The "almost" official blog for everything Todd Rundgren Related...........................................................................................................................................................................
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$40 general admission. All Tickets Standing Room (Limited seating is available in the lounge/ bar area)
Todd Rundgren is back with his first new album of original material since 2008′s "Arena."
"State" sees the lauded singer/songwriter/producer making a foray into electronica music while taking a quirky look at the human condition in the 21st century. STATE is a fusion of rock, soul, r'n'b and electronica that is at once danceable, groundbreaking, spiritual, challenging and infectious.
Rock’s renaissance man embarks on a continent-hopping journey this spring, playing the U.S. and Europe in support of his new album, beginning at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y.
To connoisseurs of cult, disciples of eccentricity and admirers of innovation, Rundgren is musical royalty.
Hey, Todd, where are you?
I'm in Chicago. I'm doing a residence at a university here. It's not a tour per se, but I'm not at home. Are you worried about North Korean rockets reaching Kauai, where you live?
Well, it crossed my mind, but I couldn't figure what the hell they'd get out of it. Is this one of the more serious escalations of global tension you've experienced in your lifetime?
Well, I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, so … I was still in school in Philadelphia, close to New York, a likely target. I remember Duck and Cover. Or Bend Over and Kiss Your Ass Goodbye, as we affectionately called it. You sing on Sir Reality, from your new album State 'It's good to be afraid'. What frightens you these days?
The dentist. Talking of teeth: your ex-girlfriend Bebe Buell (1) wrote that you look like a cross between Bugs Bunny and Antonin Artaud. Fair?
There's very little where I'd agree with that particular personality, on principle. You make a lot of appearances in her book, Rebel Heart.
I haven't read it because the author is a fantasist. I try to avoid doing things that might enrage me. She does say some nice things. She describes you as "the perfect combination of guitar hero, singer-songwriter [and] rock star" (2).
You should take some umbrage at that. She presumes to be a music critic. She also said you had a titanic ego. True?
Titanic? OK. Let's go with that assumption. Reading on mobile? See the video for I Saw the Light I recently got married to I Saw the Light (3) and your UK publicist tied the knot to Izzat Love. But do you know of anyone whose first dance was In and Out the Chakras We Go (Formerly: Shaft Goes to Outer Space)?
That would probably be more of a divorce song. I've heard of someone getting married to Just One Victory – kind of, "You've finally landed one." You were smoking marijuana for the recording of 1971's Runt: the Ballad of Todd Rundgren, taking Ritalin and peyote buttons for 1972's Something/Anything? and on mescaline for 1973's A Wizard, A True Star. What on earth were you on when you wrote 1975's 36-minute A Treatise on Cosmic Fire? (4)
Well, I know I wasn't high on Jesus. That was still within the window of my psychedelic era – the thing about psychedelic drugs is they don't always wear off. At least in my case, they didn't. Every once in a while I took a trip and never came back. I'd be like, "Whoops! Mismanaged my dosage." When was your last serious drug adventure?
Last night! I had quite a few cocktails and then some fans gave me some pot. Not much has changed. In 1973 you and David Bowie produced seminal proto-punk albums (you worked with the New York Dolls, Bowie with Iggy and the Stooges). Both of you formed bands with the Sales brothers and wore dyed hair and tight-fitting spacesuits. And both of you changed style from album to album. Were you the American Bowie?
I don't think I was as purposeful in what I was doing. I was a dabbler in things I didn't necessarily want to be tied to. I had a makeup and costume guy and he hung things on me (5). Todd Rundgren in 1973. Photograph: Tom Hanley/Redferns You met Bowie, didn't you?
Yes, in the back room at Max's Kansas City. I believe the aforementioned Ms Buell was there. I don't remember our conversation, but I do remember somebody crying. And it wasn't me. You're alleged to have said to Bowie: "I hear you're supposed to be ripping me off."
[Laughs] I don't remember saying that. But I don't remember half the things I said. Is it true Prince, a real Toddhead, used to come backstage to try to meet you?
I did hear that. My most interesting experience with Prince was on Saturday Night Live. I was wearing a slightly racy costume in which my, er, package was prominently displayed. And there were some complaints. Then Prince came on for his first national TV appearance and he wore a pair of tidy-whitey underpants and a big cape. So no matter what anyone had to say about my costume, it became all about Prince in his underwear. Talking of your package, do you remember you used to appear regularly in British music paper Sounds sporting what appeared to be a giant codpiece?
The English have a particular fixation with the package. I would say: look at yourselves, people. Don't be looking so much at my package. In 1977 you produced Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell, which you've described as a spoof of Bruce Springsteen …
A very successful spoof, yes. The actual number is contested although it is generally considered to be in the top five-selling albums of all time. I don't actually collect royalties for it any more. I decided to opt out – I wanted to move to Kauai and get this particular piece of property so I offered my "points" to Meat Loaf and Sony and said: "Just buy me out." So they did and that's why I'm living in Kauai right now. And I've never regretted that decision. Presumably it was the most financially rewarding production you ever did?
Certainly. I originally took the job on under duress. Meat Loaf dumped his record label on the eve of us going into the studio and that meant I was the ultimate underwriter of the whole project. That's why in the end I did so well. By some estimation better than Meat Loaf and [songwriter] Jim Steinman. Did you earn tens of millions?
Not quite that. But my very first royalty cheque was for three-quarters of a million. I haven't seen one like it since. Reading on mobile? Listen to A Wizard, A True Star XTC's 1986 album Skylarking was your most gruelling production job, right?
I would say probably true. But that's the price of admission. You never know what's going to happen. I try not to dwell too long on the horrible things Andy [Partridge] said to me. I try and focus on the final product and how that saved the band from destruction. Were there fisticuffs?
Well, there was the moment Andy said he wanted to cleave my head in half with an axe. But there was never anything physical. Just verbal abuse. What was it like working with Patti Smith on 1978's Wave?
Bittersweet. It was a difficult project. It's not something I look back on with the warmest of feelings. Was that because you had been boyfriend and girlfriend (6)?
No, that was a different issue. I treated her badly at one point. Patti was a hugely talented, hugely smart person, and I didn't know anybody else of the opposite sex who I felt was – in my egotistical, juvenile way – on my level. In fact, I was intimidated by her. And that affected our relationship. What happened between you and John Lennon? There was a series of correspondence that appeared in Melody Maker in 1974 … (7)
That was more of a stunt, really, cooked up by the paper so they could splatter the acrimony across their pages like blood! Ultimately, though, John and I realised we were being used and I got a phone call from him one day and we just said: "Let's drop this now." It has been alleged that Mark Chapman read the exchange between you and it fuelled his feeling of betrayal by the former Beatle.
You can't blame the world. Blame yourself, then blame John Lennon. I don't feel any connection to Mark David Chapman. I never met the guy. Were you creeped out when it transpired that on the day he murdered John Lennon he left a copy of Runt: the Ballad of Todd Rundgren by his hotel bed, that when he was arrested he was wearing a Hermit of Mink Hollow promo T-shirt and that he was obsessed with you and your music? (8)
I didn't learn about that stuff till way after the fact. But put it this way, I've had bomb threats, I've had assassination threats – it's part of the business of being in the public eye. I've even got a stalker in Kauai! Someone who moved there just to stalk me. It comes with the territory. It doesn't come with the territory if you write songs like Yummy Yummy Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy. But it does if you write anything that affects people. If you're going to get seriously down with the muck of the human experience, you're going to have to deal with other people and all the weirdness that comes with them. Then there was that terrible incident in 1980 when armed robbers broke into your house and as they tied you up and ransacked the place they whistled the melody to I Saw the Light.
Yeah, and threatened to cut all my fingers off if I didn't tell them where I hid all my cocaine, on the weird presumption that anybody in the music business had a lot of cocaine. Did you?
No! It's the drug that has the least return for your investment. I'd be more interested in having another psychedelic experience. Because I would get something from it. But you could pile all the cocaine in the world in front of me and I wouldn't care. Cameron Crowe put you in Almost Famous and there was an episode of That 70s Show where the cast go to a Todd Rundgren concert. But what's your favourite pop culture incursion?
Probably Beavis and Butthead. In one episode Beavis points out: "Hey, that chick looks like Todd Rundgren!" Butthead didn't know who Todd Rundgren was. Me, I thought I was having an acid flashback. Reading on mobile? Watch An Unpredictable Evening With Todd Rundgren Is it true you researched Frank Ocean and Skrillex for your new album?
I researched everyone. Thank goodness for YouTube. If I found something that interested me I had to immediately stop listening to it because of the way my brain works. I start deconstructing things, and suddenly I'll be copying it. What did you make of Frank Ocean?
It's R&B without all the histrionics. I can't stand Beyoncé. The way she sells it so hard, constantly. Everything is shoved right in your face. Like, you don't have the sense to make a judgment of your own. That's what I like about Frank Ocean or Bon Iver – they try to capture a feeling in the most sincere way. Daft Punk, Hot Chip, Tame Impala – has there been anyone who has emerged as a fan of yours that has especially pleased you?
I'm pleased when anyone likes me or cares what I'm doing. That makes me want to understand more what they're doing. Were you the original laptop boy?
Perhaps, yes. And now I'm living it. I am a laptop boy. People say: "Where's your studio?" I say: it's in my laptop, in my rucksack. Your music has been described variously as prog, R&B, electronica, power pop, and soft rock. So where would you slot in the last remaining record stores?
I sit most comfortably in the so-called "singer-songwriter" or "auteur" sections. I never look for music by genre. I look for an artist who puts a dependable trademark on things. Like Elvis Costello, he's a great songwriter who presents his songs in a number of contexts. I feel the same about my own music. Last night I did a show with a string quartet and when I go out and perform State I'll do it with a lot of electronics. Then every once in a while I'll go to Holland and perform with the Metropole Orchestra. • State is released by Cherry Red on 15 April. Todd Rundgren plays in the UK in June (details here).
Footnotes
(1) Buell is the mother of actress Liv Tyler. Steven Tyler is the biological father but it was Rundgren who helped bring her up and put her through school. (2) It has been said that, if only he had "played the game", he could have become one of the biggest stars on the planet. (3) His 1972 single and a former Tony Blackburn Record of the Week. (4) The side-long epic from Rundgren's Initiation album inspired by the 1925 esoteric spiritual tome by Alice A Bailey(PDF). (5) It was designer Nicky Nichols who came up with Rundgren's famous "glam peacock" outfit. (6) They were mutual fans, too. In an amazing stream-of-consciousness review of A Wizard, A True Star for Creem magazine, Smith described it as "rock and roll for the skull". (7)Lennon rechristened him "Turd Runtgreen" after Rundgren questioned his revolutionary credentials. (8) There is a chapter in Mark Chapman's biography entitled Todd and God. It is even alleged that Chapman went looking for Rundgren in Woodstock, New York, before heading back to NYC to kill Lennon.
Todd Rundgren has never looked back after selling his production points on Meat Loaf’s classic album Bat Out Of Hell.
He admits he’s never made the same kind of money again in his career – but that cutting a deal with the singer and the record label set him up with a lifestyle he enjoys in Hawaii.
Rundgren tells The Guardian: “The actual number is contested, although it’s generally considered to be in the top five-selling albums of all time.
“I don’t actually collect royalties for it any more. I decided to opt out – I wanted to move to Kauai and get this particular piece of property. So I offered my points to Meat Loaf and Sony and said: ‘Just buy me out.’ They did, and that’s why I’m living in Kauai right now. And I’ve never regretted that decision.”
He recalls of manning the desk for the 1977 record: “I originally took the job on under duress. Meat Loaf dumped his record label on the eve of us going into the studio, and that meant I was the ultimate underwriter of the whole project. That’s why in the end I did so well – by some estimation better than Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman.”
Rundgren won’t put a figure on much he made, although he says it was less than tens of millions, and adds: “My very first royalty cheque was for three quarters of a million. I haven’t seen one like it since.”
His own new album, State, was released last month. He’ll tour the UK in June.
Todd Rundgren UK tour
Jun 6: Glasgow ABC Jun 7: Edinburgh Picture House Jun 9: Manchester Ritz Jun 11: Gateshead Sage Jun 12: Birmingham Academy Jun 13: Bristol Academy Jun 15: London Shepherds Bush Empire
Win TWO Tickets to see Todd Rundgren + Merch Pack!
Todd Rundgren is embarking on a tour aptly named Todd
Rundgren's Official State Visit and he's giving ONE fan a pair of
tickets to the concert of their choice. In addition to the tickets, that fan
will receive an exclusive State merch pack.
This just in ..NEW TR Tour dates .. These will be " An Evening With " shows..not STATE .. There may be a couple more added..will post as soon as we know. _________________________________________________ 8/2 – Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre
8/3 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
8/5 – Washington, DC – Birchmere
8/6 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC
8/7 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo PAC
8/10 – Tarrytown, NJ – Tarrytown Music Hall
8/11 – Westbury, NY – Theatre at Westbury
8/12 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head
8/16 – Northampton, MA – Calvin Theatre
8/17 – Philadelphia Folk Festival (multiple act festival)
Special thanks to Super fan Bart V for this update
Translated using google translation program.
After thesuccessfultour ofAsia and Oceania, RingoStarrand hisAll StarrBandannouncenew legof the tourin Latin America, starting inBrazil.
October 29- SaoPaulo, Brazil, CredicardHall October 31-Curitiba, Brazil, Teatro Positivo (see alltour datesbelowfull)
PresentedbySKY, withrealization ofTIMEFOR FUN, the concertswill be heldon Oct. 29in SaoPaulo(Credicard Hall), andOctober 31, in Curitiba(Teatro Positivo). Informationservice ofshows andticketvalueswill bereleased shortly. Waithereon our site.
Ringoand the bandformed bySteveLukather(Toto), GreggRolie(Santana), RichardPage(Mr.Mister), ToddRundgren, MarkRiveraandGreggBissonettewill do10showsin Latin America, from then to the UnitedStates, whichwill closethetour withtwo showsin LasVegasat ThePalms.
Ringoin SãoPauloin 2011-PhotoRevolution
28/04/2013-ConfirmedMexico - October 29- SaoPaulo, Brazil, CredicardHall October 31-Curitiba, Brazil, Teatro Positivo
November 2-Puntadel Este, Uruguay, ConradHotel
November 4-Asuncion, Paraguay, LeonCondou
November 6-Cordoba, Argentina, Orfeo November 8-BuenosAires, Argentina, LunaPark11November-Lima, Peru, JockeyClub
November 13-MexicoCity, Mexico, NationalAuditorium November 17-Guadalajara, Mexico AuditorioTelmex November 19-Monterrey, Mexico, AuditorioBanamex
November 22-LasVegas-USA, The Palms November 23-LasVegas-USA, The Palms
04.18.2013-News, saying the source ofwhat he will doa showin SãoPaulo, on10.29.2013and otherdates and locationswill be announcedsoon. We aretrying toconfirm this information.
16/04/2013-Ringoputsome postson Twitter, but nothing aboutthe datesand the most significantwasthis, there ispatience:
‘I almost didn’t believe it’: With State, Todd Rundgren makes a return to the charts — the dance charts
by Something Else! Reviews
Todd Rundgren is back on the charts with his new electronica-laced Cherry Red release State, the first time since 2004. But there’s a twist: He landed on the Billboard dance/electronic charts.
“Having an album on any sort of a chart lately is a refreshing experience,” Rundgren says in the attached video. As for debuting on the dance polls, he added: “I was surprised when I heard it; I almost didn’t believe it.”
Rundgren’s 2004 effort Liars rose as high as No. 132 on the UK charts. Before that, Rundgren’s last appearance on the Billboard album lists was with 1991′s 2nd Wind. His last Top 40 U.S. hit as a solo artist was 1978′s Hermit of Mink Hollow.
“I haven’t had an album that really charted in a long time,” Rundgren admits, “but I also haven’t had a label, in the traditional sense, in a long time. Most of my recent recordings have been self-produced, and then I go find a distributor for them.”
As Rundgren launched himself head-long into the technology revolution that’s changed the way music is made, his albums have become more electronic — and, yes, in many ways more danceable. But he says the creative goals remain unchanged.
“I still try to stick to my original criteria,” Rundgren adds. “I want to write songs that mean something to people — regardless of the tools that I am using.”
And this coming Wed. night !!! Todd Rundgren will be the featured guest on the nationally syndicated radio show ROCKLINE with host Bob Coburn Wednesday April 17th, 2013 at 8:30 P.M PDT / 11:30 P.M EDT. Fans are encouraged to call to speak with Todd Rundgren toll free at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to www.RocklineRadio.com The show will be streamed on the Rockline website for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast
Labor Day Weekend 2013 in Akron, OH! Find out
the details tonight on a Special Edition Rundgren Radio
Show.
8:30pm ET at RundgrenRadio.com TONIGHT Wednesday
04/10/13
You may can guess what the show is but we guarantee you'll hear
some outstanding surprises tonight!
HOTEL INFO FOR Y6BB4:
We will be
staying at a different hotel this go around and will have a bus service
available to and from the concert - not sure on price yet but it will be very
affordable as always.
FAN
GROUP RATE CODE IS RUNDGREN RADIO. $89+ A NIGHT FOR A
STANDARD ROOM.
Holiday Inn
Akron-West 4073 Medina Road Akron, OH 44333
Front Desk - (330) 666-9247
We have 150 rooms on hold and there are two hotels
behind this one if needed. For those of you that already know it's a can't miss
regardless of what the show is or isn't, feel free to call and book now or use
the online reservation page setup just for us. Friday 8/30 is the party and
Saturday 8/31 is the concert.
Todd Rundgren's NEW album STATE released
yesterday April 9th!
A LIMITED EDITION 2 disc CD is
available that includes the recent concert performed by Todd and the Metropole
Orchestra! You can purchase it direct from Cherry Red Records and they do ship
to the USA
...
Todd
Rundgren to sign STATE albums at bookstore signing!
6pm-8pm at
Barnes and Noble in the Grove in LA on April 15th.
Todd
to be on TV on David Letterman's Late Show May 7th
Todd will be
backed by the Late Show band so this is not a Todd STATE song performance deal
like we previously suggested.
TODDSTOCK II to be held this June
in White Caste, LA
There are still camping spots available for
the week long celebration of Todd's 65th. June 16-22 at Nottoway Plantation.
For more details, visit
www.toddstock2v65.com/.
Edsel Records
releases Kasim Sulton Re-issue
Re-issue of Kasim Sulton’s 1982
solo album “Kasim”. Paul Myers was brought in to write the notes, and he
interviewed Kasim specifically about the album. Kasim also contributed a
track-by-track annotation, and a couple of fans contributed scans of some Kasim
ephemera. Here is the link to the page on Amazon UK – it’s only £8:
Bad news/good news depending on how you look at it :-).
The event will be in Akron, OH!
This will be our 5th Todd gig at the gorgeous and wonderful Akron Civic Theatre. We are making one major change though ...
We will NOT be staying at the Akron City Center Hotel formerly known as the Akron City Centre Hotel and also formerly known as Ramada Plaza. We loved the convenience just like you did but considering we are only going to the ACC one night we can do the bus thing and get a much better hotel. We did look into the Akron City Center Hotel and it did not go over very well. The people that adored us are all gone. None of our contacts are left and the new people in charge are complete imbeciles. In other words, it's not the same hotel we enjoyed in the past. Not even close. We were struggling with the idea of just sucking it up but online reviews confirmed what we were suspecting:
BRUTAL. You're welcome to still stay there but the action and fun will be somewhere else.
With all that being said, an RR newsletter will go out later today with the hotel info and the passcode to get our group rate of $89 a night which is a steal for this hotel. We grabbed 150 rooms and if for some reason they all get claimed there are 2 hotels within walking distance we can send people to so they can still be part of the festivities. Don't panic if you think you can't get a room! You will get a room and 150 will take a while to sell most likely. I hope not, but 150 is a tall order. This hotel has all the things we feel like we need including a place to party all night for you folks that want to stay up late without some condescending rent a cops bothering you.
Another change ... Party will be on FRIDAY and the concert will be on SATURDAY this year. You'll have all day to go home Sunday and hopefully be off for Labor Day on Monday so you can rest up.
That is all for now. The rest of the scoop will be given on Tuesday night and you are going to like it! Some of it you might have an idea on the gig and you may be in the ballpark but I will guarantee you some shockers - guaranteed I tell ya!
In closing, we are thrilled to be going back to Akron for another Labor Day weekend extravaganza! And yes, there will be lots of cake! Year 6 Birthday Bash 4 coming soon!
In 1973, at the apex of his fame, Todd Rundgren christened his new record – and, by implication, himself – A Wizard, a True Star. The album, which Rundgren recorded after he’d released the hit-filled, double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, demonstrated that he could seemingly do anything and everything – as a producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Rundgren effortlessly moved from Something/Anything?’s big pop hits such as “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me” to the adventurous progressive rock of Wizard in the same way that Brian Wilson moved from the emotional baroque pop of Pet Sounds in 1966 to the innovative psychedlia of SMiLE in 1967.
Writing about her friend and future producer’s Wizard in Creem, Patti Smith said, “Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation.” Dream in animation – Smith’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic. Punk’s prophet, of course, knew then what has come to pass: with each passing record, the Wizard continues to create the unexpected, to conjure sonic images that enter our ears and animate our souls with music we haven’t heard the likes of before.
The new record – State – is no different. It challenges, satisfies, and makes you ask the question central to all mind-blowing music, “How did that person come up with that all that stuff?” There’s mystery in State; there’s love in State; there’s a challenge in State.
Opening track “Imagination” sets the tone for the rest of the album – and, simultaneously, reminds us of all the reasons we love Todd in the first place. The song simply jumps out of the speakers, with an electronic dance groove that could have come from Skrillex (a major influence on the album). But just when you think that you know the song – that you know what Rundgren is up to – metal guitars blast your way. And, once again, Rundgren has created a new sonic landscape for you to inhabit and explore.
Lyrically, the song uses irony to explore the lack of imagination that Rundgren feels abides today – in music, politics, everyday thinking: you name it. But what’s really cool about this track is that it also functions as a deeply personal statement that smacks of the Wizard’s fear of one day perhaps losing his magic – of having his own imagination dry up. This track is as introspective as anything that appears on Hermit of Mink Hollow.
The rest of State follows along in the same musical exploratory vein, while it lyrically taps Todd’s fears and presents them as cautionary tales. After all, by the time the record concludes, Rundgren is no longer the Wizard; he’s “Sir Reality” (as he calls himself on the album’s final cut), and Sir Reality knows the State of things.
Cool examples abound:
“Angry Bird” – in which Sir Reality crafts an electronic fun fest, in which he not only mimics the sounds of the popular video game but warns us against the Republican Party’s so-called “War on Women.”
“Something From Nothing” – in which Sir Reality sings a beautiful tune about faith. But it doesn’t take many repeated listens to realize that the song is really anti-faith. “Something” is another cautionary tale about how having too much faith can paralyze a person, artist, and/or government from taking any real action. (Incidentally, “Something” is the only track on State on which another musician – vocalist Rachel Haden – performs).
“Collide-A-Scope” – in which Sir Reality combines heavy guitars and industrial electronics to comment on the dangers of not having an integrated self. How, he asks, can a “Collide-A-Scope” self have the psychological coherence and authenticity to do anything creative – anything that comes from the imagination?
“In My Mouth” – in which Sir Reality creates what’s probably the best dance groove on the record, only to criticize our growing reliance on experts to tell us how we feel.
What Rundgren pulls off on State is astonishing. He amalgamates some of the most culturally, personal, and socially critical lyrics of his career with some of his most joyous and innovative music. Definitely his best album since Liars, State shows that whether Rundgren is the Wizard or Sir Reality, he’s one of pop’s all time greatest maestros. Rating:
