Todd Rundgren & Ian Hunter Live

A little early Christmas present for you. Todd Rundgren, Ian Hunter & Mick Ronson live at the Agora 1980 (full bootleg). Enjoy.

Article About Prairie Prince's Painting

Veteran drummer has calling to paint

By Kathaleen Roberts / Journal Staff Writer, Albuquerque Journal

With one foot on the toilet while his paintbrush completed the arc of a Zuni bear’s back, Tubes founder Prairie Prince was adding a mural to the bathroom of a home on Santa Fe’s east side on Wednesday.

“I’m going to come back in with a darker turquoise on this,” he said.

Afterward, he relaxed to a recording of “Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder” by ’60s session piano player Nicky Hopkins, the bass by Beatles friend Klaus Voormann and the signature slide guitar of George Harrison.

“I was the drummer,” Prince said. “Getting to work with George was unbelievable.”

Prairie Prince, the drummer for The Tubes, is painting murals in Cathy Stoia’s home.

Prince – née Charles Prince – is a veteran musician who has played with everyone from Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, David Byrne and Jefferson Starship to Tom Waits and John Fogerty. He was even a founding member of the band Journey, returning to The Tubes well before Journey’s mega success.

But he was in Santa Fe Wednesday to paint murals in the home of Cathy and Chris Stoia.

A Renaissance man with his feet planted firmly in both paint and pop, Prince has designed and painted murals on A&M Records’ Hollywood exterior, San Francisco’s Cliff House, Art Deco-themed walls for New York’s Chemical Bank at Rockefeller Center and sets for Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Estefan, Bette Midler and Broadway productions.

“When you’re not doing one, the other one suffers,” he said of his dual career.

“I’m playing tomorrow night in San Francisco,” Prince said. “It’s (The Tubes’) 40th anniversary.”

Born in Charlotte, N.C., Prince grew up in Phoenix, where he played in his elementary school band.

‘Then The Beatles came out and I got a set of drums.”

After a move to San Francisco, his high school group morphed into the The Tubes, the often-satirical band founded in the 1970s and perhaps best known for its theatrical and outrageous live shows.

His career in the visual arts also germinated in the Bay Area, where he won a scholarship to the Art Institute. He left with a master’s degree in painting.

In Santa Fe, his approach is minimal and subtle. He added an earth-toned prehistoric Hopi migration pattern to the master suite’s kiva fireplace. Clouds scallop beneath the dining room vigas, bringing the outdoors in. Feathers line the edges of a table. The plaster softens the paint into a muted color theme.

‘It gives it an immediate antique look,” he said.

He even has plans for the outdoor teepee.

“Here’s the teepee I want to live in,” he said, unfolding a sketch he calls “Prairie Fire,” with flames licking the edges, tapering into the greens of trees at the top.

“It’s a work in progress,” he said.

The garden design resembles a giant bear claw in colored gravel.

He’s already sketched a Beatle-esque floor painting for the owners’ upstairs office. It looks like a traditional Navajo yei rug until you check out the faces. Client Cathy Stoia is a huge Beatles fan.

The Southwestern themes all gel nicely with Prince’s Arizona roots; the photographer Edward Curtis was a friend of his grandmother’s.

Prince said a San Francisco project for a microwave entrepreneur features a gold leaf ceiling.

“I’m doing a lot of Italian Renaissance stuff in the house.”

Commissions come from word-of-mouth, as well as fans.

Prince nearly got to paint Harrison’s recording studio at his Friar Park home in London. He traveled to the home of the former Beatle and the two went to lunch and discussed a project.

“I asked him what he liked and he said Art Deco,” Prince said. “He was wonderful. He showed us all over the grounds. I did a bunch of designs for him.”

Harrison never called back. But Prince still has his memories of jamming with a Beatle.

“The thing I remember the best was the beautiful serene expression on his face,” he said. “When we weren’t playing, he was chanting and rolling beads in his pocket.”

Tiki Iniki Gets Mention in Forbes Article

Hawaii By Star Light: The St. Regis Princeville Kauai

This story appears in the December 16, 2013 issue of Forbes Life.

By Everett Potter

They didn’t teach the First Law of Celebrity Magnetism in school: that a critical mass of famous people showing up at one place creates an irresistible force that attracts pretty much all the other famous people to it. Of course, the setting of celebrity haven St. Regis Princeville Kauai may have something to do with it, too, including the hypnotic sweeping views of Hanalei Bay and the rippled, jungle-clad volcanic mountains that form the Napali Coast. It’s no wonder that this bay, celebrated as the inspiration for the song “Puff the Magic Dragon,” has drawn surfers and stoners for years, not to mention the Hollywood location scouts who used it for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park and South Pacific, where it stood in for the mythical Bali Hai.

The 251-room St. Regis has simply made paradise more convenient for pleasure seekers such as Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Munn, Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys. They come for the St. Regis’ signature butler service, the Asian-influenced fare at chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s casual Kauai Grill and that killer view, visible from every guest room. You might bump into Avril Lavigne poolside (a venue angled to maximize the view) or spot Matt Damon on the hotel’s beach, where you can explore the bay in a replica outrigger canoe handmade and paddled by local legend Trevor Cabell. He can take you out to watch some of the world’s top surfers catching the break and then anchor for snorkeling among sea turtles.

George Clooney took up residence at the hotel when he filmed The Descendants, and numerous scenes were shot in the lobby and Presidential Suite and along the beachfront. Other A-listers have come and liked what they’ve seen so much that they bought homes nearby, including Julia Roberts, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Stiller. When they aren’t in flip-flops at Tiki Iniki, a newly opened bar in Hana owned by local Todd Rundgren and his wife, Michele, you might catch them in the midst of the daily routine–a traditional Lomi Lomi treatment at the hotel’s Halele’a Spa, followed by a mai tai and sunset over Hanalei Bay from the hotel’s deck. It’s a spectacle so intoxicating that it’s a wonder the St. Regis hasn’t tried to brand it. –Everett Potter

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeslifestyle/2013/11/26/hawaii-by-star-light-the-st-regis-princeville-kauai/

TODD RUNDGREN UTOPIA COMMUNION WITH THE SUN DEMO

With the murmers about the possibility of a Utopia v II reunion (completely uncomfirmed by the way) we thought you might enjoy  the demo recording of Communion with the Sun.

Early Todd Rundgren Public Service Announcements

WATCH: Members of The Hooters Cover Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw the Light”

This documentary short is the 8th from the Emmy® Nominated series IN THE POCKET: ESSENTIAL SONGS OF PHILADELPHIA. Follow project creator, David Uosikkinen of The Hooters’ as he records the seventh song in his singles series. “I Saw The Light” was originally written and recorded by Philadelphian, Todd Rundgren.

'Breaking Bad' Swan Song: Producer Todd Rundgren Looks Back at 'Baby Blue'

From The Hollywood Reporter. by Chris Willman

Badfinger’s Todd Rundgren-produced “Baby Blue” hasn’t had the same ongoing shelf life, and it was a far unlikelier candidate for being a 21st century hit until Breaking Bad reached its final breaking point to the tune of this lesser-remembered 1971 classic. More than 10 million viewers tuned in for Sunday night’s series finale, so it’s no surprise that many wanted to hear Walter White’s swan song again immediately after.

The day after the show aired, “Baby Blue” rose out of nowhere to No. 16 on the iTunes chart. Tuesday, it actually went up, to No. 13. Spotify reported that streams of the Badfinger song rose by 9,000 percent, while Billboard reported a 3,000 percent sales gain, which should be good enough to put the song back on the next Hot 100 chart after 41 years, even though only a day’s worth of sales and streams will figure into the tally.

It’s a sort of bittersweet vindication for Badfinger, whose collective and individual fates have conjured a sense of sadness over the years. “The band in retrospect was one of these kind of tragedies … one of those head-shakers,” said Rundgren, reached by The Hollywood Reporter at his home in Hawaii on Monday. “They had a lot of problems dealing with management and that sort of thing,” he noted -- not to mention the greater sorrow of the eventual suicides of two band members, including the singer/songwriter behind “Baby Blue,” Pete Ham. “So a lot of the time when the band’s name comes up, it’s usually in this context of an ‘if only’ kind of thing: ‘what if’ this, ‘what if’ that. And it’s kind of interesting now to have the band getting some recognition in a different context. Good for them!”

PHOTOS: 'Breaking Bad' Finale at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

The context in which “Baby Blue” was placed by Breaking Bad could scarcely have been imagined by Pete Ham when he wrote it as a sort of apology to an estranged girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong, who’s mentioned in the lyrics. The opening line, “Guess I got what I deserved,” certainly applies both to Ham’s sorry romantic lot at the time and to Walter White’s rueful, bloody end.

But there’s also a decidedly wry aspect to the placement of the song. While Ham was writing a love song to a girl, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan used it as Walt’s final love song to his beloved blue meth. Not since Paul Thomas Anderson placed ELO’s “Livin’ Thing” at the end of Boogie Nights as a tribute to Dirk Diggler’s penis has a pop song been used quite so ironically by a director as an unexpected grace note.

“So he’s fondling the equipment?” quipped Rundgren -- who as of Monday still hadn’t seen the episode -- as THR described the context of the final scene to him.

The 1971 album from which “Baby Blue” sprang, Straight Up, is now regarded as a classic, and in some ways the prototype for an entire genre of power pop, bridging the gap between the Beatles and Big Star. Badfinger was the one act on the Beatles’ Apple label that bore any resemblance to their corporate bosses, and they had a lot to live up to. They did, with four top 20 singles, of which “Baby Blue” was the last (preceded by “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” and “Day After Day”).

PHOTOS: Beyond 'Breaking Bad': What's Next for the Show's Stars

“They were kind of like almost an ersatz Beatles,” said Rundgren, who counted the Straight Up album as one of his first big production credits. “And when their very first records came out, like ‘Come and Get It,’ they were produced to sound like the Beatles, in a way. Paul McCartney’s writing songs for them! So it was kind of a way of broadening the Beatles’ franchise, I think … Badfinger was almost filling a void that was opened up when the Beatles stopped recording together.”

George Harrison was even intended to be the producer for Straight Up, and he gets sole producer credit for “Day After Day,” although that’s long been a sore point for Rundgren, who substantially reworked that track. In any case, there’s no dispute over “Baby Blue,” which was the first track Rundgren recorded from scratch with the band when he took over the project. The tortured history of the album has been recounted in a couple of well-regarded books (Dan Matovina’s Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger and Paul Myers’ A Wizard a True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio).

Rundgren elaborated on the process for THR: " 'Oh geez, let’s just get this thing wrapped up somehow!’ was essentially the mandate,” the producer recalls with a chuckle, reflecting on how little crafting a future classic was on everyone’s mind. “It seemed to me that they had spent enough time working on the record and that they really needed to get it done.” Indeed, the making of the album had been drawn out for over a year -- first with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick in the producer’s chair, then Harrison -- before management brought in Rundgren, who then was known primarily for working with The Band and having a minor hit with “We Gotta Get You a Woman.” He was a fast worker, all right: About half the album consisted of all-new tracks Rundgren recorded with the group, and the other half existing tracks that he did substantial rerecording on, all in about 10 days.

“It wasn’t so much focusing on any one or another track to make sure that they would make good singles. The band had something of a sensibility for that anyway … I got two batches of tapes: the ones that George had worked on and the ones that Geoff Emerick had worked on, and they sounded like two completely different records. The intention had been that George was going to do a complete record with them using that au courant sound that was going around at the time, [a la] Phil Spector, that involved five or six acoustic guitars playing all the time, double-tracked drums and all kinds of stuff to make it sound really big. But everything that you produce with that style tends to sound the same. I was a little more interested in actually moving a little closer to what Geoff Emerick was doing, which was trying to capture what the band actually sounded like."

PHOTOS: The Beatles: Rare Photos Offer Inside Look at Fab Four

Erasing a Beatle's efforts was just in a day’s work for Rundgren. “A lot of the George Harrison mixes, I stripped stuff out or replaced things, because it sounded like a George Harrison record, just with other people singing the vocals. I had a certain way of recording the drums, and that usually for my productions was what in some ways helped everything hang together -- the sort of basic sound at the center of everything. In the end, you didn’t want the record to leave people with the impression that the record was from three different sets of sessions … ‘Baby Blue’ was the first new track that we actually recorded. I was putting a guitar through a Leslie [amplifier], which was designed for an organ, so it got this kind of swirly guitar sound that was somewhat signature on the song. But in terms of, did we think this was a hit or that’s a hit or whatever? I recall it more being a question of, ‘Let’s just finish it somehow!’ ”

More than four decades later, the song was used to finish off Walter White. Did everyone get what they deserved? Badfinger fanatics -- who are legion -- are reveling in the revival, even as they feel sorrow recalling that the ill-fated group never again cracked the top 50 after “Baby Blue” peaked at No. 14 in 1972. (Ham committed suicide in 1975, followed by Tom Evans in 1983.) For his part, Rundgren went on to much greater success: He went directly from Straight Up into recording his signature solo album, Something/Anything? and had a production career that has encompassed everything from Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot” to Meat Loaf’s 14x platinum Bat Out of Hell.

Rundgren is torn about whether to watch Sunday night’s show, after only having seen a few installments. “I was thoroughly aware that last night was the final episode of the series, because my wife had spent the last week trying to get caught up after we’d been out of the country for the last eight or nine months.” (He was touring behind State, his 24th studio album as a solo artist.)

“It seems like there are two worlds out there -- one that has revolved around Breaking Bad, and then the one that I’ve been in, which just kind of observes it from afar. My band members are just fanatical about the show but [insist you have] to see the episodes in the proper order. I’m kind of torn now about whether I should just out of vanity go watch the last episode and have it done with -- which I understand is a strict violation of the code!”

Todd Rundgren Remixes Andy Bull

Credit: Mess and Noise
http://messandnoise.com/news/4616607

Premiere: Todd Rundgren Remixes Andy Bull

News posted Tuesday, September 24 2013 at 01:00 PM.

When he wasn’t busy touring Australia, remixing Tame Impala or jawing with Davey Lane, cult iconoclast Todd Rundgren found time to rework ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’, the current single from Sydney’s keyboard-centred artist-producer Andy Bull.

In Rundgren’s hands, the clubby, claggy synth-pop of the original becomes unmoored, a ballad made squiggly and cosmic. The falsetto-licked chorus is preserved, but from there Rundgren stretches leisurely out with a synth-y, looping bridge that builds the anticipation for another chorus.

‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’ is Bull’s second self-produced single, following March’s ‘Keep On Running’ and 2010’s instant-breakout debut EP The Phantom Pains, featuring the Lisa Mitchell duet ‘Dog’. The Sydneysider will release an album next year, having recently signed to Republic Records in the US.

Thurs, Oct 10 – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
Fri, Oct 11 – Heritage Hotel, Bulli, NSW
Sat, Oct 12 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW
Sat, Oct 19 – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane, QLD
Sun, Oct 20 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC [early show]
Tues, Oct 22 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC

https://soundcloud.com/andybullmusic/andy-bull-baby-i-am-nobody-now/s-jxF1F

Todd Rundgren to be Honored with the Les Paul Award

Carlsbad, CA, September 23, 2013 - Legendary musician, groundbreaking record producer and electronic music revolutionary Todd Rundgren will be honored with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 29th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards.

The awards recognize outstanding achievement in professional audio technology and production and will be presented Friday, Jan. 24 at the Anaheim Hilton during the 2014 NAMM Show held in Anaheim, CA.

The Les Paul Award, named for the revolutionary inventor and esteemed musician, is presented annually to honor individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology. Russ Paul, son of Les Paul, will make the presentation on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation, sponsor of the award. Instituted in 1991, the honor has been granted to such luminaries as Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young and Peter Gabriel.

TODD RUNDGREN HEALING RADIO SHOW

Love In Action Guitar Pick Give-A-Way

Another free give-a-way from the Toddities Blog! This time it is a guitar pick, printed with "You Can't Stop" on one side and "Love in Action" on the other.

This is our second merchandise give-a-way in just a few weeks. So, if you received a Secret Society pin from us recently, please hang back to give some other people a chance. We only have 50 picks to give away.

For everyone else, here's how to get your free Love In Action Guitar Pick:

1. Sign up for "GET TODDITIES EMAIL UPDATES" on the right hand side of this page. Just enter your email address and hit "Submit".

2. Send us your mailing address (where you would like us to send your swag!). Send your mailing address to TodditiesBlog@gmail.com.

3. Go to your window, open it and shout "I Love Todd Rundgren!!" Then sing a couple of verses of your favorite Todd song.

4. Stand on your tippy-toes, spin around three times and then......well I guess that's going too far. You don't have to do this one.

Thank you for supporting Toddities. We love you. Love Peace.

Todd Rundgren - A Wall in NYC

On this solemn day, Toddities remembers those who lost their lives in the attacks, and those who have since lost their lives protecting us.  Love.  Peace.

Todd Rundgren Fans Plan Utopian Community

A dedicated group of Todd Rundgren fans have taken the first step in planning a life long dream: to build a community where they can all live peacefully together. They have named it Utopia Village.

Many among Todd's legion of fans have been discussing the idea on and off for several years. Since they often travel to concerts and have been together for special events many have formed close bonds over time. Among them, it often comes up in conversation, "Wouldn't it be great if we could be together all the time?" Now, some of them are reaching retirement age and are factoring that idea into their plans.

They have formed a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/UtopiaVillage where they have begun to share their ideas. Discussions are ongoing about location, types of housing, ammenities, etc. And, of course, a concert venue is part of the plan.

As the participants come from varied backgrounds many are offering their skills to make the project a reality. Among them are carpenters, plumbers, accountants, business managers, real estate professionals, and of course, a pychotherapist.

A target date of three to five years has been set for completion.

If you would like to contribute, or if you are just curious, search for Utopia Village on facebook or visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/UtopiaVillage/

Todd Rundgren at the Akron Civic Center August 31, 2013

Who Are You Calling a "Wild-Eyed Cultist"?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal:

TODD RUNDGREN

8 p.m. Tuesday, Pabst Theater. $35.

Todd Rundgren is the epitome of a musician with a cult following, which can be good, because there's always an attentive and reliable fan base, and bad, because wild-eyed cultists can turn off potential fans.

Still, even the curious might brave the converted to catch this show, not because it has been advertised (sardonically?) as featuring "four decades of hits," but because Rundgren has brought along Jesse Gress, Kasim Sulton, Prairie Prince and John Ferenzik.

All have played with Rundgren: Sulton primarily in Utopia (Rundgren's prog-rock group) and Prince notoriously in the New Cars (the Cars, with Rundgren replacing Ric Ocasek).

They can handle Rundgren's material — from the soft-rock classic "Hello It's Me" to this year's deliberately arty pop album "State" — in ways that might convince the hesitant to believe he's the pioneering genius that his cult claims he is.

— Jon M. Gilbertson

Todd Rundgren Rocks Canalside with Sister Sparrow

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/15210854-todd-rundgren-rocks-canalside


Todd Rundgren Rocks Canalside

Buffalo : NY : USA | Aug 15, 2013 at 10:32 PM PDT

By Sherrill Fulghum

On August 15 Canalside ath te Erie Canal Harbourside in Buffalo got down and loud with some good old fashioned rock and roll when This is Fiction, Sister Sparrow, andTodd Rundgren took the stage.

Buffalo's own This is Fiction got the night of rock started off and played a six song set to a rather small but very enthusiastic crowd. One fan even shouted that he wanted to marry the lead singer Derek's guitar. Derek responded that the guitar was single.

After a break to reset the stage, and a few impatient fans shouting to bring on the band, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds took the stage. Sister Sparrow is a rock band with a female singer, a harmonic player, and a brass section of trumpet, trombone, and baritone saxophone. Among the songs during the 10 song set on the beautiful summer evening was "Make it Rain"; and dedicating the song to all mothers in the crowd Sister Sparrow sang "Mama Knows".

The New York eight piece band began as a family affair with big brother Jackson on the harmonica and cousin Bram holding it down on the drums. But Jackson is much more than just the typical harmonica player, he made that tiny little instrument sound as huge as a Hammond organ - and soudned just like one too.

As Sister Sparrow was ending their set and the sun was getting low in the sky, the area around the stage was as crowded as a street corner at The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. During the break, the crowd was tense with anticipation and ready to explode with excitement as they waited to hear the headlining artist of the week - Todd Rundgren.

Finally the big man took the stage and after working the stage - constantly moving - and performing a couple of songs Rundgren donned a green guitar saying, "yeah, it's a guitar. Guitars are cool".

Soon a stool appeared alongside an instrument case/table with Rundgren telling the crowd that his conctract required a certain amount of sit time - about four songs -; adding that sometimes he even had a snack - holding up a banana. As it turned out when he announced that it was time for his snack, the "banana" was a musical shaker.

Teasing the crowd Rundgren told them that he was going to perform his biggest hit...in Australia which turned out to be "Can We Still Be Friends".

Once his required "sit time" was fulfilled, Rundgren again took to rocking the stage and conducting his four piece band performing a number of his hit songs; but there was one missing from the list...until the encore. Once again teasing the fans Rundgren contenplated as to which song they should perform for the what turned out to be a two song encore. Then everyone heard the big one..."Hello it's Me".

At 65 Rundgren shows no signs of waning, he hasn't lost his voice or musical ability like some rockers of his era. The packed crowd danced, sang, and clapped along and when it all came to an end; they stood and chanted for more when the roadies began to tear down the stage. Reluctantly the fans began to disperse, many hanging around the stage hoping for souvenirs.

Sherrill Fulghum is based in Niagara Falls, New York, United States of America, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

Closest Thing to Utopia on Stage

http://niagara-gazette.com/nightandday/x389854669/Closest-thing-to-Utopia-on-stage-Thursday-in-Buffalo

August 15, 2013
Closest thing to Utopia on stage Thursday in Buffalo

By Thom Jennings ngedit@niagara-gazette.com Night & Day


Night & Day — On Oct. 31, 1982, I witnessed a show that changed my life. Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox, collectively known as Utopia. Within a few weeks, a friend of mine who was a local disc jockey for a rock radio station began sharing cassette tapes of the band’s live performances, and soon afterward began what most and my friends called an “odd obsession.”

The advantage of being a Utopia fan is that the band members lead you in many musical directions. Todd’s production work leads you to big names like Grand Funk, Meat Loaf and Cheap Trick. Keyboardist Roger Powell toured with David Bowie and even is mentioned in Pete Townshend’s autobiography. Drummer Willie Wilcox’s resume includes work with Hall and Oates and Stacey Q. Finally, bassist Kasim Sulton, his list includes Joan Jett, Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Bon Jovi, The New Cars and Blue Oyster Cult.

Utopia last performed together in 1992. Since then Kasim Sulton is the only member of the four piece unit that has worked with Todd Rundgren on a consistent basis. Sulton will be part of Rundgren’s band in Buffalo along with guitarist Jesse Gress, keyboardist John Ferenzik and drummer Prairie Prince.

Both Rundgren and Sulton will be in town Thursday at the free Buffalo Canalside show.

Since his days in Utopia Kasim’s services have been in heavy demand. For this tour he had to decide whether to continue to tour with Blue Oyster Cult or go on the road with Todd.

“The way Blue Oyster Cult books their shows is very different; if they get an offer for a show in a week they may take it. When the Todd tour came along there weren’t many BOC shows booked for the summer so I was caught between a rock and a hard place,” Sulton said during a recent phone interview from his home in the New York City area.

“Todd’s fans are the ones that know me best. My fan base isn’t BOC’s. Then there is the history factor, I’ve known Todd for 37 years. It was a no-brainer and the only thing I had to worry about is if BOC would take me back, and they said that wasn’t a problem.”

Fan of the four-piece Utopia band were recently treated to a couple of surprises. The band was featured prominently on the cover of a recent issue of “Goldmine” magazine, and it included interviews with all the band members. It was one of the few times in recent years Todd has talked extensively about his former band.

“I was pleasantly surprised at how generously he spoke about our history. Unfortunately, Utopia was something that wasn’t going to last forever and everybody had their other interests and other things going on,” Sulton said.

In recent years Todd has uncharacteristically revisited his past, putting on album shows, touring with the progressive rock lineup known as “Todd Rundgren’s Utopia” and even mining deep in his catalogue to play “We Gotta Get You a Woman” during orchestra shows.

The closest fans have come to seeing a four-piece Utopia reunion came in 2009 when Todd surprised fans with an opening set of Utopia songs before his performance of “A Wizard a True Star.” The band featured Rundgren, Sulton, Powell and Prairie Prince.

“As much as I love Prairie, I thought Willie should have been there. Prairie is great but he wasn’t a member of Utopia and I think that is the reason Todd won’t tour with the three of us and call it Utopia. Aside from that, Roger has bad arthritis and can’t play for any extended period of time.”

Many fans speculate that a long-standing rift between Wilcox and Rundgren is the only thing that stands in the way of a full reunion. While a full tour seems unlikely for a number of reasons, a one-off performance or mini-tour may be easier to pull off.

“Never say never, I have talked to Todd about it and I have talked to Willie about it but to be honest I doubt it will happen.”

Todd’s show in Buffalo will feature one song from his Utopia days “Love is the Answer,” which may be the answer to how the band can reunite.

In the meantime, Utopia fans can look forward to hearing new music later this year from Kasim Sulton as he puts the finishing touches on his solo album entitled “3.” The cover will feature a mosaic of fan submitted pictures, including one featuring me and my dog, whose name is Kasim.

Thom Jennings covers the local music scene for Night and Day.

Photos from Todd's Sold Out Show at The Gramercy Theater 5-10-2013

Akron, OH (PRWEB) April 24, 2013

Todd Rundgren will perform with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Akron Youth Symphony on August 31st, 2013 at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, OH. This will be the first time ever Rundgren has performed with two different orchestras on the same stage at the same time and the first time he has performed with a youth orchestra. The concert is being presented by RundgrenRadio.com. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com.

The August concert will include special guests keyboardist John Ferenzik, guitarist Jesse Gress, drummer Prairie Prince, bassist Kasim Sulton, and background singers Mary Lou Arnold and Michele Rundgren.
Full details about the concert can be found at http://www.MaestroToddRundgren.com.

The Todd Rundgren with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Akron Youth Symphony concert will be Rundgren's third symphonic concert in North America; in June of last year, Todd performed two concerts with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra in Rockford, IL. Both concerts in Rockford were presented by RundgrenRadio.com. The orchestra concert in Akron will consist of both the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Akron Youth Symphony.

The idea of Todd performing with a full orchestra was the brainchild of Netherland radio DJ and music connoisseur Co de Kloet. His idea came to life in September of 2011 when Todd performed two concerts in the Netherlands backed by the Dutch Metropole Orchestra. Todd returned to Amsterdam in November of last year and performed again with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra in front of a sold out crowd at the famous Paradiso venue. The conductor for the Dutch concerts was Steve Slidewell and the orchestral arrangements were done by Tom Trapp. The North American concerts would be difficult to do without the generosity of the Dutch Metropole Orchestra sharing their charts from those concerts.

A Wizard, A True Star. The title of Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo album aptly sums up the contributions of this multi-faceted artist to state-of-the-art music. As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, and conceptualist, Rundgren has made a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front The Nazz, the quintessential `60's cult group. In 1969, he left the band to pursue a solo career, recording his debut offering, the legendary Runt. But it was 1972's seminal Something/Anything?, on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts, and acted as his own producer, that catapulted Todd into the superstar limelight, prompting the press to unanimously dub him 'Rock's New Wunderkind'. It was followed by such landmark LPs as The Hermit of Mink Hollow and the above mentioned A Wizard, A True Star, as well as such hit singles as I Saw The Light, Hello It's Me, Can We Still Be Friends, and Bang The Drum.

Rundgren's myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meatloaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall And Oates. Rounding out his reputation as rock's Renaissance Man, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp's 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It (the screenplay commisioned by The Beatles for what was meant to have been their third motion picture). He also has composed the music for a number of television series, including Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Crime Story.

For more than 60 years, the Akron Symphony Orchestra has been a driving musical force throughout the Greater Akron area. Widely recognized for musical excellence and performance versatility, the Akron Symphony Orchestra is committed to enhancing the quality of life of their community through educational and musical excellence.
Akron Youth Symphony is the Akron Youth Orchestra’s flagship ensemble and one of Ohio’s oldest youth orchestras. It presents three concerts each year at multiple venues and provides talented young musicians with an unforgettable, professional musical experience in their formative adolescent years. The orchestra celebrated its 50th anniversary by traveling to New York City and performing a concert in Carnegie Hall.

Todd Rundgren Jokes

Thought we would go to the lighter side of things today. Here are a few Todd Rundgren related jokes.

The first one is from the February 14, 2007 episode of 30 Rock:

In the episode one someone calls Tina Fey's charecter, Liz Lemon, the "C" word.

She was offended and when discussing it with her producer/another writer she refused to repeat the word.(which by the way was cleverly concealed).

She told the writer the word rhymed with the title of his favorite Todd Rundgren album and he looked puzzled and asked "someone called you something that rhymes with The Hermit of Mink Hollow?"



"Mommy! Mommy! When I grow up I want to be a guitar player like Todd Rundgren!"
"Now Johnny, you can't do both!"




A Todd fan died and ended up in hell. The devil greeted him and showed him to a room. All there was in this room was a stereo. The devil tells the Todd fan that only he controls the stereo, and anything he does to try and turn the stereo off will raise the temperature in his room one degree. So the devil turns the stereo on and puts on Something/Anything, and hits the repeat button. "I'll see you in a thousand years" he says, and slams the door.

A thousand years go by and the devil is making his rounds and comes to the Todd fan's room. He opens the door only to find the room the same temperature as when he left. The devil is amazed by how much self control the fan has shown and decides that he had learned his lesson and was going to let him go. So the devil turns off the music, and before the devil has a chance to say anything, the fan turns around and says "Hey, I was listening to that!"



How many Todd fans does it take to change a lightbulb? One to actually change it, 10 to take pictures of it, and 100 to talk about it on Facebook.

Chicago Tribune's Classical "Pick of the Week": Todd Rundgren & Ethel

When the esteemed Chicago Tribune selects a Todd Rundgren concert as their Classical Pick of the Week, it makes us wonder if Todd has a new audience waiting in the wings.

"Side by Side": "Exploring musical connections" is the theme of this year's Northwestern University spring festival, a seven-concert event (through April 13) that surveys the spectrum of classical, jazz, pop and world music.

Kicking off the fest will be the hip string quartet ETHEL, with rock icon Todd Rundgren, showing how music from the 1970s has influenced today's classical music. The program ranges from Arvo Part's neomedieval minimalism to arrangements of Rundgren songs. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston; $20; 847-467-4000, -- Chicago Tribune, 03-28-2013


The following are some pictures of Todd Rundgren and Ethel pictures from last fall at Ramapo College in New Jersey: