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Through a “tweet” on Twitter.com 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: www.rcarecords.com/dmbfreedownload

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King is out June 2nd.

VIDEO ALBUM TRAILER:

Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger checks in from a stop on their Doll Domination tour in Bournemouth, England. Nicole speaks to fans from the chilly beach which she describes as her favorite place. She explains how PCD’s show that night will be a much more intimate setting than the night before in Nottingham and that she is excited to see all their fans.

Head over to PCDMusic.com to see the Dolls’ complete tour schedule.

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It has been announced that the newly released “Shout” video from thrashers BLACK TIDE will be featured on mtvU’s new artist show, The Freshman. The show spotlights emerging artists both on air and online, with a chance for one of the competing videos to get an automatic add into rotation on the channel the following week. Be sure to visit freshmen.mtvu.com and vote! Fans can vote as many times as they want.

On the strength of their electric debut album, Light From Above, BLACK TIDE has been voted “Best New Artist” from several media outlets including Guitar World, Kerrang!, and TheGauntlet.com.

BLACK TIDE is currently overseas in the UK touring with Bring Me The Horizon, Mindless Self Indulgence and others. The band will return home in February to kick off a US tour with Escape The Fate. BLACK TIDE will also be a main stage performer all summer long on Warped Tour 2009.

Black Tide w/ Escape the Fate:
2/5 – Pomona, CA – Glasshouse
2/6 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee
2/7 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine
2/8 – El Paso, TX – Chic’s Billiards
2/10 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
2/11 – San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
2/12 – Houston, TX – Meridian
2/13 – Metairie, LA – High Ground
2/15 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
2/16 – Orlando, FL – Firestone
2/17 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
2/18 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’s Southend
2/19 – Towson, MD – Recher Theater
2/20 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
2/21 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
2/22 – Boston, MA – Middle East
2/24 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
2/25 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
2/27 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
2/28 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot
3/1 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
3/3 – Milwaukee, WI – Rave II
3/4 – Minneapolis, MN – Station 4
3/6 – Denver, CO – Cervantes
3/7 – Salt Lake City, UT – Murray Theatre
3/8 – Idaho Falls, ID – ICON
3/9 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
3/10 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
3/11 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
3/13 – Orangevale, CA – Boardwalk
3/14 – San Francisco, CA – Slims
3/15 – Bakersfield, CA – The Dome
3/17 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
3/18 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues

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