Chicago Street Theatre Presents Kasim Sulton in Concert

On Sunday, February 9, 2003, 7:00 PM, the Chicago Street Theatre's "One Night Jam" acoustic music series will present legendary sideman Kasim Sulton in the comfortable, intimate surroundings of the Valparaiso theatre.

"I've always been a fan of Kasim's work with other artists," said Paul Braun, who, along with wife Sheri Nash- Braun, directs the series. "When I heard that he had a solo album coming out and that he was touring smaller venues, I just had to have him as part of the 'One Night Jam' series, and CST was the right venue."

"Your first reaction might be, "Who?"," said Braun. "Just grab any rock album produced in the last 25 years or so, and check the musician credits. There's a very good chance you'll see Kasim listed."

Sulton has played bass, guitar, keyboards and/or sung with Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Hall & Oates, Joan Jett, Jim Steinman, The Indigo Girls, Glen Burtnick, and Celine Dion, amongst a host of others. He was a member of Utopia for nine years, played on Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell", "Bat Out of Hell II," "Welcome To the Neighborhood," "Storytellers," and is currently on tour with Meat in support of his new album, "Testify." The list of albums that Kasim has performed on goes on for pages.

In 2001, Kasim began focusing on his own material for the first time since the early 80's; writing new songs and performing solo shows. Audiences across the U.S. welcomed him with open arms. "I've been wanting to record a CD of all new material for some time now, but other projects kept coming up that prohibited me from spending the amount of time necessary to accomplish it. I really owe it to myself to get out and play. I mean, I love playing in other people's bands. The Meat Loaf tours were great, but every night as I'd go out on stage I'd be thinking to myself, 'I should be out there, singing my own songs, doing my own shows.'" And so he will. After touring the US with Meat Loaf this summer, Kasim will release his new CD, "Quid Pro Quo," and begin his solo acoustic tour of the U.S. starting in Washington D.C. on September 20th. Just him and a guitar. "It's all right there. Warts and all. You can't hide behind other musicians or fancy playing. Besides, good songs come across no matter how many instruments are or aren't playing."

Besides promoting the new cd, Kasim will be telling stories and playing songs from all phases of his long and colorful career. "Kasim has toured with some of the best, and the stories add a new dimension to familiar songs," said Braun.

According to Braun, "The material on Kasim's CD is wonderful, melodic stuff. It's his chance to stand in the spotlight for a while, and he's not wasting the opportunity. That clear tenor voice just sits right up front.... once you hear it, you'll remember all the other times you've heard it lurking in the background on a hundred other songs."

"I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy Kasim's performance. He's a consummate professional, and he's a master of both the guitar and the piano. He's really excited about what we're doing at Chicago Street Theatre, so take a chance and show him just how appreciative our audiences can be. This is world-class talent, and it's presented in a comfortable, smoke-free, alcohol-free environment."