STAIND PREVIEWING NEW SONGS ON THE ROAD WITH GODSMACK; ‘BREAK THE CYCLE’ CD DUE OUT MAY 8 ON FLIP/ELEKTRA

FROM: KRISTINE ASHTON/TODD BRODGINSKI/MAGGIE WANG

STAIND PREVIEWING NEW SONGS ON THE ROAD WITH GODSMACK;
‘BREAK THE CYCLE’ CD DUE OUT MAY 8 ON FLIP/ELEKTRA;
VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE ‘IT’S BEEN AWHILE’
DIRECTED BY FRED DURST

STAIND will follow up their platinum-plus DYSFUNCTION May 8 when they release their second major label album BREAK THE CYCLE. The Flip/Elektra CD, produced by Josh Abraham and mixed by Andy Wallace, will be preceded by the March 27 release of the heavy and meditative “It’s Been Awhile,” the video for which was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.

Fans are getting a taste of the new material as the group are previewing two songs–“It’s Been Awhile” and “Open Your Eyes”–while on the road with Godsmack. These tour dates are scheduled to run through April 15, with STAIND‘s headlining tour to start in mid-May.

STAIND–singer AARON LEWIS, guitarist MIKE MUSHOK, bassist JOHNNY APRIL and drummer JON WYSOCKI–broke onto the heavy music scene after Durst heard the group’s self-released debut CD TORMENTED and signed the group to Flip Records. STAIND released the DYSFUNCTION CD in April ’99. Durst also invited the group on the “Family Values” tour in ’99. On that tour, LEWIS wrote a song called “Outside” and a live version (with Durst on back-up vocals) has achieved massive radio play (vaulting to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and #1 on Radio & Records’ Alternative and Active Rock charts), with the video hitting #5 on MTV’s “Total Request Live.” The song has been re-recorded for inclusion on BREAK THE CYCLE.

The forthcoming single “It’s Been Awhile” has already been praised by Brett Milano in a Boston Herald live review (3/4/01). He called the song “excellent” and cited its “resonant lost-love lyric.” As always, STAIND establish a deep connection with their fans via the group’s emotionally-charged songs. “Music is therapy,” LEWIS tells Alternative Press in the current (April) issue. “I really try to place myself in our fans’ shoes. I know that some of them think life is a very dark tunnel, and I want them to know there is light at the end of that tunnel. I always try to keep their perspective.”

In other news, STAIND have received six Boston Music Award nominations: Song Of The Year (“Outside”), Single Of The Year and Video (“Home” from the DYSFUNCTION CD), Act Of The Year, Rock Band and Male Vocalist Of The Year. The ceremony will be held April 19.

For more information on STAIND, check out the www.staind.com website. Meanwhile, here are the in-progress STAIND tour dates.

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