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Even though sweet lil’ Rachel Haden asked him not to, songwriter/musician Kasim Sulton went ahead and posted a video of her on youtube anyway. heh. oh that Kasim!

I love all of Kasim’s “Backstage Pass” videos because they reveal how down to earth musicians can be. It’s not all glitz and glamour out on the road. OK, OK, it’s probably a bit more “rock star-ish” for top-tier rockers like U2 and Sting but it’s neat to see glimpses of “normalcy” for musicians like Rachel, Kasim and Prairie Prince.

In this video segment we learn that Rachel smokes (oh the horror!), doesn’t know the words to Coldplay’s megahit “Viva La Vida”, and that she recently drove the band in a minivan to their gig in Louisville. All the while, Rachel is as cute as ever! We LOVE RACHEL! yeah, I’m such a “fanboy”… it’s a bit sad, isn’t it?

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If you haven’t read it already, here’s my interview with Rachel Haden that I posted last year.
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Singer/songwriter Kasim Sulton (currently playing with Todd Rundgren) regularly posts videos on youtube for his series titled “Backstage Pass”. Sulton seems to have a talent for capturing the most mundane moments on tour. He ALMOST succeeds in making us all believe that a musician’s life is as normal and ordinary as the average joe’s.

ahh, come on, Kasim, you’re not fooling anyone!!

We all know that being on tour is all about the debauchery, the all-night parties and limitless self-indulgence.

So where’s the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, Kaz???

Check out Kasim’s most recent installment of the Backstage Pass.

The highlight (relatively speaking) is the segment where cute lil’ Rachel Haden can’t find her precious earrings at the airport.

Who knew The New Cars would still be around touring after last year’s string of under attended shows. with low ticket and CD sales i would have thought that The New Cars were long gone and done with by now. surprisingly they are now out on the road for another spin. i’ve got mixed feelings about the whole thing and i have to say a lot of it has to do with their crummy (mis)management.
problem #1 – they didn’t get their CD released until the band was well into their summer tour last year. … without a new product to push, the New Cars just felt like an old has-been nostalgia act.
problem #2 – management priced tickets a bit too high especially those meet and greet packages. that was a big turn off for fans and concert goers.
problem #3 – after cutting the summer tour short (due to Elliot Easton’s injury) the group lost all the momentum they had going for them and they weren’t able to gain any of it back by the time they got back on the road in the winter.
problem #4 – management failed to promote the winter tour so attendance was even worse than before. most fans weren’t even aware The New Cars were even out on the road in Nov and Dec.
problem #5 – at this point it seems that there’s not much promotion behind this summer’s tour as well. no press about the tour and no buzz on the ‘net about the group.
problem #6 – The New Cars’ bassist Kasim Sulton is currently touring with Meatloaf so he won’t be available this summer. There’s absolutely nothing about his replacement on the official website (as of 10May07).
problem #7 – The New Cars is simply a lame name for a band. a bit of a hinderance from the get go i must say. talent like Elliot Easton and Todd Rundgren deserve better than this. the lack of promotion and not really having any new material to support is just bad news all around.

and what’s even more confusing is that Todd Rundgren just recently completed a successful short tour of the east coast with Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Jesse Gress. I think at this point going out as “Todd Rundgren” is a better career decision than being a member of a dead project called the New Cars. you know, it was a fun experience for one summer but it really feels like they are overstaying their welcome. time for Todd, Elliot, Greg and Prairie to move on to something else. don’t get me wrong, if they end up in my neck of the wood (unfortunately the tour isn’t coming anywhere close to where i live) I’d go out and support the band since I’m a fan of Todd’s but in general, I really don’t see the point of Todd being involved with this anymore.

go see them while you can. from the look of things, they ain’t going to be around for much longer…

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Sun 07/29/07 Saint Louis, MO Scottrade Center
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Sat 08/04/07 Greenville, WI Lions Park
Tue 08/07/07 Vancouver, WA Clark County Fairgrounds
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Thu 08/30/07 Lincoln, NE Nebraska State Fair
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Sun 09/02/07 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre