The New Cars
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The New Cars, the latest incarnation of The Cars, is a supergroup comprised of Todd Rundgren, Journey/Jefferson Starship/The Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, original The Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton, as well as a rotating membership between Meat Loaf's bass player Kasim Sulton and legendary bass player Atom Ellis. The band performs The Cars' classic songs, as well as Rundgren's solo work, and some original material.
[edit] History
In 2005, rumors began circulating that Easton and Hawkes would be teaming with Todd Rundgren in a new Cars lineup. The rumors turned out to be true, with the revamped lineup calling itself The New Cars. Two regular Rundgren collaborators, bassist Kasim Sulton and drummer Prairie Prince, replaced Orr and Robinson in the new lineup.
On May 9 2006 a greatest hits/live collection, The New Cars: It's Alive!, was released on Eleven Seven Music. The album included classic Cars songs recorded live plus never-before-released studio tracks. Their first tour, the summer Roadrage Tour with Blondie kicked off May 12 in Mississippi.
Rundgren has referred to the project as "an opportunity ... for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year." Ocasek — who has opted out of any possibilities of a reunion — has reportedly given his blessing to Easton and Hawkes, saying, "I want Elliot and Greg to be happy." He has also appeared on The Colbert Report and was asked if there was anyone he wanted to put "on notice" (a Colbert Report recurring element) and answered Todd Rundgren on April 17 2006 - further supporting the tour with publicity.
[edit] In the Media
O It is likely that the rekindling of the fictional Ocasek-Rundgren fued storyline may have to do with promotion for The New Cars' winter leg of the Roadrage Tour. In reality, there is no feud between Ocasek and Rundgren; Ocasek gave his blessing to The New Cars, and some claim he actually suggested Todd Rundgren fill his place.The New Cars played "Just What I Needed" on the June 6 2006 CBS TV show Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Despite the fact the album only sold 16,000 units, a winter leg of the tour will begin in November. The tour, titled Road Rage Winter Tour will be a theatre tour, of venues much smaller than their previous arena tour. Fans look forward to what they hope will be more intimate performances, as the smaller venues allow for a more close-knit environment. It is unlikely, however, that Blondie will partake in this tour, as Rundgren apparently was not in favor of the idea in the first place, and the only reason the two shared a tour was because they both had the same management company.
Due to low ticket sales, the concert scheduled for Nov 19, 2006 in Portland, Maine was cancelled.
[edit] 2006 and Beyond
An interesting note about the winter tour is that several dates will feature Kasim Sulton on bass, where as others will feature Atom Ellis. Kasim will be touring with both The New Cars and Meat Loaf, making it impossible for him to be at every show.
Elliot Easton has been quoted, on The New Cars' website, as saying "We've got a great show planned for the Road Rage Winter Tour '06, and relish the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into both The Cars' and TR's catalog of great songs, as well as performing more new ones from It's Alive, which time constraints on the summer tour wouldn't allow."
While The New Cars will be touring the US in November 2006, according to USA TODAY, Ric Ocasek has been quoted as saying that there will be a live DVD/CD of the original Cars being released in October of 2006. When asked if the original members of The Cars would reunite, he said he wouldn't discount it, but he wants to see how fans respond to the DVD. Ocasek also said on VH1 Classic in late 2005, that he would be open to doing another album with the surviving members of The Cars, and would also tour if it wasn't a long drawn out one that supplemented his schedule. Ocasek is currently among the Colbert Report recurring elements, and The Cars have since gained popularity among Stephen Colbert's fans.
- TheNewCars.com - The New Cars' Official Website
- TheCarsZone.com - The New Cars' Official Fan Club Website
