The New Cars
are a supergroup formed in 2005 around members of the popular 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band is composed of Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince, original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton, as well as a rotating membership between bass players Kasim Sulton and Atom Ellis. The band performs The Cars' classic songs, Rundgren's solo work, and some new material.
The current status of The New Cars is unclear. Rundgren has resumed his solo career, and The New Cars have not performed any shows since September of 2007. However, the band's website is still occasionally updated.
|
THE NEW CARS TICKETS
|
History
In 2005, rumors began circulating that Easton and Hawkes would be teaming with
Todd Rundgren in a new Cars lineup, with Rundgren replacing Cars singer
Ric Ocasek. The rumors turned out to be true, with the revamped lineup calling themselves The New Cars. Two regular Rundgren collaborators, bassist
Kasim Sulton and drummer
Prairie Prince, replaced the late bassist
Benjamin Orr and drummer
David Robinson in the new lineup. (Robinson, who retired from the music world years before, was invited to join the group but amicably declined.)
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 new studio tracks. The band's 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, gave his blessing to Easton and Hawkes, saying, "I want Elliot and Greg to be happy." On
April 17,
2006, he appeared on
The Colbert Report
and was asked if there was anyone he wanted to put
"on notice". He answered "Todd Rundgren".
In the media
The New Cars performed "Not Tonight" on the
June 6,
2006 episode of
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
.
Tour
The spring leg of the 2006 tour had to be cut short because Easton had broken his collarbone on June 5th
[1] and was playing in great pain. Despite the fact the album only sold 16,000 units, a winter leg of the tour ran from November through early December. The tour, titled
Road Rage Winter Tour
was a theatre tour of venues much smaller than their previous arena tour.
Blondie did not participate 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.
References
- Elliot Easton goes in for repairs