Kasim Sulton and the Cars

BadAttitude · 31 May 2006, 02:44

Just found this and did not see it posted anywhere, if it is I apologize in advance but though everyone might be interested in it.
~Autumn~

and an article by the Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...735749,00.html

This year's model
Rundgren at the wheel for a pleasure cruise with The Cars

It seemed so far-fetched that fans on the Internet at first thought it was a hoax: After years apart, The Cars would re-form with Todd Rundgren on lead vocals.
Singer and bassist Benjamin Orr died from pancreatic cancer in 2000; singer and main songwriter Ric Ocasek decided against being involved in the project. That left fans to read tea leaves: Is this approved? Not approved?

Things didn't get any clearer when Ocasek went on The Colbert Report and added Rundgren's name to Stephen Colbert's "on notice" list. But two original members of The Cars who organized the reunion (under the name The New Cars) say it's all cool.

"We're not going forward in this blindly. We've worked out what we need permission to do, and we're not just going off half-cocked," says guitarist Elliot Easton during a recent conference call. "There's nothing that we're doing that we could be surprised by being in trouble for doing.

"We can draw from the entire catalog of The Cars, as well as Todd's entire catalog, as far as I'm aware, and anything else we want to play," keyboard player Greg Hawkes says. "If you want to accuse us of musical crimes, then that's your business."

So with Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince and bassist Kasim Sulton, the reconstituted band takes the stage tonight at Coors Amphitheatre (along with Blondie) to bring out the hits (My Best Friend's Girl, Shake It Up, Candy-O, Drive) that fans haven't heard live in years.

Ocasek and drummer David Robinson "were certainly approached and invited to be part of this thing and for their own reasons have chosen not to," Easton says.

"I've been a fan of The Cars since the first time I heard them, since I heard Good Times Roll on the radio," Rundgren says.

"So in that sense, if it's not the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, at least it's the realization of something that I think has a lot of potential to it and will be ideally a lot of fun for everyone involved."

"I don't exactly remember how Todd's name got on the list. But when it was there, it was like, 'Wow!,' " Hawkes says.

The lineup seems an odd pairing, but the early concert reviews and TV appearances have been getting high marks from critics and fans for making the catalog sound great. The original lineup had a reputation for a somewhat staid live show, which they're changing this time around.

"Prairie Prince, our drummer, has been in a partnership with Michael Cotton. Both of them were in The Tubes," Rundgren says. "The Tubes were a hugely theatrical act.

"Since The Tubes have kind of gone into the shadows, they've made a living for themselves designing stage sets for special events and for concert tours. They've done Michael Jackson and the Olympics in Atlanta and things like that, so we have the benefit of their expertise . . . There will be a lot of visuals, but it won't be coming necessarily from traditional sorts of devices."

Still, for some fans it just doesn't feel right; the Internet is still lively with debate about the issue. Easton has been in a similar situation, playing guitar in Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the band that went on without singer-songwriter John Fogerty.

"A big difference between what I'm doing now and what I was doing then is, this is my recorded legacy, as it is Greg's. This process was a very organic process. I would venture to say that in CCR, there was no hope whatsoever of John ever playing with the other two fellows, certainly at that point. . . . The feud was well-known," Easton says.

"I know that there have been some rumblings on the Internet, but at least for me personally, I really have sort of been avoiding looking at them, to tell you the truth," Hawkes says.

"In our case, there was no such feud," Easton continues. "We actually had some preliminary discussions with Ric and with David, encouraging them to be part of this whole thing. They just chose not to do it. Ric is happy producing other acts and doing his solo records, and David is doing other things with his life right now outside of the music business. They seem quite happy where they're at, and we're happy doing what we're doing."

"I have copious experience with the Internet and the positives and negatives of it, and it's just something you have to live with," Rundgren says.

"You can't give it any more validity than it deserves. Anybody who wants to pass judgment on what we're doing before we've actually done it may wind up just missing out on something that turns out to be a lot of fun."

The New Cars and Blondie

• When and where: 7 p.m. today, Coors Amphitheatre

• Cost: $20.50 to $76

• Information: 303-830- 8497 or www.ticketmaster.com

Retooled Cars

The lineup of the New Cars:

WHO'S NOT THERE

• Ric Ocasek: founder, writer of all the major songs and vocalist; declined to participate in the reunion tour.

• Benjamin Orr: founder, sang some of The Cars' biggest hits, including Drive; died in 2000.

• David Robinson: drummer for The Cars, declined to participate in the reunion tour

WHO'S THERE

• Elliot Easton: original Cars guitarist.

• Greg Hawkes: original Cars keyboard player.

• Todd Rundgren: lead vocals; solo artist and member of Utopia

• Prairie Prince: drummer, member of The Tubes.

• Kasim Sulton: guitars, bass; member of Utopia, has toured with Hall & Oates, Meat Loaf

and another article

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Relea.../road_rage.htm

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
AGAIN!

THE NEW CARS CRUISE INTO THE FAST LANE
WITH ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAMERS, BLONDIE
“ROAD RAGE TOUR 2006”

Groundbreakers. Innovators. Legends.
The New Cars and Blondie

Advance tickets on sale now through VH1classic.com
Free, Full Digital Album from eMusic with Every Ticket Purchased Online*

Seventeen years after the last tour by The Cars – one of the most successful and influential bands of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s “New Wave” era; two of its seminal members have customised a modern model that’s ready to hit the road this spring in the form of The New Cars. Joining The Cars’ original guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes for Road Rage Tour 2006 Presented by VH1 Classic, will be an all-star group of rockers: vocalist/guitarist Todd Rundgren, fellow Utopia bassist/vocalist Kasim Sulton and former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince.

Newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, Blondie will ride shotgun with The New Cars, performing classics from their new Greatest Hits- Sound & Vision album (Capitol/EMI) which includes the new hit “Rapture Riders,” a mash-up of Blondie’s “Rapture” and The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm.” The LA Times called it “one of the best mash-ups ever produced.” Other classics on the new CD include “Heart of Glass,” “Call Me,” “The Tide is High” and “Sunday Girl.”

For the first time ever, a full album download will be offered free with online ticket purchases, a promotion made possible by eMusic, the world’s largest retailer of independent music. “Blondie and The Cars broke new ground as they defined the sound of rock ‘n roll in the 80s,” said David Pakman, eMusic President and CEO.

*AndyK* · 31 May 2006, 09:43

Thanks BA ... going to move this to the LB&GG forum where the other talk of Kasim with The New Cars resides.

31 May 2006, 02:44	#1
BadAttitude Super Loafer Join Date: 19.11.2003 Location: Florida Posts: 482	Kasim Sulton and the Cars Just found this and did not see it posted anywhere, if it is I apologize in advance but though everyone might be interested in it. ~Autumn~ and an article by the Rocky Mountain News http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...735749,00.html This year's model Rundgren at the wheel for a pleasure cruise with The Cars It seemed so far-fetched that fans on the Internet at first thought it was a hoax: After years apart, The Cars would re-form with Todd Rundgren on lead vocals. Singer and bassist Benjamin Orr died from pancreatic cancer in 2000; singer and main songwriter Ric Ocasek decided against being involved in the project. That left fans to read tea leaves: Is this approved? Not approved? Things didn't get any clearer when Ocasek went on The Colbert Report and added Rundgren's name to Stephen Colbert's "on notice" list. But two original members of The Cars who organized the reunion (under the name The New Cars) say it's all cool. "We're not going forward in this blindly. We've worked out what we need permission to do, and we're not just going off half-cocked," says guitarist Elliot Easton during a recent conference call. "There's nothing that we're doing that we could be surprised by being in trouble for doing. "We can draw from the entire catalog of The Cars, as well as Todd's entire catalog, as far as I'm aware, and anything else we want to play," keyboard player Greg Hawkes says. "If you want to accuse us of musical crimes, then that's your business." So with Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince and bassist Kasim Sulton, the reconstituted band takes the stage tonight at Coors Amphitheatre (along with Blondie) to bring out the hits (My Best Friend's Girl, Shake It Up, Candy-O, Drive) that fans haven't heard live in years. Ocasek and drummer David Robinson "were certainly approached and invited to be part of this thing and for their own reasons have chosen not to," Easton says. "I've been a fan of The Cars since the first time I heard them, since I heard Good Times Roll on the radio," Rundgren says. "So in that sense, if it's not the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, at least it's the realization of something that I think has a lot of potential to it and will be ideally a lot of fun for everyone involved." "I don't exactly remember how Todd's name got on the list. But when it was there, it was like, 'Wow!,' " Hawkes says. The lineup seems an odd pairing, but the early concert reviews and TV appearances have been getting high marks from critics and fans for making the catalog sound great. The original lineup had a reputation for a somewhat staid live show, which they're changing this time around. "Prairie Prince, our drummer, has been in a partnership with Michael Cotton. Both of them were in The Tubes," Rundgren says. "The Tubes were a hugely theatrical act. "Since The Tubes have kind of gone into the shadows, they've made a living for themselves designing stage sets for special events and for concert tours. They've done Michael Jackson and the Olympics in Atlanta and things like that, so we have the benefit of their expertise . . . There will be a lot of visuals, but it won't be coming necessarily from traditional sorts of devices." Still, for some fans it just doesn't feel right; the Internet is still lively with debate about the issue. Easton has been in a similar situation, playing guitar in Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the band that went on without singer-songwriter John Fogerty. "A big difference between what I'm doing now and what I was doing then is, this is my recorded legacy, as it is Greg's. This process was a very organic process. I would venture to say that in CCR, there was no hope whatsoever of John ever playing with the other two fellows, certainly at that point. . . . The feud was well-known," Easton says. "I know that there have been some rumblings on the Internet, but at least for me personally, I really have sort of been avoiding looking at them, to tell you the truth," Hawkes says. "In our case, there was no such feud," Easton continues. "We actually had some preliminary discussions with Ric and with David, encouraging them to be part of this whole thing. They just chose not to do it. Ric is happy producing other acts and doing his solo records, and David is doing other things with his life right now outside of the music business. They seem quite happy where they're at, and we're happy doing what we're doing." "I have copious experience with the Internet and the positives and negatives of it, and it's just something you have to live with," Rundgren says. "You can't give it any more validity than it deserves. Anybody who wants to pass judgment on what we're doing before we've actually done it may wind up just missing out on something that turns out to be a lot of fun." The New Cars and Blondie • When and where: 7 p.m. today, Coors Amphitheatre • Cost: $20.50 to $76 • Information: 303-830- 8497 or www.ticketmaster.com Retooled Cars The lineup of the New Cars: WHO'S NOT THERE • Ric Ocasek: founder, writer of all the major songs and vocalist; declined to participate in the reunion tour. • Benjamin Orr: founder, sang some of The Cars' biggest hits, including Drive; died in 2000. • David Robinson: drummer for The Cars, declined to participate in the reunion tour WHO'S THERE • Elliot Easton: original Cars guitarist. • Greg Hawkes: original Cars keyboard player. • Todd Rundgren: lead vocals; solo artist and member of Utopia • Prairie Prince: drummer, member of The Tubes. • Kasim Sulton: guitars, bass; member of Utopia, has toured with Hall & Oates, Meat Loaf and another article http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Relea.../road_rage.htm LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL AGAIN! THE NEW CARS CRUISE INTO THE FAST LANE WITH ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAMERS, BLONDIE “ROAD RAGE TOUR 2006” Groundbreakers. Innovators. Legends. The New Cars and Blondie Advance tickets on sale now through VH1classic.com Free, Full Digital Album from eMusic with Every Ticket Purchased Online* Seventeen years after the last tour by The Cars – one of the most successful and influential bands of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s “New Wave” era; two of its seminal members have customised a modern model that’s ready to hit the road this spring in the form of The New Cars. Joining The Cars’ original guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes for Road Rage Tour 2006 Presented by VH1 Classic, will be an all-star group of rockers: vocalist/guitarist Todd Rundgren, fellow Utopia bassist/vocalist Kasim Sulton and former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince. Newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, Blondie will ride shotgun with The New Cars, performing classics from their new Greatest Hits- Sound & Vision album (Capitol/EMI) which includes the new hit “Rapture Riders,” a mash-up of Blondie’s “Rapture” and The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm.” The LA Times called it “one of the best mash-ups ever produced.” Other classics on the new CD include “Heart of Glass,” “Call Me,” “The Tide is High” and “Sunday Girl.” For the first time ever, a full album download will be offered free with online ticket purchases, a promotion made possible by eMusic, the world’s largest retailer of independent music. “Blondie and The Cars broke new ground as they defined the sound of rock ‘n roll in the 80s,” said David Pakman, eMusic President and CEO.

31 May 2006, 09:43	#2
AndyK Relentless Join Date: 21.11.2003 Location: Over the top..... seeing what's on the other side Posts: 18,694	Thanks BA ... going to move this to the LB&GG forum where the other talk of Kasim with The New Cars resides.