Lou Molinaro

TODD RUNDGREN - A WIZARD, A TRUE STAR!!!!!!

 

Ever been to a concert where the moment its over, you feel like having a smoke?  You know what I mean....the kind of smoke that you want to have after a marathon of uncontrollable fun with your partner!!

Last night, the crowd at The Danforth Music Hall was treated to over 2 hours of brilliant music courtesy of Todd Rundgren and his band.

Ok....so I got the opportunity to interview Todd last week.  My stomach was in knots.  I spent almost a week trying to edit reference areas for the interview.  I was once told by the Pursuit of Happiness in the late 80's that Todd was a very nice guy.  However, with a personality like Todd Rundgren, you do not want to waste his time, nor do you want to redundantly say to him...."wow, I love your music and I think that you are a great producer".  C'mon, how many times has he heard this passage in his career?

   

The interview was great.  I shared some Psychedelic music facts from Philly with Todd, and he went even further and started telling me about the music scene in Philadelphia circa 1961!!!  The Orlons?  I was giving a window of 20 minutes.  The interview clocked exactly 38:22.  Thank YOU Mr. Rundgren!!

 

I am going to put the text of the interview up here soon.  Not yet though....but soon.

   

So, my girlfriend Buckshot and I are on our way to meet 2 friends from Hamilton (Eric Herrmann from Voodoo Chicken and Andrea Springsteen Rehill - DJ at Lou's Control Fridays at Club Absinthe) Buckshot and I had a few minutes to kill before meeting E and A so we slid into a pub and had a beverage.  Sitting next to us is Ian MacKay and John Hamilton from the Diodes!!!! As both Hamilton and MacKay finish their drinks, I mention to both of them that I look forward to hosting a Hamilton Diodes show in the Fall. 

 

Its 7:40pm, and we are only 20 minutes from one of the BEST Todd Rundgren shows that I have seen!!!! Todd's band is over the top.  A true delight for real music fans....

   

Todd Rundgren with:

   

Bass & Vocals - Kasim Sulton

Guitar & Vocals - Jesse Gress

Drums and Cool Rock N Roll Smiles - Prairie Prince   

and the Set List.... 

BUFFALO GRASS
I HATE MY FRICKIN' ISP

BLACK MARIA

SOUL BROTHER
MAMMON
FASCIST CHRIST
I SAW THE LIGHT
BLACK AND WHITE
LUNATIC FRINGE - yep....The Red Rider song.

#1 LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR
DRIVE
TINY DEMONS
MYSTIFIED/BROKE DOWN

SLUT

THE WALLS CAME DOWN
ONE WORLD

encore -  

HAWKING
TRAPPED
WORLDWIDE EPIPHANY 

So, back to that cigarette....see what I mean? 

 

Todd's playing and singing was stellar.  He was untouchable.  I watched how many times he threw various singing techniques into songs.  He pounded so much singing out from the gutter of his guts.  Mr. Rundgren was on fire.  His guitar playing was exactly what you would expect it to be, but 100% better on top.  Todd squeezed the life out of his guitars on Sunday night.  While that performance could have been typical to Todd or his band, I felt that the January 28th show was possibly one of the best performances that I have ever seen from Todd Rundgren. 

 

With a 4 piece band, Todd has so much freedom to fill a lot of musical vacancies.  Rundgren has always had peculiar and interersting instrumentation in the many musical projects that he has been involved in.  So, considering the fact that the Danforth staged a lean 4 piece monster, all those Rundgren tunes, including the Red Rider song, sounded as fit as an Athletic Pro with some fasionable styles. 

   

Jesse Gress is an incredible player in his own right.  I had the opportunity of hosting a Tony Levin show at the Corktown from a few years back, and Jesse Gress played guitar for the quintet.  Jesse accompanies Todd perfectly.  When both of these masters lock up together, the guitar explores terrific tones and styles.  Jesse also is a musical author and has released great books on guitar tablature.  I got my copy of the Beck Clapton Page book signed last night. 

 

Kasim Sulton's singing was solid.  I forgot about how great of a singer Kasim is.  He was letting these heavy yet gorgeous harmonies slide right out of him.  Add that to his great bass playing!!! 

   

Prairie Prince was solid.  He is such a great Rock N Roll drummer!!  He shared a comment with me about The Tubes' visit on SCTV.  The Fishin Musician takes the Tubes out to fish on a boat.  While Candy is dressed ala Red Green, The Tubes are all sporting their 1981 All Suits look while fishing.  Don't mind if I paraphrase a John Candy comment, but he states that the "Willie Nelson looking character" led them in messy marsh.  Prairie told me that he made up that comment for John Candy. Hey, I love SCTV, so to me that's the business!

   

The band looked great.  I said to Buckshot that this current generation of 55 plus men are making their demographic look very slick.  Todd and the boys are to be included.

   

I had the chance to meet Todd Rundgren and the band after the show, and no matter how much I tried to suppress my giddyness, I could not.  I felt like a kid again.  I have always had an amazing amount of respect for Todd.  He has certainly added coolness and class to the art of Rock N Roll.  So getting a shit load of stuff signed will be a meeting that I will always cherish.

It was such a great night.  THANK YOU MARY LOU!

I need a smoke! - but I quit!!

 
 

Lou Molinaro

TIM BECK.. R.I.P.

Hello to all.

   

This is certainly the most unpleasant entry that I have submitted on this blog. However I hope that all of you who read this will say a prayer for a real nice guy, Tim Beck.Tim Beck passed away early Friday morning.  He lived to be 31. He loved Rock N Roll, and he was exceptionally tapped in when it came to writing great rock n roll songs.  Tim was most recognized musically as a member of Riotstar. 

  Funeral Services are as such...
Donald Brown Funeral Home

36 Lake Avenue 

Stoney Creek Ontario 

905 662 2948 

Viewing - Sunday January 20th
from 2pm - 4pm then 6pm - 9pm

Funeral is set for Monday January 21st at 1pm 

May He Rest In Peace...
 

Lou

 

 

 

 

LONG LIVE THE DICTATORS!!!!!!

EVERYDAY IS SATURDAY (Norton Records)

Howdy to all...

Hope your Holidays were fun and safe.

For those of you who listen to my radio show, or for those who have been in depth musical conversations with me will know that the Dictators are my favourite band.  It goes without saying that The Dictators represent everything that Rock N Roll is all about.  Agreed, the previous comment is subjective. Although, lets remember folks, guys like Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were all about fun, parties, picking up girls, dumping girls, picking them up again, and of course colourful real life scenarios.  The Dictators took that essence in their songwriting and adapted these plots to their own unique style of High Energy Rock N Roll.

In the Mid 70's the Dictators were supporting acts like Blue Oyster Cult.  They also shared the same producers and management as BOC.  Once the NYC Punk Scene was tagged, the Dictators were certainly a big part of that scene.  Unfortunately were not included in the star chamber of the New York bands that were courted by the Pros. Their first 3 releases were on major labels, but they did not get the much needed support that they deserved to expose their brilliant talents world wide.  While New York bands such as The Talking Heads, Blondie, Television and The Ramones were the darlings of the music industry, bands like the Dictators were unfortunately over looked. 

Some say they were not punk enough, and others say that they were not too heavy or serious enough to cut it in the hard rock scene.  Regardless of what the critics say, The Dictators were the most superior band from NYC.  Here is the starting line up.......

Andy Shernoff - Brilliant songwriter who loves music.  I think that it is fair to say that Shernoff is a true fan of music with a great record collection.  He did not shy away from progress, and he later would become a very valuable producer. 

Handsome Dick Manitoba - Certainly one of the most entertaining front men in Rock N Roll.  There are times when Manitoba seems like a surreal cartoon character.   He becomes real once you hear his powerful growl coming at you from your stereo or from a stage. 

Ross The Boss - Possibly the most underrated guitar player in the world.  His genuine style of playing makes him a six string monster.  Leaning towards the Heavy Metal style, Ross finds these anthemic guitar melodies and ties them closely with Shernoff's songwriting styles.  As a Dictator fan, you wait to hear these guitar solos.  Every song has its own solo that keeps the songs fresh forever.

Top Ten - A super slick guitar player that adds those ferocious rhythm chops to the songs.  His back up vocals, and his presence add so much class to the Dictators.

Nods of respect should also go to Stu King, Richie Teeter, Animal Mendoza, and JP Thunderbolt Patterson (Dictators and Wild Kingdom drummer since 1988-ish) - and a TI CAT FAN!!!!

Norton Records (www.nortonrecords.com) is one of the coolest record labels in the world.  While they have been preserving and supporting real Rock N Roll for many years, they seem to prove their worth to Rock N Roll with every release that they put out. 

In December of 2007, Norton Records released The Dictators' EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY.  It is a retrospective look at one of the most exciting American Rock N Roll bands.  There are 24 cuts on this disc.  Included in the double dozen are some very cool radio ads in support of Dictator shows from the 70's. 

The songs featured on this disc are demos, outtakes, or rarities. Songs like Backseat Boogie, Laughing Out Loud, 16 Forever, Loyola, America The Beautiful, and Fireman's Friend all appear on EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY.  These were never included in their previous studio releases.

Listening to the Dictators is like an ongoing adventure.  It is never typical.  This compilation proves it.  This release is a time capsule of an honest Rock N Roll band who did not compromise their talents.  Thankfully, Norton Records realizes the importance of the Dictators and they offer the fans a musical keepsake.  The enclosed booklet stories and pictures vaildate the existence of this American beauty.

Please visit these websites...

www.thedictators.com
www.nortonrecords.com
www.manitobas.com

Go to your local record store and ask for this gem.  Order it online....just GET IT!!!! 

Be like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Live inside the mind of a True Dictators fan....

Lou Molinaro

" I Wish Sgt. Pepper Never Taught The Band To Play"