Archives

May 17th, 2005

Ben & Jerry's Homemade will bring at least one environmental activist along when it goes on the road with the Dave Matthews Band this summer.

Ben & Jerry's piggybacks the band's July-September tour to publicize the issue of global warming. A special flavor, Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies, rolls out nationally next month, triggering donations to reduce global warming.

Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's this week launches a Take a Stand with the Band contest to choose an "Enviro-Roadie" to travel with the band for 23 concert dates and host an interactive exhibit with info and action steps to reduce global warming.

May 11th, 2005

_{by James Montgomery}

Dave Matthews has done this dance thousands of times over the years. It's not the slight shuffle-jig he breaks into when he strums his acoustic guitar — it's the intricate two-step between musician and music journalist.

And Dave Matthews is known as one of the best dancers in the business. He's down-to-earth, affable and willing to speak his mind on a host of topics. But recently he's soured on the whole thing, particularly in the wake of a magazine interview he did last year in which he put President Bush on blast (calling him, amongst other things "a f---ing idiot") and drew the ire of plenty of Dave Matthews Band fans, who despite their ratty ballcaps and knee-length shorts, tend to be the Volvo-driving, Republican-voting sort.

"I'm not going to apologize for things that I say and things that I think. Maybe I would phrase things a little differently," Matthews said. "But I'm not going to apologize for anything. If people don't like what I'm saying, they don't have to listen. And to be quite honest, I was amused by the reaction some people had."

That interview also thrust Matthews more firmly into the spotlight (mainly because he was promoting his solo album, Some Devil), because while the band he fronts does sport his namesake, Matthews prefers to think of the Dave Matthews Band as a bunch of pals jamming together. But interviewers recently began pressing him on his politics, his solo aspirations and the state of the band that bares his name (after all, they were on "sabbatical" since releasing 2002's Busted Stuff).

May 8th, 2005

_{Down-to-earth reality belies star status}

_{BY MELISSA RUGGIERI}

It's edging toward 1 pm and Dave Matthews is sipping his first cup of coffee for the day. Cream, no sugar. Sipped, not guzzled. The natural assumption is that he's just stumbled out of bed, like a good rock star would. But, as Matthews wryly notes later, "My mom is more rock star than I am."

The reality is that he's been awake for hours, and he's spent time tending to his 3½-year-old twins, Stella and Grace.

"I forget to feed myself," he says, that one eyebrow involuntarily reaching toward his hairline. "I'm feeding my girls and dressing them and getting a bag ready because I know I have to take them to my mom's and we're running and playing and having quality time and I throw them in the car and drop them off and 'Thanks, Mom,' and I realize I haven't put anything in my stomach. I think I had a bite of their eggs, though."

Matthews, seated at a small table at the Starr Hill Brewery in Charlottesville, has just finished apologizing for the second time for being slightly tardy to this meeting. He really did have to take his kids to his mother's home in Scottsville, and offers more words of contrition than you would expect from a good friend, never mind one of the most famous musicians in the country.

But while a slew of other adjectives might have followed Matthews during his 15-year career, arrogant and pretentious usually aren't among them.

May 1st, 2005 

_{New approach leads to hit disc, eclectic mix}

_{By Mark Kennedy - New York}

The morning after a blistering three-hour concert to celebrate the release of their new album, members of the Dave Matthews Band were still jazzed- about the songs no one heard.

Long before fans streamed into the roseland ballroom or cameras began taping, Matthews and the band were just noodling around during sound check when they improvised what he called "two smoking tunes."

"They just came out of the blue," Matthews says. "The room was empty. First came the bass or the drums, and then everyone came in. It just happened. There was nothing and then there was something."

April 28th, 2005

The Cavalier Daily
Mindy Longanecker

While fame has undeniable perks, it is inevitably accompanied by the pressure to live up to others' expectations. Critics demand innovation and fans demand consistency. As such, prominent musicians face a creative dilemma: In the search for greatness, their music must evolve in order to remain relevant, but evolve too much and the musicians risk obscurity and alienating their fans. To that end, the Dave Matthews Band's upcoming release, Stand Up, is an attempt to balance these competing interests, and one that, for the most part, actually succeeds in straddling the rival pressures of evolution and alienation.

I recently visited DMB manager Coran Capshaw's property in Crozet, Va. to listen to the album, which will be released nationwide May 10.

February 15th, 2005 

<sub>Dave Matthews Band's new music has 'a little more dancing.'

By Kelly Marino</sub>

BEVERLY HILLS, California — The Dave Matthews Band took their frontman's name, but they rarely take his suggestions. Especially when it comes to picking singles.

"I have [the first single for the new album] in mind, but I don't think it matters what I have in mind because I'm not really pushy," Dave Matthews explained recently. "I need to be pushier. [It would be good] if I could be just a little more aggressive about what I want, but I'm a pushover. Spineless, that's the most accurate description of me."

One thing that does appear to be growing more aggressive, however, is the sound of his band. DMB's as-yet-untitled sixth studio album, produced by Mark Batson (Eminem, Maroon 5), explores a new direction full of funky beats.

January 6th, 2005

Group's new site features video and audio clips from recording sessions, as well as periodic messages from the band.

Photo by: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The Dave Matthews Band are giving fans a bird's-eye view of their sessions for their new album.

The group has set up a dedicated site (Dmbnewstudioalbum.com) that will feature video and audio clips from the sessions, as well as periodic messages from the band. "DMB is excited to bring you a site dedicated exclusively to the creative process that is involved with the forthcoming album," reads the introductory note on the recently launched page.

While bands such as U2, Limp Bizkit and Radiohead have previously used their sites to post video and audio from in-progress sessions, DMB decided to take it a step further by devoting an entire site to the sessions, according to a group spokesperson.

The as-yet-untitled album, due in the spring, is being produced by Mark Batson, whom the group met in August at one of its Los Angeles concerts. "After a late night of musical dialogue and shared experiences, it was obvious to all the guys that they had to work with Mark," the note explains. Producer/songwriter Batson has worked with everyone from Eminem and Gwen Stefani to Maroon 5 and 50 Cent, and in the first bit of video on the site, he talks about what he hopes to achieve with the Dave Matthews Band.