by Tom Lounges
Kasim Sulton is one of those too often overlooked musical talents who the
average music fan may not know by name or by face, but whose magnificent
playing has most likely filled their ears countless times and brought
pleasure.
Those who are fans of Meatloaf, Todd Rundgren and Joan Jett have most
assuredly enjoyed the benefits of Sulton’s talents, as he has contributed
bass guitar and/or backing vocals to a great body of work by those three
artists.
Over the years he has also written and/or recorded with a virtual “Who’s
Who” of the pop/rock world, including Ronnie Spector, Shaun Cassidy, Patty
Smyth, Richie Sambora, Hall & Oates, The Indigo Girls and Celine Dion.
Sulton spoke with this writer twice in the last few months. Once while
in Los Angles wrapping up the bass tracks for the forthcoming Meatloaf album,
Testify, and a second time from his home studio in New York where he was
putting the final touches on his third and latest solo album, "Quid Pro Quo."
“Loaf is going to surprise people with this one,” said Sulton, who will
once again be a member of Meatloaf’s touring band as they hit the road to
support the album this summer.
“I was in Europe with Meatloaf between October and December playing a
series of concerts in Belgium, Holland and Germany called, ‘The Night Of The
Promenades,’ where four or five bands play with the backing of a 74-piece
orchestra and a 50-piece choir every night,” he said. “It was really
exciting to do that.”
Testify is expected to be released sometime this spring. “This is some
very slammin’ rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “I can honestly say that this is
gonna be a great record and a lot of people are gonna be surprised when they
hear it.”
Meatloaf is working without a net creatively speaking, for his longtime
songwriting partner, producer and musical director, Jim Steinman (responsible
for “Bat Out Of Hell” and other epic Meatloaf albums) is not involved with
the project.
“This (CD) has a Steve Earle song,” continued Sulton, “and the guys from
Better Than Ezra wrote one for him and there’s a couple from Diane Warren
too.” Producing that new collection is Peter Mokran (*NSync, Backstreet
Boys, Brandy), who seems an unlikely choice given his past cookie-cutter
approach to production and Mr. Loaf’s own history of making rather grandiose
records.
But enough about the Meatman... Sulton is understandably more excited
about his own project, his first solo recording adventure in nearly a decade.
“I’m in the process of putting together a deal with a small independent
record label,” he said, eschewing plans to release the disc on a personal
vanity imprint. “I don’t want to deal with the headaches of the accounting
and bar-coding and all that goes with putting out your own product. If I
don’t have to deal with all that other stuff, I’ll have more time to
concentrate on the solo shows and music for the next record.”
The move also increases the artist’s commercial reach considerably. “I
want as many people as possible to hear these songs,” he continued. “I’ve
been working on this album for the last couple years now and by going with an
indie label, the sales won’t be limited to my web site and at my shows. This
way the album will be in stores too and easier for people to find.”
While details on the label deal in question were not available as papers
had not yet been signed at the time of the interview, but the record itself
will feature the omni-talented Sulton performing all instruments and
providing all vocal tracks.
“I have just a little more recording to do, so I can’t say for certain,
but I might have one or two guests on the record when it’s all finished,” he
teased. “As of now it’s all me, but that could change.”
"Quid Pro Quo" will contain ten songs all of which were written and/or
co-written by Sulton. A possible bonus song may be added if time allows.
“I’ve recorded a cover of a great old Harry Nilsson song called ‘Remember,’
which is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.”
Although renown for his bass guitar work, Sulton says his solo release is
“not a bass record at all.” He defines it as being “very much a pop
record,” where he focused more on melody lines, chord changes, lyrics and ove
rdubs. “I might be known as a bass player, but it’s more important for me
to get a song across on the merit that it’s just a good tune as opposed to it
having some amazing bass riff,” he said.
Sulton, a native New Yorker who got his break in the business playing
with cult rocker, Cherry Vanilla (a glam rock protegee of David Bowie) back
in the mid-70s, has also recorded two previous solo albums – “Kasim” (1982)
and “The Bass-ment Tapes” (1993) – of which he is still proud.
“My style is still my style and my songs haven’t changed that much,” he
said, comparing his latest recordings to those older albums. “The stuff I’m
doing now is not as primitive as what I did back when I was younger, but I
think the basic vibe or feel of the music is still pretty much the same. It’s
just more mature.”
During a break in his sessions with Meatloaf in August, Sulton did a
short string of one-nighters, including a show at The Abbey in Chicago.
While he has toured with various incarnations of the Kasim Sulton Band in the
past, this was his first solo excursion.
“It was just me and a guitar and a stool. It was a little scary the
first couple times, but it was really a lot of fun,” he said. “That’s why
I’m doing it again. People seemed to really enjoy the show and I had a
blast.”
Sulton will bring his show back to The Abbey (3420 W. Grace) on Feb. 16
after performing on Feb. 15 at The Front Porch (505 East Lincolnway) in
Valparaiso, IN.
“It’s much like the show I did last summer,”he said. “I’m doing some
of my own songs from the various albums I’ve done. I’m also doing a lot of
Utopia songs and a couple of things I did with Joan (Jett), Meatloaf and some
of the others. I’m doing it in kind of a ‘Storytellers’ fashion, where I
talk about the songs, working with the different artists and things like
that.”
Homage will be paid to the late George Harrison during the nightly show
as well. Sulton explained that Harrison had a deep personal impact on him as
a musician and songwriter and that at the time of our conversation was still
wrestling with the decision of which of Harrison’s songs to cover as a
tribute to one he described as “a great personal hero.”
While there are no plans as of yet, Sulton said he remains hopeful that
Todd Rundgren will one day decide to reform Utopia for one last hurrah.
“That was a great time for me,” said Sulton, who recorded seven albums as a
member of that band. “I would love more than anything to get the call from
Todd saying he wants to get Utopia back in action. I don’t know if that will
ever happen, but you never know.”
Until then, Sulton will continue to make music from his heart, ever
grateful that he can make a living doing what he loves.