Dave Matthews: New album "not working"

Don't expect a new Dave Matthews Band album any time soon. Dave Matthews says in the new issue of Rolling Stone that the writing and recording process is "not working now" despite the "so many ideas" the band has come up with.

"They haven't found a comfort zone," Dave tells the magazine. "None of it's bad, but there's nothing that grabs us yet."

It's disappointing news to fans who were anticipating a new album, but it's probably better in the long run. The last time DMB tried to force songs in the studio, we ended up with the whole Lillywhite Sessions debacle.

The news also helps explain why DMB has cut back on the number of new songs it has been playing this year. Last year the band debuted six songs: "The Idea of You," "Sister," "Kill the King," "Break Free," "Shotgun" and "Can't Stop." This year, the only songs remaining on set lists have been "The Idea of You" and "Sister" -- although Dave did play "Can't Stop" at a solo show and another new song, "Cornbread," at his shows with Tim Reynolds.

Dave also says in the interview that he wants to play "The Last Stop" more this year, hinting that the song's complexity is the reason DMB doesn't play it frequently. He talks about his grilling skills, scotch and touring with his family as well.

UPDATE (6/2): Rolling Stone now has the story on its Web site.

Dave Matthews and Friends video going online

CONCERT.TV, a Web site that plays free concert videos, will air footage of Dave Matthews and Friends next month, according to Upstage Magazine. The performance will be from their 2004 show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, a show that is for sale on CD but has never before had video released.

There is no information yet about exactly when the concert footage will be available or how much of the show will be aired. Highlights of the show include the first ever performance of "Good Good Time" and a nearly 19-minute version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."

Dave Matthews mentioned in another travel story

Sports Illustrated On Campus has a new article on a road trip to the University of Virginia, in Dave Matthews Band's hometown of Charlottesville. The story lists Miller's, the bar where Dave Matthews used to work, as a can't-miss nightlife spot. It also mentions DMB's performances last Sept. 22 and 23 at John Paul Jones Arena.

New cover song debuts

Dave Matthews Band played Billy Preston's "Nothing From Nothing" for the first time during tonight's show in London. Dave is apparently a big Preston fan, as he has also covered "Will It Go 'Round In Circles" at his Dave Matthews and Friends shows.

DMB played "Nothing From Nothing" during the encore of the last show of its international tour. The other news from the show came during "Sister." Dave has always played the song solo, but Carter Beauford, Butch Taylor and Rashawn Ross sang backup for the first time tonight.

DMB now has more than a month off before its next show, a set at the Live Earth benefit in East Rutherford, N.J. on July 7.

Allman Brothers Band to open in Atlanta

Dave Matthews Band announced today that the Allman Brothers Band will be its opening act at the Sept. 8 show in Atlanta. Warehouse members can buy tickets and VIP passes starting tomorrow at 9 a.m. Unlike the typical Warehouse ticketing system, this is a presale on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets cost $45 and VIP passes, which include early entry into the park, an exclusive viewing area and other perks, are $250. The show will take place in Piedmont Park and benefit the Piedmont Park Conservancy. Members of the conservancy also have access to the presale.

Dave Matthews: Pitch man for The Nation

Dave Matthews appears in an advertisement for The Nation in the new issue of the liberal news magazine. The ad shows a picture of him reading the magazine, and it says, "Nobody owns The Nation. That's why so many somebodies read it." Other than a New England ski area using DMB songs in its TV commercials, this is the first time Dave or any other Dave Matthews Band member has officially endorsed a product.

UPDATE: A reader points out in the comments that Boyd Tinsley has appeared in print ads for Jansport and TV commercials for Butterfinger candy bars.

Dave Matthews Band adds Atlanta show

The Piedmont Park Conservancy in Atlanta will announce Wednesday that Dave Matthews Band is headlining a benefit concert there Sept. 8, according to this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. DMB had not scheduled a tour stop in Atlanta this year, although this show had been rumored for a while.

Tom Morello plays with Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band's concert last night in Lisbon, Portugal featured a guest performance by Tom Morello, the guitar virtuoso from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Morello's new solo act, The Nightwatchman, opened up for DMB, and then he came out during the band's set to play on "#41" and "American Baby Intro."

The show also included an extremely rare second encore. DMB's international tour continues tomorrow in Brussels, Belgium.

Irish review slams Dave Matthews Band show

Dublin, Ireland newspaper the Independent has put out a scathingly negative review of Dave Matthews Band's concert there Wednesday. Critic Eamon Sweeney mentions no specifics about the show, including any song titles, but he calls the show a "tiresome marathon of dreary folk rock," an "excruciating endurance test" and a "yawn-inducing snooze fest." The only positive comment in the whole review is that "this show is just shy of three hours, so if you are a hardcore fan you can't complain about bad value for money."

Denson talks about Dave Matthews, James Brown

Dave Matthews Band's Dec. 21, 2002 show at Madison Square Garden is one of its most legendary, thanks to the performance of "Sex Machine" with James Brown and Friends and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. In a new interview with JamBands.com, Denson calls it "one of the highlights of my career." Denson also tells a funny story about Dave being corrected for addressing the Godfather of Soul as "James" instead of "Mr. Brown."

European tour begins in Ireland

Dave Matthews Band kicked off the European leg of its international tour last night with a pretty standard set in Dublin, Ireland. Dave continued the recent trend of playing two solo songs during the show: "Sister" in the middle of the set and "Gravedigger" in the encore. And "What Would You Say" made its tour debut.

The tour continues tomorrow in Lisbon, Portugal.

Travel review highlights Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band and manager Coran Capshaw feature prominently in this new CNN.com article about traveling to their hometown, Charlottesville, Va. The review credits DMB for Charlottesville's "big-city-quality nightlife" and notes Capshaw's influence as the owner of eight restaurants.

Dave Matthews is listening to ...

Dave Matthews is featured in RollingStone.com's premiere edition of MyList, a section where musicians talk about the music they're currently listening to. Dave raves about Xiu Xiu, described as an "experimental indie" band from California that he heard about from Tim Reynolds.

Boyd Tinsley speaks at UVa

Boyd Tinsley addressed students and their families during yesterday's pre-graduation ceremony at the University of Virginia. Quoting one of Dave Matthews Band's most famous lines, he told the grads-to-be to "eat, drink and be merry," and he said the best years of the students' lives are ahead of them, not behind them.

The Daily Progress has a full recap of Boyd's speech -- including a funny part where he compares himself to Thomas Jefferson -- in this article, "Tinsley: Embrace potential." And the UVa Web site features another article, along with a photo of Boyd at the podium and audio of his speech.

Rolling Stones DVD to feature Dave Matthews

A Dave Matthews duet will appear on the new Rolling Stones DVD box set, The Biggest Bang, according to this article on music news site FMQB. The DVDs will chronicle the Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour from 2006 and be available June 12.

No track lists are available for the DVDs, but Dave only played with the Rolling Stones twice during their tour -- and he sang "Let It Bleed" both times. The duets happened Oct. 17 in Seattle and Oct. 20 in El Paso, Texas, during the two shows Dave Matthews Band opened for the Stones.

Dave has appeared on a Rolling Stones release before, singing "Memory Motel" on their 1998 live album, No Security. The new Stones DVD will also feature duets with Eddie Vedder and Bonnie Raitt.

Boyd Tinsley turns 43

Happy birthday wishes go out to Boyd Tinsley, who is 43 today.

German festival shows canceled?

AntsMarching.org points out that Dave Matthews Band's scheduled appearances at two German music festivals no longer appear on the band's official tour dates page. DMB was supposed to play Rock Am Ring in Nurburg on June 1 and Rock Im Park in Nuremburg on June 3. There has been no official word yet from the band about dropping out of these shows.

Gladwell Book May Feature DMB

Dave Matthews Band could be highlighted in the next Malcolm Gladwell book. Gladwell, an author and staff writer for The New Yorker, is writing a book about high achievers that will be published late next year, according to this post on the blog Hire Calling. In a late-April speech on the same topic, Gladwell mentioned DMB and attributed the band's touring success to its experimental innovation. Other innovators mentioned in the speech included Pablo Picasso, Orson Welles and the Grateful Dead.

Dave and Tim charity show confirmed

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will officially be part of the rumored high-priced benefit concert series on Long Island this summer. The benefit, dubbed the East Hampton Social, will also feature Prince, Billy Joel, James Taylor and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Dave and Tim will play July 28 under a tent on the campus of the private Ross School, the beneficiary of the concerts. Packages including one ticket to each of the five concerts will cost $15,000. Yes, you read that right. $15,000.

No posts for a week

Blog-Eyed Fish is on a one-week break and will return Sunday, May 13. In the meantime, get all your Dave Matthews Band news from nancies.org, AntsMarching.org, Weekly Davespeak and the DMB Fan Site.

Dave Matthews interviewed on environment

Dave Matthews talks about going green in the Stay in Touch blog on The Sydney Morning Herald's Web site. The brief interview includes this gem of a quote: "There's a limit to how much car exhaust and cow farts the world can stand."

Adelaide newspaper reviews DMB show

AdelaideNow, the Web site of The Advertiser newspaper, has an amusing review of Dave Matthews Band's May 2 show in Adelaide, Australia. The review never refers to "Dave Matthews Band," only "Dave Matthews and his elite backing band." It also calls Boyd Tinsley a "Rick James lookalike on violin who nearly stole the show with his fusion dancing."

Stefan says no album any time soon

Dave Matthews Band won't seriously start recording its next album until later this year, according to Stefan Lessard in this Brisbane Times interview. Stefan characterizes the time the band has spent in the studio so far as "pre-production" and says the band is on a "creative break" right now.

The interview also features Stefan talking about joining the band when he was 16, its charitable work and what else he plans to do during DMB's current Australian tour.

Tim Reynolds talks about aliens and ice cream

Dave Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds gives a wide-ranging interview about his musical influences, ambitions and personal interests over on Weekly Davespeak. There isn't anything really groundbreaking in there, but it's interesting to learn more about the notoriously quiet guitar virtuoso.

DMB kicks off Australian tour

Dave Matthews Band opened its short Australian tour today at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne with a pretty standard set. Highlights included a cover of Daniel Lanois' "Still Water" used as an intro to "Bartender" and a rare appearance in the encore for "Crush."

As during its last shows, in Las Vegas in March, DMB played only one new song: "The Idea of You." Nobody is really sure why the band stopped playing the other new songs it debuted last year, but a few of them have reportedly been recorded in the studio, so don't assume they're all gone for good.

The tour continues tomorrow in Adelaide.