NASHVILLE |
‘TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES’
TO FEATURE BLUE MAN GROUP SONG “THE CURRENT”
WITH GAVIN ROSSDALE;
‘T3’ VIDEO SHOT FOR THE SONG
BLUE MAN GROUP will contribute their song “The Current,” with vocals by Gavin Rossdale, to Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Opening nationwide July 2, T3 is one of the summer’s most highly-anticipated films. The track, set to appear in the movie’s closing credits and marketing campaign, is also on BLUE MAN GROUP’s new album THE COMPLEX, which debuted at #60 on the “Billboard” charts (Lava Records), tripling opening sales of their 1999 gold-certified album“Audio”. In addition to Rossdale, their first, full-fledged rock album features guest vocalists Dave Matthews, Tracy Bonham, Venus Hum, Esthero and Josh Haden, among others.
According to T3 executive music producer Joel Sill, he and the film’s director Jonathan Mostow were, “searching for the ideal music for the closing credits. When we met with the Blue Man Group founders, they talked about the song ‘The Current.’” Sill adds: “After they played it for us, there was no discussion. Jonathan made the decision to include the track in the film on the spot.”
With T3 on board, BLUE MAN GROUP founders Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink set out to find a singer who could handle the song’s dynamic vocal range. Says Wink, “We did not know Gavin personally but some of the people working on T3 did, and they were able to get the song to him. He got back to us saying that he could hit the notes and that he was really into the song, so the next thing we knew is we were on a plane to London. Once we were there, not only did Gavin sing it great, he also brought in his guitarist Chris Trainer, who did some excellent work on the track as well.”
In addition to the song’s inclusion in the movie, BLUE MAN GROUP and Rossdale recently shot a video together for “The Current” that incorporates images and scenes from T3. Directed by Jeff Mann (Production Designer, T3), the video was filmed at an abandoned power plant in Redondo Beach, California to capture the film’s mechanical theme.
“We worked hard to incorporate imagery from the movie into the video in a creative and satisfying way,” notes co-founder Goldman. “Too often you just see clips from a movie in a video and it doesn’t really make any sense, so the Blue Man is going to act as a kind of video DJ, ‘scratching’ together video loops in a way that actually creates the underlying rhythm of the song. As far as we know, no one has tried this approach, so we feel like we have a good shot at having something pretty unique.”
BLUE MAN co-founder Stanton adds: “We are excited about ‘The Current’ being associated with T3 because the song has a bit of the classic ‘man vs. machine’ vibe.” Stanton explains that “it’s partly in the lyrics, which are about a guy who is a slave to his lonely job of tending to the electrical current of the city. But it’s also in the form. The verses sound very machine-like with their drum machines and digital loops, but the choruses have a completely human feel. It’s as if the two sounds are competing for control of the song.”
Meanwhile, BLUE MAN GROUP will launch their first full-production U.S. headlining concert tour May 18 in Washington, DC. The trek–certain to raise the bar on state-of-the-art concert technology–will combine elements of rave culture and rock. Summer dates for the tour will be announced shortly.
Here are a few of the critical praises for THE COMPLEX:
“With their trademark kitchen sink percussion pushing things along, they leave the singing to an array of talented guests (including a sedate Dave Matthews) and work up chic Euro-techno atmospheres that won’t wear off even after you’ve seen the live show.”
–Christian Hoard, Rolling Stone, May 1, 2003
“The Complex…features Blue Man’s trademark homemade tubular instruments and ferocious undercurrent of percussion…While the numerous guest spots are interesting, the most compelling music is the instrumentals featuring the complex and highly nuanced Blue Man sound.”
–Martin Johnson, Billboard, May 10, 2003
“…Matthews’s guest turn on these performance artist’ ‘rock’ record is really good, just one surprise on what may be the guiltiest, and funkiest, pleasure this year.”
–Andy Langer, Esquire, May 2003
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
MSO
msopr.com
Mitch Schneider 818-380 0400 ext. 235
Kristine Ashton 818-380-0400 ext. 233
Lathum Nelson 818-380-0400 ext. 227
Lava Records Publicity
lavarecords.com
Lisbeth Cassaday 212-707-2074
lisbeth.cassaday@lavarecords.com
Blue Man Group
blueman.com
Manny Igrejas 212-226-6366 ext. 320
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