The Yahoo KasimSulton Mailing List is a moderated list, purely for news about Kasim (television appearances, concerts, etc) with weekly news of his activities when he's touring - the oldest running active Kasim Sulton mailing list!
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KasimInfo Site Blog
Blog 115 (06/12/06 - 06/21/06)
Please note that, as time goes by, some of these external links may no longer work - sorry!
If you don't know what a Blog is click here
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Wednesday 21st June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Toronto, Canada tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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Tickets for The New Cars on sale again
19.15 - Tickets for the rearranged New Cars concert in Atlanta, GA are now on sale at TicketMaster.com.
This concert was to have originally been played on Saturday 17th June but has now been rearranged for Friday 8th September. Tickets for the original concert are still valid or refunds are available until 1st September. The New Cars Road Rage Tour section of the website has been updated with the links.
Currently the best seats available for this gig is in the 17th row but better seats may become available after 1st September.
As previously listed on KasimInfo.com, the opening act will be Berlin at this concert.
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Kasim at The Tin Angel
18.00 - Kasim Sulton's solo gig in Philadelpia, PA on Saturday 22nd July is now listed on at The Tin Angel website (see graphic below). The link goes to Kasim's official website KasimSulton.com and thankfully there is no other act listed for the early show!
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Another Kasim Solo Gig
17.00 - Kasim Sulton is listed on TicketWeb.com as playing at The Bitter End in New York City on Saturday 15th July at 9.30pm. The Kasim Sulton Summer 2006 Tour section has ticketing and venue links.
Many thanks to Gary Lacey for the heads-up regarding this.
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The Berlin leg of The Road Rage Tour
13.45 - Before loads of Germans get very excited, according to this thread on the messageboard attached to TheNewCars.com, SpaceGhost has been told that, at least for the Atlanta concert, Berlin will be the support act.
According to Berlin's official website they currently have gigs booked on 2nd September in Anaheim, CA and on 23rd September in Santa Clarita, CA so they have nothing booked for 8th September.
The Borgata in Atlantic City are now saying that the concert that was to have been played there this coming Saturday (24th) is canceled and no longer postponed and are giving refunds (less the $3.10 order processing fee).
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Kasim Solo Tour
08.00 - A page for the dates, venues and ticketing for Kasim Sulton's solo tour this summer has been set up at http://www.KasimInfo.com/2006Kasim.html.
To date there are only two gigs listed (The Tin Angel and The Saint). Neither of these gigs are yet listed on the venue website but The Tin Angel gig is listed on TicketWeb.com. There's been no official confirmation yet about The Saint gig but Gary Lacey mentioned it in his advertisement on the messageboard attached to TheNewCars.com.
A couple of people have already e-mailed about wishing to make their travel plans but with the expensive cost of flights during the summer, personally I would strongly advise waiting to see if more gigs are added around thouse weekends rather than making long trips for just the one gig. Kasim's fully aware of how far lots of fans will travel to see him and how expensive travel is, so it's very unlikely that he'll only play one gig each weekend.
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More Solo Gigs!!
03.45 - According to this thread on the messageboard attached to TheNewCars.com, Kasim Sulton is also playing The Saint (hopefully minus the rat this time!!) in Asbury Park, NJ on 29th July. Gary Lacey also posts that "I heard Kas is scheduling about 20 dates between July 15th and October 15th."
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Kasim Solo Gig
03.15 - Kasim Sulton's name is listed as playing at The Tin Angel in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday 22nd July at 7.30pm on TicketWeb.com! Tickets are $16 and this show is pure Kasim (no other artist).
The Tin Angel website are not listing the gig yet as they show Karl Blau and Your Heart Breaks but according to TicketWeb.com those are the acts that will be at the second gig that evening at 10.30pm.
Many thanks to ocsheri for noticing this! |
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Tuesday 20th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Kettering, Ohio tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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The first re-scheduled concert???
18.00 - According to this thread on the messageboard attached to TheNewCars.com, someone has received a telephone call to say that the Atlanta, GA concert has been rescheduled for 8th September! (This is yet to be confirmed.)
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KasimInfo.com
03.45 - The Biography section of the website has been brought up to date. The News section will be updated soon too plus more reviews and photos of the recemt concerts.
Now that I (finally!!) have my own laptop back after two months the Kasim Sulton Quotes and funny banners on the front page of the website will be changed each day again.
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Monday 19th June 2006
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KSulton Bass
18.45 - Somebody posted today to one mailing list that they have received their KSultonBass! (They also said that they received a signed copy of Quid Pro Quo with it too.)
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Kasim's Anniversary
05.00 - It was 30 years ago this month that Kasim Sulton played his first concert with Utopia!
Photo by Michelle M
There are various accounts of when and where his first concert was so I posted this today as this is the final date which anyone suggests was his first concert.
Kasim Sulton, Todd Rundgren, Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox played together as Utopia's most successful and long lasting band line up from 1976 until 1986. During the decade which Kasim was in Utopia, the band released nine albums (each with a distinctly different concept) and toured extensively. After disbanding, they re-formed again in May 1992 for a brief tour in California and Japan.There was talk that they were going to do a 30th anniversary tour this month but that idea was shelved.
There is much confusion as to when Kasim’s first concert was with Utopia! Kasim himself believes that it was in Binghamton, NY (as he remembers a worrying flight from Kingston NY!), The Utopia Times lists Kasim’s debut as being 19th June 1976 at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, NY, but there is a bootleg tape of a show on 9th June 1976 in Central Park, New York when Todd introduced Kasim as the new member. The excellent source for all Utopia dates at http://home.comcast.net/~mrrandom/tourtoddr.html says that it was the 18th June 1976 at the Memorial Auditorium in Utica, NY.
Kasim has often spoken fondly at his solo gigs about his time with Utopia. Although he'll often tell the story that Todd Rundgren (who didn't originally want him in the band) didn't speak to him for the first six months, he's also said that it was the best time musically and creatively of his career - "you don't know what you've got until it's gone".
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Sunday 18th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Charleston, SC tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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The New Cars Road Rage Tour
18.30 - All the websites except one now list The New Cars Road Rage Tour as cancelled or postponed. The exception is the Moon Dance Jam (a 4 day festival) which is scheduled for Friday 14th July. The last news from that festival is that the tour itself was canceled but that they were still waiting to hear.
All the other venue websites are saying that they are giving refunds. Some fans have already received their refunds and in the cases where they purchased direct from the venue, they have received a full refund. However a few fans have reported that they've received telephone calls from The Borgata in Atlantic City to say that the concert is only postponed and they hope to reschedule although refunds are available for those who wish to receive one.
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Actual Attendance Figures
16.00 - Some more actual attendence figures for The New Cars Road Rage Tour have been announced:
Coors Amphitheatre
Englewood, CO
May 30, 2006
$79,187
1,856 (3,095)
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
June 4, 2006
$137,367
4,241 (5,000)
As my guestmate for these two concerts was 2,000 and 5,000 respectively, it means that the total attendence for the tour (or as close as just a fan can get) was 63,879. At an average price of $75 a ticket, that makes the total guestimated income $4,790,925.
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Review of It's Alive
04.00 - Doug Kennedy has written a review of both It's Alive and the Holmdel, NJ concert last Saturday. One great quote is "Kasim is playing his bass with total command and authority while simultaneously belting out those trademark harmonies".
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Saturday 17th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Atlanta, GA tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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KSulton Bass
11.30 - The Kasim Sulton Signature Bass now has it's own page where it can be ordered on InterstateMusic.com. It says that it ships within 3 days and costs $499.99 (55% off the list price of $1,099.99.)
On that page there's also a detailed description of the bass plus a nice mini bio of Kasim.
If you'd rather try before you buy then this page on the website says that the KSultonBass will be available to play at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI from 29th June until 9th July.
Unfortunately the Summerfest website says "Sorry, no performances have been announced for Kasim Sulton at this year's Summerfest".
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It's Alive #1 album in Boston charts!
04.15 - The New Cars album It's Alive is Number One in the Boston charts according to ThePhoenix.com. Kasim Sulton plays bass on all 18 of the tracks and sings vocals (background and lead) on 17 of them).
A screenshot of the charts is shown below to save it for prosperity!
Many thanks to danstyk for posting about this.
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Friday 16th June 2006
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"A few dates may be rescheduled"
16.45 - There is a new message on The New Cars official website TheNewCars.com which reiterates that the tour is cancelled and says "a few dates may be rescheduled".
They say that they do not know yet which dates they are.
The website also says that "the band" wants that website to pass on the message ""We want to extend our sincere thank you to the fans and visitors to TheNewCars.com for your patience during this time".
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New Interview with Kasim Sulton
16.15 - In the July / August edition of the UK magazine Bass Guitar there is an interview with Kasim Sulton. Scans of the interview are available in the Press section of the website.
It was conducted back in April and Kasim talks about The New Cars, his signature bass and Bat Out Of Hell III.
The best quote of the article is when Kasim is asked whether he's working on a follow-up to Quid Pro Quo and he replies "I am currently working on another album right now!
Many thanks to Peter Noble of NoblePR for arranging the interview and forwarding the article.
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Joining The New Cars
05.45 - Almost all the recent press articles state that Kasim Sulton only became involved with The New Cars through Todd Rundgren. However this extract from a website below quotes Kasim as saying that he was in talks with Elliot Easton at the beginning of 2005.
Apologies for not giving a link to the original website where this was posted but I can't locate it again - I've had the screenshot for over 2 months and was only just able to add it as I've regained my laptop.
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Thursday 15th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Hollywood, FL tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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New Tour Dates to be announced soon????
12.45 - According to this thread on the messageboard attached to Blondie.net, the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Canada apparently told one fan on the telephone that "it will be rescheduled to a date later in the summer. As far as she knows it will be the same line up (Blondie with The New Cars). Molson Amphitheatre should have a new date within a weeks time." The fan also posted that because of this they were not offering refunds at the moment.
However, according to Canada.com the concert has been cancelled and refunds are available. However that website also says "A new date for the double-bill, slated for the Molson Amphitheatre, has not been announced.".
Also on Blondie.net, Chris Stein keeps a diary which he updates sometimes. He didn't make too many posts during the tour but he did make the following comment on 24th March:
"then various messages questioning the wisdom of our going out with the 'new cars'
its a simple thing really; we just wouldnt have been able to do as extensive a tour of the states, in as many places on our own... one of the reasons for doing the roadrage tour is that the promoters are going for it... as a result we will be in places we havent been in for ages... i am really unfamiliar with the cars, but in this case we are going to be able to be seen by a lot more people than if we had gone out on our own."
On 1st April he wrote:
"i have to straighten one thing out... about the meet and greets, we just thought it felt sort of exploitative and thats why we are not doing them..."[extract]
His only other posts during the tour were on 23rd May and 30th May. The first one contained various photos (none of The New Cars) and the second was about being in a hotelroom in Denver with the great quote "as usual touring means television"!
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The New Cars Road Rage Tour (first leg) Tour Facts and Guesses
05.00 - The first leg of The New Cars Road Rage Tour 2006 lasted from 12th May until 10th June 2006 (30 days) and they played 18 concerts plus gave a performance for a radio station.
The tour played in 13 states (MS, TX, 5 in CA, 2 in NV, AZ, CO, MN, IL, OH, VA, MA, NY and NJ).
Most concerts consisted on 19 songs but the shows in Pala, Konocti and Vienna were 2 short so they played a total of 336 songs.
Kasim Sulton sang lead on 35 of these songs (over 10% of the tour set list!).
See below for the tour map but from venue to venue (Tunica, MS to Holmdel, NJ) the tour was 8,328 miles. Straight driving that route would have taken 125 hours. The circumference of the Earth at the Equator is about 24,900 miles so it means the tour went a third of the way around the planet!
They canceled 13 concerts but if they had played those, venue to venue, that part of the tour would have been 7,365 miles which would have taken 115 hours.
The concerts were played at 4 casinos (Tunica, Pala, Las Vegas and San Diego), 11 theaters (Grand Prairie, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Reno, Englewood, Hinckley, Cleveland, Vienna, Boston, Wantagh and Holmdel), 1 winery (Saratoga), 1 resort (Konocti) and 1 festival (Highland Park).
7 of the concerts were played indoors and the other 11 were all or partially outside.
It's difficult to know the exact numbers of how many fans attended (and at the casinos there were Comps.) but the best guestimate is that 64,782 people saw the tour (calculated as 1,000 + 3,000 + 1,500 + 2,388 + 1,500 + 6,000 + 1,500 + 2,500 + 1,094 + 3,500 + 2,000 + 1,000 + 14,000 + 5,000 + 6,000 + 4,800 + 4,000 + 4,000). It's difficult to estimate the revenue generated from this tour as prices varied so much (the most expensive regular seats were $157 in Phoenix and the cheapest were $20 lawn seats plus some people paid over $400 for VIP packages) but using an average of $75 per ticket it means that it would have raised $4,858,650.
On the tour Kasim played 3 basses, a tambourine and some maracas.
Kasim wore black pants in all but two of the concerts.
On stage Kasim covered more distance than the rest of the band put together!
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The New Cars Road Rage Tour Map
(first leg!):
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Wednesday 14th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Clearwater, FL tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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The New Cars Road Rage Tour Internet Round-Up
18.00 - Although The New Cars Road Rage Tour was canceled 2 days ago, this morning PollStar.com were still not showing any of the remaining concerts on the tour as being canceled. After e-mails from fans they are now only showing the MoonDanceJam concert.
TicketMaster.com is listing the Charleston, SC, Kettering, OH and Clarkston, MI as canceled but is still selling tickets for the Atlanta, GA concert on Saturday plus the Uncasville, CT, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lancaster, PA and Toronto, ON concerts. TicketMaster never sold the Atlantic City and Walker, MN concerts. (Some cynical fans have suggested that low ticket sales may be part of the reason why the tour was canceled but for the past few weeks the only seats available in the 10,000 seat Mohegan Sun Events Center were in the far back block!)
Ticko.com are still listing all the concerts as going ahead and are still selling tickets - they even list a venue in Montreal which The New Cars were never playing at!
The Chastain Park Amphitheatre website lists the concert that should have been played on Saturday as postponed and says "A new date will be announced shortly. Tickets for the original show will be honored on the new date."! (This website also has a clock which counts down the time to the canceled concert - it currently stands at 3 days and 1 hour!)
The North Charleston Coliseum website lists the concert as canceled and says that refunds are available from the point of purchase.
The Fraze Pavilion website (Kettering, Ohio) says that the whole tour is cancelled and says that refunds are available from the point of purchase. It also has the press release on the site.
The Molson Amphitheatre website doesn't list the concert as canceled yet, plus has audio clips of the band.
The Borgata website (Atlantic City) says that the concert has been postponed (not canceled) and gives no details about refunds.
The Mohegan Sun website lists the concert as "Postponed TBD" and gives no refund info.
The DTE Energy Music Theatre website lists the concert as canceled and says "The New Cars / Blondie concert scheduled at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday, June 30th, 2006 has been postponed due to the broken clavicle sustained by Elliot Easton, founding member and guitarist for The New Cars. Refunds are available at the point of purchase."
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center website says that the show is cancelled but gives no refund info.
The Clipper Magazine Stadium does not have an official website but the LancasterBarnstormers.com website says "The New Cars and Blondie concert, originally scheduled for July 2 at Clipper Magazine Stadium, has been postponed due to an accident involving New Cars guitarist and founding member Elliot Easton. The concert will be re-scheduled for a date and time to be determined, and information regarding the make-up date will be posted on the Barnstormers website when available."
The MoonDance Jam website still lists The New Cars as playing on 14th July.
Check back tomorrow for a synopsis of (the first leg of) The New Cars Road Rage Tour!
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Fans' Opinions
14.30 - Yesterday and today lots of fans have been quite verbal online on various mailing lists and messageboards about the way that this tour and especially the cancellation has been handled by "management". Some of the comments posted include:
Shame on the band's management for having this giant cloud of confusion still hanging in place several days after Elliot's diagnosis. The promoter in Toronto (June 21 show), House of Blues, is not yet giving refunds, and claims they have no confirmation from the band that the date is cancelled.
TheNewCars.com website is always outdated and as a result, is not considered "the" source for the latest info. It has no credibility, the "reports from the road" were silly, and it presented an image of being all about the money. Overhaul the site and get some true fans to help manage the site.
I am not happy with the way this has been handled. Why is there not an announcement on the official website? Why do we get more info from Blondie's site or KasimInfo than this one?
Why are there no statements from the other members of The New Cars concerning Elliot???? Is there a gag order or something? This signals a lack of teamwork....the only quote release to the press comes from Blondie's website??? There are 4 other members of The New Cars. This bothers me for some reason. [This was posted before Kasim's online journal was updated.]
No question that the promoters/marketers did not have everything together on this one. Word from band members leaked out, then they were told to shut up. Web sites shut down, others not up to date. Perform on National TV shows, but don't have the CD available.... Lack of pre-ticket sale advertising and too-high "special ticket" deals. Does make me wonder if the promotors were regular rock concert ones, or just a company out to make $$$. Maybe a new promoter can take over another try in the fall?
This pause will affect the timing in a lot of ways. For one thing they miss the summer season which is when most bands tour and there are more venue options because of outdoors. Also, will all members still be available? And what about Blondie? To get a good string of open club or venue dates, they need to book in advance... yet also make sure Elliot is healed properly. Fingers crossed they can get it all done for the fall.
THIS IS A JOKE. The "tour pit stop" announcement is not even remotely clear on whether the tour is proceeding or not, and which dates (or all?) have been cancelled. WHO ELSE, IF NOT THE BAND, SHOULD BE CLARIFYING THAT? The promoters? Elliot's doctor? Telling us to go to the promoters/TicketMaster to find out more, is once again, a joke.
The promoters are waiting for word from the band!! And you do not recover from a surgically repaired broken clavicle in a couple weeks. So it would seem that AT LEAST all the June shows are toast - SO WHY NOT SAY THAT?
One thing people haven't mentioned much is that this was supposed to be Blondie's final tour. If The New Cars can't reschedule or Blondie can't make the tour later in the year, will they have played their last ever concert with fans not knowing it was their last one?
The fact that TicketMaster are still selling tickets for cancelled concerts makes me sick!
All I know is that when a tour has an unplanned interruption, if you can't get the straight poop directly from the band on what shows ore off or on, then where the hell are you supposed to get that info? If you guys are rescheduling the shows, THEN SAY SO, and we'll wait for the info. But telling us nothing, and to call TicketMaster for info, isn't maybe the best PR move the band has ever made.
On TheNewCars.com the moderator (who is actually just a fan) posted that they weren't allowed to post anything until it was confirmed. As I really don't believe Amanda and Britney (who are administrators on that site) started the bus ride down to Florida, they must have KNOWN it was true several days ago now.
If it's a maybe because you're waiting to see how Elliot heals , for gods' sake tell us that.
If the tour is cancelled, tell us that.
How can TicketMaster sell tickets for a tour that's been cancelled. well it obviously hasn't been cancelled. a few shows have been cancelled.
This site and the management of this tour are more evasive than the current White House.
Something tells me the 5 guys in this band are as disgusted as I am.
You want to kill any chance of this New Cars project ever getting anywhere? Keep treating us like this. Your best fans and best advertising (word of mouth) will be gone.
The official press release, which management composes, gets released whenever they choose to release it. Sure, the webmaster can't post anything until the band announces - but hello...? Why is management taking days & days to announce the obvious? We can only assume they are trying to substitue for Elliot - but that's a pretty lame idea, designed to please promoters, not fans.
It seems the "Official Site" should post something definitive about the remaining dates!!! Why does everyone have to
find out bits and pieces elsewhere???
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It's Alive is in the Charts!
11.45 - According to this article on MTV.com, The New Cars album It's Alive which was released on 6th June is #193 in the charts! (This is dispite lots of fans posting that they have had trouble finding it in some stores.)
The section reads "Unsound, a compilation featuring From First to Last, Matchbook Romance, Converge and Bad Religion, takes the #172 spot with more than 5,000 scans, outselling Hopelessly Devoted to You, Vol. 6, a collection featuring tracks by Thrice and Avenged Sevenfold, by 23 copies (the latter finishes at #173). It's Alive, the latest from the Todd Rundgren-fronted New Cars, debuts at #193 with 5,000 copies sold."
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The New Cars in Wantagh, NY
09.45 - The Set List, a Review, Comments and Photos of the concert which The New Cars played in Wantagh, NY on Friday evening have been added to The New Cars Road Rage Tour 2006 section of the website or click here for the direct link.
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Kasim's journal updated
05.30 - Kasim Sulton has updated his online journal about the tour being cancelled. He includes the quote "No one is more disappointed than the band and crew who worked so hard to make this such a special and one of a kind show.
We aren't done by any means. We intend to continue as soon as possible.
Everyone was having such a great time doing this that I'm sure it won't be too long before we're back doing shows again."
Kasim also says that the break in Elliot Easton's cavicle was an inch apart!
Kasim has also posted a load of photos from the tour - some are of the rehearsals and some are on stage and backstage. Thankfully Kasim is featured in a lot of them but the best ones of him are:
Rehearsal shot
Kasim with Blondie's bassist Leigh Foxx
Kasim and Prairie Prince
Kasim with his two daughters
Kasim and Todd Rundgren backstage at the final concert on Saturday
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Gary "Goat" Goveia took loads of really great photos of the PNC Bank Arts Center concert on Saturday evening. Here are two of the most light-hearted ones!
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Tuesday 13th June 2006 - Kasim Sulton was supposed to have played a concert with The New Cars in Orlando, FL tonight but the Road Rage Tour has been canceled.
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Elliot Easton posts about his accident
18.15 - A few days ago Elliot Easton made a post (as he says "in my words, and not those of a publicist") about how he broke his collarbone on the messageboard attached to LesPaul.com.
Elliot explains it (in part) as:
"I suffered a broken collarbone on Monday morning. We were on the bus, on our way to DC, and around 5AM I climbed out of my bunk to use the bathroom. A car cut the bus off and he slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting it. I'm half asleep, and the next thing I know I'm airborne and travelling fast. I smashed into the door that separates the drivers cabin from the front lounge and connected with my shoulder and my head. Snapped the bone like a twig. They rushed me to an emergency room where I was X-Rayed, and the doctor put my shoulder in a sling and gave me a script for Vicodin but that's all they could do for this type of injury. The pain is at times excruciating, but I'm determined not to cancel any shows because of it. The fun never ends, does it? The very next day I played the Wolf Trap, and it went miraculously well. I can't imagine what it would take for me to miss a gig; I want so badly for this band to succeed. As long as I can play I will play, and worry about the pain afterwards. I'm not trying to be a martyr or a hero...I'm not sure if it's courage or sheer terror of the alternatives. We've all worked so long and hard."
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Internet Round-up
17.45 - Although the tour is canceled, the concerts on both The New Cars Road Rage Tour 2006 section and the Kasim Sulton's 2006 Gigs sections of the sites are only being shown as canceled once each venue or TicketMaster have shown them as canceled.
The Detroit Free Press describes the DTE Energy Music Theatre concert on 30th June as being "scrubbed"! They explain about Elliot Easton's accident and say that that it "required surgery with plating and screws". They also tell people how to get refunds.
A press release by Clipper Stadium (Lancaster, PA) says that "The concert will be re-scheduled for a date and time to be determined, and information regarding the make-up date will be posted on the Barnstormers website and via a follow-up press release." The website also continues "Fans that had purchased tickets for the July 2 show have the option of holding onto their tickets for the yet-to-be-determined re-scheduled date, or may obtain a refund thru Ticketmaster."
The news of the tour cancellation has even reached Austria! This version of the press release has been posted on a website there.
This thread on the messageboard attached to TRConnection.com has a recording of the 6th June concert in Vienna, VA available to seed.
The Mohegan Sun Casino website is showing the concert on 25th June as "Postponed TBD".
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Tour Pit Stop on TheNewCars.com
12.30 - 21 hours after the Hard Rock Orlando website first listed the news, The New Cars official website has a news item about the concerts being cancelled. Click here to read the press release. (It's virtually the same as the one posted on Blondie.net but with info about the new CD It's Alive underneath.)
The good news is that they call it a "Pit Stop" which indicates that the tour may resume later this year as rumored!
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Internet Updates
11.45 - TicketMaster.com are now officially listing the Charleston, SC concert (which was to have been played on Sunday) as canceled. Tickets for the canceled Atlanta concert on 6/17 are still able to be bought.
The general feeling on most Cars, Todd Rundgren and Blondie mailing lists and messageboards is disappointment on how this has been handled, especially as The New Cars official website TheNewCars.com opens with the phrase "Buy Tickets to The Road Rage Tour 2006" almost 24 hours after the first concert was found on the Internet to be canceled. Other than posts on the messageboard on that website, there is nothing to suggest that the tour or even one single concert is canceled.
The press release from Blondie.net (see below) is not appearing on any PR distribution website yet.
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The Road Rage Tour
01.30 - Despite the news about any disruption of the tour first hitting the Internet 10 hours ago, The New Cars official website TheNewCars.com have no mention about any concert being canceled other than on their forum! In fact their main page leads with buying tickets for some of the concerts. Yesterday the website did send around an e-mail to all their subscribers but that was about merchandise they have available! Currently TicketMaster.com still only have 4 of the concerts showing as canceled and are still selling tickets on their website, even though fans have spoken to them about getting refunds for the other concerts!
So far the only press release I've found on the Internet is on Blondie's official website Blondie.net and even that doesn't make it 100% clear that the tour is off. It says:
"New Cars' Elliot Easton Goes In For Repairs
National Road Rage Tour Takss A Pit Stop
News release: 12 June 2006
Los Angeles, CA (June 12, 2006) - Elliot Easton, founding member and guitarist for The New Cars had surgery today for a broken left clavicle sustained during a near crash when their tour bus swerved to avoid a vehicle on Monday, June 5, while on the road for The New Cars Road Rage Tour 2006 with Blondie.
Determined to not miss any dates, Elliot continued to play. "I've been waiting 17 years for this tour," Easton told his doctor when was getting his x-rays, although, due to the severity of the break Easton requires surgery.
Elliot is currently in New York under the care of Dr. Steven Yang following the procedure to repair the broken left clavicle with plate and screws as the bones are too far apart to mend properly without surgery. Without the surgery Elliot could have limited use of left shoulder.
Said Debbie Harry of Blondie, "It was amazing that after the accident Elliot played four more shows in a brace and in constant pain. He really tried his best to keep on playing so he should be given a great deal of credit for that. We all wish him a speedy recovery." "
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Monday 12th June 2006
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Kasim mentioned in commercial
20.15 - Just to finish on a positive note on a day of depressing news, click here for an audio commercial for the (now canceled) New Cars concert at the North Charleston Coliseum which actually mentions Kasim Sulton by name!
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Tour canceled
18.30 - According to a post on The New Cars Street Team website (which is run by 10th Street), all the tour has been canceled.
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Fraze website says the tour is canceled???
17.45 - The Fraze Pavilion website (Kettering, Ohio) says that the tour has been canceled.
The Hollywood, FL concert which was to have been played on Thursday is now listed as cancelled too.
So far there has been no official word from 10th Street or Paid, Inc but a thread regarding the Orlando concert cancellation has been removed from TheNewCars.com (The New Cars official website). Other fans have reported that they have heard that the tour will be rescheduled in the fall but, as it is so early, nothing official has been announced and so far that is just rumor.
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Clearwater and Kettering Concerts Cancelled
16.30 - The New Cars concert in Clearwater, Florida which was to have been played at the Ruth Eckerd Hall on Wednesday has also been cancelled. Click here for the confirmation which has been posted on the venue website. It says that Elliot Easton had shoulder surgery earlier today.
The venue also says that this is a cancelled and not postponed concert so refunds are available from where tickets were purchased. It says that the show will not be reschedueled.
TicketMaster.com are also listing the concert for Kettering, Ohio on 20th June as cancelled.
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Orlando Concert Cancelled
15.00 - The concert in Orlando, FL which The New Cars were to have played tomorrow has been cancelled according to the Hard Rock Live venue website. This concert is listed as cancelled and not postponed with refunds (less booking fees) available.
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Concert Reviews and Photos
10.00 - NJ.com has quite a detailed review of the PNC Bank Arts Center concert last Saturday called Rundgren helps good times roll for New Cars by Jay Lustig. Quotes from it include:
"Joining Rundgren for this road test are two original Cars (guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes) and two of Rundgren's longtime associates (bassist-singer Kasim Sulton and drummer Prairie Prince)."
"Rundgren, in addition to singing Ocasek's parts, handled most of the lead vocals originally sung by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr (who died in 2000), though Sulton did step out front on two Orr songs, "Drive" and "All Mixed Up.""
"Rundgren added some new twists to the mix by pulling material out of his own songbook. Easton and Hawkes strummed ukuleles, and Prince and Sulton kept time on hand-held percussion instruments on Rundgren's goofy singalong anthem, "Bang on the Drum All Day"."
Another review of the concert in Vienna, VA has been added to The New Cars Road Rage Tour 2006 section of the website or click here for the direct link. Many thanks to Stephanie Regan for this review.
NewsDay.com has a negative (but in ways positive!) review of the Jones Beach concert. (Many thanks to Kris Awgul for forwarding this link.)
ConcertBlast.com (who have the audio review of the Tunica, MS concert) have added some photos to their website. The best ones which feature Kasim Sulton are:
Kasim, Todd and Greg.
Kasim Sulton!
Kasim mid-note in Bang The`Drum.
Kasim and Elliot Easton sharing a microphone (and a shot of the back of my head!).
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It's Alive...but not in Europe!
08.00 - Back in March at The New Cars' press conference it was announced that their album It's Alive would be released in Europe today. Until a few days ago Amazon.co.uk were listing the CD as being released today but now they are only listing it as an import and apparently there is no longer an official European release date for the album.
(As previously reported here, the London based PR company NoblePR have also removed all traces of the album and the band from their website. A tour of Europe was originally expected to happen in September.)
The album price is £14.99 and they expect it to be dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks. Currently the Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank for the album is 4,855.
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Kasim in Cleveland a week ago
Blog 114 (06/07/06 - 06/11/06)
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