Third Eye Blind Write-up

Third Eye Blind (frequently abbreviated 3eb) is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The band's current line-up is Stephan Jenkins (vocals, guitar), Brad Hargreaves (drums, percussion), Tony Fredianelli (guitar, vocals), and Leo Kremer (bass guitar, vocals).

After the massive success of their self-titled debut album in 1997, the band released one more album, 1999's Blue, before guitarist Kevin Cadogan was released under circumstances that still elicit controversy among fans. More recently, bassist Arion Salazar has not been playing with the band, and his future as part of the quartet is unclear. Leo Kremer has been filling in for Salazar during concerts, but it is not yet known if he will become a full-time member.

A common misconception is that the name of the band is a euphemism for the penis. However, Stephan Jenkins indicated during a radio interview that the band's name came from the metaphysical idea of a mind's eye, a topic of a book he had read. The other group members liked it and chose it as the band's name. In the past, Jenkins has also joked about a Ouija board and vodka being the sources of the name. In Finnish, "third eye" means "asshole", although it is not necessarily offensive. In some Finnish jokes, it is considered "the blind eye".

History

Beginnings (1993-1996)

Third Eye Blind recorded their first demo in 1993. In 1996, the band landed an opening gig for Oasis. They were invited out for an encore, even after Oasis had already played. In addition, Stephan Jenkins' production of The Braids' cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" gained major-label attention . Afterwards, the band found themselves in a bidding war among record labels, in which they settled on Elektra because they believed it offered the most artistic freedom. The contract was one of the largest ever given to an unreleased artist.

Success (1997-2000)

Third Eye Blind's first album, Third Eye Blind, became an immediate success after its release in 1997. The album had 5 singles, "Semi-Charmed Life", "Graduate", "Losing a Whole Year", "Jumper", and "How's It Going to Be". "Semi-Charmed Life" hit as high as #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for 8 weeks. The band also played "How's it Going to Be" on Saturday Night Live. To date it has been the most successful Third Eye Blind CD, selling 6 million units worldwide. Smash Mouth drummer Michael Urbano also appeared on the album, playing drums on 4 songs. During this period they also opened a number of shows on U2's Popmart tour. Additionally, this album includes the track "Motorcycle Drive By" which despite receiving only limited radio play, has gained significant popularity especially amongst the band's close followers.

In 1999 the band released Blue. Although not received as well as Third Eye Blind, the album sold 150,000 copies the first month of release and 2 million total sales. 4 singles were released from the album, "Anything", "Never Let You Go", "Deep Inside of You", and "10 Days Late". In early 2000, shortly after the release of the album, Kevin Cadogan was released from the band.

Hiatus (2001-2002)

After extensive and exhaustive touring around the world the band took a break. The band took a year off, only playing for charity events. They put on shows for the Tiger Woods Foundation and the Breathe Benefit Concert in Los Angeles after Jenkins' mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. During the hiatus the band also built a recording studio in anticipation of their next album.

Out of the Vein (2003)

In 2003 the band released Out of the Vein. Two singles were released from the album; "Blinded", and "Crystal Baller". Despite positive reviews the album was a commercial disappointment, selling only 500,000 copies worldwide. There were no music videos created for the singles and Elektra Records, who were being absorbed into Atlantic Records, did little to promote the album. Stephan Jenkins commented, "I worked really hard on Out of the Vein . . . Elektra was imploding as we were making it, so we didn't make a video and didn't do a marketing campaign, but as far as critics go, it was my best-reviewed album."

In April, 2003, the band embarked on the "Within Arms Reach" tour, targeting clubs and other smaller venues to promote their third album in a more intimate setting than in recent years. "The 'Within Arm's Reach Tour' means the audience and the band literally get within arm's reach of each other," Jenkins said.

The Hideous Strength (expected 2008)

Third Eye Blind has announced a fourth studio album titled The Hideous Strength, which is claimed to be released in 2008 (previous release date was 2007). Recent live performances have revealed a majority of the new tracks being worked on. Jenkins has revealed that this album will be "more political" than others they have done . Jenkins said the fourth album has taken so long to complete because he is having trouble finishing the lyrics . The album is named after a 1945 novel by author C. S. Lewis.

A number of previously unreleased recordings were made available, including "Persephone", "Carnival Barker" (an instrumental), and numerous instrumental sessions declined by Jenkins for inclusion on the fourth album.

For the 10th anniversary of the release of Third Eye Blind's debut album the band performed at the Fillmore on March 13 and 14. The shows were filmed for broadcast on HDNet on Dec. 2 as well as normal broadcast and release on DVD and as a live album tentatively to be released in early 2008, as announced by Jenkins on November 9, 2007, on DC101's "Elliot In The Morning".

Between April and November of 2007, Third Eye Blind toured extensively throughout the US, playing dozens of sold-out shows as a build-up for the release of their new album. They toured with other 1990s acts such as Counting Crows, Live, and Collective Soul during the summer of 2007. They held a Fall 2007 tour in which they played nine shows, beginning on November 9, at the University of Maryland College Park (which sold out the presale and general sale in a matter of hours), and ending on November 18 at the University of Rhode Island Ryan Center. The band also toured in the winter of 2008. Several performances on the tour were recorded for possible use on a future live album (see below).

DVDs

• Hiding Out: Included in the special edition of Out of the Vein, Hiding Out is a look behind the scenes with the band on how the album was made.

• Ten Years Down: Originally shown on HDNET, Ten Years Down is a 90-minute edited performance of the bands two night, sold out performance at The Filmore in San Francisco. Included are the bands radio hits such as "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", "Never Let You Go" and more. The Symphony of Decay version of "Slow Motion" and one new song, "So Pretty" were performed as well. Release date TBA.

Demos

6-Track 1994 Demo
5-Track 1995 Demo
5-Track 1995 Demo For Radiant Records
11-Track 1997 Demo
14-Track 1999 Demo

Third Eye Blind in Cinema

• Third Eye Blind's song "Horror Show" was featured on the 1999 movie Varsity Blues, and the song was also featured on the film's soundtrack. Despite this, the song was actually written with the film Scream 2 in mind, hence the song's name.
• "New Girl" and "Semi-Charmed Life" were featured on the soundtrack for the movie American Pie.
• "Eye Conqueror" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie A Knight's Tale.
• "London" and "Graduate" were featured in the film Can't Hardly Wait.
• "Never Let You Go" was featured in the film Clockstoppers.
• "I Want You," "Losing a Whole Year (Remix - Strings Up Version)," and "The Background" were all featured in the film The Corruptor.
• "Horror Show" was originally an unreleased cover of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin". The band kept the music and wrote new lyrics for Varsity Blues.
• "Deep Inside of You" was featured in Me, Myself, and Irene.
• "Semi-Charmed Life" was featured in "A Lot Like Love"

Awards

• 1997 - "Semi-Charmed Life" won the Billboard Music Award for Modern Rock Track of the Year.
• 1998 - Nominated for two American Music Awards for Favorite New Artist (Pop/Rock) and Favorite Artist (Alternative)