Public Access interview backstage on POV Tour



The Scene: Utopia are tired and irritable and are being interviewed backstage at the Memorial Colleseum in Fort Wayne on the 21/04/85 by someone who knows almost nothing about them. The chaos ensued...



Host: We're backstage with Utopia. Welcome to Ft. Wayne.

Todd: Chuffed to be here

Host: I understand you have a long bus trip back here. [Todd looks confused]

Willie: It was short one for us, ussually they're four and a half to five hour trips but today it's a measly three hours.

Host: OK. My first question going out to Todd Rundgren.

[Todd and Roger look around for 'Todd Rundgren']

Host: Tell us briefly about your days with Nazz.

Todd: Briefly. The days were...those were the days. Ambrosia filled days of hippy lifestyle. Wine,Women and song. And then...here I am now [laughs]

Kas: Oh woe is me. [all laugh]

Host: how long has Utopia been together?

Todd: In this configuration about nine or ten years.

Roger: Eleven.

Todd: [to Roger] In this configuration?

Roger: Yeh, I joined in 1974.

Todd: Well, what configurtion was that? Was that twelve b?

Roger: THIS configuration.

Todd: This configuration?

Roger: Oh, you mean with these guys?

Todd: Yeh.

Roger: Oh, that's different.

Willie: Nine and three quarter years.

Kas: Actually it'll be nine this April, can we get off the subject?

Host: Tell us about your new album and your decision to go with a new record label.

Todd: This is not a new record label for us actually, this is the second time we've been on this so-called label. Utopia records distributed by Passport distributed by Gem.

Kas: Germ.

Willie: The name of the new album is POV

Todd: What else can we say about it?

Roger: We could quote the Wall Street Journal.

Todd: Yeh, we could.

Roger: They said it's the best record you'll never hear.

Host: Why's that?

Roger: Oh, there's a lot of reasons.

Todd: The government is trying to supress the distribution of our record 'cos were so popular in the comunist world.

Host: There's still a blacklist in effect.

Todd: Joe McCarthy is gone but not forgotten.

Host: How do you feel about videos and the directionthese days?

Todd: This is a subject we could really talk for hours aout.

Willie: But we just don't ahve the time.

Todd: I'm affraid we cant. Thy suck, whadaya want? [laughs] They're commercials. If you're into commercials.

Host: Do you have any control over your creativity, I've talked to bands in the past who say they have no say in videos.

Willie: We have full control of creativity, we just don't have full control of the money.

Host: Like the budget?

Willie: Yeh.

Roger: Or having a budget at all.

Host: The videos I've seen of your band have been so spectacularly done.

Todd: Some of 'em have high production values, unfortunately we don't work within the standard superstructure - mutual masturbation of record company and MTV - that kindof thing. So it doesn't do us a lot of good to spend a lot of money on videos - I don't know that it does anybody a lot of good - the whole idea is just to be seen.

Host: What about the road. What kind of conditioning does Utopia go through before going on tour?

Todd: We have a diet. Two weeks before the tour we all eat nothing but bananas and mothers milk. It's hard to find enough mothers actully to satisfy us for that one or two week period.

Roger: We run forty fifty miles a day.

Willie: Then when we're really in top shape we abuse ourselves for the week previous to the tour so that we're ready for the real world.

Todd: We stay up 'til seven at night.

Willie: That's when the real road work begins.

Todd: You know how it is, you news guys have the same thing.

Roger: It's all showbiz, you know?

Todd: All those news groupies following you around, keeping you up all hours and sticking wierd chemicalsin your body and sexually titilating parts of your anatomy that you never knew existed.

Willie: Stop it you're turning me on.

[at this point Vince Welnick of the Tubes starts playing a sound check outside really loudly]

Host: Can you tell us about the songs on the new album?

Todd: I wonder if I could [refering to the noise]

Todd: [shouting] Any song in particular that you wanna know about?

Host: Tell us about the new album generally.

Todd: You're not prepared here. You should have listened to the albu,. That way you'd have specific questions. There is a ten thousand dollar prize burried somewhere int he United States and YOU haven't listened to the record and YOU'LL never find it. Why should we give it away for nothing?

Host: Tell us about the title.

Todd: POV - Personally Owned Vehicle.

Willie: Punks On Valium

Kas: Prince Of Valhalla

Todd: A Parcell Of Virgins.

Kas: POV can mean anything.

Willie: Yeh, it's open to interpretation. It's original meaning was Persistance Of Vision and then it grew into anything you want it to be.

Todd: Any number of deeply meaningless interperatations.

Host: Deeply Meaningless?

Todd: Yeh.

Kas: Meeply Deamingless.

Host: A lot of bands, when they're on the road, tell some of their nightmare stories and some of thier happy suprises...

Todd: [quietly] happy suprises!

Host: ...I'm sure you're not exempt from this.

Roger: Here's mine [meaning the interview]

Todd: This is it!

Kas: Welcome to our nightmare.

Todd: Theres the one about riding the bus and then waking up thinking you're in the hotel with an earthquake going on, or a tornado.

Willie: I had an earthquake dream lasst night actually.

Todd: Did you?

Willie: I was at your place, actually, we were remodling outside.

Todd: Remodling my house?

Willie: See we were doing some remodling then the earth started trembling and it opened up and then a new pool was formed, it was a very natural looking pool.

Todd: Crystal Clear?

Willie: It was really clear.

Todd: And kind of lush mountain greenery around it.

Willie: But I got trapped inside the darkness when the stuff started coming in and it was really strange.

Todd: The earth was shaking. And your mind was quaking.

Willie: And you were screaming.

Todd: And we aint faking. And you shook me all night long.

Willie: Baby [note: The above are lyrics from an AC/DC song]

Host: As a producer are there any bands that you'd like to work with. You worked with The Tubes and several other bands, are there any bands that you haven't worked with that you'd like to?

Todd: The Brandenburgh Quartet. Boston Pops. Did I leave anybody out?

Willie: You should sign that guy out there [meaning Vince Welnick]

Todd: The road cast of Godspell.

Kas: Julio Anglasias.

Todd: Julio Anglasias.

Kas: Tom Jones

Todd: Julio Anglasias and Wendy Williams duo record.

Roger: You got Beatlemania, you did them.

Todd: I did Beatlemania, that was kind of like a highwater mark in my career - everythings kind of down hill after that. I got to work with the almost Beatles.

Host: Bootlegging is getting very sophisticated, they can get around any security now adays...

Todd: What's he talking about? T-Shirts?

Host: T-shirts, recordings, almost anything.

Kas: People.

Willie: If we get bootlegging it'll help us out because we'll get better distribution.

Roger: Couldn't hurt.

Todd: Couldn't hurt us - we are turning over such millions of dollars that the bootlegging just doesn't effect us. We are burning money at this point to keep it away from Uncle Sam so it's no effevt on us whaterver.

Host: What are some of the dreams Utopia have?

Todd: The dreams...

Willie: We already told him one.

Roger: The dreams, The fears...

Host: Dreams thatyou wanna see come true for the band.

Roger: Fresh orange juide.

Todd: Yeh, they tried to give us carton orange juide with fresh orange juice on top of it and that's a nightmare.

Kas: We all knew immediately.

Todd: Dreams for the band? Dreams folks, are we serious,

Roger: Dreams for everyone.

Todd: I think we all wanna come off this tour with our hearing intact,

Willie: Hu?

Todd: Most of us wanna come off tour with our hearing intact.

Kas: What?

Roger: What?

Todd: I'd like to come off tour with what's left of my hearing intact. I'm sorry I didn't hear the question. What was it?

Roger: He [meaning interviewer] wasn't listening.

[Todd cough loudly]

Host: What advise would you give to people who really want to get into the business.

Todd: Don't quit your day job!

Roger: It's a jungle out there.

Todd: It's a jungle out there so bring your pith helmet.

Kas: And Elephant gun.

Todd: We've been in this business for twelve years, we know just what an ugly thing the underbelly of this unwashed animal we call the music business... exactly what it's reeking of.

Host: Utopia's been through a lot, you've been around for a long time.

Todd: We've been around.

Roger: And we don't care who we step on on the way down.

Host: Can't be that bad.

Todd: Oh, can't be THAT bad Roger!

Roger: Can it?

Host: Any closing comments.

Todd: Close encounters? Oh closing comments.

Willie: Closing Comments of the closing kind.

Todd: You are gonna edit this right?

Host: No.

Todd: No edit. Oh, this is public access television, I forgot. Are you gonna run a disclaimer? Put it on after midnight so young kids can't see it.

Todd: Closing comments are... [pause]

Todd: Can we leave? [all laugh]

Host: Gentlemen, thankyou.

Todd: We have a soundcheck to do.

Kas: We're really tired actually, that's why we're funny right now.

Todd: We're punchy.

Host: And the heat doesn't help?

Todd: No, it's cool in here actually, compared to last night.

Host: What was it like?

Willie: A very warm theatre.

Todd: Ah but we digress, on to the soundcheck.