It’s been 55 years since Todd Rundgren left his band, Nazz, and struck out on his own. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more diverse and iconoclastic career in pop music.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has made his on his own (“Hello It’s Me,” “I Saw the Light,” “Can We Still Be Friends”) and produced them for others — including Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” and Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band,” among many others. He’s confounded listeners with is sonic and stylistic explorations, too, and he’s always been on the forefront of technological advances.
Rundgren, 75, plays nice with others, too. He’s done several stints in Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, was part of the New Cars during the mid 2000s and has been part of all-star tribute packages for the Beatles, David Bowie and others.
After touring last year with Daryl Hall, 2024 finds Rundgren and his band — including stalwarts Kasim Sulton on bass and Prairie Prince on drums — on the Me/We Tour, a trek that has its eye on pleasing long-time fans who are familiar with the depths of Rundgren’s extensive catalog…
* Rundgren says via Zoom that the Me/We tour title refers to “the name of my next musical project, which I haven’t had time to get to yet.” It’s not like he’s lacking for material, however. “There is a method to the material I’ve chosen, which is principally deep cuts and things that I may not have played recently that I know to be fan favorites. So they’re not necessarily the hits; those are the dilettante favorites, the people who just come to hear ‘Hello It’s Me.’ But for the actual fans who have some history, I’m going to be playing some material they’ll recall when they hear it, and it might just make them feel warm and fuzzy.”
* He adds that “there may be a Utopia song or two” in the show, referencing the band he led alongside his own career between 1973-1986, with occasional reunions afterwards. “I didn’t pay much attention to the province of the songs, really. I just had a very long list of the songs I’ve recorded and went through it and, ‘Oh, it might be fun to do that one,’ or ‘Hmmm, I haven’t done that one before’ or ‘Hmmm, maybe the kids would like to hear that one.” There’s not any sort of overarching them or strict guideline when I was going through it. I go under the assumption that if I write from personal reality that it will strike a chord in other people, and it usually does work that way.”
* The “Me/We” recording project is still being developed but, Rundgren likens it to his 2004 album “Liars,” “in which there are some larger human traits and dilemmas that kind of umbrella the whole thing. It’s about the spectrum of narcissism; it goes from thinking you’re the most important person in the world to thinking that nobody cares about you at all and the whole kind of spectrum between those two extremes, which is definitely a personal reality thing.” Rundgren hopes to work in earnest on the project later this year, between legs of his tour.
* As a technological innovator and early adapter, Rundgren has worked with Artificial Intelligence applications throughout his career and says that “I don’t feel threatened by it” But then I don’t depend on derivative music to satisfy me or my audience, and that’s the biggest dander. The AI learning models are going to hit up on the most derivative stuff first, whatever there’s too much of. So I’m not particularly afraid of that because I’ve been trying to avoid doing the obvious my entire career. The one upside I can say for someone like myself, and a lesson that can be learned by other artists is show up in person, that way people know it’s not AI.”
* Rundgren has fond memories of working with Grand Funk Railroad on its best-selling album, “We’re an American Band” in 1973, and its follow-up “Shinin’ On,” which turns 50 this year. “I thought they had been underestimated for so long; they were a much more competent and musical unit than most people assumed because they started out as a festival act and they wrote songs that were meant to be jammed over. And also their producer, Terry Knight, was not doing them any favors, because he was not a very good producer. So by the time I got to work with them they were tight. They were musical. They were able to write songs that showed them off in a good light, and it was very easy to make a successful record with them.”
Todd Rundgren performs 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at Sound Board in the MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit. 800-745-3000 or soundboarddetroit.com.
