STAIND KICK OFF “FAMILY VALUES TOUR 2001” OCTOBER 11 IN CLEVELAND AS ‘BREAK THE CYCLE’ CONTINUES TO GAIN GLOBAL ACCLAIM

FROM: KRISTINE ASHTON/MAGGIE WANG/ MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARIE REMELIUS

STAIND
KICK OFF “FAMILY VALUES TOUR 2001” OCTOBER 11 IN CLEVELAND
AS ‘BREAK THE CYCLE’ CONTINUES TO GAIN GLOBAL ACCLAIM

With chart-topping international success, multi-platinum album sales, critical acclaim and a prominent spot on Family Values Tour 2001, STAIND are leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary music scene. The band’s triple-platinum third album BREAK THE CYCLE (Flip/Elektra) is a certified global smash. Fueled by the moody, introspective singles “Fade” and “It’s Been Awhile”–which spent 16 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart–BREAK THE CYCLErecently debuted at #1 in the U.K., #2 in Ireland, #5 in Germany and #12 in Sweden, and has sold over 375,000 across Europe in recent weeks.

In the States, STAIND have just embarked on the power-packed Family Values Tour 2001, which launched October 11 in Cleveland and also features Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, Static X and Deadsy. In other news, the band’s highly anticipated “MTV Unplugged” performance recently premiered on MTV2 and will debut on MTV on October 21 at 10:30 PM Eastern/Pacific.

STAIND‘s participation in Family Values Tour 2001 marks the second time the Massachusetts band has been associated with the cutting-edge rock tour. STAIND–singer AARON LEWIS, guitarist MIKE MUSHOK, bassist JOHNNY APRIL and drummer JON WYSOCKI–also performed on the 1999 Family Values trek. The jaunt resulted in a gold-certified Family Values Tour 1999 CD, highlighted by the #1 rock single “Outside” featuring LEWIS and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst.

In the midst of relentless touring which included a U.S. headlining tour and a whirlwind European trek with performances at eight festivals, STAIND have made time for some compelling television appearances. Their July 18 show at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame was broadcast on MTV and MTV2 in August 15, while other TV performances and interviews were featured on “MTV Ultrasound” and HBO’s concert performance show “Reverb.” The band recently preformed their latest single–the top 10 rock track “Fade”–at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.

Acclaimed for their “dark, pulverizing music” (Los Angeles Times, 6/30/01), STAIND have emerged from modest origins to become one of rock’s biggest attractions. BREAK THE CYCLE was certified triple platinum a mere 11 weeks following its release, entering the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #1 with over 716,000 copies sold. It had the second highest first week sales of any album this year, enjoying a lengthy run in the Top 10. STAIND‘s video for “It’s Been Awhile” was directed by Fred Durst, and captured an MTV Video Music Award nomination for “Best Rock Video.”

BREAK THE CYCLE and STAIND‘s live performances have garnered abundant critical praise. Rolling Stone (5/24/01) magazine recently noted: “(STAIND‘s) performance had plenty of dark beauty…The four-piece laid out a shifting sea of depressive moods with impressive precision. The emotional highlight came when talented singer Aaron Lewis took center stage alone with an acoustic guitar to sing ‘Outside.’ As he let loose the key couplet ‘Cause inside you’re ugly/Ugly like me,’ thousand of Clevelanders sang along in unison, a moving self-appraisal from the unwashed hard rock masses who still haunt this Rust Belt metropolis.” Elsewhere, USA Today’s Edna Gundersen praised STAIND‘s “forceful rock with proud contradictions” (7/6/01), while Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn opined, “Staind’s Aaron Lewis writes with a human, convincing edge” (6/30/01).

For more STAIND info, check out their website at www.staind.com. More tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Family Values Tour dates are as follows:

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