Roger Powell sees reuniting with fellow Utopia band members as a great opportunity

June 10, 2009 - PRLog -- Musician Todd Rundgren will perform his entire "A Wizard, A True Star" album live for the first time ever on September 6th, 2009 at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio.  Roger Powell will be a member of the band along with Jesse Gress, Kasim Sulton, Prairie Prince, & Greg Hawkes.  Todd, Kasim, and Roger were all part of the popular 70's band Utopia whose last concert together was 17 years ago billed as a reunion titled "Redux".

Powell played keyboards and synthesizers for Utopia from 1974 until its disbanding in 1985, playing, writing, and singing on ten of the band's eleven albums. For its live shows, Powell created the Powell Probe; the first remote, hand-held polyphonic synthesizer controller, which featured a custom-made shell used to access a complex stack of sequencers and other peripherals offstage. He was also the protege of Robert Moog (who created the Moog synthesizer), the composer and player of several solo albums, a touring musician with David Bowie and others, and an author who wrote a Keyboard Magazine column on synthesizer technique.

When recently asked on an online Blog Talk Radio program about reuniting with some fellow Utopians, Roger said he thought it was a great opportunity.  "I'm really looking forward to it.  It's going to be fun to see everybody again - - - to see not only the guys in the band but also the loyal and true and dedicated fans who have stuck with Todd and our music over the years."

The AWATS in Akron concert is being presented by RundgrenRadio.com. Ticket prices start at $50 and are available at http://www.AWATSlive.com and http://www.Ticketmaster.com. Additional information can be found at http://www.AWATSlive.com. Todd and his band will perform other songs from his vast catalog before embarking on the full album presentation.

Over 90% of the tickets have already been sold for this Todd Rundgren "A Wizard,  A True Star" theme concert in Akron and a sellout is expected by the end of July or earlier. Hundreds of fans from all over the USA will be visiting Akron to attend this "A Wizard, A True Star" gig.  Some Todd Rundgren fans from 4 other countries - - - Japan, United Kingdom, Scotland, and Canada - - - will also be in attendance.  

Todd will also be performing "A Wizard, A True Star" in London (Hammersmith Odeon) and Amsterdam (Pardiso) in 2010.

"A Wizard, A True Star" was Todd’s follow up to his most commercially successful album, “Something /Anything?” which included popular hits like “I Saw The Light” and “Hello It’s Me”. Instead of going with a similar sound Todd Rundgren went in a completely different direction with his electrical psychedelic album "A Wizard, A True Star".  Rundgren chose to abandon stardom and, with it, conventional pop music. He began a course through uncharted musical territory, becoming a pioneer not only in electronic music and prog rock, but in music video, computer software, and Internet music delivery as well.

Although the album wasn’t a big hit with critics and didn’t reach near the sales as Todd’s previous album, it’s the clear cut favorite of Todd’s most avid fans and is considered a very influential album to thousands of musicians. Todd’s manager, Eric Gardner of Panacea Entertainment, said, “It was Todd’s 180 degree turn after 'Something/Anything?' much to the dismay of the record company and much to the dismay of radio. Back then they were hoping for a follow up of 'Something/Anything?' something in the same vein. 'A Wizard, A True Star' is actually a record that’s near and dear to Todd’s heart because it was so contrary”.

"A Wizard, A True Star" was listed in the 2006 musical reference book, “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”. In 2003, British music critic Barney Hoskyns wrote in MOJO magazine, "Rundgren’s 'A Wizard, A True Star' is simply the greatest album ever made”.

Todd Rundgren has released over 30 albums either as a solo artist or with his bands Nazz, Utopia, and The New Cars while producing acclaimed, successful records for artists as diverse as Badfinger, Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad, the New York Dolls, and XTC.  Despite Todd's incredible accomplishments and influence on the music industry, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee - - -  in Akron's neighboring town of Cleveland  - - - has failed to induct him.  Ironically, one of the reasons Ohio was chosen as the place to host this concert was because of the strong Todd fan base in Cleveland.

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Rundgren Radio is an online talk radio show for Todd Rundgren fans that airs Tuesday nights at 8:30pm Eastern time. The shows aren't all about Todd but he's the common theme among the guests as they all have some type of connection with him. Listeners can call-in to ask the guests questions during the show.

The shows are archived permanently online.

Former special guests include ...

Todd Rundgren of Utopia
Kasim Sulton of Utopia
Prairie Prince of The Tubes
Michele Rundgren
Roger Powell of Utopia
Michael Urbano of Cake
John Montagna of Alan Parsons Project
John Ferenzik
Tony Levin
Lyle Workman
Jesse Gress
Willie Wilcox of Utopia
Andy Partridge of XTC
Dave Gregory of XTC
Larry Tagg of Bourgeois Tagg
Godfrey Townsend
Hunt & Tony Sales
Greg Hawkes of The Cars
Brent Bourgeois of Bourgeois Tagg
Rachel Haden of The Rentals
Colin Moulding of XTC
Jill Sobule
Ellen Foley
David Sanborn
Rick Derringer
John Oates of Hall & Oates
Tony Stevens of Foghat