The New Cars to Perform Nov. 13 in CFA

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present The New Cars on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North Amherst Campus. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Sept. 23.

Let the good times roll… again. This ain't your father's automobile, or your older brother's for that matter, but The New Cars, comprised of original members of The Cars.  Joining Elliot Easton on guitar and Greg Hawkes on keyboards, will be an all-star group of rockers in Todd Rundgren and Prairie Prince, former drummer for The Tubes.  Each shares a passion for recreating the ground breaking music of The Cars, one of the most successful (and influential) bands of the "new wave" era.

Expect to hear all of The Cars' big hits in concert, as well as some of Todd's material, and several of the new songs the band has already recorded. "This is The New Cars," insists Easton. "We didn't want to just find ringers for Ric and Ben, trot out the hits and play the casino and state fair circuit. Greg and I dedicated our professional lives to establishing The Cars' stylized sound and innovative approach to rock music."

The addition of Todd Rundgren, a celebrated performer, songwriter, producer and technology groundbreaker (with hits like "I Saw the Light," "Hello It's Me," "Can We Still Be Friends" and "Bang the Drum" to his credit) is particularly exciting, as is the involvement of Prairie Prince, who embarked on a staggering 15 world tours in his career with pop rock group The Tubes and recorded albums with a variety of rock's most notable musicians -- seven of them with Rundgren himself.

The Cars' initial success was immediate. The Boston-based group's demo version of "Just What I Needed" was the first single from the band's debut album, The Cars, which reached #3 on the Billboard Pop album chart in 1978, producing further hits, "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Good Times Roll." A string of smash albums and singles followed. The 1979 sophomore release, Candy-O, went Top 20, producing the hits "It's All I Can Do" and "Let's Go." Panorama, in 1980, cracked the Top 5 on the strength of the hit single "Touch and Go," while the Top 10 release Shake It Up produced the title track hit and "Since You're Gone" in 1981.

It has been 17 years since The Cars last toured. Since then, bassist Benjamin Orr passed away from cancer, and, despite discussions, lead singer Ric Ocasek and drummer David Robinson have decided not to participate in a reunion. But The Cars' material has remained popular to this day, both on radio and on national commercials such as the current Circuit City television campaign featuring "Just What I Needed."

Tickets for The New Cars are $41 and $36. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.