posted Sep 17, 2008, 7:54 AM by Vu Nguyen
From Noble 
HITS BRITAIN IN NOVEMBER
Tickets on sale for
London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Norwich
on Friday 11th July
Thursday 6th November – Manchester Academy 2
Friday 7th November – Edinburgh The Picture House
Saturday 22nd November – Norwich Waterfront
Sunday 23rd November – London Kentish Town Forum
Multi-faceted and celebrated recording artist/producer Todd Rundgren is set to release his first full-length record of original studio material in 4 years, entitled Arena in the UK on September 29th and in America on September 30th. Cooking Vinyl will release the album in the UK and Europe, while Hi-Fi Recordings will release the album in North America.
Todd Rundgren, the man who gave us classic albums like Something/Anything?, A Wizard, A True Star, Todd, Faithful, Hermit of Mink Hollow and 2004’s critically acclaimed Liars, will play four rare UK concerts that will follow the September 29th UK release of his long awaited new studio album  .
Todd Rundgren: Live in concert on the Arena Tour 2008. Photo credit: © 2008 Jean Lannen
is a definite return to riff-oriented guitar rock," says Rundgren.
"It's supposed to make you reflexively pump your fist and wave a
lighter in the air.” The Arena Tour band will consist of Jesse Gress (guitar), Rachel Haden (bass), Kasim Sulton (guitar, keyboards vocals), Prairie Prince (drums), and Todd Rundgren (guitar and vocals).
“The concerts will be a straight-ahead, guitar-rock extravaganza,"
assures Rundgren. “We can't afford the flamethrowers yet, but we'll
make up for it with aggression."
Rundgren is universally hailed as the most innovative rock star on the
planet. He was the first pioneering recording and performing artist
responsible for interactive audio and video. In 1981, his video for
the song Time Heals was the second video ever aired on MTV in America.
Todd Rundgren: Live in concert on the Arena Tour 2008. Photo credit: © 2008 Jean Lannen
By 1992, Todd focused his creative energies on the ground-breaking No World Order,
rock’s first interactive music album on the CD-i format. The album
enabled music enthusiasts to create their own mixes of the album,
something unheard of in the early nineties. Appropriately, when
Rundgren filmed the world’s first interactive concert tour for video
release in 1994, London’s Forum was the venue of choice, making this
November’s show a homecoming of sorts.
Two
years later, Rundgren proved that he was two steps ahead of the music
technology game by releasing what was to be rock’s very first
full-length Enhanced CD, The Individualist, which featured the combined song and interactive video game Cast The First Stone.
In 1998 he was the first artist to launch an online music service entitled PatroNet,
years before Apple launched iTunes. PatroNet enabled its online
subscribers to directly download new, previously unreleased songs,
cutting out the major record labels. Sounds familiar?
It was Rundgren who predicted the future, and now, with , his
rockiest guitar album in decades, he’s back to rock the house. Always
the innovator, Rundgren continues to enhance his reputation as the
ultimate Wizard, A True Star.
Todd Rundgren – Photo credit: © 2008 Lynn Goldsmith
Thursday |
6th November |
Manchester Academy 2
Doors: 7.30pm GMT
Tickets: £18.50
Venue Box Office & CC: 0161 832 1111
Online Booking (Ticketline) - www.ticketline.co.uk
Venue Website: www.manchesteracademy.net
Venue Street Address:
Manchester University Students Union
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PR
|
Friday |
7th November |
Edinburgh The Picture House
Doors: 7.00pm GMT
Tickets: £18.50
Venue Box Office & CC: 0844 847 1740
Online Booking (Ticketmaster): www.scotland.ticketmaster.co.uk
Venue Website: www.edinburgh-picturehouse.co.uk
Venue Street Address:
THE OLD PICTURE HOUSE
31 LOTHIAN ROAD
EDINBURGH
EH1 2DJ
|
Saturday |
22nd November |
Norwich The Waterfront
Doors: 7.00pm GMT
Tickets: £18.50
Venue Box Office & CC: 08700 600 100
Online Booking (Ticketweb): www.ticketweb.co.uk
Venue Website: www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk
Venue Street Address:
The Waterfront
139 – 141 King Street,
Norwich,
NR1 1QH
|
Sunday |
23rd November |
London Kentish Town Forum
Start time: 7.30pm GMT
Tickets: £23.50
Venue Box Office & CC: 0844 847 2405
Online Booking (Ticketmaster) - www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Venue Website: www.kentishtownforum.com
Venue Street Address:
Kentish Town Forum,
9-17 Highgate Road,
London,
NW5 1JY |
| The Official Todd Rundgren "Arena" Press Release |
TODD RUNDGREN’S NEW ALBUM
“ARENA”
First studio album in 4 years, Arena, out September 30th
Sneak peak of album track ‘Mad’ on MySpace
UK Release: Monday 29th September
US Release: Tuesday 30th September
Multi-faceted and celebrated recording artist/producer Todd Rundgren is set to release his first full-length record of original studio material in 4 years, entitled Arena in the UK on September 29th and in America on September 30th
(via newly launched music venture Hi Fi Recordings).
Rundgren
has been on the road in support of the release on a 20 + U.S. city tour
this summer which kicked off with a week-long celebration in Hawaii,
culminating with the first-ever live performance of Arena in its entirety on Todd’s birthday, June 22nd. Rundgren will also hit the road in support of Arena this
fall in Europe and the UK where the album will be released
simultaneously to the U.S. A sneak peak of an exclusive album track ‘Mad’ will be available on MySpace.com starting on July 15th (www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic).
Arena, recorded in Todd’s current home state of Hawaii,is yet another notable addition to Rundgren’s
remarkable career as a performer, songwriter, and producer. The album
showcases his unique songwriting style and sonically captures the
essence and energy of “arena” rock with bombastic, guitar-driven tunes
like “Mountaintop,” “Strike” and “Mad,” while the anthemic song “Mercenary,” transports you to a stadium with its epic chorus, “How Do You Like Me Now?,” resounding to every seat in the house.
“I found myself just going out and doing this sort of guerilla guitar
quartet thing around the country and around Canada,” said Rundgren,
“So when it came time to make a record, I thought maybe I’ll just
continue in that vein and write something that is appropriate to the
guitar, since the fans seem to be enjoying it so much.
“So when I decided to write a new album, I knew beforehand it was going to be this kind of old-school guitar-rock record.”
Known as a man of musical innovation, Rundgren’s
latest release draws from his vast and impressive career experiences as
a performer, songwriter and producer – including notable achievements
on the cutting edge of music and technology such as: the first live
nationally broadcast stereo radio concert (by microwave), which linked
40 cities around the country in 1978; the very first two commercially
released music videos, one of which was nominated for the first-ever
Grammy awarded for “Best Short Form Video” in 1983; and the launch of
PatroNet, the world’s first direct artist subscription service all of
course; and of course there are the timeless hit songs, including
'Hello It's Me', 'I Saw The Light', 'Can We Still be Friends', and
'Bang The Drum.’
With ground-breaking accomplishments under his belt, Rundgren’s
career boasts additional credits to the aforementioned roles he is most
well known for, including video pioneer, computer software developer,
conceptualist and, most recently, interactive artist (re-designated
TR-i). Given this incredible history and his constant creative
state-of-mind, there are undoubtedly many more imaginative horizons for
Todd Rundgren to discover.
Be sure to catch Todd’s tour when it stops in the following cities (more to be announced soon):
July 17
|
House of Blues |
San Diego CA |
| July 19 |
Antones |
Austin, TX |
| July 20 |
House of Blues |
Dallas, TX |
| July 21 |
Warehouse Live |
Houston, TX |
| July 23 |
Pageant |
St. Louis, MO |
| July 24 |
VooDoo @ Harrah's |
Kansas City, MO |
| July 26 |
Nolas |
Rochester NY |
| July 28 |
Bearsville Theater |
Bearsville, NY |
| Aug 1 |
The Tralf |
Buffalo, NY |
| Aug 2 |
Borgata Music Box |
Atlantic City, NJ |
| Nov 6 |
Manchester Academy 2 |
Manchester, England |
| Nov 7 |
Edinburgh Picture House |
Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nov 22 |
Norwich Waterfront |
Norwich, England |
| Nov 23 |
London Forum |
London, England |
About Hi Fi Recordings:
Based in New York City, Hi Fi Recordings was founded in 1995 by
entrepreneur and respected music industry insider John Hecker.
Originally a joint a venture with major labels Elektra, Arista and
Virgin Records, Hi Fi Recordings’ history boasts the releases of
successful hit albums from the likes of Avril Lavigne, Isyss, Marvelous
3 and Spacehog, among many others. Now acting as the recorded music
label arm of Music Publishing Corporation of America (MPCA), an
independent publisher founded in May 2006, Hi Fi Recordings is
dedicated to working with marquee recording artists while also
achieving synergies with its vast collection of publishing copyrights. |
Todd Rundgren pictured with bassist Rachel Haden – Photo credit: © 2008 Lynn Goldsmith
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Todd Rundgren – Biography
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, conceptualist, and, most recently, interactive
artist (re-designated TR-i), 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 A Wizard, A True Star, and the hit singles as I Saw The Light, Hello It's Me, Can We Still Be Friends, and Bang The Drum.
In
1974, Todd formed Utopia, an entirely new approach to the concept of
interactive musicianship, and embarked on an extensive round of touring
and recording. Standout Utopia offerings included Oops! Wrong Planet, Adventures in Utopia, and Oblivion.
Along the way, Utopia combined technical virtuosity and creative
passion to create music that, for millions, defined the term
"progressive rock."
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
commissioned 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.
His first studio CD of all new music in more than 10 years, Liars, was released in 2004.
In
1998 Todd debuted his new PatroNet technology which for the first time
allows fans of a musical artist to subscribe directly to the artist’s
musical output via the Internet. This caps a long history of
groundbreaking early multimedia "firsts", including:
•
1978: The first interactive television concert, broadcast live over the
Warner/QUBE system in Columbus, Ohio (the home audience chose each song
in real time during the concert by voting via QUBE’s 2-way operating
system).
• 1978: The first live nationally broadcast stereo radio concert (by microwave), linking 40 cities around the country.
•
1979: The opening of Utopia Video Studios, a multi-million dollar
state-of-the-art facility. The first project produced by Todd there is
Gustav Holst’s The Planets, commissioned by RCA SelectaVision as the first demonstration software for their new videodisc format.
• 1980: Creation of the first color graphics tablet, which was licensed to Apple and released as The Utopia Graphics Tablet.
• 1981: Time Heals,
the first music video to utilize state-of-the-art compositing of live
action and computer graphics (produced and directed by Todd), becomes
the second video to be played on MTV (after Video Killed the Radio Star).
• 1982: The first live national cablecast of a rock concert (on the USA
Network), simulcast in stereo to over 120 radio stations.
•
1982: The first two commercially released music videos, one of which
was nominated for the first-ever Grammy awarded for “Best Short Form
Video” in 1983.
•
1992: The release of “No World Order”, the world’s first interactive
record album on CD-i. Also the first commercially available music
downloads via CompuServe.
• 1994: The release of “The Individualist”, the world’s first full-length Enhanced CD.
• 1995: The world’s first interactive concert tour.
• 1998: Launches PatroNet, the world’s first direct artist subscription service |
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TODD RUNDGREN PRODUCTION DISCOGRAPHY
| ARTIST |
ALBUM TITLE |
YEAR |
| The American Dream |
The American Dream" |
1969 |
| Great Speckled Bird |
"Great Speckled Bird" |
1969 |
| The Band |
"Stage Fright" |
1970 |
| The Butterfield Blues Band |
"Live" |
1970 |
| The Butterfield Blues Band |
"Sometimes I Feel Like Smiling" |
1971 |
| Jericho |
"Jericho" |
1971 |
| Half Nelson |
"Half Nelson" |
1971 |
| James Cotton Blues Band |
"Taking Care of Business" |
1971 |
| Jesse Winchester |
"Third Down, 110 To Go" |
1972 |
| Mark Moogy Klingman |
"Moogy" |
1972 |
| Badfinger |
"Straight Up" |
1972 |
| Grand Funk |
“We’re An American Band” |
1973 |
| Fanny |
"Mother's Pride" |
1973 |
| Grand Funk |
"Shinin' On" |
1974 |
| Felix Cavaliere |
Felix Cavaliere" |
1974 |
| Daryl Hall & John Oates |
"War Babies" |
1974 |
| Hello People |
"The Handsome Devils" |
1974 |
| Hello People |
"Brick" |
1975 |
| Steve Hillage |
"L" |
1976 |
| Meat Loaf |
"Bat Out Of Hell" |
1977 |
| Mark "Moogy" Klingman |
"Moogy II" |
1978 |
| Tom Robinson Band |
"TRB2" |
1979 |
| Rick Derringer |
"Guitars and Women" |
1979 |
| The Tubes |
"Remote Control" |
1979 |
| Patti Smith Group |
"Wave" |
1979 |
| Shaun Cassidy |
"Wasp" |
1980 |
| New England |
"Walking Wild" |
1981 |
| Jim Steinman |
"Bad For Good" |
1981 |
| Psychedelic Furs |
"Forever Now" |
1982 |
| The Rubinoos |
"Party of Two" |
1983 |
| Cheap Trick |
"Next Position Please" |
1983 |
| Jules Shear |
"Watch Dog" |
1983 |
| Will Powers |
"Dancing For Mental Health" |
1983 |
| The Lords of the New Church |
"Live For Today" |
1983 |
| Zerra |
"Zerra I" |
1984 |
| The Tubes |
"Love Bomb" |
1985 |
| What Is This |
"What Is This" |
1985 |
| XTC |
"Skylarking" |
1986 |
| Hunter |
"Dreams Of Ordinary Men" |
1987 |
| Bourgeois Tagg |
“Yoyo" |
1987 |
| The Pursuit of Happiness |
"Love Junk" |
1988 |
| La Ppisch |
"Karakuri House" |
1989 |
| Jill Sobule |
"Things Here Are Different" |
1990 |
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