John Siegler (Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Hall & Oates)

By Tom Semioli

For a time, he was the “&” in Darryl Hall & John Oates! His impressive body of work on stage and on record traverses pop, rock, funk, fusion, jazz and rhythm & blues and permutations thereof.

 

A prolific studio ace, sideman, composer John Siegler waxed sides with artists including Todd Rundgren and Utopia, the aforementioned Daryl Hall & John Oates, Bette Midler, Desmond Child, Edgar Winter, Cher, Roger Daltrey, Rick Derringer, Meat Loaf, Tim Curry, Air, and Moogy Klingman, among others. Siegler’s main weapon of choice was a Fender Jazz bass (which he still plays) with the bridge pick-up tweaked ever-so-slightly to afford a biting tone ala Jaco, which was rather vogue in the late ’70s – early ’80s. 

 

Nowadays John composes, arranges, and appears on soundtracks for film, television, and advertisements and plays select gigs at The Bitter End.

 

 

John Siegler Sound & Vision:

 

Air “Man Is Free” https://youtu.be/80lElVCVA8A

 

Todd & Utopia:

 

“Freak Parade” https://youtu.be/DitwakvT7hw

 

“Another Life” https://youtu.be/68CszREd_rY

 

(Reunion) “Lady Face” https://youtu.be/nWupBsiOom0

 

(Reunion) “The Ikon” https://youtu.be/OeFkydP5PFs

 

John’s and performance speech at The Bitter End memorial concert for Utopia keyboardist  Moogy Clingman  – performing “A Dream Goes On Forever” along with The Utopians Kasim Sulton, Jesse Gress, Daryl Tookes, Curtis King, and Julie Eigenberg https://youtu.be/_adj3LnbVQM

 

Darryl Hall & John Oates:

 

“Can’t Stop the Music” https://youtu.be/dSBZtisVJaA

 

“Beanie G and the Rose Tattoo” https://youtu.be/iSoK8Khy6A4

 

“You Make My Dreams Come True” https://youtu.be/EErSKhC0CZs

 

KYBP Adjunct Professor Tony Senatore’s renditions of John with DH & JO:

 

 “Your Imagination” https://youtu.be/Uy7myz5KwW8

 

“Looking for a Good Sign” https://youtu.be/XT3NBHSNAJo

 

“Tell Me What You Want” https://youtu.be/sGe452RgVTw

 

 

Tony Sales (David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Todd Rundgren)

His overdriven, deep-in-the-pocket Bo Diddley / Armed Forces Signal Call inspired bass motif defines one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest anthems as rendered by the former James Newell Osterberg – “Lust For Life.”

 

Tony Fox Sales, son of the iconic comic Soupy, is among modern rock’s most inventive bassists. Given his show-business pedigree, Tony’s musical career took off at a relatively young age. With his drummer brother Hunt, Tony’s first band was aptly dubbed Tony and The Tigers, which featured guitarist Jon Pousette-Dart. They waxed a few singles and appeared on the Steve Allen Show, and Hullabaloo programs hosted by their dad’s famous pals.

 

At 19, Tony and Hunt anchored Todd Rundgren’s Runt ensemble, which cut two extraordinary slabs: Runt (1970) and The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (1971).

 

The Sales brothers hooked up with Iggy for Kill City (1975), Lust for Life (1977), and TV Eye (1978) and several tours with Bowie and the former Stooge.

 

Anchoring the unfairly maligned, still ahead-of-its-time Tin Machine collective with Hunt, David Bowie (sax/vocals), and virtuoso guitarist Reeves Gabrels, Tony rendered bass passages that belied harmonic tradition yet propelled the ensemble’s quirky canon by way of old school rhythm and blues phrasing throughout their triumvirate of absolutely essential releases; Tin Machine (1989), Tin Machine II (1991), and the live set Oi Vey Baby (1992).

 

Among Sales additional collaborations of note included Checqered Past with Michael Des Barres, Steve Jones, Nigel Harrison, and Clem Burke; and Hired Guns with Hunt.

 

 

Tony Sales Sound & Vision…

 

Tony & The Tigers on Hullabaloo https://youtu.be/cRQiFwYtGRk

 

Todd Rundgren: “I’m in the Clique” https://youtu.be/0KXOEn_dE9U

 

Iggy Pop:

 

“Lucky Monkeys” https://youtu.be/CAgFa1YGrN4

 

“Lust for Life” https://youtu.be/jQvUBf5l7Vw

 

“The Passenger” https://youtu.be/-fWw7FE9tTo

 

Tin Machine

 

Video Compilation https://youtu.be/3H0hS1lxq4I

 

“Baby Universal” https://youtu.be/E7q3FDDmqmA

 

“You Belong in Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/Ok5A8VoOMis

 

Checquered Past: “Underworld” https://youtu.be/xS-lbCFFZk4

 

Hired Guns:

 

“Shiftin’ Soul” https://youtu.be/oIhpY5dX8n0

 

“You Really Know How to Love” https://youtu.be/L6NQpBAL39c

 

Kasim Sulton (Utopia, Joan Jett, Meatloaf)

Courtesy of Kasim Sulton Com Courtesy of Kasim Sulton Com

Courtesy of Kasim Sulton Com

He’s the cat who laid the harmonic / rhythmic foundation whilst Marvin Lee Aday discovered “Paradise by the Dashboard Light!”

Among the most prolific and versatile bassists in the history of artform that is rock and roll, Staten Island born Kasim Sulton’s work as a sideman, arranger, educator, clinician, session player, bandmember, and musical director spans prog to pop and back again with stops along the way in theater, hard rock, fusion, folk, and blues.

A multi-instrumentalist and solo recording and performing artist, Kasim’s collaborators include Todd Rundgren with and without Utopia, Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman, Celine Dion, Tom Robinson, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger, Steve Hillage, Rick Derringer, Richie Sambora, Blue Oyster Cult, Patty Smyth, Patti Smith, New Cars, Ronnie Spector, Indigo Girls, Bonnie Tyler, Lulu, Ricky Byrd, and Steve Stevens to cite a very, very, very select few.

The consummate ensemble player and soloist, Sulton’s weapons of choice include the Fender Precision, and the Archer KS3 Signature bass, among many others. Kasim also leads a Utopia repertory ensemble aptly named “Kasim Sulton’s Utopia.”

Dig Kasim crooning with Utopia “Set Me Free” https://youtu.be/XZxHmZy-P10

Dig Kasim with Utopia live “Love is the Answer” https://youtu.be/IPDQUp_audU

Dig Kasim with Meat Loaf “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” https://youtu.be/a136H5K3OKw

Dig Kasim from his 3 slab “Clocks All Stopped” https://youtu.be/a136H5K3OKw

Dig Kasim’s Utopia “Fix Your Gaze” https://youtu.be/MfAZBQK7rKQ

Dig Kasim with Joan Jett “I Hate Myself for Loving You” https://youtu.be/bpNw7jYkbVc

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