do other things besides music if they don't do more than one thing.
Examiner: What do you think of current music?
TR: The most economically stable seems to be hip hop. But that doesn't mean I'll be doing a song with Kanye West anytime soon! Many of the rock bands are leveraging Blink 182, but that's losing energy. A lot of today's music is phenomenal, but doesn't have legs. Music is in natural hibernation. Live performance is the essence of music. If a performer can perform live, he can always make a living. If a performer can make a million in a year in record sales, he can make a million a month performing on the road because the split is completely different between record sales and live performance.
Examiner: What are some of your favorite songs?
TR: Oh, probably most of Burt Bacharachs. (laughs)
Examiner: What are some of your songs that are your favorites?
TR: I don't think about that. I don't like to think of myself defined by a single song, that's too simple. I like to focus on what I haven't done yet.
Examiner: What inspires your music?
TR: Silence inspires my writing. I'm always looking for transcendance in my music. I like to write about things that matter to me and that are revelatory.
Examiner: If you had to pick one word to describe you, what would it be?
TR: Contrarian. (laughs) I'm not that way on purpose. I like to do what only I can do, which is usually what no one else wants to do...!
Examiner: Every venue is different, has different types of audiences. Any you prefer?
TR: There are some I refuse to play.
Examiner: Which ones?
TR: Bogard's in Cincinnati. Didn't like the venue itself. They had shoddy hiring practices, crew would show up high or drunk, then disappear as soon as the show was over. A musician should be able to transform a venue and make it uniquely his own. I had an album called Arena, and during that time, only played one arena, but I still had to create that ambiance wherever I was. Often musicians play gigs they get, not that they want.
Examiner: Anyone you haven't worked with who you'd like to?
TR: Well, I think that creating heroes is dangerous because you're ultimately disappointed. But, if I had to name someone I have reverance for, I'd say, as a songwriter, Elvis Costello, and, as a guitarist, Eric Clapton.
Examiner: Anything happening with TR-i.com?
TR: No, not really. I'm not into social networking, though I pioneered its use. I'm not that needy of attention and I don't have an agenda. I don't even own a cellphone!
Examiner: Are you prepping for your upcoming California show?
TR: No. Those seven shows we did recently were prep. I'm currently finishing up an album of Robert Johnson's songs. Delivering them to my label in about a week. Little difficult because everyone's covered him, so I'm trying to make sure my take isn't pedantic. I'm not a blues singer, I've done R&B. There's a difference. Blues is straight ahead. I do tend to move straight ahead, though, in the way that I work, and try not to run into a wall!
Examiner: What's the name of the album?
TR: Todd Rundgren's Johnson.
Todd has four upcoming shows in December. Don't miss a chance to see this proto-glam rock necromancer of ingenius songs do his thing. For more information, go to: http://todd-rundgren.com/tr-tour-2008.html.
A Wizard: A True Star - An Interview with the Legendary Todd Rundgren
November 25, 1:08 PMClassic Rock ExaminerSonya Alexander
Todd Rundgren
onlineseats.comAt the end of the 60s, in the haze of the late stage of Beatles pop culture craze, lots of young men wanted to form bands. Some did so successfully, others didn't. One who did so successfully was the inimitable, enigmatic Todd Rundgren, who's progressive outlook and true musical skills keep his music as fresh, intimate and satisfying as a long embrace from an old friend. I recently had the good fortune of interviewing this brilliant, humble man via phone. Since he lives in an area of Hawaii considered the "Kansas of the islands" because of the frequent power outages, it took us a couple of tries to connect, but we eventually did.
Examiner: How long have you lived in Hawaii?
TR: I started coming here in the mid-70s to unlax. After Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, I figured that would be the best time to get some property here.
Examiner: Does your family live there with you?
TR: My children, I have five, are all grown up. My wife comes and goes, depending on what projects she's working on. I enjoy being alone, I enjoy my own company. It's the best thing for my work.
Examiner: You've had many personas as a performer. Which one are you now?
TR: A performing artist. I'm touring now. Have four dates on the mainland coming up. Like to mix it up by doing live shows. We already performed seven shows this past September and we'll be in Amsterdam and England next year.
Examiner: How was it doing "Live from Daryl's House," working with Daryl Hall again? How was it to work in such a casual atmosphere as opposed to in front of an audience?
TR: It was fun and relaxed. We cooked sausage. There was no rehearsal. though, and no dallying around once we started. Daryl and I have toured together before, as recently as a couple of months ago, at the closing of the Spectrum in Philly. In the early 70s, I did the album "War Babies" with him.
Examiner: You've toured with Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band. How was that experience?
TR: Fun. That was a while back. Toured with him a couple of times.
Examiner: Who were some of the musicians that were part of the group when you toured?
TR: Let's see....Nils Lofgren, Joe Walsh, Simon Burke, Burton Cummings, Zak Starkey, Ringo's son. He rotates the group, so it's always a different line-up.
Examiner: How would you define "rock and roll"?
TR: It's not a term, but a period of music, just like 'folk music'. People like to think that any music that has a guitar is rock and roll...that's not so. The Beatles weren't even rock and roll, though some of their earlier tunes were. They were pop. They grew into something more sophisiticated than rock and roll.
Examiner: How did you get into music?
TR: Well, the Beatles redefined music during those times. They showed that if you got four guys together, it was feasible to accomplish something in music. My first band was Woody's Truck Stop, which was kind of bluesy. Nazz was built from the remnants of that group. Its sound was more like The Who, the Beach Boys sound.
Examiner: You had an androgynous look during your early solo career. What was that influenced by?
TR: It was the times. Glam rock, dressing up, was in. Jazz musicians even went from suits to sequined dashikis! Might break out some of the same costumes on this tour, with some alterations...!
Examiner: What is it that you love about music?
TR: That it's essentially mystical. You don't really know how it works, really how you're able to affect people's emotions. It's magic. It's what keeps me interested. The depth, the subtlety. I guess I'm lucky that I was born with a sensibility to not only use the medium for myself, but to also know when it's working. A musician has some obstacles to overcome that are unique to his vocation. I was into record producing early on, so that keeps me going when I'm not singing. Some musicians are forced to do other things besides music if they don't do more than one thing.
Examiner: What do you think of current music?
TR: The most economically stable seems to be hip hop. But that doesn't mean I'll be doing a song with Kanye West anytime soon! Many of the rock bands are leveraging Blink 182, but that's losing energy. A lot of today's music is phenomenal, but doesn't have legs. Music is in natural hibernation. Live performance is the essence of music. If a performer can perform live, he can always make a living. If a performer can make a million in a year in record sales, he can make a million a month performing on the road because the split is completely different between record sales and live performance.
Examiner: What are some of your favorite songs?
TR: Oh, probably most of Burt Bacharachs. (laughs)
Examiner: What are some of your songs that are your favorites?
TR: I don't think about that. I don't like to think of myself defined by a single song, that's too simple. I like to focus on what I haven't done yet.
Examiner: What inspires your music?
TR: Silence inspires my writing. I'm always looking for transcendance in my music. I like to write about things that matter to me and that are revelatory.
Examiner: If you had to pick one word to describe you, what would it be?
TR: Contrarian. (laughs) I'm not that way on purpose. I like to do what only I can do, which is usually what no one else wants to do...!
Examiner: Every venue is different, has different types of audiences. Any you prefer?
TR: There are some I refuse to play.
Examiner: Which ones?
TR: Bogard's in Cincinnati. Didn't like the venue itself. They had shoddy hiring practices, crew would show up high or drunk, then disappear as soon as the show was over. A musician should be able to transform a venue and make it uniquely his own. I had an album called Arena, and during that time, only played one arena, but I still had to create that ambiance wherever I was. Often musicians play gigs they get, not that they want.
Examiner: Anyone you haven't worked with who you'd like to?
TR: Well, I think that creating heroes is dangerous because you're ultimately disappointed. But, if I had to name someone I have reverance for, I'd say, as a songwriter, Elvis Costello, and, as a guitarist, Eric Clapton.
Examiner: Anything happening with TR-i.com?
TR: No, not really. I'm not into social networking, though I pioneered its use. I'm not that needy of attention and I don't have an agenda. I don't even own a cellphone!
Examiner: Are you prepping for your upcoming California show?
TR: No. Those seven shows we did recently were prep. I'm currently finishing up an album of Robert Johnson's songs. Delivering them to my label in about a week. Little difficult because everyone's covered him, so I'm trying to make sure my take isn't pedantic. I'm not a blues singer, I've done R&B. There's a difference. Blues is straight ahead. I do tend to move straight ahead, though, in the way that I work, and try not to run into a wall!
Examiner: What's the name of the album?
TR: Todd Rundgren's Johnson.
Todd has four upcoming shows in December. Don't miss a chance to see this proto-glam rock necromancer of ingenius songs do his thing. For more information, go to: http://todd-rundgren.com/tr-tour-2008.html.
Blog post "here comes the sun"
Aloha from Hawaii: the HCTF Todd Rundgren interview
Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 2:54 PM
Todd Rundgren has been busy performing his classic A Wizard, A True Star album in full. Originally planned as a one-off show in London in February 2010, the production was brought to the States by fans who didn't want to (or couldn't) make the trip to England and demanded (in a polite way) that the show was staged on their side of the big pond. Rundgren played seven shows on a five cities tour in September .
He will be touring the US West Coast again in December before bringing the tour to a close (for now) with shows in London and Amsterdam in February. The performances were received quite well. The staging involves a lot of costume changes - his wardrobe is designed by his wife Michele - and theatrical props to act out the different characters of the album. Video is being used to underpin some aspects of the show most notably using footage of George Bush walking into a locked door.
Todd Rundgren lives on Kauai, Hawaii. HCTF spoke with Mr. Rundgren on the phone.
Performing complete albums has become popular recently. Whose idea was it to perform A Wizard, A True Star in full?
"When I was in England last year for the Arena tour my English promoter asked me to do something special and suggested A Wizard, A True Star. A lot of the younger UK artists had been mentioning the album as a big influence and samples of it turned on their records. So the promoter suggested to to stage a production of the original. When the news broke fans in the States clamored that they wanted to see it too and so those shows happened over there. They did their utmost to promote it and we only had the show basically, taking care of the production and the logistics."
Technology has moved forward big time since the release of the album in 1973. Is this making things easier to replicate the songs on stage?
"Back then we didn't have samples. We cobbled the sounds together in the studio in anyway we could. We recorded the album just before the synthesizer arrived and became affordable. We did a lot of treatments. Nowadays most of those sounds and effects are built into the instruments."
"There is a song on the album - Dogfight Giggle - that is basically noise. No need to play that, so we play the tape and I can cut to a little video presentation. I started experimenting with video in the Seventies, when it was very expensive to use."
You made changes of the running order of the album when you play it in concert. Why is that?
"It was released on vinyl - there were no CD's back then, so I had to deal with the cut between the two sides which had consequences for the running order.I still wanted it to come off as a theatrical show. Is It My Name? is a good rock song, but it's not a sensible song to end the show with before my traditional encore Just One Victory. So I moved When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Blvd and Le Feel Internationale to the end of the set to reprise the album's start."
© Lynn GoldsmithJust like Sgt. Pepper?
"That makes it's more Sgt. Peppery, yes. I have been performing Just One Victory as my encore for years and years. The audience know it's all over after that. No need to ask for more after I have played that (laughs)."
Your former band Utopia was the opening act on some of the USA shows, although it wasn't bille as such. is that going happen again?
"It made sense when three of members of the band were on stage, but we won't be doing it again. Roger Powell is not coming to Europe. He is no longer a professional musician - he is a computer programmer now and he doesn't want to travel. Fortunately we have an excellent replacement. Ralph Schuckett, who played on the original A Wizard, A True Star album, will be joining us."
So what are you going to play besides "Wizard"? You could do the Pink Floyd thing and play two albums. Your latest studio album Arena before intermission and then AWATS.
"That happened on some occasions. It could happen again, but we like keep the element of surpise for the audience. Ten again, we will be performing next week, so the cat will be out of the bag by then."
Arena was performed in sequence. How did that come about?
"That happened because of the time aspects. I turned 60 last year and there was a huge party here on the island that lasted two weeks. We decided to perform and the band learned the songs one by one in sequence. It was pre-produced that way. We had a world premiere of the songs for the guests on my birthday. We took it on the road before the album came out and exposed the audience to one hour of music thee hadn't heard before, which was a bit of challenge for them."
A Wizard, A True Star dates:
12/01 San Francico, CA - Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
12/02 Sacramento, CA - Crest Theatre
12/04 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
12/05 Ventura, CA - Majestic Theatre
2010:
02/06 London, UK - HMV Hammersmith Apollo (Press Release)
02/08 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso
Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 2:54 PM
Todd Rundgren has been busy performing his classic A Wizard, A True Star album in full. Originally planned as a one-off show in London in February 2010, the production was brought to the States by fans who didn't want to (or couldn't) make the trip to England and demanded (in a polite way) that the show was staged on their side of the big pond. Rundgren played seven shows on a five cities tour in September .
He will be touring the US West Coast again in December before bringing the tour to a close (for now) with shows in London and Amsterdam in February. The performances were received quite well. The staging involves a lot of costume changes - his wardrobe is designed by his wife Michele - and theatrical props to act out the different characters of the album. Video is being used to underpin some aspects of the show most notably using footage of George Bush walking into a locked door.
Todd Rundgren lives on Kauai, Hawaii. HCTF spoke with Mr. Rundgren on the phone.
Performing complete albums has become popular recently. Whose idea was it to perform A Wizard, A True Star in full?
"When I was in England last year for the Arena tour my English promoter asked me to do something special and suggested A Wizard, A True Star. A lot of the younger UK artists had been mentioning the album as a big influence and samples of it turned on their records. So the promoter suggested to to stage a production of the original. When the news broke fans in the States clamored that they wanted to see it too and so those shows happened over there. They did their utmost to promote it and we only had the show basically, taking care of the production and the logistics."
Technology has moved forward big time since the release of the album in 1973. Is this making things easier to replicate the songs on stage?
"Back then we didn't have samples. We cobbled the sounds together in the studio in anyway we could. We recorded the album just before the synthesizer arrived and became affordable. We did a lot of treatments. Nowadays most of those sounds and effects are built into the instruments."
"There is a song on the album - Dogfight Giggle - that is basically noise. No need to play that, so we play the tape and I can cut to a little video presentation. I started experimenting with video in the Seventies, when it was very expensive to use."
You made changes of the running order of the album when you play it in concert. Why is that?
"It was released on vinyl - there were no CD's back then, so I had to deal with the cut between the two sides which had consequences for the running order.I still wanted it to come off as a theatrical show. Is It My Name? is a good rock song, but it's not a sensible song to end the show with before my traditional encore Just One Victory. So I moved When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Blvd and Le Feel Internationale to the end of the set to reprise the album's start."
© Lynn GoldsmithJust like Sgt. Pepper?
"That makes it's more Sgt. Peppery, yes. I have been performing Just One Victory as my encore for years and years. The audience know it's all over after that. No need to ask for more after I have played that (laughs)."
Your former band Utopia was the opening act on some of the USA shows, although it wasn't bille as such. is that going happen again?
"It made sense when three of members of the band were on stage, but we won't be doing it again. Roger Powell is not coming to Europe. He is no longer a professional musician - he is a computer programmer now and he doesn't want to travel. Fortunately we have an excellent replacement. Ralph Schuckett, who played on the original A Wizard, A True Star album, will be joining us."
So what are you going to play besides "Wizard"? You could do the Pink Floyd thing and play two albums. Your latest studio album Arena before intermission and then AWATS.
"That happened on some occasions. It could happen again, but we like keep the element of surpise for the audience. Ten again, we will be performing next week, so the cat will be out of the bag by then."
Arena was performed in sequence. How did that come about?
"That happened because of the time aspects. I turned 60 last year and there was a huge party here on the island that lasted two weeks. We decided to perform and the band learned the songs one by one in sequence. It was pre-produced that way. We had a world premiere of the songs for the guests on my birthday. We took it on the road before the album came out and exposed the audience to one hour of music thee hadn't heard before, which was a bit of challenge for them."
A Wizard, A True Star dates:
12/01 San Francico, CA - Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
12/02 Sacramento, CA - Crest Theatre
12/04 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
12/05 Ventura, CA - Majestic Theatre
2010:
02/06 London, UK - HMV Hammersmith Apollo (Press Release)
02/08 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
article: espyrock.com
http://espyrock.com/2009/11/todd-rundgren-%e2%80%9cthe-internet-works-yes-it%e2%80%99s-having-an-effect%e2%80%9d-3218/
Posted on November 24, 2009 - by Abhijeet Ahluwalia
Todd Rundgren “The internet works!! Yes, it’s having an effect!!”
Featured Interview News
There are prog rockers, there are producers. And then there’s Todd Rundgren. In any given year of his 40 year career, few artists would have been as active both in front of the microphone and behind the mixing desk as Runt. I could keeping waxing lyrical all night long and still not cover all he’s done, or the impact he’s had. Little wonder then, that British fans are foaming at the mouth at the prospect of seeing Todd perform A Wizard, A True Star in its entirety.
A theatrical show replete with costume changes and props, the extravaganza was initially conceived on tour in England in support of the 2008 Arena record. “Last year’s English promoter came up with the idea,” Todd explains to me over the phone from Hawaii. “Younger acts and electronic artists had been name checking it in interviews and citing it as an influence, and we thought this was a better vehicle to attract a better audience. Word eventually got back to the US and some fans didn’t want to wait until 2010 to see it live, so they got together and did the promotion themselves! We didn’t go to a promoter, it was someone who runs an online station that only plays my music.”
What started with one show in Ohio quickly ballooned into several as crowds took to the idea in the way only a dedicated fan-base can. It is an overused cliché in the music industry to describe an artist’s fans as ‘the most hardcore’ or ‘rabid’, but Todd Rundgren fans are the rare set to whom such definitions can actually be applied. But, even amongst them, there was some unease over the choice of the record to perform.
To understand the significance of A Wizard, A True Star (AWATS), you have to place it in the context of Rundgren’s previous work, the popular Something/Anything? The album remains his best-selling work and got him one of his biggest hits – Hello, It’s Me, which went to No.5 on the Billboard charts. Which is why fans were forgiven for being completely flummoxed by his follow-up, AWATS. It was a complete change of sound and parked very firmly in progressive rock territory. The recording sounded muddled and cacophonic at first, because there was so much going on. Yet, the faithful persevered – slowly picking it apart, layer by layer, to uncover what was arguably the defining prog rock record of the decade.
“A lot of people gave up after Something/Anything? because AWATS was so different from anything I had been doing up till then, and other records at the time,” reflects Todd, then laughs as he says, “The rest of my fans have been with me the whole time and survived the change, and lots of other bizarre excursions and hip-hop experimentations!!”
In fact, the complexity of AWATS became a bit of a stumbling block for Todd himself: “I went back to deconstruct the original master tapes because people couldn’t figure out what to play! I had to do remixes of just certain parts like guitars or bass so we could accurately reproduce the music part of it.”
Did that also force his hand slightly when choosing which musicians would back him up? “Yes,” is the straightforward reply. “It would be tempting to call up people I know who had no direct connection with the project, but I didn’t know if I was on solid ground myself, so I wanted familiar faces. For e.g. I had to fill in the keyboard slots so I first asked Greg Hawkes if he would join, and he was important because he has a lot of the original keyboards that were on the record. He actually has them and remembers how to play the stuff!!” says Todd, laughing heartily like he often does.
“Then I got Roger Powell because he had played some parts before. Unfortunately he is gainfully employed!!! He has a real job he has to go back to, so I went back further and got in touch with Ralph Schukett, so he’ll be pianist in London and Amsterdam.”
Of course, what makes this tour so special is the fact that there is a theatrical element added to the music, giving fans a visual element to the emotive music. This, in itself, presented some unique problems. Not all venues can accommodate this show, so immediately the touring scope was a limited one. And, as Todd points out, people already have a ‘mental movie’ that goes with the record, so he had to create something that, while fresh and interesting, didn’t completely clash with what fans had visualised. Imagine taking the best book in the world and making it into a movie. Then chuck out the script, and replace readers with ridiculously dedicated fans, and you being to get a glimpse of the effort that went into creating this tour.
“We concentrated on reproducing the fashion sense, based it on weird costumes back in the 70s and then that expanded to 12 costume changes. Which means there are music passages where I’m back stage going through a frantic costume change! We have modern day production gimmicks but …a lot of the essence of the song comes from the costume.”
What makes the European shows a fascinating prospect is what the opening act of this opus will be. In the US there were Utopia songs played, amongst others, but Todd remains tight-lipped on what European audiences will get to see. “There will be an opening act but I’m not going to elaborate,” is all he’s willing to divulge.
He’s a lot more forthcoming when confronted with a trickier subject. Cynics would see this entire idea as a way for an old musician to make a quick buck. Certainly, if this was true, Todd wouldn’t be the first musician to try doing it. Is this whole tour just a ruse then, Mr. Rundgren?
“I’m not making any money!!” Todd manages to splutter out after laughing. “I was lucky to break even at the end of the American leg because we have a larger band, crew and production. We’re coming over to Europe and only doing 2 dates with so many people. There is no big payday, at least not yet. As for my age I don’t feel any shame because I’m in my 60s and still have an audience. People did better than me (in the 70s) yet I’m the one who’s still around. My heroes are BB King and Tony Bennett, people who play till they collapse. That’s what a musician is. I could start lying about my age and getting cosmetic surgery but the whole pop-star thing doesn’t last long.”
In fact, Todd has been able to experience the joy that is reserved for very few musicians – seeing fans grow up and bring their children to his shows, thus exposing a whole new generation to his music. “Most tours have been a cross section of age groups. Part of it is the natural evolution of fans becoming parents and forcing their kids along, and some kids come on their own!”
He even credits some of this to the ubiquity of music on the internet, a topic that can and has generated miles of column inches. For Todd though, it’s quite simple: “The internet works!! Yes, it’s having an effect!! It is the domain of a young audience and they’re using it do discover stuff radio isn’t giving them. I’m meeting fans that have discovered me last year and they’re 25. When fans are young they don’t have compartmentalised attitudes towards music. They’re open to different styles and music. With so much stuff I’ve recorded over the years, they’re bound to find something they like!”
All this talk of new generations of fans and 70s prog rock does beg the question – how long can Todd Rundgren go on touring? It is a lifestyle that can take its toll on the youngest of bodies, let alone one that has been slaving out on the road for 3 decades, winning fans the old fashioned way – through the sheer brilliance of a live performance, night after night. Todd himself is realistic about his physical condition and where that leaves him.
“My back is weak. About 2 years ago, I did a tour of Japan and there you play smaller venues where they charge a lot for tickets; these are really tough gigs. In between 2 shows, I wrenched my back really bad, and had to complete the tour on painkillers. I would do the show but the rest of the day was complete fucking misery. Sometimes, the day began by crawling from my bed to the bathroom. Literally crawling. Then I’d somehow get my shoes on and walk around until everything loosened up for me to move, for the 2 hours I’m on stage.
“At 20 you don’t think about it. As you get older and your performance becomes more refined, your day revolves around those 2 hours on stage and the rest is a regime getting ready for that. That’s how it will be for me, the only question is will I crawl or walk!! It’s more and more a mental game; there’s nothing you can do about the atrophy attacking your body but hey, this is way better than a coal mine.”
All through this conversation the one thing strikes me is how amazingly light hearted Todd manages to be at all times. Even a graphic description of the aforementioned day of ‘complete fucking misery’ is said with a chuckle, and I can just imagine him grinning away as he patiently answers my questions over the phone. And that’s what makes Todd Rundgren such a great musician. There are lots of creative geniuses in the music industry. Many have attempted grandiose live shows, some have even succeeded. But it is rare to find a talented, critically lauded musician, who is also popular with the fans, but still manages to keep his sense of humour through the darkest of times. I didn’t ask him if the title was auto-biographical, but I realise I never needed to. Here’s to Todd Rundgren – A wizard, a true star.
Todd Rundgren performs the British Premiere of “A Wizard, A True Star” at the HMV London Hammersmith Apollo on Saturday 6th February 2010. Box Office: 08700 603 777. Book Online: www.seetickets.com
Posted on November 24, 2009 - by Abhijeet Ahluwalia
Todd Rundgren “The internet works!! Yes, it’s having an effect!!”
Featured Interview News
There are prog rockers, there are producers. And then there’s Todd Rundgren. In any given year of his 40 year career, few artists would have been as active both in front of the microphone and behind the mixing desk as Runt. I could keeping waxing lyrical all night long and still not cover all he’s done, or the impact he’s had. Little wonder then, that British fans are foaming at the mouth at the prospect of seeing Todd perform A Wizard, A True Star in its entirety.
A theatrical show replete with costume changes and props, the extravaganza was initially conceived on tour in England in support of the 2008 Arena record. “Last year’s English promoter came up with the idea,” Todd explains to me over the phone from Hawaii. “Younger acts and electronic artists had been name checking it in interviews and citing it as an influence, and we thought this was a better vehicle to attract a better audience. Word eventually got back to the US and some fans didn’t want to wait until 2010 to see it live, so they got together and did the promotion themselves! We didn’t go to a promoter, it was someone who runs an online station that only plays my music.”
What started with one show in Ohio quickly ballooned into several as crowds took to the idea in the way only a dedicated fan-base can. It is an overused cliché in the music industry to describe an artist’s fans as ‘the most hardcore’ or ‘rabid’, but Todd Rundgren fans are the rare set to whom such definitions can actually be applied. But, even amongst them, there was some unease over the choice of the record to perform.
To understand the significance of A Wizard, A True Star (AWATS), you have to place it in the context of Rundgren’s previous work, the popular Something/Anything? The album remains his best-selling work and got him one of his biggest hits – Hello, It’s Me, which went to No.5 on the Billboard charts. Which is why fans were forgiven for being completely flummoxed by his follow-up, AWATS. It was a complete change of sound and parked very firmly in progressive rock territory. The recording sounded muddled and cacophonic at first, because there was so much going on. Yet, the faithful persevered – slowly picking it apart, layer by layer, to uncover what was arguably the defining prog rock record of the decade.
“A lot of people gave up after Something/Anything? because AWATS was so different from anything I had been doing up till then, and other records at the time,” reflects Todd, then laughs as he says, “The rest of my fans have been with me the whole time and survived the change, and lots of other bizarre excursions and hip-hop experimentations!!”
In fact, the complexity of AWATS became a bit of a stumbling block for Todd himself: “I went back to deconstruct the original master tapes because people couldn’t figure out what to play! I had to do remixes of just certain parts like guitars or bass so we could accurately reproduce the music part of it.”
Did that also force his hand slightly when choosing which musicians would back him up? “Yes,” is the straightforward reply. “It would be tempting to call up people I know who had no direct connection with the project, but I didn’t know if I was on solid ground myself, so I wanted familiar faces. For e.g. I had to fill in the keyboard slots so I first asked Greg Hawkes if he would join, and he was important because he has a lot of the original keyboards that were on the record. He actually has them and remembers how to play the stuff!!” says Todd, laughing heartily like he often does.
“Then I got Roger Powell because he had played some parts before. Unfortunately he is gainfully employed!!! He has a real job he has to go back to, so I went back further and got in touch with Ralph Schukett, so he’ll be pianist in London and Amsterdam.”
Of course, what makes this tour so special is the fact that there is a theatrical element added to the music, giving fans a visual element to the emotive music. This, in itself, presented some unique problems. Not all venues can accommodate this show, so immediately the touring scope was a limited one. And, as Todd points out, people already have a ‘mental movie’ that goes with the record, so he had to create something that, while fresh and interesting, didn’t completely clash with what fans had visualised. Imagine taking the best book in the world and making it into a movie. Then chuck out the script, and replace readers with ridiculously dedicated fans, and you being to get a glimpse of the effort that went into creating this tour.
“We concentrated on reproducing the fashion sense, based it on weird costumes back in the 70s and then that expanded to 12 costume changes. Which means there are music passages where I’m back stage going through a frantic costume change! We have modern day production gimmicks but …a lot of the essence of the song comes from the costume.”
What makes the European shows a fascinating prospect is what the opening act of this opus will be. In the US there were Utopia songs played, amongst others, but Todd remains tight-lipped on what European audiences will get to see. “There will be an opening act but I’m not going to elaborate,” is all he’s willing to divulge.
He’s a lot more forthcoming when confronted with a trickier subject. Cynics would see this entire idea as a way for an old musician to make a quick buck. Certainly, if this was true, Todd wouldn’t be the first musician to try doing it. Is this whole tour just a ruse then, Mr. Rundgren?
“I’m not making any money!!” Todd manages to splutter out after laughing. “I was lucky to break even at the end of the American leg because we have a larger band, crew and production. We’re coming over to Europe and only doing 2 dates with so many people. There is no big payday, at least not yet. As for my age I don’t feel any shame because I’m in my 60s and still have an audience. People did better than me (in the 70s) yet I’m the one who’s still around. My heroes are BB King and Tony Bennett, people who play till they collapse. That’s what a musician is. I could start lying about my age and getting cosmetic surgery but the whole pop-star thing doesn’t last long.”
In fact, Todd has been able to experience the joy that is reserved for very few musicians – seeing fans grow up and bring their children to his shows, thus exposing a whole new generation to his music. “Most tours have been a cross section of age groups. Part of it is the natural evolution of fans becoming parents and forcing their kids along, and some kids come on their own!”
He even credits some of this to the ubiquity of music on the internet, a topic that can and has generated miles of column inches. For Todd though, it’s quite simple: “The internet works!! Yes, it’s having an effect!! It is the domain of a young audience and they’re using it do discover stuff radio isn’t giving them. I’m meeting fans that have discovered me last year and they’re 25. When fans are young they don’t have compartmentalised attitudes towards music. They’re open to different styles and music. With so much stuff I’ve recorded over the years, they’re bound to find something they like!”
All this talk of new generations of fans and 70s prog rock does beg the question – how long can Todd Rundgren go on touring? It is a lifestyle that can take its toll on the youngest of bodies, let alone one that has been slaving out on the road for 3 decades, winning fans the old fashioned way – through the sheer brilliance of a live performance, night after night. Todd himself is realistic about his physical condition and where that leaves him.
“My back is weak. About 2 years ago, I did a tour of Japan and there you play smaller venues where they charge a lot for tickets; these are really tough gigs. In between 2 shows, I wrenched my back really bad, and had to complete the tour on painkillers. I would do the show but the rest of the day was complete fucking misery. Sometimes, the day began by crawling from my bed to the bathroom. Literally crawling. Then I’d somehow get my shoes on and walk around until everything loosened up for me to move, for the 2 hours I’m on stage.
“At 20 you don’t think about it. As you get older and your performance becomes more refined, your day revolves around those 2 hours on stage and the rest is a regime getting ready for that. That’s how it will be for me, the only question is will I crawl or walk!! It’s more and more a mental game; there’s nothing you can do about the atrophy attacking your body but hey, this is way better than a coal mine.”
All through this conversation the one thing strikes me is how amazingly light hearted Todd manages to be at all times. Even a graphic description of the aforementioned day of ‘complete fucking misery’ is said with a chuckle, and I can just imagine him grinning away as he patiently answers my questions over the phone. And that’s what makes Todd Rundgren such a great musician. There are lots of creative geniuses in the music industry. Many have attempted grandiose live shows, some have even succeeded. But it is rare to find a talented, critically lauded musician, who is also popular with the fans, but still manages to keep his sense of humour through the darkest of times. I didn’t ask him if the title was auto-biographical, but I realise I never needed to. Here’s to Todd Rundgren – A wizard, a true star.
Todd Rundgren performs the British Premiere of “A Wizard, A True Star” at the HMV London Hammersmith Apollo on Saturday 6th February 2010. Box Office: 08700 603 777. Book Online: www.seetickets.com
Rundgren Radio tonight moogy klingman
Radio show day! Special guest: Moogy Klingman! www.RundgrenRadio.com 8:30 pm Eastern im sure moogy will ahve some great stories an rumors are he has some rare tracks to share from his musical past.
Monday, November 23, 2009
On Line Article SPINNER.COM
http://www.spinner.com/2009/11/23/todd-rundgren-performing-a-wizard-a-true-star-album-on-tour/
Posted on Nov 23rd 2009 12:30PM by Pat Pemberton
Todd Rundgren Performing 'A Wizard, a True Star' Album on TourPosted on Nov 23rd 2009
"Carole King was one of the world's premiere songwriters before I ever stepped in a studio," Rundgren, whose early hits 'Hello It's Me' and 'I Saw the Light' were often compared to King's work, tells Spinner. "It's just that why would you want people to see you in terms of someone else? You don't want people saying, 'Oh, I heard this guy Todd Rundgren.' And then have someone else say, 'Oh, yeah. He's kind of like the male Carole King.'"
So after his 'Something/Anything?' album introduced him to the Top 10 list, he recorded 'A Wizard, a True Star,' an eclectic album that was anything but radio-friendly. When he turned in the stream-of-consciousness record with its extended melodies, varied genres and prog-rock leanings, his label was miffed -- they had planned on something more like, well, Carole King. "They were expecting a different kind of record than I delivered," Rundgren says.
Rundgren will perform the album in its entirety during a four-city California tour that begins Dec. 1 in San Francisco. The live performances will feature plenty of theatrics, with Rundgren wearing numerous costumes, including a full space suit.
"From a performance standpoint, my biggest challenge is the 12 costume changes," says Rundgren, a visually conscious performer whose video for 'Time Heals' was the second to air on MTV. "I don't actually get a breather anywhere in the show."
Rundgren, who performed the album at select venues in September, would like to add more dates but only if it works financially. He admits he's not sure how far he can take a show spotlighting a commercially unsuccessful album.
"The shows we did in September were a great proof of concept in terms of where we could possible go with this," he says. "But it's still not a mainstream thing, if you know what I mean. At this point, it's still something that mostly my own cult appreciates. So it's not like I can take it to the wilds of Arkansas."
Posted on Nov 23rd 2009 12:30PM by Pat Pemberton
Todd Rundgren Performing 'A Wizard, a True Star' Album on TourPosted on Nov 23rd 2009
"Carole King was one of the world's premiere songwriters before I ever stepped in a studio," Rundgren, whose early hits 'Hello It's Me' and 'I Saw the Light' were often compared to King's work, tells Spinner. "It's just that why would you want people to see you in terms of someone else? You don't want people saying, 'Oh, I heard this guy Todd Rundgren.' And then have someone else say, 'Oh, yeah. He's kind of like the male Carole King.'"
So after his 'Something/Anything?' album introduced him to the Top 10 list, he recorded 'A Wizard, a True Star,' an eclectic album that was anything but radio-friendly. When he turned in the stream-of-consciousness record with its extended melodies, varied genres and prog-rock leanings, his label was miffed -- they had planned on something more like, well, Carole King. "They were expecting a different kind of record than I delivered," Rundgren says.
Rundgren will perform the album in its entirety during a four-city California tour that begins Dec. 1 in San Francisco. The live performances will feature plenty of theatrics, with Rundgren wearing numerous costumes, including a full space suit.
"From a performance standpoint, my biggest challenge is the 12 costume changes," says Rundgren, a visually conscious performer whose video for 'Time Heals' was the second to air on MTV. "I don't actually get a breather anywhere in the show."
Rundgren, who performed the album at select venues in September, would like to add more dates but only if it works financially. He admits he's not sure how far he can take a show spotlighting a commercially unsuccessful album.
"The shows we did in September were a great proof of concept in terms of where we could possible go with this," he says. "But it's still not a mainstream thing, if you know what I mean. At this point, it's still something that mostly my own cult appreciates. So it's not like I can take it to the wilds of Arkansas."
Saturday, November 21, 2009
VIDEO: nUtopia Chicago, IL 9/13/2009 carravan and the ikon
upped on youtube by gregster138
Former members of Utopia, Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, and Roger Powell reunite, along with drummer Prairie Prince for A Wizard, A True Star Live at Park West in Chicago.
Former members of Utopia, Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, and Roger Powell reunite, along with drummer Prairie Prince for A Wizard, A True Star Live at Park West in Chicago.
OLD REVIEW: Patti Smith on AWATS in CREAM mag
Before she began her singing career, and at the same time she was writing books of poetry, Patti Smith also wrote music articles for Creem magazine. This one comes from April 1973. She reviews Todd's then-recent album. As with her songs and poems, Patti was also a very interesting and singular critic, with unique insights into music…
Todd's Electric Exploitation
Ya know where Greaser's Palace ends? That solar burst. The zoot suit Jesus returns to light. Physical atomic end. Well that's where Todd's record begins. Side one is pure brain rocket. Rock and roll for the skull. Todd Rundgren's season in hell.
Put the record on. Internal voyage is not burnt out. Thank the stars for that. Now you got your system of brain travel, Todd got the plane. You're gonna zoom but beware. What he does is very tricky. Mildly sinister. But I give you the satisfaction that all pain on his ticket is well spent. It beings glowing enough. Like a sacred drug. "International Feel." Very Beaudelaire. Very godhead. And when he moves to "I Know I Know" you know. For one ecstatic moment you've gone beyond the point of pain into the realm of pure intellect.
I know, here is where I got caught. Not prepared for a transition like "Neverland." Brutally nostalgic. I got that era under my belt. All about toyland. Once you leave no turning back. Well, why did Todd pull us back? The terror of beauty makes one momentarily bitter. First star to the right and straight on till morning. "Neverland" permanently poisons and sweetens. Gives a subconscious aftertaste. Tinges the whole record with Walt Disney. Also torments and slides you into journey a little weak above the belt. As side one progresses you age. There's hair on your fingers.
Tic tic. Like the crocodile alarm that pleasantly ticked away Captain Hook's lifeline, goodie good is wearing off. The move is maniac. Screeching monotone which eliminates mouth, limb and crotch but exalts in brain power. MIT science fiction. The next religion.
Even more ear-itating is "Rock'n'Roll Pussy." Autobiographic as a brainiac. "I'm in the Clique" comes back as "Shove it up your ass, I'm the clique myself." Sexual power is moving up the spine into the skull. It's manic it's magnificent.
Am I getting abstract? It doesn't matter. Music is pure mathematics. And what is more abstract than trigonometry? Todd is further mystery than Greek. You can't plot out his journey so easy. Marco Polo was a natural. Electric exploitation is never predictable.
But beauty is just that. The flamingos that wave you into "Zen Archer" leave you breathless. Happy death. And "Zen Archer" is full of wonder. Beautiful. I'm almost embarrassed to get so worked up over its brilliance. An elegy. Very German. Who did kill Cock Robin? An expression of his guilt? It makes one dizzy. Uncomfortable. He exhibits certain powers, certain confusions. Naked emotion is very frightening. It's extended by Dave Sanborn's saxophone. Elegant and moving as a high and spiraling tombstone.
His language is getting more sophisticated as is his humor and anger. Moving in a very valiant poetry.
The blessings of the turtles/ the eggs lay on the lawn.
Obscure images in "Da Da Dali." Very painterly. Also very Rodgers and Hart. Oh Jesus where are we on this journey; All adolescence out the window. Fags, fag hags, weaklings, minor visionaries and paranoids caught in the cyclone. For the chosen ones there is one last splash in drug soup and up the yellow brick road to Utopia.
That's how it hit me. Sound you can't describe, only experience. Side one is double dose. It takes the bull by the brain. Another point to be examined. He's always been eclectic. Why didn't he care? The evidence is here. Something very magical is happening. The man is magi chef. His influences are homogenizings. Like a coat of many colors. May be someone else's paintbox but the coat is all his. A Gershwin tone some Mr. Kite solid Motown early Rundgren. Several other colors. Telescoping sounds. All manipulated by a higher force. Production itself a form to be reckoned with. The conductor is often more blessed than the orchestra.
There are two sides to every record. Excluding Second Winter. So turn over. This is de soul side. White boys got it you know. Especially ones from Philadelphia. "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" is eighty per cent spade. It touches. I hope Motown grabs it and pumps it Top 40. "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" touches too. "The balance of our minds together/ The perfect give and take." Girl and boy move to man and woman.
Todd does a soul medley. The way he does "Ooo Baby Baby." I know he's no Smokey but I'm addicted to his throat. Cracks and all. I find Todd's voice very sexy; it makes me feel teen-age. Less than perfect but a bit boozier than last shots. The way he does "Cool Jerk" is genius. Real cartoon. Goofy and Daffy Duck are there. Roller skates, Coney Island laughter, the mad bomber. Jesus, sometimes I think he's crazy. Certainly not an earthling. The way he transforms mundane to miracle.
The motherfucker is "Is It My Name?" All the animal energy is in this one. A song that self-destructs. Dirty joke…flaming guitar…the cunt…the man to kick in your brains. It's all there. I love it. Never has he seemed more like a son of a bitch. In fact that's another move on this album. Not only is the quality of his intellect heightened but his emotions. This is the least predictable. The one closest to sainthood and hatchet murder.
My voice goes so high
You would think I was gay
But I play my guitar in such
a mancock way
You only love me for my machine…
"Is It My Name"
Moving into "Just One Victory." A Rundgren classic. Very much a single. Though I would die to hear "International Feel" on the radio. To cruise at suicidal speed down the great highway with "I.F." at full blast:
International feel
And there's more
Interstellar appeal
Still there's more
Universal ideal…
Each album he vomits like a diary. Each page closer to the stars. Process is the point. A kaleidoscoping view. Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation.
Todd's Electric Exploitation
Ya know where Greaser's Palace ends? That solar burst. The zoot suit Jesus returns to light. Physical atomic end. Well that's where Todd's record begins. Side one is pure brain rocket. Rock and roll for the skull. Todd Rundgren's season in hell.
Put the record on. Internal voyage is not burnt out. Thank the stars for that. Now you got your system of brain travel, Todd got the plane. You're gonna zoom but beware. What he does is very tricky. Mildly sinister. But I give you the satisfaction that all pain on his ticket is well spent. It beings glowing enough. Like a sacred drug. "International Feel." Very Beaudelaire. Very godhead. And when he moves to "I Know I Know" you know. For one ecstatic moment you've gone beyond the point of pain into the realm of pure intellect.
I know, here is where I got caught. Not prepared for a transition like "Neverland." Brutally nostalgic. I got that era under my belt. All about toyland. Once you leave no turning back. Well, why did Todd pull us back? The terror of beauty makes one momentarily bitter. First star to the right and straight on till morning. "Neverland" permanently poisons and sweetens. Gives a subconscious aftertaste. Tinges the whole record with Walt Disney. Also torments and slides you into journey a little weak above the belt. As side one progresses you age. There's hair on your fingers.
Tic tic. Like the crocodile alarm that pleasantly ticked away Captain Hook's lifeline, goodie good is wearing off. The move is maniac. Screeching monotone which eliminates mouth, limb and crotch but exalts in brain power. MIT science fiction. The next religion.
Even more ear-itating is "Rock'n'Roll Pussy." Autobiographic as a brainiac. "I'm in the Clique" comes back as "Shove it up your ass, I'm the clique myself." Sexual power is moving up the spine into the skull. It's manic it's magnificent.
Am I getting abstract? It doesn't matter. Music is pure mathematics. And what is more abstract than trigonometry? Todd is further mystery than Greek. You can't plot out his journey so easy. Marco Polo was a natural. Electric exploitation is never predictable.
But beauty is just that. The flamingos that wave you into "Zen Archer" leave you breathless. Happy death. And "Zen Archer" is full of wonder. Beautiful. I'm almost embarrassed to get so worked up over its brilliance. An elegy. Very German. Who did kill Cock Robin? An expression of his guilt? It makes one dizzy. Uncomfortable. He exhibits certain powers, certain confusions. Naked emotion is very frightening. It's extended by Dave Sanborn's saxophone. Elegant and moving as a high and spiraling tombstone.
His language is getting more sophisticated as is his humor and anger. Moving in a very valiant poetry.
The blessings of the turtles/ the eggs lay on the lawn.
Obscure images in "Da Da Dali." Very painterly. Also very Rodgers and Hart. Oh Jesus where are we on this journey; All adolescence out the window. Fags, fag hags, weaklings, minor visionaries and paranoids caught in the cyclone. For the chosen ones there is one last splash in drug soup and up the yellow brick road to Utopia.
That's how it hit me. Sound you can't describe, only experience. Side one is double dose. It takes the bull by the brain. Another point to be examined. He's always been eclectic. Why didn't he care? The evidence is here. Something very magical is happening. The man is magi chef. His influences are homogenizings. Like a coat of many colors. May be someone else's paintbox but the coat is all his. A Gershwin tone some Mr. Kite solid Motown early Rundgren. Several other colors. Telescoping sounds. All manipulated by a higher force. Production itself a form to be reckoned with. The conductor is often more blessed than the orchestra.
There are two sides to every record. Excluding Second Winter. So turn over. This is de soul side. White boys got it you know. Especially ones from Philadelphia. "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" is eighty per cent spade. It touches. I hope Motown grabs it and pumps it Top 40. "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" touches too. "The balance of our minds together/ The perfect give and take." Girl and boy move to man and woman.
Todd does a soul medley. The way he does "Ooo Baby Baby." I know he's no Smokey but I'm addicted to his throat. Cracks and all. I find Todd's voice very sexy; it makes me feel teen-age. Less than perfect but a bit boozier than last shots. The way he does "Cool Jerk" is genius. Real cartoon. Goofy and Daffy Duck are there. Roller skates, Coney Island laughter, the mad bomber. Jesus, sometimes I think he's crazy. Certainly not an earthling. The way he transforms mundane to miracle.
The motherfucker is "Is It My Name?" All the animal energy is in this one. A song that self-destructs. Dirty joke…flaming guitar…the cunt…the man to kick in your brains. It's all there. I love it. Never has he seemed more like a son of a bitch. In fact that's another move on this album. Not only is the quality of his intellect heightened but his emotions. This is the least predictable. The one closest to sainthood and hatchet murder.
My voice goes so high
You would think I was gay
But I play my guitar in such
a mancock way
You only love me for my machine…
"Is It My Name"
Moving into "Just One Victory." A Rundgren classic. Very much a single. Though I would die to hear "International Feel" on the radio. To cruise at suicidal speed down the great highway with "I.F." at full blast:
International feel
And there's more
Interstellar appeal
Still there's more
Universal ideal…
Each album he vomits like a diary. Each page closer to the stars. Process is the point. A kaleidoscoping view. Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation.
Friday, November 20, 2009
OFFICIAL POSTER WEST COAST AWATS SHOWS
Official AWATS California poster!!!
RundgrenRadio.com is proud to introduce the official AWATS California poster -- now available at GroupieGear.com!!!!!!!
Poster design: Bill Bricker. Photo: Jean Lannen.
RundgrenRadio.com is proud to introduce the official AWATS California poster -- now available at GroupieGear.com!!!!!!!
Poster design: Bill Bricker. Photo: Jean Lannen.
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