Todd Rundgren

Some thoughts on on Todd Rundgren’s early history (by Mike Rosenstark):

When I got to college, it seemed like all the musicians I respected all loved Utopia; specifically their last studio album, POV. There are about half a dozen songs on there that are among the best songs ever written: Play This Game, Mystified, More Light, Zen Machine…even Mimi Gets Mad kills me every time. It’s a combination of the songwriting, recorded performances, arrangements….but above all that it’s the production techniques and the vocal polish that set the standard for the era. Ever wonder why Bat Out Of Hell is such an incredible record? Todd Rundgren and most of Utopia played on & produced it.

Who would have the stones to put the entire mix through a flanger? Todd Rundgren. Who zillion-tracked vocals before it was even popular? Todd & Utopia. And on and on.

Todd Rundgren at Revolution Live in 2009

Todd’s got an amazing career as a writer, producer and performer (extensive Wikipedia article here). So it was an amazing day in June 2013 when Todd got in touch to ask about Song Pointer Position (implemented in MIDI Designer 1.5.3).

Todd Rundgren: Latest Tour Information

Todd’s MIDI Designer Rig, July 2013

Todd’s using MIDI Designer to control Reason in a live setting, along with a 23″ HP Touchscreen. We asked Todd for some screenshots, not knowing what to expect. He provided these four screenshots while on tour in Australia. As anyone can see, MIDI Designer is a fundamental piece of Todd Rundgren’s live rig. He’s spent lots of time, probably months, building his rig. He probably knows MIDI Designer forwards and backwards, too.