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APRIL 17-23, 2003 | THIS PORNOGRAPHY IS INFINATELY EXCELLENT
Prying open the third eye
3EB and E-Bay team up to bring the band closer to its fans BY COREY WILSON | STAFF WRITER
J
ust a few weeks ago, on March 26th, Third Eye Blind announced that they were going on a small 20-city tour through the eastern and Midwestern United States, including Urbana’s Canopy Club. This came as a surprise to most of their fans, because of the band’s reluctance to release their once highly anticipated third album. Fans were beginning to give up on the band, after they recently pushed the release date back again, to May 13th, when it was supposed to be out in September of last year. Their new CD titled Out of the Vein, is the band’s first since “Blue”, which was released in November of 1999. “Blue” failed to reach the multi-platinum popularity that their selftitled debut did, and for this reason, the band
took their time recording the third record. New guitarist, Tony Fredianelli, who replaced guitarist and co-songwriter Kevin Cadogan, is a first-time contributor on the new album, but suggests, “the band felt like they would have done things differently [on “Blue”], but being under the rush of the gun to have the second album done so fast—they let certain things slide.” He promises that there is “none of that on the new album,” and that in the last four years, “each song has had a chance to blossom into its own.” The album was originally going to be called Crystalballer after one of the new songs, but was recently changed to the tentative title Out of the Vein. Fredianelli revealed that the name of the album changed with the release date, and is representative of “the process of making art,” that is 3EB’s music. For over the last two years 3EB has been in
the studio recording, making few appearances, and releasing little to no news about the album. And, it wasn’t until they announced the tour, that fans actually had reason to believe that there was a new record, and one day it may come out. When putting together their first tour in nearly three years, the band realized that they had to do something to win their fans over again…something new and different. What and 3EB’s entertaining front man, Stephan they did was definitely different; whether it Jenkins made his way to the mic, while the won their fans over, it is hard to say for sure. crowd went psycho. The “Within Arms Reach Tour” is the first of The band opened with their new single, its kind, and is designed to do what it sug“Blinded (When I See You),” a 3 minute pop gests; bring fans closer to the band. In a short rock song, that is sure to receive consistent tour that only visits bars and clubs in small airplay in the next month, and the fans loved cities throughout the United States, 3EB is it. playing sold out shows to crowds of 600 3EB kept the tempo up as the over-intoxi2000 of their “biggest” fans. cated and over-excited fans, including myself, Because the tour wasn’t advertised anythrew our fists up in unison to “Anything” where other than the band’s websites, and because there was no forewarning or rumor of and “Wounded,” off of their second CD. Before they went into a tangent of new stuff (9 an upcoming tour, only fans who regularly songs in a row), they visited the sites played the mystical tune found out about “Narcolepsy,” from their the shows. first record. Another thing Fans got far more than they did to a taste of the new CD, as ensure that just they played 11 of the 13 their “major” tracks, but also got to fans got tickets, –Tony Fredianelli, guitarist hear the old stuff that was offer them they wanted. for purchase The double encore exclusively via that included the new track “Good Man,” E-bay and E-tix. This forced fans to bid on “Hows it Gonna Be,” “Motorcycle Driveby,” rather than buy the small number of tickets and for the first time in more than two years, that were available. the song that brings the house down—“God When asked to comment on the method of of Wine”, made for an impressive show. ticket sales, Fredianelli said, “I just play gui3EB will continue their tour for the next tar, I don’t deal with that aspect of it”, but few weeks, which will culminate with the continued, “it was a marketing strategy…and release of Out of the Vein on May 13th. The an interesting way to bypass Ticketmaster.” new album, which, contrary to popular belief With the tickets, 3EB and Elektra Records does not include tracks with Andrew W.K. or also sold VIP passes and autographed merLimp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, will have 13 songs chandise as an incentive for fans to spend a along with a hidden track. lot of money. The marketing scam definitely Judging from the crowd’s response to the worked though, and tickets for the show at new songs at the show on Saturday, fans The Canopy Club on Saturday night sold out should be pleased with the upcoming in no time. Some tickets sold for as much as album. $230 for two, but at least they came with an If fans were unable to see the band on their autographed poster. so-called fan’s only “Within Arms Reach” The doors opened at 7 p.m. on Saturday, tour, they will be playing large venues and but at 6:30 the line had already moved down Oregon St. and had begun to wrap around the amphitheatres in major cities in mid-summer or early fall, along with some new bands of side of the building. The word on the street their liking. was that the band was supposed to begin Hopefully tickets for the shows will be their set a little before 8 p.m. and conclude at 10:30—the interview was scheduled for 7 p.m. advertised well in advance, and made available for everyone to purchase at a reasonable —but that didn’t happen. price. Finally, at about 8:20 the lights went down
ELEKTRA RECORDS
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Third Eye Blind are Arion Salazar, Stephan Jenkins, Brad Hargreaves and Tony Fredianelli
It was a marketing strategy… and an interesting way to bypass Ticketmaster
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