Win Two Tickets to See The New Cars and Blondie

This summer The New Cars will be hitting the road with newly-inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Blondie, and Blogcritics.org is giving you the chance to win two tickets to see the band live. Three runners-up will receive 50 free downloads from Emusic.com.

In the 17 years since we last heard from The Cars a lot has changed, but Gregg Hawkes and Elliot Easton were determined to bring the music back to the stage. Even though Benjamin Orr passed away from cancer, and Ric Ocasek and David Robinson decided not to participate in the reunion, Hawkes and Easton have realized their dream.

Joining the two founding members will be vocalist and guitar player Todd Rundegren; Utopia bassist Kasim Sulton; and Prarie Prince, former drummer for The Tubes. New and old members alike are committed to making innovative music that is still true the sound of The Cars. When asked about replacing Ocasek, Easton says, "Suffice to say, the list for lead singer was a short one and Todd was at the top of it. And we were thrilled that he was interested."

The band plans to play a balanced mix of familiar Car's favorites, some of Rundegren's material, and new songs written for an upcoming album. Easton comments,

This is the New Cars. We'll play the favorites, but eventually, we'll introduce new songs that will stand on their own merit. Go from strength to strength. We didn't want to just find ringers for Ric and Ben, trot out the hits, and play the casino and state fair circuit. We want fans to accept us as what The New Cars are today – strong artists, and artists who make it just as good as we were. Greg and I dedicated our professional lives to establishing The Cars' stylized sound and innovative approach to rock music. It's our right to carry on if we want to.

And that sound is one that was cutting edge when the emerged on the scene in the late 70's and is now classic. Current artists such as The Vines, the Killers, and Interpol openly admit to be influenced by the Car's. As well as headlining the tour with Blondie, a greatest hits collection performed by The New Cars, The New Cars: It's Alive, will be released May 9, including classic Cars songs recorded live plus never-before-released studio tracks.

Article Author: Connie Phillips

Wife, mother, aspiring novelist, and music editor at BC Magazine, Connie Phillips spends most of her time in a fantasy land of her own creating. In reality, she writes about music, television, and the process of writing, when she's not cheering on her kids at equestrian events. …

Visit Connie Phillips's author page — Connie Phillips's Blog