Todd Rundgren is re-forming his progressive/new wave outfit Utopia and taking it on the road.
The U.S. tour will stretch from mid-April through early June.
The Utopia reunion will be manned by Rundgren (guitar), Kasim Sulton (bass), Willie Wilcox (drums) and Ralph Schuckett (keyboards).
> Update: Schuckett has pulled out of the tour citing health issues. The band issued a public call for possible replacements. /update
MIA from the cast is Roger Powell, a member of the classic and final iteration of Utopia. Powell played keyboards for Rundgren’s “A Wizard, a True Star” concerts of a few years back, but wasn’t up for a lengthy rock tour.
The band Utopia grew out of the sessions for Rundgren’s 1973 solo album “A Wizard, a True Star,” in which Schuckett participated. Schuckett was part of the mob of musicians who played in Utopia during its early years.
Utopia evolved from a sprawling psychedelic/prog outfit into a tight quartet of the new wave era. The latter combo was known for a handful of minor hits, most penned by Rundgren, and some key early music videos. “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” (below) was one of the first videos played on MTV.
Rundgren said the new shows would cover “most all of the significant moments” from the band’s history, including “the grand feeling of the original (prog) Utopia days.”
“This is a pretty broad palate that we’re dealing with,” Rundgren said. The band made the transition from prog collective into a more traditional rock band somewhere around the time of the “Ra” album (1977), he said. The “Ra” tour — complete with a giant onstage sphinx — remains legendary among Utopia/Rundgren fans.
Utopia (originally Todd Rundgren’s Utopia) lasted from 1973 to 1986. (Rundgren continued to release solo albums across its lifetime.)
“These guys were like my Beatles,” one fan posted on YouTube as the news broke.
“A lot of people grew up listening to us,” Sulton said. “Other than five dates in Japan and one show in California in 1992, we haven’t played a concert together since 1986.”
Sulton is Rundgren’s regular touring bass player and longtime partner in vocal harmonies. He sang lead on some Utopia songs such as “Set Me Free.”
Wilcox has been working in the music business and creating sounds for slot machines. He hasn’t been part of Rundgren’s universe in recent decades and some fans consider it a pleasant surprise he agreed to rejoin Utopia. The drummer first emerged as a Utopian with “Another Live” in 1975, playing with both Rundgren and Schuckett. He continued on skins through the classic quartet’s breakup.
Of Powell, Rundgren said, “He didn’t want to tour anymore … and essentially go back to not having control over your time anymore — night after night after night.” (Powell has a serious day job, with Electronic Arts.) Rundgren’s manager also said Powell suffered from hearing loss.
While some of the pixie dust may be off the reunion with the absence of the popular Powell, Rundgren fans online seemed fired up to attend an all-Utopia concert.
Rundgren noted that the band and its original fans weren’t exactly spring chickens. He suggested concert-goers “rest up” for the show — and joked that they should dust off some of that stashed mescaline.
> View the list of 2018 Utopia tour dates.