Courtesy of Hunter Paye; © 2018 Lynn GoldsmithTodd Rundgren lends his guitar and vocal talents to “People,” a song by Utopia touring keyboardist Gil Assayas, who records under the moniker GLASYS. The track gets its exclusive premiere today via ABC Radio, and will officially be released on Thursday, July 25.
“People” blends of spacey electronic keyboards and beats, with melodic vocals and rock guitars.
“The inspiration for this song is human nature,” says Assayas, “and more specifically the way we humans are never truly satisfied with what we have and are always chasing something ‘better’ in life, be it success, more money, a new car, a relationship, etc.”
Gil was hired to play keyboards on the reunion tour that Todd’s old band Utopia mounted last year after the group’s founding keyboard player, Ralph Schuckett, was forced to bow out because of health reasons.
Rundgren tells ABC Radio that, leading up to rehearsals for the tour, Assayas quickly proved that he could handle some of Utopia’s most complex material.
“He was doing stuff that was from, like, the original band where we had three keyboard players,” Todd recalls. “He’s playing it all himself, ’cause he didn’t know there were three keyboard players. And at that point…we’re all like, ‘Wow!’ breathing a sigh of relief, because we know, even though he had…about a week or so before we were starting rehearsals, that he was gonna have it covered.’ And he did.”
“People” will appear on GLASYS’ debut full-length album, Defective Humanity, which will be released on August 2.
Regarding Rundgren’s contributions to the track, Gil says, “He recorded some great vocals, new harmonies and an awesome guitar solo that took the song to a new level. I’m extremely grateful for his support and really happy with the results.”
Here are GLASYS’ upcoming concerts:
7/27 — Portland, OR, The Jack London Revue
8/2 — Seattle, WA, Sunset Tavern
8/10 — Los Angeles, CA, The Hotel Cafe
8/13 — San Francisco, CA, Hotel Utah Saloon
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