Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek (born Richard T Otcasek on March 23, 1949) is an American musician and music producer. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Bowling Green State University. He is the former vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Cars. He has been a producer for several other groups including Weezer, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and Suicide.

Solo music career

The singer released his first solo album in 1982. Beatitude is a somewhat more experimental variation of The Cars' New Wave rock sound. A more synthesizer-heavy follow up, This Side Of Paradise, was released in 1986. A #15 hit single, "Emotion in Motion", accompanied the album.

The Cars split in 1988, and Ocasek disappeared from the public eye for a couple of years, resurfacing in 1990 with Fireball Zone. One track, "Rockaway", enjoyed a brief stay on the charts, but his solo albums have seen disappointing sales, especially compared to his success with the Cars. He subsequently released other solo works throughout the decade, including 1993's Quick Change World, 1996's Getchertikitz (a collaboration with Suicide's Alan Vega), and 1997's Billy Corgan-produced Troublizing (which Ocasek supported with a very brief tour, his first since leaving the Cars). In 2005, Ocasek released another album, Nexterday, to little fanfare, but positive reviews.

Producing

Ocasek has produced many records, both while working with The Cars and since then, such as Bad Brains' Rock for Light and Guided by Voices' Do the Collapse. His other production credits include Weezer's Blue Album & Green Album (both multi-platinum), Suicide, Hole, Bebe Buell, No Doubt, The Killers, Nada Surf, Irish folk-punk band Black 47, Bad Religion, Johnny Bravo, D Generation, The Wannadies, Possum Dixon, Martin Rev, Jonathan Richman, and most recently the 2006 album by The Pink Spiders titled Teenage Graffiti. He also produced a portion of the third Motion City Soundtrack album, Even If It Kills Me.

Work in other media

Ocasek wrote a book of poetry, 1993's Negative Theatre. It was at one time expected to be incorporated into an album and multimedia incarnation of the same name, but these plans were dropped abruptly.

File:OcasekColbert.JPG

Stephen Colbert enlists the help of The Cars' lead singer Ric Ocasek, to help rescue Stephen Jr.

For many years Ocasek had a side hobby of making drawings, photo collages, and mixed-media art works which, in 2009, were shown at a gallery in his home town of Columbus, Ohio.

Ocasek had a cameo role in the John Waters feature film Hairspray, and had a bit part in the 1987 movie Made in Heaven in which he played a mechanic.

Ocasek stated in a 2005 interview on Rockline that he hated touring and it was unlikely that he would do so again. He also stated he would not be reuniting with The Cars again, but gave the okay to his former fellow bandmates to do so with Todd Rundgren replacing him on vocals (the resulting band is called The New Cars).

The Colbert Report

On April 17, 2006, Ocasek appeared on The Colbert Report and volunteered to put Todd Rundgren "on notice." He appeared again on the July 26, 2006, episode to cheers from the audience as he volunteered to lead a commando mission to "rescue" Stephen Jr., the baby eagle at the San Francisco Zoo named after Stephen Colbert. He also appeared again on April 18, 2007, in order to support his wife during her appearance. He has been mentioned many times in other episodes as well.

Personal life

Ocasek has been married to supermodel/actress Pavlína Pořízková since 1989. Two previous marriages ended in divorce. He has six sons, two from each of his three marriages. He met Pořízková while filming the music video for The Cars' song "Drive" (directed by Timothy Hutton), while he was still married to his second wife Suzanne Ocasek.

Albums

1. Beatitude (1982 Geffen Records)
2. This Side of Paradise (1986 Geffen Records)
3. Fireball Zone (1991 Reprise Records)
4. Quick Change World (1993 Reprise Records)
5. Negative Theater (1993 Warner EU; European release only)
6. Getchertikitz (1996 Sound Effects)
7. Troublizing (1997 Sony Entertainment)
8. Nexterday (2005 Sanctuary / Inverse)

Singles

Year	Song	Australia	Canada	US Hot 100	US MSR	US A.C.	US Dance	Album
1983	"Something to Grab For"	-	-	47	5	-	-	Beatitude
1983	"Jimmy Jimmy"	-	-	-	25	-	60	Beatitude
1983	"Connect Up to Me"	-	-	-	-	-	37	Beatitude
1986	"Emotion in Motion"	8	18	15	1	8	-	This Side of Paradise
1986	"True to You"	100	-	75	9	-	-	This Side of Paradise
1991	"Rockaway"	-	46	-	11	-	-	Fireball Zone

External links

• Ric Ocasek Official website
• Ric Ocasek VH1 Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek AOL Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek Billboard Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek Allmusic Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek at IMDb

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