As told to the Awizard list by Mark "Moogy" Klingman...
Part 9
11/13/99
On AWATS, TR sang all the voices.
Moogy
11/25/99
I played the RMI computer keyboard on several Utopia tours. Mostly for the Bell sounds. The most interesting thing about the keyboard was you had to use computer punch cards for programming. Cardboard cards with punched out holes. Pretty funny....
Moogy
11/28/99
Roger never used a big moog cabinet while I was with the group. He simply played the brand new at the time, polymoog.
The mini- moog was also in there. Korg had a mono synth that I used, and Ralph had a mono synth by some other company. .......... I think that mostly covers it.
Moogy
12/3/99
[ Does anyone know who's idea the Todd names poster was?
Was it Todd's, or a Bearsville Marketing guru?]
It was most definitely Todd's idea.
Moogy
12/4/99
[Perhaps this has been addressed before, but does anyone know how Stevie Nicks found her way into the band as a background vocalist on the "Back To The Bars" album? Just curious.]
She was dating Paul what's his name [Fishkin] - president of Bearsville records at the time, and he was getting ready to start a new record label with her.... So she was hanging out with us backstage at the time of the show.......... The rest, as they say, is history.
Moogy
12/11/99
When I went to L.A. to stay at Todd's house for the second time...... N.D. Smart was already living there. The first time, it was just TR and me, but this time it was to put together a band with N.D. Smart, Tom Cosgrove, Stu Woods and myself. N.D. has also taken over as TR's best friend, (previously my position), and TR hung out with N.D. continuously. This was about 1972 and TR was trying to promote "The Ballad of TR".
My main image of N.D. and Todd was in Todd's car. N.D. would be in the death seat and TR in the driver's seat and N.D. always telling Todd to slow down and take it easy. TR was hell on wheels, speeding always. Todd lived near the top of a mountain, and the road was a long, curvy one with steep cliffs. Riding up that hill with TR at the wheel was scarier than any roller coaster. He always gassed the pedal and drove as recklessly as James Dean on his final drive. I would grin and bear it, but ND Smart always yelled, begged and pleaded with Todd to slow down - Smart was practically crying like a death row inmate in "The Green Mile" walking to the electric chair, every time he had to get in the car with TR.
Todd had a really bad accident near to this time. I don't know the details, or if anyone was hurt. But I think it was near his home and he was lucky to get out alive. Soon after that, Todd stopped driving almost entirely and for many years.
More on N.D. Smart later
Moogy
12/12/99
I loved Rick Danko. I knew him thru Todd. He was always a gentleman, and the friendliest and most outgoing of his group, the Band. When I was working with Todd in Woodstock, I'd sometimes get to hang out with Rick. One time Todd and I went bowling with Danko and Richard Manuel in a very tight bowling contest. Wow! Now, they're both dead (Danko and Manuel).
When my band was playing in Woodstock (Moogy and the Rhythm Kings) and Seigler broke his bass, Danko lent us his bass to finish the gig. A good guy. And not the shy reclusive type that so many of the band were. I mean, just talking with Garth Hudson could give him a heart attack, he's sooo shy. Tough times for Rick in recent years with his heroin bust in Japan and tremendous weight gain. He was in the middle of a tour for his first solo album in 10 years. He died in his sleep at home on break from the tour.
He's up in Rock and Roll heaven, harmonizing with all the greats.
Goodbye, buddy.
Moogy
12/13/99
[Whatever happened to Kevin Ellman?]
Kevin quit Utopia to work for his father's restaurant empire, in hopes of taking it over, which I believe he has done. The chain is Beefsteak Charlie's. He was several years younger than the rest of the band, and was a child prodigy drummer. He was Bette Midler's drummer right before Utopia and played on her first album and first hits. He was probably about 18 when he did that.
I introduced Kevin to his soon to be wife at the time of Utopia. She had a kid, and he just felt he'd make more money with Dad. (Utopia was not a good paying gig at the time)..... I used him on one of my sessions in the eighties. I had to go to his office and talk him into doing it. He still sounded great but had no interest in playing anymore. Drums was his life and one day he just quit music at the height of his musical success and musical skills...... and he never looked back.....fool, that he was.
Moogy
12/26/00
Well, Meatloaf's book was a bit abbreviated and left out the Moogman........ but, Steinman describes how I was hanging out with him and the Meatman, and then brought down Todd R. to check them out. Someone sent me this link to a Meatloaf/Steinman page.
Moogy
http://www.jimsteinman.com/20featr.htm
1/5/00
I think "War Babies" was pretty groundbreaking. Hall & Oats did it with TR at secret sound right after AWATS........... Todd thought so, too. So did Atlantic. They dropped Hall and Oats right after the album came out.
Moogy
1/14/00
Todd and I did a session with Steve Cropper while we were on tour with Utopia back in the seventies. It was for a Yvonne Elliman album. Cropper was producing it. I think the song we did TR's "sweeter memories". Yvonne Elliman had a song on the "Saturday nite fever" soundtrack, and also sang in Eric Clapton's band for a while. Anybody have the record we did?
Moogy
1/18/00
[What do you remember about playing in Philly in 1973 with the first Utopia (with you, the Sales brothers, Frog Labat, Dave Mason, & Todd)? Please explain the fiasco behind the guitar amps not working, & the special effect flashbulbs not going off. Failing in Todd's hometown..., was this the worst gig?]
Moogy and the Rhythm Kings were out on tour promoting my Capitol album at the time Todd was having his problems with the first Utopia. I can't fill in the details cause I wasn't there. When TR came off his bomb tour and I came off my bomb tour, we joined forces and the next incarnation of Utopia was born. The only hold over from the 1st Utopia being M. Frog, to the deep regret of Ralph, Seigler and myself.
Moogy
1/19/00
[When you first met Todd, it was just after the breakup of the Nazz & this whole incident of failed management & unrequited love with Kurland. Has Todd ever eloborated on any of this to you? I'm not diggin' for dirt, in as much as trying to understand the effect it had on Todd's persona, & his future business relations.]
You got it wrong, Vaultman...... I meet Todd while the Nazz was still together and used to go to their house in Great Neck and jam with them and hang out with Todd. They were pretty isolated out there in my home town, and I had moved out a few years earlier, living in Greenwich Village at the time.
They had their gear set up in the basement, and we'd jam a little blues, but they weren't really a jam or blues band, were they? They were a quiet bunch, and I couldn't believe they took their record advance money and rented a house in Great Neck, since all of us Great Neck musicians and artistic types were moving to the city and were happy to get out of there. Except for Andy Kaufman, who lived in Great Neck with his parents til the age of 28.
So, occasionally I'd go back to Great Neck and hang out either with Andy at his house or Todd and the Nazz at their house. Kaufman and Rundgren didn't meet till years later though, when they both played with me at Max's Kansas City.
I never heard anything at all over my years with Todd about any details concerning Kurland's death, And if Kurland had a crush on TR, I wouldn't blame it on Todd. Many people have fallen in love with him over the years, just from hearing his music.
About Kurland being heartbroken over Todd and committing suicide because of it. This is all news to me and sounds untrue on the face of it. Do you have any proof of these lurid allegations, and if you do, shouldn't you keep them to yourself?
Moogy
1/19/00
[...is this because he (M. Frog) was not a player, but a knob twiddler? He always looked more like a prop to me anyway.]
He looked like a prop, but acted like an obnoxious drunk. His only job was to add weird overtones to TR's guitar...a job that could and was also taken care of with guitar pedals. TR was very upset when the rest of the band came together and asked Todd to fire the Frog. Todd was very loyal to Frog, but the frogman was mostly out of control and often nasty, and made enemies of the rest of the band. Without exception, all other Utopia members (both bands) were great musicians and serious, cooled out, people. When Roger and John Wilcox joined the band, I was always impressed not just by their musicianship, but by their seriousness of purpose and sweetness as people. They were real nice guys.
Moogy
2/5/00
[Just picked up "Johnny Winter and" today. Vinyl $1.95 pristine condition 2nd song on side A written by Mark Klingman.]
And Klingman plays piano on "Kindness" and organ on "No Time to Live". Uncredited, unfortunately. I yelled at Rick for not giving me my credits for playing on the album, but it was too late to do anything about it.
Moogy