03/11/01
05.00 - Kasim received a mention on a Todd Rundgren Yahoo message board this morning. Although Kasim only gets a small mention, there's a nice description of the RA 1977 / 78 Utopia tour. "I think the only other concert I went to in the 70's was the RA tour, and by then he had the third (I think) and final version of Utopia. They performed within a giant pyramid wearing the Egyptian costumes from the Ra album cover. In the re-creation of the electrified fairy-tale, each band member did a solo about conquering one of the elements to get one of the lost keys. Kasim fought the heat of the desert, Roger the wind, and Willie the water. For his part, Todd climbed the rungs of the pyramid (it was supposed to be the mountain he had to climb to find the fourth and final key) to the top and played the last of his solo with his legs straddled along the poles as though he was part of the pyramid. Just as he finished the solo, he fell forward and toppled from the top, grabbing on to a hidden wire and floating to the floor amid a loud roar from the crowd. "
04.30 - It appears that there are now two versions of Kasim's "official" website. As I know that Kasim himself owns the domain name KasimSulton.com, I have switched the link on the front page to that version of the site. If I made a mistake, then I apologise and will correct it later but, from reading the information on the two sites, that was the way I saw it.
04.00 - There was a nice post about Kasim Sulton overnight on a Todd Rundgren mailing list in regards to the Japanese Todd release Demos and Lost Albums: "....if you listen hard to Libertine and Feet Dont Fail Me Now on the Demos CD, you may notice the absence of Kaz's voice...Both songs sound the same as the released versions except for the bass and no Kaz...so...I figure it must be Doug Howard....Feet is a good example of how Kaz's playing helped to flesh out a song....the playing on the Demo version is rudimentary, while Kaz's playing added nice reinforcement."
03/10/01
19.30 - XXXX appears to be open again. There is some new news on the News page which stated that Kasim recently completed an interview with author Billy James. It was for a book about Todd Rundgren which will be released early next year. The book is titled 'A Dream Goes On Forever -- The Continuing Story of Todd Rundgren' and will be published by Golden Treasures, USA." There was also an address for people that wish to contribute photos. XXXXX continued that Kasim was busy working on his new CD and preparing for his first shows in New York in April, as well as working on some other projects. Also, some other shows have been tentatively scheduled for May and June. Kasim's former manager stated that she continued to fully support Kasim's solo endeavor.
13.30 - There was a post by Roger D. Linder on a Todd Rundgren mailing list to say that TicketMaster have announced a Todd Rundgren concert on 27th April in Agorua Hills, CA. There is no official confirmation from the Todd Rundgren camp (although this was exactly the same for the Power Trio Tour last year!) and no official word has been announced as to whether or not Kasim Sulton might be playing. However, click here for the link.
07.15 - As I received a couple of e-mails yesterday from people telling me that they only have Internet access at work, I decided to make the Kasim Sulton Trivia Question a Monday to Friday feature only. For this reason the answer to Friday's toughie question will be posted to the site on Monday.
06.45 - Unfortunately my server was down part of yesterday so I was unable to upload any files, hence the lack of updates. I was maintaining this Blog page but could not put upload it to the site. Fortunately the site was still listed on the Internet.
03/09/01
19.40 - There was a post to a Todd Rundgren mailing list that mentioned Kasim in a message about Todd's new (old) album Demos and Lost Albums: "Libertine, Umbrella Man, Mimi Gets Mad and Wildlife are all interesting and valuable additions to the Todd completist because of the alternate vocals. What's really interesting is how much the inflections and styling on Kasim's final versions SOOOO match Todd's direction on these demos."
13.15 - There was a message sent to the mailing list attached to Kasim's first official website to say that there may be some problems accessing the site over the next few days as technical updates were being performed. They hoped that the site would be fully accessible by Monday.
06.20 - There is another copy of Kasim available through E-Bay at the moment so I added that to the News section of the site. This album is in Sweden - I'd love to know how it reached that country! Just a reminder that both Kasim and Lights On are now available on CD through Frank Ciapanna with $10 of each CD sold going directly to Kasim!
05.00 - Overnight there were some posts on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board about Kasim and Lights On being available to purchase on CD.
03/08/01
10.20 - I revamped the front page of KasimInfo.com by adding some "FastTrack" boxes
09.10 - I lightened and enlarged the black and white photo of Kasim that is on the front page of the site.
08.15 - Kasim Sulton received a mention in the Meat Loaf UK Fan Club newsletter, Rear View Mirror, for March 2001! It's in the "News Updates" section and says:"Kasim's plans for 2001 include releasing his long-awaited solo CD in the Spring. All of the music and lyrics on the CD have been written by Kasim, but the release will also include at least one collaboration with friend and fellow musician, Glen Burtnik of Styx. Kasim's first solo shows will be in New York on April 7th and 14th at Arlene Grocery and the Bitter End, respectively."
07.45 - Slick Music are again selling Kasim Sulton's CD The Basement Tapes! It is reduced in price too! Amazon are also listing the CD but with a release date on 01/01/2010!!! I'm sure it'll be worth the nine year wait! Full details are in the News section of the site for today. I also added the SlickMusic banner back to the front page of the site as I assume that Kasim will now be receiving royalties from these sales.
05.10 - I retrospectively added the 3/05/01 news to the site about Meat Loaf's digitally remastered version of the album Bat Out Of Hell being released in Europe. Kasim does NOT play on the two additional tracks (Bolero and Bat Out Of Hell, live version).
04.50 - Yesterday there were a couple of posts on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board about being able to purchase Kasim and Lights On on CD.
03/07/01
10.45 - Kasim Sulton received a mention in a post on a Todd Rundgren mailing list: "Been working on the Rundgren book heavy as well as finishing up the YES book. I finished interviewing Kasim last week - Paul Fishkin and Doug Powell in the next week." No other details about the book were given.
03/06/01
04.15 - I added the first Kasim Sulton Trivia Question to the site! It's an easy one today and is on the This Day page. The answer and another question tomorrow....
03/05/01
15.30 - Starting tomorrow and for the next month (up until the day before Kasim's first solo gig), there will a Kasim Sulton Trivia Question on the site each day! Some will be difficult and some will be easy, with the answer posted the following day. It depends on how popular this proves to be (and how many questions I can think of!) as to whether or not this is continued after the trial month so let me know!
15.00 - I added six wonderful photos of Kasim Sulton that were taken by Frank Ciapanna to the Photo section of the site! These were originally to be used for the Bassics magazine article but Frank has kindly given permission for them to be shown on this site - I think that they are some of the best ever pictures of Kasim!
06.45 - I added some great photos of Kasim Sulton to the Photo Gallery that were taken by Kris Awgul at a gig at The Savoy, NYC on 24th March 1982. Kris also kindly provided the set list which shows that Marshall Crenshaw was the support act for Kasim that night. More photos from Kris Awgul later this week and more photos from Frank Ciapanna later today!
03/04/01
23.55 - I added the news that Kasim was on TV today to the News section of the site....and removed it from the Future Appearances section.
05.20 - I know I'm blowing my own trumpet here but for the first time since Kasim's first official website opened, KasimInfo.com actually had more hits yesterday than XXXXX!!
03/03/01
07.30 - There was a post on a Todd Rundgren mailing list about a Kasim Sulton solo show (I believe). "It was tons of fun, and wow a blast from the past 1983. Kas was sick with the flu, but he was a real trooper as usual and did the whole show as if nothing was bothering him. God bless him. And then up to Albany I think if memory serves me right."
03/02/01
14.00 - There was a mesage posted to the mailing list attached to Kasim's former official website to say that the "Dear Kasim" section of the website was now open. The "Dear Kasim" link on the site actually links to KasimMusic@aol.com.
12.00 - There was a post on a Todd Rundgren mailing list to say that Crown Records will be releasing two double CDs on 4/25/01 from Utopia which will, of course, feature Kasim. They are Oops Wrong Planet Tour (recorded 1977) and Deface The Music Tour (recorded 1980). Details will be on the Crown Records website but it is all in Japanese and the info is not up yet.
02/28/01
22.00 - There were a couple of posts that mentioned Kasim on a Todd Rundgren mailing list about an appearance on Saturday Night Live on 21st February 1981: "Todd rips off two awesome
tunes: Healer and Time Heals. Assembled for this performance only is an All
Star Band: Ernest Carter (tubs), Mike Shrieve (from Santana on percussion), Roger Powell (synth, of course), Kasim Sulton (bass), Ralph Schucket (on keys), Rory Dodd and Eric Troya (Jim Steinman side men on vocals), and Pat Travers (guitar). This band frigin' wails."
02/27/01
23.55 - Kasim's first official website was updated with the main news that his focus has now shifted away from Las Vegas to concentrate on the North East. It also says that SlickMusic are selling The Basement Tapes again (it's not up on their site yet) and that the message board has been removed with the "Dear Kasim" button in it's place (these changes have not yet occurred but I expect that they will soon). Also the contact e-mail addy for the site has changed to KasimMusic@aol.com.
19.30 - There was a really funny post on a Todd Rundgren mailing list. Alongside the discussion that is mentioned below, the list has also been discussing spies so someone put the two topics together and came up with: "Years ago, on the former Todd list, someone asked why Kasim joined Utopia, and I joked that Kasim was actually a spy for a nefarious government agency. As a rock musician on tour, Kasim had the perfect cover story for entering and leaving cities. Utopia's tours were carefully arranged so that Kasim
could perform his duties. Kasim was actually born and raised in Toronto under a different name, so Kasim couldn't do his spy work there because he might be recognized ... this is why Utopia has never played in Toronto. Kasim's code name was "FES"."
11.10 - There were several more posts on the Todd Rundgren mailing list called Attention Kasim but only one that actually directly related to the topic. Someone posted, "There's no guarantee that any show one plans to see won't be canceled...Things happen...illness, travel problems, business deals can fall though....Kasim said it was beyond his control so why not take your tickets...Get on the plane and go to Vegas anyway...Go to the casinos and have fun. Who knows, maybe you'll even win back some of the money you shelled out for the trip! Personally, I think
it was nice of Kasim to email you and apologize to you.
03.30 - Overnight there were about twenty posts on a Todd Rundgren mailing list called Attention Kasim which were in response to the person who was unhappy about Kasim's appearance on Backstage Live being canceled. As often occurs on that list, they soon were talking about something totally different and just used that message title. Somebody did write that they were surprised that anybody wuld pay $400 for non-refundable air tickets just to see an interview which prompted a great quote, "It seems that Kas has always attracted a rather uniquely dedicated crowd..."
02/26/01
20.00 - I updated the front page of KasimInfo.com by moving the message that Kasim sent about the opening of his official site and making the whole page more concise. Kasim's message can be found in the Kasim's Messages section.
18.00 - I opted not to add any new photos of Kasim from the Frank Ciapanna Collection this Monday as I was busy with other updates to the site.
17.00 - There were some posts on a Todd Rundgren mailing list about somebody who was unhappy about Kasim's appearance on Backstage Live being canceled, but other people thought that the post was a parody of the song Stan.
11.00 - I added the news about Backstage Live to the News section of the site.
10.15 - I added a new section to the site called Kasim Sulton's Messages (see index on the left).
07.45 - In case they disappear, I reproduced the two press releases about Kasim that were posted to the Las Vegas Music News Network website. They can be found in the Kasim in Print section of the site.
06.25 - I removed the text about Backstage Live from both the front page and the Future Appearances section of the site.
06.00 - Overnight Kasim posted another message to the message board on his official website to say that his former manager will no longer be representing him. He has also suspended the message board as there were some "trolls" causing mischief on it.
02/25/01
23.55 - Kasim himself posted a message to the message board on his official website to say that he will now NOT be playing Backstage Live this coming weekend. The good news is that Kasim will still be playing the April New York shows and now some in May and June too!!
02/24/01
11.30 - There were some posts on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board about the timing of Kasim's forthcoming Backstage Live TV appearance and The Basement Trades.
10.00 - I added the results of the recent E-Bay auction for a copy of "Kasim" to the News section and details of another forthcoming TV appearance to the Future Appearances section of the site.
02/22/01
11.30 - I added seven great photos of Kasim that were taken at a show with his band at Trax, NYC in 1979. Many thanks to Kris Awgul for providing these photos which are in the Photos section of the site.
05.45 - Well, I started the site changes for today by making Blog page #2 as this page was getting large again. The link is at the bottom of this page. I also added the "Hand in Action" photo to the bottom of this page. More changes later today .....
02/21/01
19.45 - There was another post about the Todd Rundgren / Utopia release Demos and Lost Albums as someone posted the liner notes. These were translated from Japanese by a software programme so they make amusing reading in places but it's easy to understand what is meant. The parts that mention Kasim are:-
"Last Of The New Wave Riders: Kasim is singing. (It is singing the original with Todd.) Kasim shouts in the interlude. There is a time to have been singing in this way live. It seems that it is before recording in earnest."
"Libertine: It is Roger that it is singing. At first, it made Roger sing but Kasim will have been better. It is singing strenuously but it seems that there is not yes like Kasim.
18.00 - There were a few posts to two Todd Rundgren mailing lists about a new album that has been released (I believe only in Japan). It's called Demos and Lost Albums and is released on the Crown label. As one post explained it, "It's actually not really demos, but some demos and alternate versions of songs we all know and love....these are a number of songs that a different person sang on the final..examples? Todd sings Umbrella Man and Mimi Gets Mad (both songs in which Kasim sings lead on the final version) and Kaz sings all lead vocals on Last Of The New Wave Riders."
15.00 - Sombody kindly e-mailed me to correct a couple of facts in the 17.00 item in the Blog for yesterday about a post to a Todd Rundgren mailing list. Apparently the correct spelling is Mauri and it was Joe Mauri that sang Movin' On Up and not Kasim!
12.00 - There were some posts on the Kasim mailing list at YahooGroups about which local TV stations will be carrying Kasim's TV appearance on Backstage Live on Saturday 3rd March.
05.30 - Ricky Byrd said that Kasim is unlikely to be playing much with him for the next couple of months as Ricky will be playing mainly solo acoustic shows.
05.00 - In preparation for some changes to the front page of the site tomorrow, I switched Kasim's "Hello Everybody" to the front page and placed his "Who am I?" to the This Day page.
02/20/01
17.00 - There was a post that mentioned Kasim Sulton on a Todd Rundgren mailing list. Someone mentioned a tape of a Kasim solo show in the "Summer of 1983. You will also enjoy a song written by Joey Morey (sp?) called Movin' On Up" that Kasim sang at that show. There will be more about the song on this site on Thursday!
08.25 - There were more posts on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board about the part of Kasim's career with Hall and Oates.
06.00 - There are now links to XXXXX on both TR Bazaar.com and the Ricky Byrd official website.
02/19/01
19.15 - The stats for the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board appeared on the site and there were a whopping 306 page views - usually the average is about 17!! Plus two new people joined!
17.15 - More posts and confusion on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board about when Kasim actually played with Hall and Oates!
11.15 - I added this weeks batch of photos from "The Frank Ciapanna Collection". They are in the Gigs section of the site as they are all brand new photos taken at The Ricky Byrd Trio gig on 30th January 2001. I've also added a review from Frank of that great gig to the same page.
10.45 - Two great photos of Kasim from some Hall and Oates concerts were posted to the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board.
07.00 - Today there was a complimentary message that someone posted about Kasim on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message Board.
02/18/01
20.30 - Today there were more messages on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message board about The Basement Tapes and, as requested by Kasim's manager I removed a post that she made yesterday. A couple of people had written to me concerned that some messages are being deleted from Kasim's official board. I will not start doing that on the Yahoo board - I only deleted that message because the writer herself asked me.
19.30 - Kasim himself posted another message on his official website! In light of all the recent posts about The Basement Tapes, he amusingly called it Basementgate!!
4.30 - Overnight there were more posts on the Kasim Sulton Yahoo Message board about The Basement Tapes, including a response from Kasim's manager.
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