Kasim Sulton
Encyclopedia
Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitar
ist, keyboardist
, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton hit the Canadian top 40 in 1982 with "Don't Break My Heart,"
Sulton has been a frequent collaborator, bassist and singer on many of Todd Rundgren
's projects and solo tours.
before gaining a place in Utopia in 1976. During his time with Utopia they recorded nine albums, and toured extensively.
He has toured with Hall & Oates
, Cheap Trick
, Blue Öyster Cult
, and Richie Sambora
, amongst many other artists. As a studio musician, he has played on albums by Patti Smith
, The Indigo Girls
and Steve Stevens
, and appeared on an album of traditional Irish music by Eileen Ivers
. He was a member of Joan Jett
's backing band, The Blackhearts, touring with them and playing on Jett's album Up Your Alley
(1988) as well as contributing a number of tracks to her compilation album The Hit List
(1990).
Sulton was the bassist on the Meat Loaf
album Bat Out of Hell
. He and Thommy Price
collaborated on an album, Lights On, which Sulton co-wrote. The song "No T.V. No Phone" was featured in the 1987 film
The Allnighter
, starring Susanna Hoffs
.
Kasim produced demo CDs for Patti Russo
and Elaine Fiddler's band.
Sulton recorded a solo album on September 4, 2002 entitled Quid Pro Quo. The album was released on Sphere Sound Records, and Sulton played all but two instruments on the album.
Sulton sang background vocals on Meat Loaf
's album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell
, joining his backing band, Neverland Express
, touring for three years on the Everything Louder Tour. He also recorded on Meat Loaf’s album Welcome to the Neighborhood
, arranging
and singing background vocals on most of the tracks. He went on to become Music director
for Meat Loaf, rehearsing Meat Loaf's band, Neverland Express, in preparation for touring. The Very Best of Meat Loaf
album was released with three new tracks, one of which, "Is Nothing Sacred
", was later re-recorded as a duet with Patti Russo
and produced by Sulton, with the track reaching #15 on the UK charts. Sulton also produced the Meat Loaf StoryTellers
album, and toured with the band on the Night Of The Proms Tour in Europe
and the "Meat Loaf Just Havin' Fun for the Summer" and "Winter" Tour in the US and Europe, where he and Patti Russo
both served as opening acts. He also toured on Meat Loaf's "Couldn't Have Said It Better" tour where he played a short solo acoustic set to open the concert at most venues. One of Meat Loaf's shows on this tour was filmed for the dvd Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Kasim also toured on the 2005 "Hair of the Dog" Tour and the 2006-2007 "Bat Out of Hell III" tour, and he is featured as bassist/backing vocalist on the album. In summer 2008, he rejoined Meat Loaf for the Casa de Carne tour
.
Sulton played bass in the pit orchestra for the Twyla Tharp
-choreographed musical based on Billy Joel
music called Movin' Out on Broadway.
After a brief stint with the reunited band Scandal, Sulton joined The New Cars
in 2005, replacing original Cars
bassist and co-lead vocalist Benjamin Orr
, who died of cancer in 2000. The band also included original Cars band members Elliot Easton
and Greg Hawkes
as well as Todd Rundgren and Prairie Prince
from Journey
and The Tubes
. An album, It's Alive!
, was followed by a tour in 2006, with Sulton singing lead on The Cars' hit "Drive
".
Sulton continues to appear live playing bass, keyboards, and guitar on most Todd Rundgren tours, including the 2008-09 "Arena" gigs, 2009-10 performances of the classic 1973 album "A Wizard/A True Star
" in the U.S. and Europe, and 2010 "TR's Johnson" shows. He was in the band for the six show "Todd/Healing Albums Live" tour that began Labor Day Weekend of 2010 in Akron, Ohio, and played a solo show before the premiere. He also played in the second run of "Todd/Healing Albums Live," a five-show tour that began on March 25, 2011 in Hartford, CT.
In 2011 Sulton replaced Matt Bissonette
as the bassplayer in the Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard
.
Sulton lives in Staten Island
, New York.He has a son named Tarik Sulton
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist, keyboardist
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton hit the Canadian top 40 in 1982 with "Don't Break My Heart,"
Sulton has been a frequent collaborator, bassist and singer on many of Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
's projects and solo tours.
Biography
Sulton attended and graduated from Susan E. Wagner H.S. in 1973. Sulton started his musical career playing piano and vocals for Cherry VanillaCherry Vanilla
Cherry Vanilla is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's Pork, she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before finding fame as a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for Vangelis.-Career:Kathleen Dorritie was born in...
before gaining a place in Utopia in 1976. During his time with Utopia they recorded nine albums, and toured extensively.
He has toured with Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, and Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, amongst many other artists. As a studio musician, he has played on albums by Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, The Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens is an American guitarist and songwriter.He is best known for playing for other artists and less known for his critically acclaimed solo efforts , collaborations Steve Stevens (born as Steven Schneider on May 5, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter.He...
, and appeared on an album of traditional Irish music by Eileen Ivers
Eileen Ivers
Eileen Ivers is an Irish-American musician.Eileen Ivers was born in New York City of Irish-born parents and grew up in the Bronx. She spent summers in Ireland and took up the fiddle at the age of nine. Her teacher was the Irish fiddler Martin Mulvihill. She toured with Mick Moloney's band The...
. He was a member of Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
's backing band, The Blackhearts, touring with them and playing on Jett's album Up Your Alley
Up Your Alley (album)
Up Your Alley is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America during...
(1988) as well as contributing a number of tracks to her compilation album The Hit List
The Hit List (Joan Jett album)
The Hit List is a cover album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts . The album was released in 1990. All of the tracks are covers of famous songs.-Track listing:...
(1990).
Sulton was the bassist on the Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
album Bat Out of Hell
Bat out of Hell
Bat Out of Hell is the second album by American rock musician Meat Loaf, and his first collaboration with composer Jim Steinman, released in October 1977 on Cleveland International/Epic Records #PE-34974. Selling approximately 200,000 copies per year as of 2010, it is the fifth best-selling album...
. He and Thommy Price
Thommy Price
Thommy Price is a rock musician from Brooklyn, New York. He's played drums in numerous bands, including Billy Idol, Blue Öyster Cult, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and is an in-demand session drummer.-History:...
collaborated on an album, Lights On, which Sulton co-wrote. The song "No T.V. No Phone" was featured in the 1987 film
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
The Allnighter
The Allnighter (film)
The Allnighter is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, released on May 1, 1987. The movie stars Susanna Hoffs, Dedee Pfeiffer, Joan Cusack and Pam Grier.-Background:...
, starring Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Lee Hoffs is an American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.-Early life:...
.
Kasim produced demo CDs for Patti Russo
Patti Russo
Patricia "Patti" Russo is an American singer/songwriter/actress. She is perhaps best known as Meat Loaf's female lead vocalist, touring the world with his Neverland Express band for eighteen years.-Career:...
and Elaine Fiddler's band.
Sulton recorded a solo album on September 4, 2002 entitled Quid Pro Quo. The album was released on Sphere Sound Records, and Sulton played all but two instruments on the album.
Sulton sang background vocals on Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
's album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell
Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell
Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell is a 1993 studio album by Meat Loaf and was written and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released sixteen years after Meat Loaf's second solo album Bat Out of Hell. It reached #1 in the US, the UK and Australia...
, joining his backing band, Neverland Express
Neverland Express
The Neverland Express is the name for Meat Loaf's live band. The name is most likely taken from Jim Steinman's affinity for Peter Pan.This list does not contain guest members.-Current lineup:Paul Crook: Lead Guitars: Guitars, VocalsDanny Miranda: Bass...
, touring for three years on the Everything Louder Tour. He also recorded on Meat Loaf’s album Welcome to the Neighborhood
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Welcome to the Neighbourhood is Meat Loaf's seventh studio album, released in 1995 as follow-up to the popular album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The album went platinum in the US and UK....
, arranging
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and singing background vocals on most of the tracks. He went on to become Music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
for Meat Loaf, rehearsing Meat Loaf's band, Neverland Express, in preparation for touring. The Very Best of Meat Loaf
The Very Best of Meat Loaf
The Very Best of Meat Loaf is a 1998 album spanning the first 21 years of Meat Loaf's recording career. Although not reaching the top ten in the UK, it recently went platinum, and was already platinum around the rest of the world just after its release...
album was released with three new tracks, one of which, "Is Nothing Sacred
Is Nothing Sacred
"Is Nothing Sacred" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Don Black. It has been recorded by Meat Loaf twice. Jim Steinman composed the music while Don Black wrote the lyrics to this ballad. The song was originally recorded for the 1998 album The Very Best of Meat Loaf, with lead vocals by Meat...
", was later re-recorded as a duet with Patti Russo
Patti Russo
Patricia "Patti" Russo is an American singer/songwriter/actress. She is perhaps best known as Meat Loaf's female lead vocalist, touring the world with his Neverland Express band for eighteen years.-Career:...
and produced by Sulton, with the track reaching #15 on the UK charts. Sulton also produced the Meat Loaf StoryTellers
VH1: Storytellers (Meat Loaf)
VH1: Storytellers was a live concert tour by Meat Loaf which one concert was played on the channel VH1. Meat Loaf told humorous stories of his career as a singer and how he unfolded into rock stardom. The DVD version has two additional songs. Some songs on the CD are taken from Meat Loaf's Hard...
album, and toured with the band on the Night Of The Proms Tour in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the "Meat Loaf Just Havin' Fun for the Summer" and "Winter" Tour in the US and Europe, where he and Patti Russo
Patti Russo
Patricia "Patti" Russo is an American singer/songwriter/actress. She is perhaps best known as Meat Loaf's female lead vocalist, touring the world with his Neverland Express band for eighteen years.-Career:...
both served as opening acts. He also toured on Meat Loaf's "Couldn't Have Said It Better" tour where he played a short solo acoustic set to open the concert at most venues. One of Meat Loaf's shows on this tour was filmed for the dvd Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Kasim also toured on the 2005 "Hair of the Dog" Tour and the 2006-2007 "Bat Out of Hell III" tour, and he is featured as bassist/backing vocalist on the album. In summer 2008, he rejoined Meat Loaf for the Casa de Carne tour
Casa de Carne Tour
"Casa de Carne" is the name of Meat Loaf's 2008 European Summer Tour. After his 2007 tour was cut short due to a cyst on his vocal cord, Meat Loaf returned to the stage. To the delight of fans, Meat Loaf made his return alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own...
.
Sulton played bass in the pit orchestra for the Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
-choreographed musical based on Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
music called Movin' Out on Broadway.
After a brief stint with the reunited band Scandal, Sulton joined The New Cars
The New Cars
The New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince, Kasim Sulton, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton...
in 2005, replacing original Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
bassist and co-lead vocalist Benjamin Orr
Benjamin Orr
Benjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
, who died of cancer in 2000. The band also included original Cars band members Elliot Easton
Elliot Easton
Elliot Easton plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals for The Cars. His guitar solos are integral part of the band's hit singles. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music...
and Greg Hawkes
Greg Hawkes
Greg Hawkes is a musician best known as the keyboardist for the Rock band The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
as well as Todd Rundgren and Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
from Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
and The Tubes
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...
. An album, It's Alive!
It's Alive! (album)
It's Alive! is the album released by The New Cars. The album features fifteen live tracks, thirteen of which are songs known as being performed by the original Cars. The remaining two, "I Saw the Light" and "Open My Eyes", were popularized by New Cars member Todd Rundgren...
, was followed by a tour in 2006, with Sulton singing lead on The Cars' hit "Drive
Drive (The Cars song)
"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr....
".
Sulton continues to appear live playing bass, keyboards, and guitar on most Todd Rundgren tours, including the 2008-09 "Arena" gigs, 2009-10 performances of the classic 1973 album "A Wizard/A True Star
A Wizard, a True Star
A Wizard, a True Star is a progressive rock recording by Todd Rundgren, released in 1973.The album, and especially the first side of the vinyl recording, is an extended medley after the fashion of the Beatles' late recordings; brief songs segue into one another, and the lyrics are frequently...
" in the U.S. and Europe, and 2010 "TR's Johnson" shows. He was in the band for the six show "Todd/Healing Albums Live" tour that began Labor Day Weekend of 2010 in Akron, Ohio, and played a solo show before the premiere. He also played in the second run of "Todd/Healing Albums Live," a five-show tour that began on March 25, 2011 in Hartford, CT.
In 2011 Sulton replaced Matt Bissonette
Matt Bissonette
Matt Bissonette is an American bass player and the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette. He attended the University of North Texas's jazz music program. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music...
as the bassplayer in the Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard
Yellow Matter Custard
Yellow Matter Custard is a Beatles tribute supergroup consisting of Mike Portnoy , Neal Morse , Paul Gilbert , Matt Bissonette...
.
Sulton lives in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York.He has a son named Tarik Sulton
Discography
- Kasim (1982)
- The Bassment Tapes (1993)
- Quid Pro Quo (2002), Sphere Sound Records
- All Sides (2007)