Todd Rundgren

This tag is associated with 8 posts

Interview: David Sanborn

Saxophonist David Sanborn has seemingly played with everyone: David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, and many, many more.

Sanborn started playing saxophone to strengthen his chest muscles after a childhood bout with polio. His earliest recordings date back to 1967 with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, with whom he performed at a little festival called Woodstock. His profile grew immensely in the 1970’s, when he was the go-to guy for laying down a saxophone solo. In that decade, he also started recording his own albums.

One notable milestone in Sanborn’s career was the 1986 album with keyboardist Bob James called Double Vision. The album spent 63 weeks on the Billboard charts, and won a Grammy for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the Double Vision Revisited show with Bob James and Marcus Miller, who also played on the Double Vision album, at the Granada Theatre on 8/11/19. It was done by phone on 7/25/19. (Melanie Futorian photo)

Interview: Todd Rundgren 2018

Todd Rundgren has worn many musical hats. He was the principal songwriter and guitarist for the 1960’s Anglophile band The Nazz, the solo pop star who wrote the 1972 hit “Hello, It’s Me” and co-wrote the 1983 anti-work anthem “Bang the Drum All Day”, and the leader of the prog-rock ensemble Utopia. He also produced the mega-hit Meat Loaf album Bat Out of Hell, and albums by many other artists including the New York Dolls, Patti Smith, and Grand Funk Railroad. This year, he was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for Todd’s concert in San Luis Obispo on 11/9/18. It was done by phone on 10/24/18.


Interview: Tommy Emmanuel

tommyOne can describe the playing of finger-style guitarist Tommy Emmanuel with words like “dazzling” or “stunning”, but really he has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.

Born in Australia, Emmanuel started performing professionally at the age of six as part of a family band. He went on to play session gigs and was part of the rock group Dragon in the 1980’s, but his career really took off when he embarked on a solo career as an acoustic guitarist extraordinaire. In this mode, he has released dozens of albums and wowed audiences at thousands of shows. His most recent album Live! At The Ryman! documents a triumphant 2016 concert at the famed Grand Ole Opry theater.

It’s worth emphasizing that Emmanuel is not just about technical mastery. He’s also an incredibly engaging showman, so you don’t have to be a wannabe guitar hero to enjoy a Tommy Emmanuel concert.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for the 7/22/17 Tommy Emmanuel concert at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara, California. It was done by phone on 6/6/17.

Concert Review: Ringo Starr

ringo_white_album

Review of Ringo Starr at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 7/12/14.

Interview: June and Jean Millington

Fanny has a distinguished place in rock and roll history as the first all-female rock band to record a full-length album (the self-titled Fanny in 1970) for a major label. In this pioneering band, June Millington sang and played guitar, and her sister Jean Millington played bass guitar. Fanny released a total of five stellar albums in the 1970’s (the last without June), and toured with many of the era’s biggest artists. Both June and Jean played on albums by Ringo Starr and Barbra Streisand. June also played guitar on Cris Williamson’s classic Women’s Music album Changer And The Changed, and co-founded the Institute for the Musical Arts. Jean also performed on albums by David Bowie and Keith Moon. The sisters recently released the album Play Like A Girl.

This interview with June and Jean was conducted by phone on 8/19/11.

Concert Review: Todd Rundgren


Review of Todd Rundgren’s concert, including full performance of A Wizard, A True Star, at Majestic Ventura Theatre, Ventura on 12/5/09

Concert Preview: Todd Rundgren


Preview of Todd Rundgren’s concert in Ventura on 12/5/09

Interview: Todd Rundgren


Todd Rundgren has worn many musical hats, from principal songwriter and guitarist for the 1960’s Anglophile band The Nazz, to the pop meister who wrote the 1972 hit “Hello, It’s Me” and co-wrote the 1983 anti-work anthem “Bang the Drum All Day,” to a member of the prog-rock ensemble Utopia, to the lead singer of The New Cars after Ric Ocasek decided not to join a reunion of The Cars, to the producer of Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, The New York Dolls’ debut album, and albums by many other artists including Patti Smith, Grand Funk Railroad, and XTC.

This interview was conducted by phone on 11/23/09, and formed the basis of a preview article for Rundgren’s show on 12/05/09 at the Majestic Ventura Theatre at which he performed the entire album A Wizard, A True Star.