>Ric Ocasek
PARKED CARS Has it really been eight years since the Cars turned off their engines? "It seems like it was only a year ago," says former lead singer Ric Ocasek, 46, now a solo artist and producer who lives in Manhattan with his wife, model Paulina Porizkova, and their son Jonathan, 2. For fans who want to relive those glory years between 1977 and 1987, Rhino Records has released a two-CD set Just What I Needed.
Did the Cars quit at the right time?
We had wiped ourselves out touring all those years. We didn't want to get redundant. It was a good spot to leave at. We hadn't done anything too bad yet.
Will you have a reunion?
There are still personal problems that keep us from being able to do that—we couldn't get all five of us to agree on what to do. I want to have fun, not fight about how many songs I write versus how many someone else does.
What kinds of bands do you like to produce?
I get tapes from people who sound like the Cars, but that's not what I want to do. I prefer unknown bands. That's where the creativity comes from. Why should I do somebody's sixth record? They know what they sound like by then.
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