The first video from Dave Matthews Band’s new album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Directed by Fenton Williams and Jeff Crane the video features stop-motion animation a la Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”.
Check out the video for lead single, “Funny The Way It Is”:
Dave Matthews Band will release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the highly anticipated album following the death of band member Leroi Moore, on June 2. The album, a tribute to Leroi Moore, will be the band’s first studio album in 4 years and will include the newly released single “Funny the Way It Is”. Rolling Stone’s four star review states that Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King producer Rob Cavallo, “has brought some of the classic-rock edge of his hit records with Green Day and My Chemical Romance to Matthews arena-size spin on early-Seventies Traffic.” Those who are awaiting the album’s release on June 2 can now stream the complete album at Pandora.com.
Watch Dave Matthews Band Live on Hulu.com June 1 as they stream the band’s live in concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre. For more information on Dave Matthews Band, including tour dates, visit DaveMatthewsBand.com.
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New York (May 13, 2009) – Madison Square Garden’s national music network Fuse and MSG Entertainment today announced they will present Dave Matthews Band live at the Beacon Theatre on Monday, June 1.
Fuse, the only national network dedicated to music, will also telecast “Fuse Presents Dave Matthews Band: Live from the Beacon Theatre” in high-definition and commercial-free on the eve of the release of Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.
Proceeds from the concert will benefit Dave Matthews Band’s Bama Works Fund supporting charitable programs in the Charlottesville, VA area.
Kicking off with “Fuse Presents Dave Matthews Band: Live from the Beacon Theatre” on June 1, Fuse will air 7-days of original programming — including a 4-part original documentary “Dave Matthews Band: The Road to Big Whiskey” — in support of the album release. Jointly Fuse and MSGE will also put a full portfolio of marketing assets across multiple platforms to round out the promotional push in support of this partnership.
This distinctive and creative collaboration between MSG Entertainment and Fuse offers fans and viewers unique multi-platform access to Dave Matthews Band. The 360-degree experience began on April 14 as the band launched their Spring 2009 tour with a sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden. While in New York the band stopped by Radio City Music Hall for an interview with Fuse about the new album. The network then followed the band to Charlottesville, VA where they captured behind the scenes moments of the band’s hometown tour stop. All of this will be included in Fuse’s 7-days of original Dave Matthews Band programming.
“Fuse is celebrating the release of the Dave Matthews Band’s eighth studio album with an entire week dedicated to the band,” said Mike Bair, president, MSG Media. “By tapping into MSGE’s legendary venues and strategic marketing offerings, together we’re providing an experience for Dave Matthews Band fans that goes beyond the show. From a live concert at the legendary Beacon Theatre to an intimate documentary taped at Radio City Music Hall, we’re raising the bar and look forward to collaborating with other artists on similar projects to reach their fans.”
“Together under the MSG umbrella, MSGE and Fuse are in the unique position to put the full weight of our assets behind Dave Matthews Band’s release of Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King and create this type of unique experience for music fans,” said Jay Marciano, president, MSG Entertainment. “Today’s entertainment environment is all about providing unique content and a meaningful experience. We are thrilled to work with Dave Matthews Band to support them on their tour and the release of one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year, and such a meaningful project to the band and their fans.”
“Working with MSGE and Fuse to bring this partnership to life has been a very positive experience,” said Coran Capshaw, longtime manager of Dave Matthews Band. “With them we’ve developed several exciting ways to offer the band’s fans a really great experience.”
Fuse and MSGE together offer a one of a kind experience - from playing legendary venues to garnering national television programming attention and access to MSG’s entire portfolio of marketing and promotional assets to supporting projects like this through collaborative partnerships that only Fuse and MSG Entertainment can provide. Airing live on Fuse and streaming live on fuse.tv, Dave Matthews Band will join artists including The Killers, The Cure, The Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boy who have all taken advantage of this type of collaborative live series.
The legendary and newly restored Beacon Theatre, recently hosted the grand re-opening of the theatre following a 7-month, $16-million restoration and featured seminal artist Paul Simon with special guest Art Garfunkel. This intimate rock room has recently played host to many of the music industry’s most highly anticipated and sought after shows including the 40th anniversary spring run of the Allman Brothers Band with various special guests; the Martin Scorsese documentary film of the Rolling Stones, “Shine a Light”; and a performance by the legendary and reclusive folk artist Leonard Cohen to name a few. Dave Matthews Band fans will now have the opportunity to see the band at the 2800-seat Beacon Theatre before the release of their eighth studio album.
The Dave Matthews Band iTunes Pass launches today, April 21, on the iTunes Store. With iTunes Pass, music fans can get new and exclusive music, video, remixes, art and other content from their favorite artists over a set period of time, delivered to their iTunes library as soon as it’s available.
Fans who purchase the Dave Matthews Band iTunes Pass ($19.99) beginning today will receive an instant download of the band’s latest single, “Funny the Way It Is,” and the new album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, as soon as it’s released on June 2nd. They’ll also receive plenty of additional content from now through September, including Scenes from Big Whiskey, a documentary on the making of the record, exclusive bonus music (including b-sides and live music from the band’s Spring and Summer 2009 tours), two tracks in advance of the album’s release (“Shake Me Like A Monkey” and “Lying In the Hands of God”), a download of the “Funny the Way It Is” music video, a deluxe digital booklet of the album artwork, drawn by Matthews, and more.
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, which was produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), is the follow-up to 2005’s Stand Up, the fourth consecutive Dave Matthews Band studio album to enter The Billboard 200 at No. 1. With its celebratory spirit and lyrical ruminations on fragile mortality, Big Whiskey pays tribute to the band’s saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, and features some of his last recordings. Moore passed away in the summer of 2008 while the group was on tour and midway through making the album.
The remaining founding members – Carter Beauford (drums), Stefan Lessard (bass), Dave Matthews (vocals, guitar) and Boyd Tinsley (violin) – kicked off the group’s Spring 2009 tour last week at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The group, named the top-drawing American band in the world by Billboard, will perform on NBC’s “TODAY” show on Rockefeller Plaza on June 5th.
Check out the band’s new single, “Funny The Way It Is” here.
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King hits stores on June 2nd.
Through a “tweet” on Twitter today, DAVE MATTHEWS BAND have announced that they are giving away their new single, “Funny the Way It Is,” as a free download for one week. Dave (@davejmatthews) and bassist Stefan Lessard (@slessard) are both very active on Twitter, keeping touch with their huge fanbase and decided it was the perfect place to get the word out. The song comes off their upcoming album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, which hits stores on June 2nd. It will be the band’s first studio album since the death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore last summer. The “GrooGrux King” in the album title refers to Moore’s nickname within the group. Matthews created all of the artwork for Big Whiskey, including the richly detailed cover illustration that puts a GrooGrux spin on New Orleans’ traditional Mardi Gras parades while evoking the joy and the sorrow expressed in the album’s songs. Matthews has designed logos and other elements in the past, but this is the first time he has created the entire packaging for a Dave Matthews Band album.
Guitarist Tim Reynolds will play on the album, making it his first recording with DMB since 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Goo Goo Dolls). Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King will also feature the recording debuts of Rashawn Ross who joined the band in 1996 but hadn’t played on any of their studio releases yet and Moore’s replacement, saxophonist Jeff Coffin who also is a member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. DMB just released a trailer for the new album which can be seen below.
Dave Matthews Band kicks off its 2009 tour tonight with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be on the road through October 2nd. Please visit http://www.davematthewsband.com for a full itinerary of the band’s spring and summer tours – and also check the website for the launch of the Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King pre-order later this week. Fans who pre-order the CD at the band’s website will receive the group’s upcoming live album, Live Trax 15, for free. Live Trax 15 captures the group’s August 9th, 2008 show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI, one of the most fan-requested shows for release from last year’s summer tour.
Download “Funny the Way It Is” for FREE here all this week
Album Trailer:
PLAY
