Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ric Ocasek



Background = solo_singer
Born = birth date and age|1949|3|23
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Genre = New Wave
Pop-rock

Instrument = Vocals, Guitar
Years_active = 1976 – present
Label = Elektra Records
Associated_acts = The Cars
URL =

Ric Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek on March 23, 1949, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American musician. He is the former vocalist and frontman for The Cars. He has been a producer for several other groups including
Weezer, Bad Brains, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and Suicide.

olo 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, punk-poppers 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 has also written 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.

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 was also an editor and major contributor to the magazine "Fangoria", a cult horror b-movie fanzine.

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 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 married supermodel/actress Paulina Porizkova in 1989, his third marriage, the first two ending in divorce. He has six sons, two from each of his three marriages. He met Porizkova 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. Porizkova was only 19 at the time of the 1984 meeting, and they have been together ever since.

On April 18 2006, he was ranked number 50 in The Boston Phoenix list of "The 100 unsexiest men in the world."

Albums

# "Beatitude" (1982 Geffen Records)
# "This Side of Paradise" (1986 Geffen Records)
# "Fireball Zone" (1991 Reprise Records)
# "Negative Theater (1993 Warner EU European release only
# "Quick Change World" (1993 Reprise Records)
# "Getchertikitz" (1996 Sound Effects)
# "Troublizing" (1997 Sony Entertainment)
# "Nexterday" (2005 Sanctuary / Inverse)

ingles

External links

* [http://www.ricocasek.com/ Ric Ocasek Official website]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ocasek_ric/artist.jhtml Ric Ocasek VH1 Artist Page]
* [http://music.aol.com/artist/ric-ocasek/5058/main Ric Ocasek AOL Artist Page]
* [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=5337 Ric Ocasek Billboard Artist Page]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aiftxqr5ld6e~T0 Ric Ocasek All Music Guide Artist Page]
*


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  • Ric Ocasek — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Ric Ocasek (23 de marzo de 1949, Baltimore, EE. UU.). Fue el vocalista y formador del grupo new wave The Cars, además de productor para varios otros grupos, dentro de los que destacan Weezer, Nada Surf y No Doubt… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ric Ocasek — Ric Ocasek, 2009 Ric Ocasek (* 23. März 1949 in Baltimore; bürgerlich Richard Otcasek) ist ein US amerikanischer Musiker. Bekannt wurde er als Sänger der Band The Cars, die er 1976 gemeinsam mit Benjamin Orr gründete. Schon vor der Auflösung der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ric Ocasek — Ric Ocasek, né Richard Otcasek le 23 mars 1949 à Baltimore, Maryland, États Unis, est un chanteur, musicien et réalisateur. Il fut le chanteur du groupe new wave The Cars de 1976 à 1988. Il a par la suite enregistré des albums solos,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Troublizing (Ric Ocasek album) — Infobox Album | Name = Troublizing Type = Album Artist = Ric Ocasek Released = September 9, 1997 Recorded = Electric Lady Studios Genre = New Wave Length = Label = Sony Producer = Ric Ocasek, Billy Corgan Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Beatitude (Ric Ocasek album) — Infobox Album | Name = Beatitude Type = Album Artist = Ric Ocasek Released = 1982 Recorded = Electric Lady Studios Genre = New Wave Length = Label = Geffen Producer = Ric Ocasek Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg …   Wikipedia

  • This Side of Paradise (Ric Ocasek album) — Infobox Album | Name = This Side of Paradise Type = Album Artist = Ric Ocasek Released = 1986 Recorded = Electric Lady Studios, NYC Additional recording at The Woolhall, Bath The Town House, London UK Genre = New Wave Length = 50:12 Label =… …   Wikipedia

  • Quick Change World (Ric Ocasek album) — Infobox Album | Name = Quick Change World Type = Album Artist = Ric Ocasek Released = September 28, 1993 Recorded = Electric Lady Studios Genre = New Wave Length = Label = Reprise Producer = Mike Shipley, Ric Ocasek Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3|5 …   Wikipedia

  • Ocasek — may refer to: Oliver Ocasek, an American politician of the Democratic party Ric Ocasek (born 1949), an American of Czech heritage musician and music producer This page or section lists people with the surname Ocasek. If an …   Wikipedia

  • Ocasek — ist der Name folgender Personen: Karl Heinz Ocasek (* 1939), DDR Schallplattenproduzent Ric Ocasek (* 1949), US amerikanischer Musiker Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rick Ocasek — Ric Ocasek Ric Ocasek, né Richard Otcasek le 23 mars 1949 à Baltimore, Maryland, États Unis, est un chanteur, musicien et réalisateur. Il fut le chanteur du groupe new wave The Cars de 1976 à 1988. Il a par la suite enregistré des albums solos,… …   Wikipédia en Français

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