 |
| The Exclusive Interview With Kasim Sulton! |
 |
| Q: Kasim, thank you very much for taking the time to join us here! I wanted to jump right in and ask you about your brand new solo CD that you have just released entitled Quid Pro Quo. After spending years lending your great talents to so many other artists, how does it feel to step out and show off your own material now? A: First, thank you for the compliment. I've always had a solo career really. Since my days with Todd Rundgren and Utopia I've been writing and recording my own material. My first solo project was in 1980 for EMI Records. It was a self titled record that was released in '81. I toured a bit back then with a full band too. So, to answer your question, it feels great to be able to do it again. I had a little break in an otherwise crowded schedule and I thought the timing was right for me to concentrate on doing another record. Q: You actually worked on your album over a period of time that saw you also have to step in as Meatloaf's musical director on an expansive european tour followed by your own touring as a solo act. Given the circumstances, are you happy with the results of Quid Pro Quo? A: I'm very happy with the results. Mainly because I was under no time or budgetary restraints. I did everything here in my studio without the specter of a record executive standing over my shoulder reminding me how much money I was spending. The only thing I spent was my time, which made it easy for me to be more picky about redoing things over and over, from the recording to the mixing, in order to make it as right as I thought it could be. Q: In the early 1970's, you were playing piano for singer Cherry Vanilla, whom also served as David Bowie's publicist. This connection led to you getting a last second gig as Todd Rungren's bass player, and this really seemed to open a lot of doors for you. Can you recall the events of your sudden involvement with Todd? A: It was really a series of lucky events that lead to it. I happened to be friends with Earl Slick who was playing for David Bowie at the time. Earl heard about Todd looking for a Bass player from Michael Kaman who I also knew through Cherry Vanilla. Earl told me to give Michael a call and tell him I was interested. Michael knew me as a PIANO player from Cherry but because he liked me, said he would recommend me "hands down anyway."I was on a Tramways bus to Woodstock the next week to audition for Todd. They had already been through about 7 Bass players by then and if I wasn't the right guy, they were going to have Tony Sales come back to the band (Tony had played with Todd in a previous version of Utopia). Obviously, I made enough of an impression that I got the gig. Q: In 1977, you auditioned for a newly formed band called Utopia, and you ended up playing a great stretch with them until 1986, along the way writing and singing a top 30 hit called Set Me Free. Was it at that point that you felt maybe you could venture on your own with some degree of success? A: Well, sure. Once you have a hit under your belt you think you're invincible. The truth is, those kind of songs don't come along every day. I was 24 years old and I thought it was a piece of cake. Little did I realize that there were three other people to help do everything. All the writing, singing, producing... I went into my first solo record thinking I could do it all with no problem and found out the hard way that it takes a tremendous amount of work and focus to do everything by yourself. I was both excited and terrified at the same time. Looking back, it was a very enlightening experience. One that took me 20 years to repeat. Q: You went on to some major gigs and sessions with the likes of Meatloaf, Joan Jett,. Bon Jovi, and Mick Jagger! What was it like for you to work with Sir Mick? A: I didn't call him Sir. He hadn't been Knighted yet. Still, he is an icon. Someone who has had a career like that you have to have respect for. He actually got mad at me during rehearsals because I made the mistake of suggesting we try doing a song (Little Red Rooster I believe) like it was on the record. He looked at me, squinted his eyes and said; "We ARE NOT DOING IT LIKE THAT." I didn't offer anymore suggestions after that. Q: I know you are still involved in a lot of gigs with Meatloaf, but are you hoping to get a string of dates together to promote Quid Pro Quo in the near future? A: I did roughly 30 solo dates in 2002 and depending on my schedule with Meat, I'm sure I'll be doing some this year as well. Q: Kasim, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to join me here! You have a great new album, and i hope people will get out to support you on tour and buy the album! I wanted to wrap up here by asking you what else you have cooking up for 2003? A: 2003 is going to be a Mostly Meat year for me. He has an amazing new CD out in April called "Couldn't Have Said It Better". We start a promotional tour in Germany in a couple of weeks and there are plans for a proper tour to start in late spring / early summer. So my plate is pretty full yet again. |