DMB's Big Whiskey promo tour hits full force

Dave Matthews Band and its new album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King will be hard to avoid for the next week.

Here's a recap of all the television appearances and other events timed to coincide with Big Whiskey's June 2 release:

• June 1: Fuse will air DMB's concert live from the Beacon Theatre in New York.
• June 2-5: Fuse will air a four-part documentary, "Dave Matthews Band: The Road to Big Whiskey."
• June 3: DMB will perform on NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
• June 5: NBC's "Today" show welcomes DMB as part of its Summer Concert Series.

Hulu.com will stream all three performances as well. Other Big Whiskey happenings include the release of the "Tap Tap Revenge: Dave Matthews Band" game for the iPhone and iPod Touch and the debut of the Dave Matthews Band Radio station on Sirius XM Radio. The station will air from June 1-8, featuring tracks from Big Whiskey, live performances and band members discussing the new album.

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New DMB songs 'Squirm,' 'Time Bomb' leak online

"Squirm" and "Time Bomb," two new Dave Matthews Band songs from Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, have leaked online.

"Squirm" is one of the most different-sounding songs DMB has ever recorded. It is dark and epic, with an orchestral backing reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." Here it is:



The first half of "Time Bomb" is a typical DMB song, with an acoustic guitar groove and light horns and violin. But the second half explodes with an electric guitar riff and screaming vocals by Dave. Here it is:



Clips of other Big Whiskey songs are also leaking online. The full album will be available for streaming on Pandora on May 26, and its release date is June 2.

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DMB releases 'Shake Me Like a Monkey'

Dave Matthews Band made its new song "Shake Me Like a Monkey" available on its iTunes pass yesterday.

"Shake Me Like a Monkey" clips have been out for a while, and fans had been eagerly anticipating the song because of its high-energy, funky sound. Check it out for yourself:

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Dave Matthews slams Everyday, Stand Up

Dave Matthews has some unkind words for two of his band's albums, Everyday and Stand Up.

In a new Entertainment Weekly interview, Dave talks about the rocky years in Dave Matthews Band's past and specifically calls out those albums as problem areas.

"We hadn’t put out an album for a while and the album that we did put out [2005's Mark Batson-produced Stand Up] wasn't us," Dave says. "I feel like it should have said 'Dave Matthews Band featuring Mark Batson.' There’s some great songs on [2002's Glen Ballard-produced] Everyday, but I think that should have said 'Dave Matthews Band featuring Glen Ballard.' I think we started to get lost right around towards the end of making the third album, [1998's] Before These Crowded Streets. The stuff after that, although there’s many good things about it, I think it was not our best work."

Most DMB fans have been saying the same thing for years, but it's very different to hear the criticisms coming from Dave himself.

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Dave Matthews Band plans private island concert

Dave Matthews Band will play a concert on a private island in October, The Muskegon Chronicle reports.

The DMB private island concert will be part of the Bud Light Port Paradise Caribbean cruise Oct. 23-26, according to the newspaper. Dave Matthews and Friends tried to play a private island concert in 2006 but had to end the show early and continue it on two Royal Caribbean cruise ships because of bad weather.

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Dave Matthews Band to play in NYC live on Fuse

Dave Matthews Band will play the Beacon Theatre in New York on June 1, and Fuse will broadcast the concert live.

The Beacon Theater concert will be the release party for Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the new DMB album that comes out the following day.

From June 2-5, Fuse will then air a four-part documentary about the album, "Dave Matthews Band: The Road to Big Whiskey." The documentary features performances from DMB's 2009 concerts in New York and Las Vegas, as well as footage from the band's hometown of Charlottesville, Va.

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New song 'Seven' debuts at DMB concert

Dave Matthews Band debuted another new song, "Seven," at last night's show in Albuquerque, N.M.

No audio or video of the performance has surfaced yet, but we'll bring it to you when it does. DMB soundchecked a song thought to be "Seven" last week in Texas.

"Seven" becomes the fourth song from Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King to be played live, joining "Funny the Way It Is," "Spaceman" and "Why I Am." DMB has also performed "Beach Ball," a Big Whiskey bonus track.

UPDATE (10:35 p.m.): Download "Seven" and let us know what you think in the comments section.

UPDATE (5/7): Here's a video, thanks to justadirtygirl:

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Soundcheck video captures new DMB song

A new Dave Matthews Band song appears in this soundcheck video taken before the band's May 1 concert in The Woodlands, Texas:



Fans are speculating the new DMB song is "Seven," one of the Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album tracks, because of its 7/8 time signature.

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Download 'Shake Me Like a Monkey' clip

A 30-second "Shake Me Like a Monkey" clip has hit the Internet.

"Shake Me Like a Monkey" is the second track on the new Dave Matthews Band album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. We've already heard the first 30 seconds or so in promotional videos for the album, but this clip appears to feature the chorus.

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DMB to play 'Austin City Limits' TV show

Dave Matthews Band will perform on the "Austin City Limits" season premiere on PBS on Oct. 3.

DMB is also playing the Austin City Limits festival in Austin either Oct. 3 or 4. It's not known if the show will just air festival footage or if the band is putting on another performance specifically for television.

DMB has never appeared on "Austin City Limits" before, although Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris recorded an episode in 2000.

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New DMB Big Whiskey video hits iTunes

"Scenes from Big Whiskey (Part 1)," a new video documenting Dave Matthews Band in the recording studio, is now available on iTunes.

The "Scenes from Big Whiskey" video features DMB writing songs for Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King and talking about the recording process. The main theme of the video is the band members didn't like the way they recorded their last few albums, and they're glad they all got to write the songs collaboratively this time around.



"Scenes from Big Whiskey" is part of the Dave Matthews Band iTunes Pass, which offers bonus content to fans who pre-order Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

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Dave Matthews Band shoots music video

Dave Matthews Band shot a music video Sunday at Grand Central Station in New York, according to AntsMarching.org.

It's unknown what song the video was for or when it will be released. Dave Matthews, Stefan Lessard, Boyd Tinsley and Carter Beauford were at the shoot, but not touring DMB members Tim Reynolds, Rashawn Ross or Jeff Coffin.

Dave Matthews was in New York to perform at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday party at Madison Square Garden.

UPDATE (5/5/09): AntsMarching.org reports the video is for DMB's first single, "Funny the Way It Is."

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Dave Matthews Band plays new song, 'Beach Ball'

Dave Matthews Band debuted "Beach Ball," a Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King bonus track, at its April 29 concert in Alpharetta, Ga.

"Beach Ball" is one of the four bonus tracks that will come with the super deluxe edition of Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Download "Beach Ball" and let us know what you think in the comments section.

At the same concert, DMB also debuted a new cover song: "Rye Whiskey," a traditional song popularized by Tex Ritter and Pete Seeger.

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Big Whiskey review reveals song details

A new Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King review sheds some more light on the new Dave Matthews Band album.

Music industry veteran Bob Lefsetz says the first half of the album is "torture to listen to," but the second half is "really good." Here's his take on some of the songs:

• "Funny the Way It Is": "A non-fan who hears Funny The Way', the track they’re promoting, is going to laugh. Because it’s everything they hate about the DMB, there’s no risk."
• "Squirm": "Someone not enamored of the DMB could hear it and be drawn in."
• "Alligator Pie (Cockadile)": "Starts off like the soundtrack of 'Deliverance', it’s got no place on terrestrial radio, but it gets your toe tapping more than 'Funny The Way'."
• "Seven": "Has got a lick straight off of 'Exile On Main Street'. It ... is what you play when you’re tanked up and raging, whether in the frat house in the early morning hours or at the gig."
• "Time Bomb": "Has got that magical 'Dreaming Tree' quality, like it was cut by a folkie living in a hut deep in the northern territories of Canada."

Rolling Stone previously described "Time Bomb" as a Foo Fighters-esque rocker, which is quite the contrast to this description by Lefsetz. Fans should be able to judge for themselves in a few weeks, when Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King begins streaming on Pandora (May 26) and then hits stores (June 3).

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