Kasim Sulton talks about Todd Rundgren, Meatloaf and his upcoming PPV

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  1. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

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    Kasim Sulton: Multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter talks about his career, Utopia, Todd Rundgren, Joan Jett , Meatloaf and his upcoming Pay Per View


    You started on guitar is it true that your dad brought you a Gretsch?


    Yeah, well like most other kids, I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. That kind of cinched it for me. That's what I wanted to do and no matter what I was going to become a guitar player.

    Who inspired you to start playing bass?


    The only reason I started playing bass was because there were a couple of guitar players that moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn,two kids and they were starting a band. They were like the two hotshot guitar players in the neighborhood. They didn't need another guitar player they needed a bass player. Rather than say " OK well fine have fun with your band", I decided that it would behoove me to switch over to bass to play with them.

    The bass you got was that a Hofner copy?


    No, it was an EB-0, a Jack Bruce EB-0.


    Who were your musical heroes growing up?


    I was a big Beatles fan growing up like I said, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin,I kind of tolerated The Stones(laughs),The Who, all of the British Invasion bands.

    What types of groups did you play in growing up in Staten Island?


    I played in garage bands really for the most part, I did my best to find cover bands. Not really any specific type of band , whatever music was popular at the time that was what we were doing. Like if it was Chicago or Yes,James Gang or Led Zeppelin, we would run the gamut. We would do everything we possibly could.

    Were you songwriting at that time?


    A little bit not much. I was an assistant engineer in a studio in New York so along with being the gofer boy I would get some free time and try my hand at writing.

    You worked at what studio ?


    Variety Studios at 42 Street.

    Who did you get a chance to meet or work with?


    Nobody famous. The only person that any kind of note was a guy by the name of Rick. He engineered some of the Stevie Wonder records. This was pretty much like a Latin based salsa studio. They would do Latin music there.

    The Fania All Stars? Tito Puente? Those types of guys?


    Well that genre but not those particular types of names.




    What was your first big break in the business? Was it when with you played with Cherry Vanilla?

    I guess you could say that. That was what lead to a bigger break . The first big break was auditioning for her and getting the job as her keyboard player.
    .

    What were some of the crazy things about Cherry Vanilla , Jayne County and that scene during that time?


    That whole scene was kinda crazy, that was around the Max's Kansas City days.So it was the beginning of punk in the city and prog rock. There was a club in every corner.


    How different was that Max's/CBGB's scene different from the Led Zeppelin inspired scene that was popular at that time?


    It was just another avenue for people to kind of sell their wares and go around and get gigs and play.It was a great time in New York.

    Did that lead you to playing with Todd by playing with Cherry Vanilla?


    Yes,it did. I met and started working with a guy by the name of Michael Kamen. Who was in a band at the time called the New York Rock Ensemble. Cherry introduced me to Michael , he kinda took me under his wing and things like that. That's how I got my foot through the door hanging out with him and Mick Ronson and a few other people from The David Bowie Band. Actually Earl Slick who found out about the audition with Utopia and said that if I was interested I should call Michael and tell him.

    Michael was such a great arranger and musician. He was so talented.Anything he arranged turned the music into gold in my eyes.


    He was a brilliant guy, an absolutely brilliant guy.



    You played on a Steve Hillage album , L , that Todd produced. What did you think of Hillage ?


    I thought he was an absolute nut. I didn't know what to make of him. This was the first proper record I had ever done. I just couldn't believe my luck that I had made the audition with Utopia.And then making that recording with Steve who I had no idea was or where he came from. He was a pretty popular person in his own right. That's when I started my recording career.

    What did you think of Todd's production style at first?


    It was kind of haphazard it was kind of...Todd was open minded and he always looked at records as performances not so much as making a perfect record but just getting a good performance down.

    In terms of Utopia was the chemistry between you Willie,Todd and Roger immediate?


    It wasn't that something that happened instantly but it didn't take long.Six months to a year where I really felt comfortable in the band.

    Was Utopia sort of a benevolent dictatorship or more of a group as we are led to believe?


    I always felt that it was Todd's band and that we served at his pleasure.He was the driving force behind the band.He was the reason the band had a record deal.He would come up with the majority of the musical ideas on any given record. So it was always really his band.


    How active was Todd in creating the bass lines during Utopia or did you have some free rein?


    He never really told me what to play he just...I guess I second guessed what he expected. But I was given free rein to do what I thought was correct at the time.


    Set Me Free was one of those songs you had sung for Utopia. That was Utopia's only top 40 hit.Was the inspiration from that one from Fleetwood Mac?


    I don't know I wrote that song to get out of a record deal! Well Utopia signed with Bearsville records, the four piece: Todd, Willie, Roger and me. We also signed solo recording contracts. Bearsville had first crack at our solo projects.I wanted desperately to do a record and Arthur Grossman of Bearsville told me that the material wasn't mature enough.That I hadn't become a good enough songwriter to do a record. meanwhile EMI , Gary Gersh at EMI, meanwhile said we'll do a record with you.I said to Albert and Bearsville,"hey you don't want to do a record, so I'm gonna go to EMI. So they said that you could do that but that would be 15% of your advance and 3 points on your record. They had done basically nothing for me and I was being paid for doing nothing.So that's why I wrote Set Me Free.

    There's an expression that states that the music business is 99 percent business and one percent music.


    That's about right.

    Was Deface The Music more of a goof or a homage to the bands that Utopia was emulating?


    You know I have mixed feelings about that record. I'm not a big fan of that record. Basically we did that record on the heels of Adventures in Utopia which was for Utopia a very successful record.

    The one with Caravan on it.

    Yeah,the people in the band, myself, Roger and Willy thought we should do another record like Adventures in Utopia and capitalize on our success, that we had had so far. And when we got up to Bearsville to Todd's house to star recording the new record he had half the record finished already. He said that we're going to make a Beatle parody record. everybody scratched their head and said why on earth would we do that? That's what Todd wanted to do and it was really his band so....I kinda had no choice but to follow in his footsteps and do what he wanted us to do.

    What was the Utopia album that captured the essence of the band?


    You know each album was different if I had to pick one record I'd say the Network record. The white cover with our picture on it and it was an album and a half.It was a double record that was only one and a half sides.

    Live was there a particular concert that you felt like was a zenith for you live in terms of performance?


    I don't know there were so many concerts, there were so many concerts that were better than another. We did so much touring , we would do 3 or 4 tours a year so it's kind of difficult to say.

    What led to the disillusion of the band?


    Like anything you do it a long as you can,nothing lasts forever, it kind of petered out around 1983 after we couldn't get any record deals. We had problems. Every record company we signed with would fold after we signed with them. People would leave..it became difficult to maintain the career ,simply because we weren't that successful... we were semi-successful, it was a time with record companies where the bottom line was much more important than artist development.

    You guys came back to do that tour in 92 was everything copacetic at that point? Was it right for you guys to get back together?


    Yeah I think so. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time although most of the shows that we played were for small audiences. Only two of the shows we did were sold out. We just couldn't...it might have been a little too soon to revisit Utopia.


    You worked on Bat Out Of Hell. How did that come to be?


    Well they had no band , so they needed a band. They knew they needed to use Max Weinberg on drums and Roy Bittan on piano because Jim Steinman was such a big Bruce Springsteen fan. Because they didn't have a band or any other bass player and I was Todd's bass player and Todd said:'you wanna play bass on the record?" and I said:"sure."

    When you first heard the album did you feel that it was a novelty act or a comedy album of some sort?


    I didn't think it was a comedy record I thought that it was comical.


    Did Todd tell you guys that you were goofing on Springsteen when you did Bat Out Of Hell?


    No, I don't think he was...........I think it was more Phil Spectorish than anything else.

    How have you kept up the friendship with Meatloaf all these years? How did you eventually become his musical director?



    I didn't start working with Meat live until 1993. We met in Australia he was doing some kind of softball benefit.I'm not exactly sure what it was. I was over there with Hall and Oates and we hadn't seen each other in years. He asked if I was gonna sing background vocals which was gonna be Bat Out Of Hell 2. I guess about 6 months later I got a call from Todd asking me to come up to Woodstock and sing backgrounds on Bat Out Of Hell 2 with him. From there it made sense that if I wasn't busy I would play guitar and keyboard with band. His longtime bass player Steve Busslow left the band. that left an open spot so I could...Steve was the musical director up until then, had been for seventeen years so I just took up the reins.



    You finally stopped playing with Meat. What led to your departure? Is everything OK between you two?


    I got tired of 15 years in the band. I kind of felt the direction that he was going in was a direction going in was what I wanted to do with the rest of my career. And I was a little tired of being his bass player. It was time for me to move on.

    You were playing between Rundgren and Meatloaf and it just stopped being interesting to you.


    Yeah and especially the last record that Meat did I wasn't particularly fond of. And I don't think it was such a great record. Bat Out Of Hell 3 was a total disaster for a number of reasons. I was tired of working with Meatloaf.

    How was it being a Blackheart and playing with Joan Jett, did that happen directly after Utopia?


    No it was about a two year lapse,I screwed around doing this that and the other thing. My buddy Tommy Price who occasionally played with Joan said that they needed a bass player and I said sure. I wound up touring with Joan for three years and Joan is the best, they don't come any better than Joan. She's wonderful,she's a great person, she's really really good at what she does.That was a big thrill for me to work with her for 3 years.


    How did the Lights On project come to pass? Did that come out of playing with Jett?


    No it didn't.Tommy and I hadn't started to play with Joan yet. It was a greatest hits records called Hitsville, Hitsman,I don't know.After that record was done, he was playing with Billy Idol. Utopia was no longer in existence so we both had a lot of time on our hands. the best thing to do since we grew up together. We knew each other since we were 12 years old. So we would try our hand at a solo record.

    You played with Hall and Oates how did that come about and was that through Todd and Utopia?


    I've known Daryl and John ever since I was in Utopia. The bass player ,T-Bone had left to play with Billy Joel I think.they needed someone, I got the call and that's how that happened.

    T-Bone switched over to guitar pretty much.


    Yeah, he came back and he came back as the guitar player.

    How was the experience with Mick Jagger?


    I only did that for three weeks.We didn't do any shows we only did rehearsals and I just got to play with the Mick Jagger for three weeks playing Jumping Jack Flash,Bitch and stuff like that. It was a gas because the band was a great band.Simon Phillips wasn't there because he had problems so Liberty De Vito was there.Joe Satriani was on guitar, Jimmy Ripp on guitar there were a bunch of people there.

    How was it playing with Simon Phillips?


    I didn't because he had to drop out for a few weeks. Liberty took his place and I was playing for Doug Wimbish.

    How was it working with Jim Steinman outside the confines of the Bat Out Of Hell situation?


    Jim's brilliant,he's a brilliant songwriter and I don't know that many people can match him lyrically. He knows what he wants,Jim and I are very close friends working on projects that will come to see the light of day next year.

    You worked with Patti Smith and Patti Smyth. How was it like working with Patti Smith?


    She was great I did the Dream of Life record with her when her husband Fred Sonic Smith was still alive. I had a lot of fun doing that record , He passed away right after that record was done which was a shame.Patti was the most demure most unassuming person I have ever worked with.

    In terms of Patti Smyth and Scandal you were part of that reconvened Scandal correct?

    For a second. Again I've known Patti for a long time and Tommy Price had been in Scandal, it was the same thing they needed a bass player. I had toured with Patti on one of her solo tours in the 80s, So ween they were going to put Scandal back together . Well Kasim did my solo project maybe he should be the bass player for Scandal.She's still out doing shows.

    Even though she's still Mrs John McEnroe?


    Yeah she's a great singer.

    I also read that you worked with Bon Jovi.


    Yes, I worked with Jon a few times a couple of TV shows and did one of his fan...he does a thing every year ,a live concert for his fans.

    Was he a fan of what you did with what you did with Meatloaf and Utopia?


    I'm a Staten Island guy so Jon's a Jersey guy and sometimes Staten Island and Jersey are sometimes lumped together.So Jon knew loads of my work from Utopia. And mostly because I'm a Staten Islander.



    How did you feel about starting the New Cars with Todd, Eliot,Greg and Prairie? Was it a daunting prospect to do those tunes that others had made him famous?


    It was interesting I don't know that it was...it was fun ..It was around for a brief second, it was a lot of fun. But people just didn't buy it.There's was only two members of the Cars in that band. When you think of the Cars you think of Rick Ocasek and Ben Orr. You don't think of Eliot ,Greg and David Robinson.So it was stretch to call it the New Cars. And I didn't think that it was Todd's shining moment singing Rick Ocasek songs but hey I did it.

    When Not Tonight was done I feel that it was the best nick of Rick Ocasek that was ever done.


    Yep that was a good one.



    You first solo album Kasim came out in the early eighties. What was the impetus to do a solo record?

    Well I had become a songwriter or at least I fancied myself as one anyways.I had 3 or 4 Utopia albums under my belt and then the next logical step was to become a solo artist.

    How was it recording the album in LA?
    And did you want to do it in the NYC area?



    Well at first we had started the record with Roy Thomas Baker from the Cars and Queen. So about a month into recording Roy had dropped out of the recording.I was left twiddling my thumbs wondering what I was going to do and Bruce Fairburn came in and took over the project.Bruce was a west coast guy he was up in Vancouver so it just made sense to make the record in Los Angeles. That was one of the first things he had done in America I guess.I think Loverboy was one of the first things he did.



    Were you happy with the way the record came out?


    No.I didn't think it sounded good , I didn't think the songs were that great.I thought it was an OK freshman effort. If I had to do it differently again I would do it way differently.

    How so?


    I would wait until I had better songs.Well unfortunately on that record I had spent so much recording it with Roy dropping out, everything still had to be saved.I was 100,000 dollars into that record before I started with Bruce.150,000 with all the miscellaneous stuff.I was into the record company for 300,000 dollars before the record even came out.There weren't going to put another 200,000 dollars on promotion on it because they spent so much money on recording it, that it finally got lost in the sauce.

    Was that the point where the record companies were still patient with an artist's career?


    At that point they were still artist friendly but they were still concerned with the bottom line.So it was more money oriented than anything else at this point.


    The Basement Tapes....... how did that release come about?


    I hadn't done anything for 10 ten years,I hadn't put anything out. I had some demos laying around doing nothing. I used to write and it would be nice to put something out there as opposed rather than just sit there and have nothing for my fans to listen to. The other thing was that Earl Slick who was a very close friend of mine was starting a record label so he was looking for demos or unfinished songs that artists might have done but not released. He was putting together this record label to put out stuff like that. That's why I did it.

    You know Earl, have you ever played with Bowie then?


    No I haven't played with Bowie.

    When you put Quid Pro Quo out what was the impetus for it,How was that album recorded?


    I just got tired of not doing anything. Decided that this is time for another record.

    Now were you recording pretty much,digitally or on analog tape?


    At that point everything was turning over to digital world, so I bought a little wav rig. Writing and recording certain stuff at home. You know when it's time to do another record so I did that album at my house.

    In terms of analog and digital, How do you feel about the battle between analog vs digital,tubes vs solid state?


    That's how everybody makes records these days. I would rather have a couple of 24 tracks Studer machines in my basement but its not that practical these days.

    What do you think about CD vs LP?

    I would much rather listen to a vinyl record. Vinyl is just more warm . I just think it sounds better, there's a million reasons why but it just sounds more personal.

    The Don't Break My Heart demo sounds very disco-y and dance oriented........from Kasim All Sides. Did you have material in the vault for that one? Was there an influence from disco at that time?


    Absolutely that was ..it was all about dance music then.I had to jump on the bandwagon even though the bandwagon had left the station.

    Who did you like from that scene?


    Love Unlimited Orchestra, The guys who did the Hustle and Rock The Boat. Ring My Bell and all those things, They were great records
    Wasn't it a taboo for rockers to like that type of music then?


    Absolutely you were a pariah if you liked dance music.

    On All Sides did you have bits and pieces in the vault for that one?


    Exactly, I was trying to put a compilation record together that would span my entire career. So I was looking for unfinished songs and demos, something like what I did with the Basement Tapes but something more complete.


    When is your next album coming out,sometime in 2011. What is the name of it?

    It doesn't have a name right now, it's coming out in the first half of 2011.

    You have most of it done already?

    No I don't. I actually stopped working on it to talk to you!

    You have the demos done then?

    I don't demo my own material. Actually I do and I don't there's a process I'll go through where I'll write a song I'll start recording it, it takes a life of its own. What might be a demo today might be a finished product tomorrow.

    Are any of your colleagues like Jesse Gress going to be on the album?

    Everybody's going to be on the record.

    You probably have a backlog of songs.

    Yeah I have a backlog of ideas, then it's a question of what idea I'm going to work on today. I wanted to ask you about the idea for the pay per view.
    I was approached by Chris Anderson and asked if I was interested in doing a webcast. I thought yeah sure. Well, it will be on January 13 8 PM EST and you log into my site or at nevessa.com and you'll be able to find it.

    Is it going to be some covers, Kasim solo, some Utopia some covers?


    Not a whole lot of covers some new stuff from my upcoming record stuff that I do in my live show.

    Is Gress playing with you?


    Jesse is playing with me yes on it. We're doing a couple of songs. For the most part it's myself ,Jesse,a guitar player by the name of Jeff Allegue also Edward Bradley,the percussionist.

    No bass unh?

    There's not going to be any bass. Sorry.....

    How is your chemistry with Jesse since you played with him with Todd? Is it a symbiotic relationship where you have a sort of musical second hand ?


    He's a great guitar player he's a brilliant guitar player.and plus we get along he's a Philly Boy, I'm a Staten Islander. So we understand each other,he's always my guitar player of choice when I do solo shows.



    You've been doing Love Alone in your solo shows how do you approach the song in an unplugged type of way?

    Well it was written on piano so it wasn't a stretch to do it on piano.

    Watching The World Go By where did that come from?


    That song ........ the music was written for six months but I couldn't come up with a lyric. Finally I sat myself down and said I'm not getting up until I finish writing this song.

    How did you come to design your signature bass?


    I was approached by a buddy who was a big Utopia fan and he wound up becoming the CEO of a large musical instrument distribution company out of the Midwest.They were looking for artists looking to do a signature series of instruments . My name came up and he asked me if I was interested. They were looking for artists to do signature series and the only way I would do it would be if I chose everything from the wood they use to the hardware. They said absolutely and that's how it happened.

    How is the second version different from the first?


    The second version has slightly different electronics it's a little beefier.

    The second is like a Spector?

    It's kind of like a Spector and a Warwick.


    You used to use a Steinberger bass what did you make of those things?


    I hated it . It was just the flavor of the day everyone had one. Of course I had to had one. It wasn't a bad bass but it wasn't a good bass It's just kinda like a boat oar. It was a novelty.

    In terms of guitars what are you using?


    I have a Martin, about a year ago I got a D-28 I love.Sometimes I use a Dove ,a Gibson Dove or Taylor Thinline or a Chet Atkins...it depends.

    Does anything resonate like a Taylor?


    I'm not a big Taylor fan. I like Taylors ,the way they sound,that's a great guitar. I tend more towards the Martin/Gibson end of the spectrum.


    What is the craziest thing that happened you on the road,the craziest rock and roll story......


    I guess probably.....I 'm asked this question and every time I ask myself this question,"remember when you did that?" every time I ask myself,I forget....exactly what I did.I had just started out with Utopia ,6 or 8 months into it.We were doing an outdoor concert in Detroit and I thought wouldn't it be great to go out into the audience,it was at a baseball stadium. Just walk into the audience get into the vibe by walking around.And I almost didn't get back,I got dirty looks from people pushed around it was absolutely horrible at this rock concert in Detroit.

    I had read some quotes that you had said something to the effect that there were substances flying around.


    Are you kidding me I was in a drug induced haze that whole time!

    And you gave up drinking?

    21 years ago.

    Was it difficult to drop that?


    It was more difficult to drink than it was not to drink.



    Who do you currently like on the musical scene?


    I'm a big Rufus Wainwright fan. I think he's great. I'm been to see him in concert.There's a lot of good music these days. Everybody's making great records.There's some stuff that's not so good.If I had to name one artist I like right now it would have to be Rufus.

    I saw somewhere where you said that you liked Lady Gaga.

    Yeah, I think she's great.

    What is it about Gaga you like,many people analogize her to Madonna.

    I think the difference between Lady Gaga and Madonna is that Lady Gaga is actually a musician,she actually can play. Madonna is more synthesized. It's weird because I like Madonna.... not all the stuff she does.I like Lady Gaga not all the stuff she does.I think some of her more popular songs are well crafted,well written, lyrically good and her records sound great.


    Who do you want to work with with whom you haven't already?

    I would love to work with Paul McCartney one day.

    He was one of your sages growing up?


    Absolutely.

    Have you met him?

    Yeah, very sweet guy.

    Do you want to play with anyone else?

    Nah, I'm good, I'm good with myself.

    You played with so many people which was you best memory of the session you did?

    Probably the Bat Out Of Hell record. The making of that record was a really great experience.

    Were you surprised that you weren't involved in the second as much as the first one?

    He was using his band that was on the road with him at the time.

    Did he he want Todd to produce that second one?


    It wasn't up to Meatloaf it was more up to Jim.Jim wanted Todd, but in the end Jim did it himself.

    How were the recent Todd/Healing shows in terms of length and A Wizard A True Star, was it grueling to do those shows or was it a pleasure?

    It wasn't that long it was only two hours.

    How long did it take to gel and recreate that stuff?


    We rehearsed for about a week.

    Was there a difference in preparation between the Todd/Healing concerts and A Wizard a True Star concerts?

    No we worked the same way.

    Did you add your own flavor to it or were you trying to play the part on the album?

    Everything was done exactly as it was on the record.

    How did you feel about the enthusiasm from the audience?

    It was great they ate it up.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Koptapad

    Koptapad Forum Resident

    Very cool interview and post by Butch. I was thrilled and knocked over when Kasim did a great performance of Libertine at the 2009 AWATS show I saw.
     
  3. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    Thanks,mate. I've been impressed as to how good Kasim is in that solo/unplugged setting. Here is one of the tunes we talked about,Watching The World Go By:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_sJCCzNwOs
     
  4. jason100x

    jason100x Forum Resident

    Great interview with him. It really covered a lot of ground about the variety of acts he's worked with.
     
  5. howlinrock

    howlinrock Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    A very interesting read...
     
  6. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    Thanks,mate. Every time I do one of these things I try to mix it up a bit. Also being from the NYC/Long Island area I knew someone who hung out with Cherry Vanilla, so that one topic came to me very readily.

    Not in the interview proper, but I directed Kasim to go to Salvatore of Soho in Staten Island, one of the best pizza places in the five boroughs of NYC! I go quite often to Staten Island as my aunt lives there and my grandfather used to live there so that was a plus when talking to him. He's very proud of being a Staten Islander.
     
  7. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Nice read. Learned lots I never knew about Kasim. I'd be interested in reading any other Utopia related interviews you did as well.
     
  8. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    I've done other ones....:shh:They should be forthcoming...meaning that they should appear before the original Utopia reunion concerts occur. Oh BTW Kasim is playing with the original version of Utopia AND he's going to sing Set Me Free to boot!
     
  9. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Awesome. Do you happen to know what became of M.Frog Labatt and why he is not listed as participating?
     
  10. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Wow...Great interview, and pretty honest answers...Thanks for posting...
     
  11. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    I asked about Froggy Labat and one person was dismissive really. From what I've heard MGL is in France. His function was very similar to that of Eno in the original configuration of Roxy Music.Though look how Eno blew up and Froggy didn't?! Ralph and Moogy were handling some very complex parts whereas Frog was diddling with textures ,sounds and effects for Todd!Then again from what Todd says there was kind of a resentment against him. One has to remember that Ralph and Moogy were very accomplished musicians whereas M Frog was handling textures,effects for Todd and was just looking plain weird in a sense.

    Here is a massive write up on Labat:

    http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/thebookofseth/2010
     
  12. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Is Kasim of Arab or Persian heritage? Can't think of many (any?) other folks of such ethnicity who have made it in Western popular music.
     
  13. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    You're welcome. Kasim's candor was impressive wasn't it? Particularly on his opinion about The New Cars. Talk about telling it as it is.....:winkgrin: And his reluctance to play with Meatloaf again was yet another curve ball.
     
  14. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    I didn't ask but there was a singer in Arabic world named Kasim Al Sultan though. I always thought Kasim was Syrian just because Brooklyn (where he was born)has a sizeable Syrian population there.
     
  15. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    Very cool interview. Didn't know that Kas played with Joan Jett. Thanks!
     
  16. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    That move surprised me at the time quite frankly BUT Utopia were not really a household name as it were. And there is nothing more annoying to a musician than idle time. Oh that and a lack of sex,substances and partying did I forget those things ? ....very important stuff as well! :winkgrin:
     
  17. masterbucket

    masterbucket Senior Member

    Location:
    Georgia US
    Met him at New Cars show at Chastain Park Atlanta.
    A great show with Todd doing "Black Maria" a personal favorite.
    Kasim was very friendly and non assuming like he is on stage.
     
  18. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
    Great job as usual! and yes, Mr. Sulton's honesty in his answers was greatly appreciated
     
  19. Nice interview, thanks for sharing.
     
  20. Dazz

    Dazz Senior Member

    Location:
    Australia
    + 1000 :righton:
     
  21. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    Thanks mate. I'm a New York type of guy ,Kasim is as well so the interview was very direct. It was great to hear someone basically look back at things in a candid fashion instead of glossing things over.

    Oh more thing...not only did Kasim back Cherry Vanilla BUT The Police did too?!!I could very easily picture Sting and Cherry harmonizing on vocals.:D

    Here's a very recent picture of Cherry and Kasim together again:
     

    Attached Files:

  22. Runt

    Runt Senior Member

    Location:
    Motor City
    Loved the story about the concert in Detroit. And no, I wasn't there pushing him around. :D

    Great interview, butch...thanks for sharing!
     
  23. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    You're welcome. Runt, you weren't that Motor City Madman driving Kasim nuts then? I think that people in Michigan were pissed off that Todd produced their favorite sons,Grand Funk and ruined their sound!:winkgrin:
     
  24. JDeanB

    JDeanB Senior Member

    Location:
    Newton, NC USA
    A very big 'thank you' for posting this interview! I really appreciate the opportunity to read an interview with someone whose work I have long admired, but who does not get a lot of attention from the press.
     
  25. butch

    butch Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ny
    You're welcome. Kasim is certainly underrated talent wise isn't he? In all fairness his resume' is far broader than most people really imagine. Some of his solo work which is on You Tube is really impressive.
     
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