Todd Rundgren revisits as grand marshall

IDS Why grand marshall? Who invited you?
RUNDGREN Unbelievable as it sounds, Glenn Gass did not have this idea. I believe it came from a different department and I don’t really know the genesis of why my name came up instead of anyone else’s. I’m making the optimistic assumption that there’s a soft spot for me at the University after having spent 10 days there last year and that I could maybe bring some fun to the event. I probably may be better known to the alumni as opposed to the students there because of the age difference, so maybe there’s an aspect of that as well.

IDS What does a Grand Marshall do?
RUNDGREN I can only imagine I’m riding around for a while or maybe I’m walking. I’ve never done this before. In the same spirit as when I came to Bloomington last year ostensibly to be a guest professor. I’ve never even been to college, so if I’m an alumnus of any campus it’s got to be Indiana University’s campus. It’s the only campus that I’ve been on.

IDS Do you watch college football?
RUNDGREN On occasion, but as I say, since I’m not a graduate of any particular college, I don’t know who to follow or who to root for. I know it’s a pretty complex kind of thing to keep track of because of all the different divisions and stuff like that, so I can’t say I’m an authority on college football.

IDS What did you enjoy most about your visit to IU last year?
RUNDGREN I never really attended college, and I just sort of enjoyed wandering around the campus in part because of the architectural splendor that’s in evidence throughout. Not a lot of campuses have their own quarry to build from, so the Indiana campus has a certain kind of thing about it. It’s like a classic campus in a world-class sense. I enjoyed my time with the students certainly — that I saw as a responsibility. And not having a lot of experience in that regard, I know that I’d spend a lot of time on preparation for the various things that I had to do and fretting over whether I was imparting any real wisdom or not.

IDS Did you ever do anything like this in high school?
RUNDGREN I was in the chorus in high school. I think it was the chorus in high school. ... It could have been the chorus in junior high school. By the time I got to high school, I was pretty much an outsider and my grades wouldn’t allow me to take part in any extracurricular activities. By the time I got to high school, I was forming my own band and doing serious gigs at frat houses and things like that. That was as close as I got to college in those days, playing frat houses.

IDS You requested the Marching Hundred play “Bang the Drum All Day.” Any particular reason?
RUNDGREN It’s got a reputation as a sports anthem, and indeed, a lot of people know the song but don’t know who actually recorded it. So, it seemed like kind of a goof for me to get out there and conduct the song, even though we only did a few measures of it, really. I think the plan is that during the pep rally after the parade, we’re going to try to do a full version of it.

IDS Is that the only song you’ll be conducting, or will you do more?
RUNDGREN I don’t know that there’s going to be any more. I don’t have a whole suitcase full of sport anthems. I think that’s the only reason the band knows the song, because it’s associated with sporting events.

IDS Is there any particular song you associate with marching bands?
RUNDGREN I’ve almost come to associate “Bang the Drum,” myself, with sporting events. I very rarely perform it live anymore because, well, in my mind it’s sort of an ordeal to get through because I usually do have to play some drums on it, and I just get completely worn out by the end it. I imagine for me it’s going to be a lot more fun conducting it because I don’t have to make the physical commitment.

IDS Any current projects that you’re working on?
RUNDGREN I’m sort of between projects. I’m doing a lot of touring now. When I get to Indiana, I’ll be in transit on my way to New York to rehearse with Utopia for about a three-week tour that we’re doing in November. Hopefully that will be the last touring I have to do this year. I know that we’re already starting to book things out for next year. 

IDS How long will you be in town?
RUNDGREN Mere hours, actually. I’ve got to get to New York the day after the march and pep rally.

IDS Is there anything that you wanted to do at IU last year that you didn’t get a chance to do?
RUNDGREN I was surprised by the number of things I did get to do. There were all sorts of events put together for me to participate in. My days were pretty full, and I was enjoying myself the entire time. I suppose the only thing I didn’t do while I was there was it was Halloween and I didn’t get any trick-or-treating in. I did see people in their costumes, so that was fun.