Ric Ocasek
Background information
Born	March 23, 1949 (1949-03-23) (age 59) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Genre(s)	New Wave Pop-rock
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1976 – present
Label(s)	Elektra Records
Associated acts	The Cars

Ric Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek on March 23, 1949, in Baltimore, Maryland) is the former vocalist and frontman for The Cars and a producer for several other groups including Weezer, Bad Brains, No Doubt, Guided by Voices, and Suicide. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other New Wave is a Rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the 1980s Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Events January-February January 5 - Bob Dylan releases Desire January 6 - Peter Frampton In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Weezer (ˈwizɚ is an American Alternative rock band from Los Angeles California formed in 1992 Bad Brains are an American Hardcore punk band formed in Washington D No Doubt is a rock band from Anaheim California, United States founded in 1986 Guided by Voices (often abbreviated as GBV) was an American Indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Suicide is an American Rock music group intermittently active since 1971 and composed of Alan Vega ( Vocals) and Martin Rev ( Synthesizers

Solo music career

The singer released his first solo album in 1982. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Beatitude is a somewhat more experimental variation of The Cars' New Wave rock sound. New Wave is a Rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the 1980s A more synthesizer-heavy follow up, This Side Of Paradise, was released in 1986. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) 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. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) 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). Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Alan Vega (born Alan Bermowitz) is the vocalist for 1970s and 80s No wave duo Suicide. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar William Patrick Corgan Jr (born March 17, 1967 in Elk Grove Village Illinois) is an American Singer, Songwriter, In 2005, Ocasek released another album, Nexterday, to little fanfare but positive reviews. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

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. The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s Bad Brains are an American Hardcore punk band formed in Washington D Rock for Light is the second official full-length album by Hardcore punk pioneers Bad Brains. Guided by Voices (often abbreviated as GBV) was an American Indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Do the Collapse is the 11th album by Dayton Ohio Indie rock group Guided by Voices. 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. Weezer (ˈwizɚ is an American Alternative rock band from Los Angeles California formed in 1992 Weezer, often referred to as " The Blue Album " is the debut album by the American Alternative rock band Weezer. Weezer is the third album by the American Alternative rock band Weezer. Suicide is an American Rock music group intermittently active since 1971 and composed of Alan Vega ( Vocals) and Martin Rev ( Synthesizers Hole was an American Alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1989 and disbanded in 2002 Bebe Buell (born Beverle Lorence Buell on July 14, 1953, in Portsmouth Virginia) is an American model and singer No Doubt is a rock band from Anaheim California, United States founded in 1986 The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas Nevada. Formed in 2002 the group consists of Brandon Flowers ( vocals, keyboards Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Nada Surf is an American Alternative rock band Formed in 1992 the New York band consists of Matthew Caws ( Guitar, vocals Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Based in New York City Black 47 is a Celtic rock band made up of Irish expatriates formed in The Bronx by Larry Kirwan and Chris Bad Religion is an American Punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass Greg Graffin (vocals Brett Johnny Bravo is an American animated series created by Van Partible. D Generation (also known as DGen) were a Glam punk band formed in 1991 in New York City. The Wannadies are an Alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Skellefteå, northern Sweden. Possum Dixon (1989-1999 was an American Alternative rock band Martin Rev (full name Martin Reverby) is the instrumentalist from New York punk-era electronic band Suicide. Jonathan Richman (born 16 May 1951) is an American singer songwriter and guitarist The Pink Spiders are an American Pop rock band from Nashville Tennessee, that formed in 2003 Teenage Graffiti is the third release by the band The Pink Spiders and the band's major label debut He also produced a portion of the third Motion City Soundtrack album, Even If It Kills Me. Motion City Soundtrack is a rock band based in America. The band formed in Minneapolis Minnesota, in 1997 with only two of the founding members still Even If It Kills Me is the third studio album by American Pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, released on September 18,

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. Multimedia is media and content that utilizes a combination of different content forms.

Stephen Colbert enlists the help of The Cars' lead singer Ric Ocasek, to help rescue Stephen Jr. Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( born May 13 1964 is an American Comedian, satirist, Actor and Writer, known for his ironic style

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. A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the Performing arts, such as John Samuel Waters Jr (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, Actor, Writer, Celebrity, Hairspray is a 1988 comedy written and directed by John Waters. A mechanic is a person who uses Tools to repair things (generally machinery or works to keep things operating properly

Ocasek was also an editor and major contibutor 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 Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American Musician The New Cars are a supergroup formed around members of the popular 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars.

The Colbert Report

On April 17, 2006, Ocasek appeared on The Colbert Report and volunteered to put Rundgren "on notice," an action done tongue-in-cheek, like everything else on the show. The Colbert Report (/kolˈbɛr rəˈpɔr/&mdashthe t is silent in "Colbert" is a Peabody Award and Emmy Award winning American 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. Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( born May 13 1964 is an American Comedian, satirist, Actor and Writer, known for his ironic style 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. A supermodel is a highly-paid élite fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in Haute couture and commercial modeling An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Paulina Porizkova (born Pavlína Pořízková ˈpavlina ˈpor̝iskova April 9 1965 is a Czech -born Super model and actress Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) 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. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics "Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit Timothy T Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American Academy Award -winning Actor. 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. Events 1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Phoenix is the name of several Alternative weekly Newspapers published by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston "

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. Getchertikitz (1996 Sound Effects)
6. Troublizing (1997 Sony Entertainment)
7. Nexterday (2005 Sanctuary / Inverse)

Singles

External links

• Ric Ocasek Official website
• Ric Ocasek VH1 Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek AOL Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek Billboard Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek All Music Guide Artist Page
• Ric Ocasek at the Internet Movie Database