Issue: May 18, 2000
Entertainment Editors
NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 18, 2000
Outdoor "Late Show" Performance Set for Tuesday
Melisma/Lava/Atlantic recording artist matchbox twenty hits the road this week for their first tour since 1998, as fan expectation mounts for next Tuesday's (May 23rd) release of the band's eagerly awaited second album, "mad season by matchbox twenty." The special, sold-out 13-city North American club itinerary - a preview of the band's major venue tour later this year - kicks off with a sold-out show tomorrow night in Atlanta, Georgia.
"First and foremost, we wanted to premiere the new album for our fans in an intimate setting," said matchbox twenty's Rob Thomas. "It creates a great vibe when the audience can be close to us and really see and feel what's happening on stage. And the truth is that we need to feel that vibe as much as the audience does, so these shows are as much for us as they are for them. We feed off that energy and build on the feedback they give us, and in the long run, I think it'll make our big shows that much more powerful."
"mad season by matchbox twenty" - the band's first album since their 1996 RIAA Diamond-certified label debut, "YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU" - finds the group teamed once again with dual Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Serletic. Recorded in Atlanta and Nashville during the second half of 1999, "mad season by matchbox twenty" spotlights the fast emerging creative talents of three-time Grammy Award winner Rob Thomas, the group's singer and central songwriter, along with the musical growth of his bandmates: guitarists Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor, drummer Paul Doucette, and bassist Brian Yale.
"Bent," the album's first single, is building at multiple pop, rock, and alternative radio outlets, following an across-the-board #1 most-added debut at six different formats. The companion video can be seen on MTV, VH1, and The Box. The clip made its debut as the #6 most-requested video on MTV's Total Request Live, to which the band will make a special visit on May 25th at 3:30PM (EST).
On Tuesday, the album's street date, the quintet returns to Late Show With David Letterman, where they will perform a live mini-concert on an outdoor stage on West 53rd Street in New York City. The previous night, May 22nd, the band takes to the internet at 7:00 PM (EST) for an live international AOL webchat with fans (keyword: Live).
Following their North American club tour, matchbox twenty is slated to travel to Europe for an extensive promotional tour in support of the new album.