The "almost" official blog for everything Todd Rundgren Related........................................................................................................................................................................... Please visit the sister facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ma4utopia?ref=hl
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
meet and greet at the premiere AWATS show has been canceled
OFFICIAL AWATS Akron event poster and t-shirt available at both of the Akron shows! If you'd like to purchase AWATS Akron shirt(s) and/or posters(s) but aren't making the Akron shows, we will hopefully have some available online for you after the tour is over. Official Todd merch is expected to be available at all of the AWATS shows including Akron.
Due to the secrecy surrounding the band's first set, the Todd meet-n-greet and sound check auctions for Akron have been CANCELED. However, a free meet-n-greet will take place at Cleveland's Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame on Monday 9/7/09 starting at 1pm.
<<<
Has anyone else seen the new merch at Toddstore? Like the kewl AWATS T's (in bud green!) and camo t- with the TR peacew sign and AWATS hoodies with the album art on the back!!!
http://www.toddstore.com/
Due to the secrecy surrounding the band's first set, the Todd meet-n-greet and sound check auctions for Akron have been CANCELED. However, a free meet-n-greet will take place at Cleveland's Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame on Monday 9/7/09 starting at 1pm.
<<<
Has anyone else seen the new merch at Toddstore? Like the kewl AWATS T's (in bud green!) and camo t- with the TR peacew sign and AWATS hoodies with the album art on the back!!!
http://www.toddstore.com/
Interview: guitarsite by greg prato
http://www.guitarsite.com/news/features/interview_with_todd_rundgren/
Interview with Todd Rundgren
By Greg Prato
Todd Rundgren has always marched to the tune of a different drummer. Whether it’s releasing power pop gems (1972’s Something/Anything, 1982’s Utopia), getting all prog-y (1975’s Initiation), fronting the New Cars (which sees Rundgren replace Ric Ocasek), or producing some of rock’s all-time great recordings (Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, the New York Dolls’ self-titled debut, Grand Funk’s We’re An American Band, etc.), Todd always seems to be a step or two ahead of the pack.
Out of all the albums he’s appeared on over the years, one of the more intriguing releases among Todd-worshippers was unquestionably 1973’s A Wizard, A True Star, which is Todd’s most “out there” album. Largely ignored upon its initial release, the album has picked up quite a few admirers over the years - so much so, that Todd will be performing the album in its entirety for a series of U.S. shows in the fall, and early next year, in Europe. Todd recently took time out to discuss how the forthcoming A Wizard, A True Star revival came to be, and also, how he came to own Eric Clapton’s legendary “psychedelic Gibson SG” from the Cream days.
How did the idea of performing A Wizard, A True Star come up?
I was in England about nine months ago, to do a European leg of the Arena tour. Our promoter in England came up with this idea to me, based on the fact that there were a lot of younger artists- especially techno and turntablist - that were not only name-checking the record, they were actually quoting and using pieces of A Wizard, A True Star in their own work. So he thought it was an ideal time, perhaps to go back and reprise that record - not only would it have some appeal to my longtime fans, but there was this potentially new audience, who was interested in checking out the old man [laughs].
So we started talking about it, and it turns out we’ll be taking it to England in February. When the fan network here got wind of this possibility, then they got all organized and found a venue and approached me with the possibility of premiering it here, instead. Since we were in the planning stage of the European thing, I figured why not - it would be a lot easier to mount it for the first time in the U.S., than to try to do it for the first time in Europe. So that’s how we came to that conclusion.
How did you assemble the band that will be touring with you?
The first inclination was to use the guys that I had played with before, and who had some familiarity with the music. So I started with my basic rhythm section, which is Prairie Prince and Kasim Sulton, and my usual guitar player, Jesse Gress, and that left open the need for at least two keyboard players, because the foundation of the record is actually this trinity of three keyboards. There's piano, and then there’s two of the following - either an organ, clavinet, and an instrument that they don’t make anymore, but that we used to use a lot, called an RMI. Rocky Mountain Industries is the company that made it. It was a very early electronic piano, which made a sound that didn’t sound a lot like a piano, but it was unique sound at the time - it gets used a lot throughout, and I realized I’d have to hire at least two keyboard players, and maybe even a third person to cover some other odd keyboard parts.
Roger Powell was an obvious choice, and I’d been working with Roger on unrelated projects, so I figured this would be an opportunity to play some music again. And then the reason why I selected Greg Hawkes as the other player is because he actually still owns some of the same kinds of very early synthesizers and electronic keyboard instruments that we used on the record. So he would be good to cover a lot of those sounds - not only would he be able to play them, he’d be able to bring the actual equipment. And then at that point, I realized that were a lot of other various kinds of parts - including some very important horn parts, that’s why I asked Bobby Strickland, who was in the Nearly Human and Second Wind bands. So that rounded out the line-up.
Is this the first time you’re playing with Roger Powell since the early ‘90s?
Yeah, we did have that one sort of two-week reunion, where we played one gig in the U.S., toured Japan, and that was it. I think that’s the last time that we played together.
Did you begin rehearsals yet?
No, rehearsals will be the week leading up to the first gig, so I think the 29th is our first rehearsal.
Have you gone back and listened to actual the album again?
Oh yeah. As a matter of fact, I went back and recovered the original multi-track masters, so we could examine exactly what’s in there. Sometimes it’s a little hard to tell, because there’s such a racket going on. We have the original masters for reference, as well as for potential sampling - when there’s some sounds or other things that we would have huge difficulty reproducing nowadays.
What type of drugs were you on when you did A Wizard A True Star?
Well, I couldn’t say exactly what drugs we were on for any particular session, and for the most part, I don’t think we were doing anything psychedelic during the actual musical production. I was getting pretty ‘psychedelic’ when I was putting the studio together - leading up to making that record. Actually, I built Secret Sound with A Wizard A True Star in mind as the first project that would be done there. So the construction of the studio and the construction of the record kind of went on simultaneously.
How does the album hold up now?
It’s always hard to be objective about your own work - particularly something’s that taken on more or less a life of its own. So a lot of the fans and younger musicians have then viewed it with expectations and a mystique, that while I have to have some respect for it and potentially make some accommodation for it, I’m approaching it more from the standpoint as of what would I do if I had the resources back then to mount a show behind this record. The record had never been played in its entirety - pieces of it were incorporated in the shows I was doing at the time, but there are some songs that were never performed live. It was never done with any attempt to try and keep the original running order substantially in tact, either.
More shows possible?
I think that once we’ve done the shows and people realize that it’s not simply a concert - it’s more of a theatrical presentation - that there will be interest in other parts of the country, and potentially, in other parts of the world, to have the show brought there. We’ll definitely be doing a DVD recording, but the timeframe for that is more or less unknown. But we’re also probably doing some live pay-per-view/online offerings, as well. And that will give the promoters and the audience a little clearer idea of what the show is actually like.
Let’s talk about the “theatrical” element of shows.
There’s lots of costume changes and there’s all of the effects and things, that were so “de rigueur” back in the ‘70s. Mirror balls, laser beams, and all that other stuff. And as I said, I do probably more than half dozen costume changes throughout the course of the set. I in my own mind liken it to something you may see in Las Vegas than what you would see normally on the road.
What is your guitar set-up?
What I use nowadays is all pretty much Line 6 - in one configuration or another. I have a couple different amplifiers, a couple of different Line 6 amplifiers. When I’m recording, I use Line 6 software to get the sounds I need - Arena is pretty much all Line 6 sounds. I may go back and haul out one of my older guitars - a guitar that’s more associated with that era than one that I usually play now.
Will you be using any of the actual guitars you recorded the album with on the upcoming tour?
I don’t have any of those actual guitars, but I do have a guitar that resembles a guitar that I probably have used on the record.
You used to own the Gibson SG that Eric Clapton played in Cream.
The original Eric Clapton guitar was auctioned off more than a decade ago. The year after Eric Clapton had his big guitar auction, then that guitar was auctioned off. Who owns it now I have no idea.
Was it one of the best-playing guitars you’ve owned?
It was a great guitar. The actual model of guitar, the great thing about it is it was completely unobstructed all the way to the top of the neck. So you can play the highest notes quite comfortably. But at the same time, it did have its own issues. That clear shot of the neck that you have is also a result of the fact that it’s very flimsily attached to the body of the guitar, so you can almost bend the neck and put the guitar out of tune. Some people kind of use that as a way to get vibrato - by actually bending the neck, rather than bending the strings. Also, the original guitar that Eric Clapton used to own, the pick-ups have been modified on it - some of the windings had been taken off the pick-ups, to give it a more piercing sound. If you compare it with a stock SG from the same period, it sounds kind of thin. It doesn’t have the same amount of body.
How did you get that guitar?
I was in Woodstock - I wasn’t living there yet, but I was working with the Band. Working on Stage Fright or something like that. And Jackie Lomax was living in Woodstock and he had been using the guitar as a lap guitar - it was in terrible shape. They had lost the original bridge, and they had put a wooden bridge on it, and the action was so high that it couldn’t really be played as a regular guitar. He was hard up for money at the time, so he offered me the guitar for like $500! Which I jumped at - just because it was such a sacred artifact in my eyes. I restored it, took care of it, and began to play it. I became as associated with it as Eric was. The guitar was in my possession probably three times longer than he owned it. I owned the guitar from the ‘70s through the ‘90s.
Other projects, future plans?
This is about all I can think of at this point. It’s hugely complicated. Mounting a brand new show from scratch with all of the not just musical issues - and this is fairly challenging chunk of music - but all of the staging issues as well. It’s challenging.
Confirmed Tour Dates [additional dates will be announced in the coming weeks]
Akron Civic Center, Akron, Ohio – 6th September 2009
Akron Civic Center, Akron, Ohio – 7th September 2009
Palace Theater, Stamford, Connecticut – 9th September 2009
Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, Maryland – 10th September 2009
Park West, Chicago – 12th September 2009
Park West, Chicago – 13th September 2009
State Theatre, Minneapolis - 15th September 2009
HMV London Hammersmith Apollo – 6th February 2010
The Paradiso, Amsterdam – 8th February 2010
For more information, please visit:
www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic
Interview with Todd Rundgren
By Greg Prato
Todd Rundgren has always marched to the tune of a different drummer. Whether it’s releasing power pop gems (1972’s Something/Anything, 1982’s Utopia), getting all prog-y (1975’s Initiation), fronting the New Cars (which sees Rundgren replace Ric Ocasek), or producing some of rock’s all-time great recordings (Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, the New York Dolls’ self-titled debut, Grand Funk’s We’re An American Band, etc.), Todd always seems to be a step or two ahead of the pack.
Out of all the albums he’s appeared on over the years, one of the more intriguing releases among Todd-worshippers was unquestionably 1973’s A Wizard, A True Star, which is Todd’s most “out there” album. Largely ignored upon its initial release, the album has picked up quite a few admirers over the years - so much so, that Todd will be performing the album in its entirety for a series of U.S. shows in the fall, and early next year, in Europe. Todd recently took time out to discuss how the forthcoming A Wizard, A True Star revival came to be, and also, how he came to own Eric Clapton’s legendary “psychedelic Gibson SG” from the Cream days.
How did the idea of performing A Wizard, A True Star come up?
I was in England about nine months ago, to do a European leg of the Arena tour. Our promoter in England came up with this idea to me, based on the fact that there were a lot of younger artists- especially techno and turntablist - that were not only name-checking the record, they were actually quoting and using pieces of A Wizard, A True Star in their own work. So he thought it was an ideal time, perhaps to go back and reprise that record - not only would it have some appeal to my longtime fans, but there was this potentially new audience, who was interested in checking out the old man [laughs].
So we started talking about it, and it turns out we’ll be taking it to England in February. When the fan network here got wind of this possibility, then they got all organized and found a venue and approached me with the possibility of premiering it here, instead. Since we were in the planning stage of the European thing, I figured why not - it would be a lot easier to mount it for the first time in the U.S., than to try to do it for the first time in Europe. So that’s how we came to that conclusion.
How did you assemble the band that will be touring with you?
The first inclination was to use the guys that I had played with before, and who had some familiarity with the music. So I started with my basic rhythm section, which is Prairie Prince and Kasim Sulton, and my usual guitar player, Jesse Gress, and that left open the need for at least two keyboard players, because the foundation of the record is actually this trinity of three keyboards. There's piano, and then there’s two of the following - either an organ, clavinet, and an instrument that they don’t make anymore, but that we used to use a lot, called an RMI. Rocky Mountain Industries is the company that made it. It was a very early electronic piano, which made a sound that didn’t sound a lot like a piano, but it was unique sound at the time - it gets used a lot throughout, and I realized I’d have to hire at least two keyboard players, and maybe even a third person to cover some other odd keyboard parts.
Roger Powell was an obvious choice, and I’d been working with Roger on unrelated projects, so I figured this would be an opportunity to play some music again. And then the reason why I selected Greg Hawkes as the other player is because he actually still owns some of the same kinds of very early synthesizers and electronic keyboard instruments that we used on the record. So he would be good to cover a lot of those sounds - not only would he be able to play them, he’d be able to bring the actual equipment. And then at that point, I realized that were a lot of other various kinds of parts - including some very important horn parts, that’s why I asked Bobby Strickland, who was in the Nearly Human and Second Wind bands. So that rounded out the line-up.
Is this the first time you’re playing with Roger Powell since the early ‘90s?
Yeah, we did have that one sort of two-week reunion, where we played one gig in the U.S., toured Japan, and that was it. I think that’s the last time that we played together.
Did you begin rehearsals yet?
No, rehearsals will be the week leading up to the first gig, so I think the 29th is our first rehearsal.
Have you gone back and listened to actual the album again?
Oh yeah. As a matter of fact, I went back and recovered the original multi-track masters, so we could examine exactly what’s in there. Sometimes it’s a little hard to tell, because there’s such a racket going on. We have the original masters for reference, as well as for potential sampling - when there’s some sounds or other things that we would have huge difficulty reproducing nowadays.
What type of drugs were you on when you did A Wizard A True Star?
Well, I couldn’t say exactly what drugs we were on for any particular session, and for the most part, I don’t think we were doing anything psychedelic during the actual musical production. I was getting pretty ‘psychedelic’ when I was putting the studio together - leading up to making that record. Actually, I built Secret Sound with A Wizard A True Star in mind as the first project that would be done there. So the construction of the studio and the construction of the record kind of went on simultaneously.
How does the album hold up now?
It’s always hard to be objective about your own work - particularly something’s that taken on more or less a life of its own. So a lot of the fans and younger musicians have then viewed it with expectations and a mystique, that while I have to have some respect for it and potentially make some accommodation for it, I’m approaching it more from the standpoint as of what would I do if I had the resources back then to mount a show behind this record. The record had never been played in its entirety - pieces of it were incorporated in the shows I was doing at the time, but there are some songs that were never performed live. It was never done with any attempt to try and keep the original running order substantially in tact, either.
More shows possible?
I think that once we’ve done the shows and people realize that it’s not simply a concert - it’s more of a theatrical presentation - that there will be interest in other parts of the country, and potentially, in other parts of the world, to have the show brought there. We’ll definitely be doing a DVD recording, but the timeframe for that is more or less unknown. But we’re also probably doing some live pay-per-view/online offerings, as well. And that will give the promoters and the audience a little clearer idea of what the show is actually like.
Let’s talk about the “theatrical” element of shows.
There’s lots of costume changes and there’s all of the effects and things, that were so “de rigueur” back in the ‘70s. Mirror balls, laser beams, and all that other stuff. And as I said, I do probably more than half dozen costume changes throughout the course of the set. I in my own mind liken it to something you may see in Las Vegas than what you would see normally on the road.
What is your guitar set-up?
What I use nowadays is all pretty much Line 6 - in one configuration or another. I have a couple different amplifiers, a couple of different Line 6 amplifiers. When I’m recording, I use Line 6 software to get the sounds I need - Arena is pretty much all Line 6 sounds. I may go back and haul out one of my older guitars - a guitar that’s more associated with that era than one that I usually play now.
Will you be using any of the actual guitars you recorded the album with on the upcoming tour?
I don’t have any of those actual guitars, but I do have a guitar that resembles a guitar that I probably have used on the record.
You used to own the Gibson SG that Eric Clapton played in Cream.
The original Eric Clapton guitar was auctioned off more than a decade ago. The year after Eric Clapton had his big guitar auction, then that guitar was auctioned off. Who owns it now I have no idea.
Was it one of the best-playing guitars you’ve owned?
It was a great guitar. The actual model of guitar, the great thing about it is it was completely unobstructed all the way to the top of the neck. So you can play the highest notes quite comfortably. But at the same time, it did have its own issues. That clear shot of the neck that you have is also a result of the fact that it’s very flimsily attached to the body of the guitar, so you can almost bend the neck and put the guitar out of tune. Some people kind of use that as a way to get vibrato - by actually bending the neck, rather than bending the strings. Also, the original guitar that Eric Clapton used to own, the pick-ups have been modified on it - some of the windings had been taken off the pick-ups, to give it a more piercing sound. If you compare it with a stock SG from the same period, it sounds kind of thin. It doesn’t have the same amount of body.
How did you get that guitar?
I was in Woodstock - I wasn’t living there yet, but I was working with the Band. Working on Stage Fright or something like that. And Jackie Lomax was living in Woodstock and he had been using the guitar as a lap guitar - it was in terrible shape. They had lost the original bridge, and they had put a wooden bridge on it, and the action was so high that it couldn’t really be played as a regular guitar. He was hard up for money at the time, so he offered me the guitar for like $500! Which I jumped at - just because it was such a sacred artifact in my eyes. I restored it, took care of it, and began to play it. I became as associated with it as Eric was. The guitar was in my possession probably three times longer than he owned it. I owned the guitar from the ‘70s through the ‘90s.
Other projects, future plans?
This is about all I can think of at this point. It’s hugely complicated. Mounting a brand new show from scratch with all of the not just musical issues - and this is fairly challenging chunk of music - but all of the staging issues as well. It’s challenging.
Confirmed Tour Dates [additional dates will be announced in the coming weeks]
Akron Civic Center, Akron, Ohio – 6th September 2009
Akron Civic Center, Akron, Ohio – 7th September 2009
Palace Theater, Stamford, Connecticut – 9th September 2009
Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, Maryland – 10th September 2009
Park West, Chicago – 12th September 2009
Park West, Chicago – 13th September 2009
State Theatre, Minneapolis - 15th September 2009
HMV London Hammersmith Apollo – 6th February 2010
The Paradiso, Amsterdam – 8th February 2010
For more information, please visit:
www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Exhibit
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens spotlight exhibit on Todd Rundgren
CLEVELAND (August 31, 2009) - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will open its latest spotlight exhibit focused on Todd Rundgren’s career, which spans more than four decades. This highlight exhibit case will be unveiled on Friday, September 4 and located in the Ahmet M. Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall.
This exhibit will feature nearly 40 artifacts culled from Rundgren’s vast career as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, as well as his innovative works integrating music and technology. It will highlight his first Top 20 single through his work with Utopia, Ringo’s All Starr Band, the New Cars, his production work for artists including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Patti Smith, the New York Dolls, the Psychedelic Furs and Meat Loaf, his 60th birthday celebration, which debuted his album Arena, to his upcoming performances of the 1973 album A Wizard/A True Star in its entirety.
Highlights of the exhibit include:
· "Star Fever,” a Patti Smith poem included in first issues of A Wizard/A True Star, c. 1973.
· No World Order CD-ROM, the first interactive record album ever released, 1993
· "Mammon,” hand written lyrics from the Liars album, 2004.
· Todd Rundgren Back to the Bars Stage Outfit , c. 1978
· Utopia Promotional Ad and Backstage Passes, c. 1975
· New Cars All-Access Pass, 2007
Philadelphia native Todd Rundgren first began developing his musical skills as a teenager. Spending the late ‘60s as a founding member of the psychedelic pop group Nazz, his first solo Top 20 hit was “We Gotta Get You a Woman.” But it was the 1972 album Something / Anything?, on which he played all instruments, sang all vocal parts and acted as his own producer that catapulted Rundgren into stardom and set the stage for his parallel career as an innovative and record producer. Something / Anything? featured “Hello It’s Me,” which reached Number Five. His next two albums, A Wizard / A True Star (1973) and Todd (1974), ultimately led to the formation of the band Utopia in 1974. Utopia’s longest-standing members were Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and Willie Wilcox and they continued recording and touring through 1992. Rundgren’s 1983 album, The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect included the hit “Bang the Drum All Day.” No World Order (1993) was the world’s first interactive record album and was also the first commercially available music that could be downloaded.
Rundgren has strong ties to the Cleveland area and to the iconic Agora music venue franchise. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, Todd Rundgren and Utopia played more concerts in the Cleveland area than in any other city in the United States. Carrying on the tradition, Rundgren is debuting his limited series of live performances of A Wizard / A True Star at the Akron Civic Theater on September 6 and 7, the first time this album has been performed in its entirety.
About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.
The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays (and Saturdays through Labor Day), the Museum is open until 9 p.m. Museum admission is $22 for adults, $18 for adult residents of Greater Cleveland, $17 for seniors (65+), $13 for youth (9-12), children under 8 and Museum Members are always free, for information or to join the membership program call 216.515.8425. For general inquiries, please call 216.781.ROCK or visit http://www.rockhall.com.
CLEVELAND (August 31, 2009) - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will open its latest spotlight exhibit focused on Todd Rundgren’s career, which spans more than four decades. This highlight exhibit case will be unveiled on Friday, September 4 and located in the Ahmet M. Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall.
This exhibit will feature nearly 40 artifacts culled from Rundgren’s vast career as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, as well as his innovative works integrating music and technology. It will highlight his first Top 20 single through his work with Utopia, Ringo’s All Starr Band, the New Cars, his production work for artists including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Patti Smith, the New York Dolls, the Psychedelic Furs and Meat Loaf, his 60th birthday celebration, which debuted his album Arena, to his upcoming performances of the 1973 album A Wizard/A True Star in its entirety.
Highlights of the exhibit include:
· "Star Fever,” a Patti Smith poem included in first issues of A Wizard/A True Star, c. 1973.
· No World Order CD-ROM, the first interactive record album ever released, 1993
· "Mammon,” hand written lyrics from the Liars album, 2004.
· Todd Rundgren Back to the Bars Stage Outfit , c. 1978
· Utopia Promotional Ad and Backstage Passes, c. 1975
· New Cars All-Access Pass, 2007
Philadelphia native Todd Rundgren first began developing his musical skills as a teenager. Spending the late ‘60s as a founding member of the psychedelic pop group Nazz, his first solo Top 20 hit was “We Gotta Get You a Woman.” But it was the 1972 album Something / Anything?, on which he played all instruments, sang all vocal parts and acted as his own producer that catapulted Rundgren into stardom and set the stage for his parallel career as an innovative and record producer. Something / Anything? featured “Hello It’s Me,” which reached Number Five. His next two albums, A Wizard / A True Star (1973) and Todd (1974), ultimately led to the formation of the band Utopia in 1974. Utopia’s longest-standing members were Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and Willie Wilcox and they continued recording and touring through 1992. Rundgren’s 1983 album, The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect included the hit “Bang the Drum All Day.” No World Order (1993) was the world’s first interactive record album and was also the first commercially available music that could be downloaded.
Rundgren has strong ties to the Cleveland area and to the iconic Agora music venue franchise. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, Todd Rundgren and Utopia played more concerts in the Cleveland area than in any other city in the United States. Carrying on the tradition, Rundgren is debuting his limited series of live performances of A Wizard / A True Star at the Akron Civic Theater on September 6 and 7, the first time this album has been performed in its entirety.
About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.
The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays (and Saturdays through Labor Day), the Museum is open until 9 p.m. Museum admission is $22 for adults, $18 for adult residents of Greater Cleveland, $17 for seniors (65+), $13 for youth (9-12), children under 8 and Museum Members are always free, for information or to join the membership program call 216.515.8425. For general inquiries, please call 216.781.ROCK or visit http://www.rockhall.com.
Monday, August 31, 2009
rock and roll hall of fame display
Hi All,
Just so we are all clear and there are no misconceptions.....
This is what the Exhibit will look like for Todd at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It's not a retrospective but a display. In fact, I think we are bumping Eric Clapton out of his glass apartment and taking over the lease! See ya in Akron and then Cleveland!
Aloha,
Michele
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm240/EJ_Haas/?action=view¤t=ClaptionExhibit.jpg
Just so we are all clear and there are no misconceptions.....
This is what the Exhibit will look like for Todd at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It's not a retrospective but a display. In fact, I think we are bumping Eric Clapton out of his glass apartment and taking over the lease! See ya in Akron and then Cleveland!
Aloha,
Michele
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm240/EJ_Haas/?action=view¤t=ClaptionExhibit.jpg
Friday, August 28, 2009
oct arena dates
The ARENA dates for October
10/18 Bayshore, LI, NY - YMCA Boulton Center
10/20 Rochester, NY - German House Theater
10/21 Annapolis, MD - Rams Head
10/23 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum (Festival Show)
10/25 San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
10/18 Bayshore, LI, NY - YMCA Boulton Center
10/20 Rochester, NY - German House Theater
10/21 Annapolis, MD - Rams Head
10/23 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum (Festival Show)
10/25 San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
TODDCAST TV PPV
For those who are unable to travel to any of the AWATS shows, tickets for the two AWATS PPV packages are available at:
Akron:
http://live.todocast.tv/template.multi-add_16x9_clogo.php?EventNumber=TDC-E1151
Chicago:
http://live.todocast.tv/template.multi-add_16x9_clogo.php?EventNumber=TDC-E1153
Akron:
http://live.todocast.tv/template.multi-add_16x9_clogo.php?EventNumber=TDC-E1151
Chicago:
http://live.todocast.tv/template.multi-add_16x9_clogo.php?EventNumber=TDC-E1153
Thursday, August 27, 2009
sad fan has to sell ticket Akron 6th show 2 seats
2 Orchestra section 1 / seats K3 and K4 on the end... great seats!
Sunday Sept 6th, Akron Civie Theatre 8pm
contact andy at the email below for information
lavalle@gmail.com
Sunday Sept 6th, Akron Civie Theatre 8pm
contact andy at the email below for information
lavalle@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
awats pay per view
AWATS PAY PER VIEW
Join Todd and his stellar band live, in real time, as it happens, for an historic concert extravaganza -- consisting of an extended pre-show, a "special secret surprise opening act", a brief content-filled intermission, and then -- AWATS unexpurgated!! Performed in its entirety for the first time in the history of recorded time, this event will be a production to rival Las Vegas and Broadway, incorporating video projection, special effects, and multiple costume changes --- including original outfits from the AWATS era.
Package #1: September 6 & 7 from the Akron Civic Center, Akron OH
(Sept 6 Pre-show begins 7pm Eastern Daylight Time, Sept 7 Pre-show begins 6pm Eastern Daylight Time)
Package #2: September 12 & 13 from the Park West, Chicago IL
(Pre-show begins both nights 8pm Eastern Daylight Time)
Frank Bubnick's AWATS compilation project
The Live AWATS Project
http://bubnick.trconnection.com/
click on this link below to find the mp 3 of songs that have performed live in the past for AWATS show
http://www.stratlogistics.com/AWATS/index.html
Todd Has Performed Many, but not all, of the songs from AWATS over the years live.
Here are versions of all the ones I could find in my collection.
If you have some of the missing tracks, send me an E-mail and I'll post them here.
I picked what was mostly convenient and in some cases the only versions I had.
Some just popped into my head that there were played on a certain tour or there was a certain memorable version.
Edits are rough, I just got the tracks off the CD's and chopped to length.
Can't wait for the Akron show on September 5th so I can hear ALL of these songs,
some of which will be performed live for the very first time!
You can always check out my list of live shows at: http://bubnick.trconnection.com
AWATS Live Project:
1. International Feel - Audience November '73 Detroit
2: Never Never Land - Board tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
3. Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off - Audience CW Post University 5/3/73
4. You Need Your Head - missing
5. Rock and Roll Pussy - missing
6. Dogfight Giggle - missing - This should be interesting on the new tour!
7. You Don't Have to Camp Around - Audience November '73 Detroit
8. Flamingo - missing
9. Zen Archer - Board tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
10. Just Another Head/Da Da Dali
11. When The Shit Hits the Fan / Sunset Blvd. - FM 10/20/77 Chicago
12. Le Feel Internacionale - Live in Cyberia Laserdisc '94
13. Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel - Board Tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
14. Does Anybody Love You? - missing
15. Oldies Medley - Board Tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
16. Hungry for Love - Audience November '73 Detroit
17. I Don't Want to Tie You Down - Boston 2/4/99 FM Board
18. Is It My Name? - Audience November '73 Detroit
19. Just One Victory - Midnight Special 1978 with extra long solo ending
AWATS radio promo ad
http://bubnick.trconnection.com/
click on this link below to find the mp 3 of songs that have performed live in the past for AWATS show
http://www.stratlogistics.com/AWATS/index.html
Todd Has Performed Many, but not all, of the songs from AWATS over the years live.
Here are versions of all the ones I could find in my collection.
If you have some of the missing tracks, send me an E-mail and I'll post them here.
I picked what was mostly convenient and in some cases the only versions I had.
Some just popped into my head that there were played on a certain tour or there was a certain memorable version.
Edits are rough, I just got the tracks off the CD's and chopped to length.
Can't wait for the Akron show on September 5th so I can hear ALL of these songs,
some of which will be performed live for the very first time!
You can always check out my list of live shows at: http://bubnick.trconnection.com
AWATS Live Project:
1. International Feel - Audience November '73 Detroit
2: Never Never Land - Board tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
3. Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off - Audience CW Post University 5/3/73
4. You Need Your Head - missing
5. Rock and Roll Pussy - missing
6. Dogfight Giggle - missing - This should be interesting on the new tour!
7. You Don't Have to Camp Around - Audience November '73 Detroit
8. Flamingo - missing
9. Zen Archer - Board tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
10. Just Another Head/Da Da Dali
11. When The Shit Hits the Fan / Sunset Blvd. - FM 10/20/77 Chicago
12. Le Feel Internacionale - Live in Cyberia Laserdisc '94
13. Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel - Board Tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
14. Does Anybody Love You? - missing
15. Oldies Medley - Board Tapes 5/14/78 Bottom Line
16. Hungry for Love - Audience November '73 Detroit
17. I Don't Want to Tie You Down - Boston 2/4/99 FM Board
18. Is It My Name? - Audience November '73 Detroit
19. Just One Victory - Midnight Special 1978 with extra long solo ending
AWATS radio promo ad
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Rock and Roll hall of fame appearance
Todd will be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday Sept 7th at 1PM. He will be doing a photo op with the press at his display. We are working out the details for a fan meet and greet to follow with Todd Kasim, Roger and Prairie . The...re should be a group discount in place for TR fans that day. More details to come
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Huffington post todd article
Hello It's Me, Todd Rundgren: A Digital Chat With a Wizard, a True Star
David Wild TV Writer, Rolling Stone Contributing Editor and author of "He Is . . . I Say"
Posted: August 23, 2009 10:15 PM
Sure, Eric Clapton may have been God first, but growing up in New Jersey in the Seventies, I somehow decided to buy American when it came to guitar gods. And so I began to worship Todd Rundgren, the brilliantly talented singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer-arranger and part-time cult superstar who remains to this day a musical force with which to be reckoned.
Todd Rundgren's wildly eclectic career is such that even his devoted fans may only know part of what the man has achieved over the years, from his days with the Nazz, to producing everyone from the New York Dolls to Grand Funk Railroad to Meatloaf to Patti Smith to XTC, to blowing lots of progressive minds with the group Utopia, to foreseeing massive technological changes in the music business before just about anyone else. In his spare time, Todd has always been one of the great vocalists, musicians and guitar gods on earth. And as a dad myself now, I can't help but admire how Todd was also a way cool father figure to Liv Tyler during that long stretch when Steven Tyler was out to an extended chemical lunch.
One thing that Todd Rundgren hasn't ever done is make things particularly easy on himself. Todd's latest challenge is a characteristically wild and challenging one. He's bringing one of his finest and most completely trippy album A Wizard, A True Star to theatrical life for an ambitious series of shows that will find him performing it in its entirety starting on September 6th at the Akron Civic Theater, with further dates already set in Stamford, Connecticut, Bethesda, Maryland, Chicago and Minneapolis. Toddheads not in those neighborhoods will be able to eventually see the Stamford show on DVD and hear it on CD next year, or perhaps more in keeping with Todd's forward-thinking view of the world, they can watch that show live on the web on Pay Per View -- you can find details here.
In my excitement at hearing this non-Fox bit of news, I decided to pimp this exciting occasion to hit Todd up with a few questions about this upcoming theatrical endeavor, about the state of the music business and about his own unique and still-evolving place in living music history.
So all of you Huffington Post-ers, please honk if you too love Todd Rundgren -- whose work appears regularly on the playlists I post here. And if you you're your own questions for the Wizard, write in and maybe God -- I mean Todd -- will answer some of your questions too.
And if Todd doesn't, don't worry. Like the man says, "A Dream Goes On Forever."
Todd, I know why I love A Wizard, A True Star, but why did you choose this album for special live treatment over something/anything else, like for, instance, Something/Anything?
Like a high-priced prostitute, I have my specialties, but I am not above entertaining a bizarre request from the client. My first thought was "...well, it's been a very long time. I'm not sure if my knees are up to it." Then it occurred that there might be something in it for me -- perhaps a settlement of unfinished business. Like somebody Dexter forgot to kill and then he had a lucky chance opportunity to off them in Emmy-winning style.
I saw the production of your Up Against It twice at the Public Theater, so I'm a fan of your theatrical side. How theatrical will this tour get? Will you be channeling your inner Tommy Tune?
You presume I have an inner TT. Unless Tommy can trot out a convincing Soupy Shuffle, I may have to draw my terpsichorial influence elsewhere. There will be quite a few costume changes, some involving originals from the 70s. In such instances, I will be calling on my inner tapeworm so as to fit into them. And let us not forget the Cool Jerk in 7/4. Take that, Tommy!
You foresaw a sea change coming in the music business a long, long time ago -- way ahead of the pack. How do you view the increasing importance of live performance over music sales today: as an encouraging reaffirmation of the meaning of music or an exhausting pain in the ass?
At the expense of tooting my own prognosticational horn, totally covered this years ago. It's amazing how people think you are being revelatory if you can simply bring yourself to accept the facts. Before there were any sort of 'recordings' there was performance. If we are devolved back to the Stone Age tomorrow there will be performance.
More to the point, successful record sales result not in gigantic windfalls of cash for the artist unless they opt to demonstrate their ability to reproduce such performances before witnesses and collect the commensurate rewards therefrom... that being a greater than 50% slice of ticket prices plus merch sales vs. 20 or less percent of record royalties. 'Twas ever thus. The Road Rules.
Even with all your success and influence and a masterful and eclectic body of work, you've been called an undervalued genius, by me at least. Do you feel more undervalued or more genius?
I've been ruminating on this genius thing, and if the cinema is any indication, being misunderstood and undervalued is the true mark of genius. If bearing a reputation as a weirdo is all it takes to be a genius, I'm a shoo-in. Come to think of it, half the people I know are geniuses, the other half peculiarly enough, idiots.
David Wild TV Writer, Rolling Stone Contributing Editor and author of "He Is . . . I Say"
Posted: August 23, 2009 10:15 PM
Sure, Eric Clapton may have been God first, but growing up in New Jersey in the Seventies, I somehow decided to buy American when it came to guitar gods. And so I began to worship Todd Rundgren, the brilliantly talented singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer-arranger and part-time cult superstar who remains to this day a musical force with which to be reckoned.
Todd Rundgren's wildly eclectic career is such that even his devoted fans may only know part of what the man has achieved over the years, from his days with the Nazz, to producing everyone from the New York Dolls to Grand Funk Railroad to Meatloaf to Patti Smith to XTC, to blowing lots of progressive minds with the group Utopia, to foreseeing massive technological changes in the music business before just about anyone else. In his spare time, Todd has always been one of the great vocalists, musicians and guitar gods on earth. And as a dad myself now, I can't help but admire how Todd was also a way cool father figure to Liv Tyler during that long stretch when Steven Tyler was out to an extended chemical lunch.
One thing that Todd Rundgren hasn't ever done is make things particularly easy on himself. Todd's latest challenge is a characteristically wild and challenging one. He's bringing one of his finest and most completely trippy album A Wizard, A True Star to theatrical life for an ambitious series of shows that will find him performing it in its entirety starting on September 6th at the Akron Civic Theater, with further dates already set in Stamford, Connecticut, Bethesda, Maryland, Chicago and Minneapolis. Toddheads not in those neighborhoods will be able to eventually see the Stamford show on DVD and hear it on CD next year, or perhaps more in keeping with Todd's forward-thinking view of the world, they can watch that show live on the web on Pay Per View -- you can find details here.
In my excitement at hearing this non-Fox bit of news, I decided to pimp this exciting occasion to hit Todd up with a few questions about this upcoming theatrical endeavor, about the state of the music business and about his own unique and still-evolving place in living music history.
So all of you Huffington Post-ers, please honk if you too love Todd Rundgren -- whose work appears regularly on the playlists I post here. And if you you're your own questions for the Wizard, write in and maybe God -- I mean Todd -- will answer some of your questions too.
And if Todd doesn't, don't worry. Like the man says, "A Dream Goes On Forever."
Todd, I know why I love A Wizard, A True Star, but why did you choose this album for special live treatment over something/anything else, like for, instance, Something/Anything?
Like a high-priced prostitute, I have my specialties, but I am not above entertaining a bizarre request from the client. My first thought was "...well, it's been a very long time. I'm not sure if my knees are up to it." Then it occurred that there might be something in it for me -- perhaps a settlement of unfinished business. Like somebody Dexter forgot to kill and then he had a lucky chance opportunity to off them in Emmy-winning style.
I saw the production of your Up Against It twice at the Public Theater, so I'm a fan of your theatrical side. How theatrical will this tour get? Will you be channeling your inner Tommy Tune?
You presume I have an inner TT. Unless Tommy can trot out a convincing Soupy Shuffle, I may have to draw my terpsichorial influence elsewhere. There will be quite a few costume changes, some involving originals from the 70s. In such instances, I will be calling on my inner tapeworm so as to fit into them. And let us not forget the Cool Jerk in 7/4. Take that, Tommy!
You foresaw a sea change coming in the music business a long, long time ago -- way ahead of the pack. How do you view the increasing importance of live performance over music sales today: as an encouraging reaffirmation of the meaning of music or an exhausting pain in the ass?
At the expense of tooting my own prognosticational horn, totally covered this years ago. It's amazing how people think you are being revelatory if you can simply bring yourself to accept the facts. Before there were any sort of 'recordings' there was performance. If we are devolved back to the Stone Age tomorrow there will be performance.
More to the point, successful record sales result not in gigantic windfalls of cash for the artist unless they opt to demonstrate their ability to reproduce such performances before witnesses and collect the commensurate rewards therefrom... that being a greater than 50% slice of ticket prices plus merch sales vs. 20 or less percent of record royalties. 'Twas ever thus. The Road Rules.
Even with all your success and influence and a masterful and eclectic body of work, you've been called an undervalued genius, by me at least. Do you feel more undervalued or more genius?
I've been ruminating on this genius thing, and if the cinema is any indication, being misunderstood and undervalued is the true mark of genius. If bearing a reputation as a weirdo is all it takes to be a genius, I'm a shoo-in. Come to think of it, half the people I know are geniuses, the other half peculiarly enough, idiots.
Todd's Gibson SG " FOOL" guitar
in the recent interview on Hofstra Radio todd was asked if his gibson sg "fool" guitar will be used on the AWATS shows. He hinted that it will be used at the show.. The original was auctioned off a few years back..
I am now on facebook
come by and share your stories and chat..
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=148086679477
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=148086679477
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)