The New Cars are a
supergroupIn the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups." Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two...
formed in 2005 around members of the popular 1970s/1980s
new waveNew Wave is a genre of rock and pop music that emerged in in the middle to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, and...
band
The CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
. The band is composed of
Todd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Early career:Rundgren was born in Upper Darby, PA. He began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based group based on the model of Paul Butterfield Blues Band. However, he left the band to...
, drummer
Prairie PrincePrairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of the The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
,
Kasim SultonKasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and singer. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free", Utopia's only top 40 hit in the US...
, and original
CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
members
Greg HawkesGreg Hawkes is musician best known as the keyboardist for the New Wave group The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
&
Elliot Easton__FORCETOC__Elliot Easton played lead guitar and sang background vocals for The Cars. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. He plays guitar left-handed.-Solo Career:...
. The band performs
The CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
' 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.
The New Cars are a
supergroupIn the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups." Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two...
formed in 2005 around members of the popular 1970s/1980s
new waveNew Wave is a genre of rock and pop music that emerged in in the middle to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, and...
band
The CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
. The band is composed of
Todd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Early career:Rundgren was born in Upper Darby, PA. He began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based group based on the model of Paul Butterfield Blues Band. However, he left the band to...
, drummer
Prairie PrincePrairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of the The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
,
Kasim SultonKasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and singer. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free", Utopia's only top 40 hit in the US...
, and original
CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
members
Greg HawkesGreg Hawkes is musician best known as the keyboardist for the New Wave group The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
&
Elliot Easton__FORCETOC__Elliot Easton played lead guitar and sang background vocals for The Cars. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. He plays guitar left-handed.-Solo Career:...
. The band performs
The CarsThe Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
' 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.
History
In 2005, rumors began circulating that Easton and Hawkes would be teaming with
Todd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Early career:Rundgren was born in Upper Darby, PA. He began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based group based on the model of Paul Butterfield Blues Band. However, he left the band to...
in a new Cars lineup, with Rundgren replacing Cars singer
Ric OcasekRic Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Bowling Green State University. He is the former vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Cars...
. The rumors turned out to be true, with the revamped lineup calling themselves The New Cars. Two regular Rundgren collaborators, bassist
Kasim SultonKasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and singer. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free", Utopia's only top 40 hit in the US...
and drummer
Prairie PrincePrairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of the The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
, replaced the late bassist
Benjamin OrrBenjamin Orr was the bass guitar player and one of the vocalists for the New Wave band The Cars. He sang several of The Cars' greatest hits, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go" and "Drive".-Career:...
and drummer
David RobinsonDavid Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
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 MusicEleven Seven Music is a record label founded by Allen Kovac, who is the CEO of 10th Street Entertainment. Eleven Seven was developed in association with The Alternative Distribution Alliance , a Warner Music Group company...
. The album included classic Cars songs recorded live plus new studio tracks. The band's first tour, the summer
Roadrage TourThe New Cars first tour, the first time an incarnation of The Cars has toured in seventeen years. The summer leg was of large-scale arenas, whereas the winter dates are scheduled to be of much smaller, theatre, venues...
with
BlondieBlondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid 1970s...
kicked off May 12 in
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
.
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 ReportThe Colbert Report is an American satirical late night television program that airs Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States and on both The Comedy Network and CTV in Canada...
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 FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson is the third regular host of the CBS Late Late Show franchise. The show follows "Late Show with David Letterman" in the CBS late-night lineup.The program is the...
.
Tour
The spring leg of the 2006 tour had to be cut short because Easton had broken his collarbone on June 5th 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.
BlondieBlondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid 1970s...
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.
Band members
- Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Early career:Rundgren was born in Upper Darby, PA. He began his career in Woody's Truck Stop, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based group based on the model of Paul Butterfield Blues Band. However, he left the band to...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2005–present)
- Elliot Easton
__FORCETOC__Elliot Easton played lead guitar and sang background vocals for The Cars. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. He plays guitar left-handed.-Solo Career:...
– lead guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Greg Hawkes
Greg Hawkes is musician best known as the keyboardist for the New Wave group The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
– keyboards, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and singer. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free", Utopia's only top 40 hit in the US...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of the The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
– drums, percussion (2005–present)
External links