Photo: jollydwarf.com

Sure, fans still get excited to hear "Right Here" and "It's Been Awhile" at Staind shows. But the tune that really gets them going these days wasn't written by the band and isn't officially available anywhere — yet.

It's "The Beetlejuice Song," an inane ditty first performed on Howard Stern's morning radio show by its namesake and regular guest, foul-mouthed "wack pack" superstar Beetlejuice. Composed by Stern song-parody writer Richard Christie, the tune in its original form featured the jolly dwarf busting out random lyrics like "This is beetle/ Is as bad as can/ He knows he's the best/ He's big and he's strong/ And he knows he is badder/ And he knows what he gets/ He knows what he knows/ He knows what we have/ He knows what he gets/ It gets better."

What inspired the lyrics? " 'Cause I wanted to," said a slightly belligerent Beet. "That's why I did it. People are into it? Yeah."

The Stern show is known for its musical parodies, from the equally catchy "Sulu Song," which uses snatches of out-of-context quotes from former "Star Trek" star George Takei, to the many "Baba Booey" spoofs that goof on producer Gary Dell'abate.

But "The Beetlejuice Song" not only struck a chord with the show's fans, it became an obsession for bands like Staind, Blues Traveler and Shinedown, who have all performed or recorded their own versions of the tune.

Staind are old friends of the Stern show, so when the band was arranging an appearance to promote its recent album, Chapter V, and the guys were asked if they'd record a version of the song, the answer was an immediate yes.

"If I'm home, the show's on in my house every day," said guitarist Mike Mushok. "They sent us a CD of the song, and I took Richard's arrangement and wrote some different music to it to give it a different feel." In the group's hands, the somewhat exuberant anthem became a meditative, angsty dirge, tapping into the dwarf's darker side.

The band only played the song two or three times before performing it live on Stern's show, and, despite the glum acoustic take, Mushok hopes it's a step toward debunking the band's dour image. "Everyone looks at our band as this dark, brooding, depressed thing, and it's just not what it is," said Mushok. "I mean, to have Aaron [Lewis] sing the lines, 'This is Beetle, I'm as bad as can!' As a song I didn't think much of it, but to me it's more about what Beetle is saying and how it doesn't make much sense."

Asked to critique the Staind cover, Beetle said, "They got their own version. That's them."

Mushok said in markets where Stern's show is big, the band is getting a ton of requests for the song, which it usually plays a verse or two of to appease fans. Staind were so pleased with the results that they're going to include the tune on a limited-edition version of Chapter V due out later this year along with a DVD documentary about the period leading up to the album's release. And if you're lucky, someday Mushok might bust out the crunching, heavy metal version he sketched out but never finished.

Just a few weeks after Staind did their thing, Stern's people reached out to Blues Traveler when the band was coming in to promote its new album, Bastardos! But unlike Mushok, Blues Traveler guitarist Chan Kinchla, father of two, is not a frequent listener, so he was not familiar with the song.

"I'd never heard it, but we're down to do anything with Howard, so we took an hour before the show and hashed out a few ideas," Kinchla said of the group's funky pop version. "We wanted to totally f--- it up and not copy the song exactly."

Since performing the song on the show, Kinchla said Blues Traveler have also been besieged with requests to play it during their shows, but the group has resisted — so far. "The chord progressions are pretty hip," he said. "Someone knew what they were doing. I think Beetle could make this a full-time career. He should do an album, and we'll be on the tribute album. I mean, the music's not half bad, and his delivery is the genius of Beetle." Richard Christie said he was not allowed to discuss the song without clearance from Stern's agent, who did not return calls for comment.

Kinchla says that when Blues Traveler performed the song on Stern's show they couldn't tell if Beetle was excited about their version or not. "When you're an artist like Beetle," he said, "you can't be expected to focus on what else is going on."

Despite the fact that he was in the studio the day BT performed his autobiographical ditty, Beetle said he was unaware of it. "Blues Traveler version? Never heard it," said Beetle. "I wish I would put out a record, but I don't know about that." With a second, more psychedelic song under his belt called "I Don't Know," which features guitar from Mountain's Leslie West, though, Beetle is quickly building a catalog of tunes.

He's recently jammed with the Smut Peddlers and performed with the rap duo Minlus & McCracken, and he said he listens to a lot of music. But, sadly, even though he is secure about his talent, he said he wasn't sure about putting out a full-length album. "Money? Yeah I own it. I do all the singing I want," he said. "If you would insist, yeah, I put out a record. I don't care what they call it. Do I look like I care?"

• Staind
• Blues Traveler

That Smash Mouth, always sweet-talkin' the ladies. "You are My Number One" is the first single from Get the Picture? and acts as the band's requisite summer single. Also on the album are the succinctly summarized tunes "Hot" and "Fun."

Killing Joke's latest self-titled album features drumming by Dave Grohl. Meanwhile, the Libertines release the EP I Get Along alongside '60s guitar god Jeff Beck's Jeff and Junior Senior's Euro-pop album D-D-Don't Stop the Beat.

Blues Traveler get honest on Truth Be Told, on which the jam band makes an effort to keep its songs from wandering. On the other hand, drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, the Vandals) drops a solo album under the name Stripsearch and tries his hand at some improvisational sounds. The self-titled album features his brother and music mate Jason Freese on the saxophone, plus bass player Mike Elizondo (Eminem) and guitarist Michael Ward (Wallflowers).

Finally, with the exception of a song extolling the virtues of Zoloft and some routine wordplay, wacky Ween tone down their act a bit and get more serious on Quebec. Ooh la la.

Out Tuesday, August 5:

• Paolo Angeli - Bucato (ReR/Cuneiform)
• Arraya - Arraya (Volcom)
• Jeff Beck - Jeff (Sony)
• Terence Blanchard - Bounce (Blue Note)
• Blast - Alta Strata (ReR/Cuneiform)
• Blue October - History for Sale (Universal)
• Blues Traveler - Truth Be Told (Sanctuary)
  Buy Now: Truth Be Told (Sanctuary)
  
• BT - Emotional Technology (Nettwerk)
  Read:"BT Secretive About 'NSYNC Payback On Upcoming Album"
  
• Canterbury Music Festival - Rain & Shine (Rev-Ola)
• Nikki Cleary - Nikki Cleary (Jive)
• Cruxshadows - Frozen Embers (Dancing Ferret)
• Division of Laura Lee - Trapped In (Burning Heart)
• Enchant - Tug of War (Inside Out)
• Found Cats - Full Gospel Rockabilly (Golly Gee)
• Funker Vogt - Revivor (Metropolis)
• Jeff Golub - Soul Sessions (GRP)
• Shaun Groves - Twilight (Rocketown)
• Hocico - Disidencia Inquebrantable (EP, Metropolis)
• Hyperions - Under My Sombrero (Surprise Truck)
• Javier - Javier (Capitol/Priority)
• Wynonna Judd - What the World Needs Now Is Love (Curb)
• The Juliana Theory - Live 10.13.2001 (Tooth & Nail)
• Junior Senior - D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat (Atlantic)
  Read: "Junior Senior: Anarchistic Odd Couple Wants To 'Move Your Feet'"
  Buy Now: D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat (Atlantic)
  
• Killing Joke - Killing Joke (Red Ink)
• Lake Trout - Another One Lost (RX/Palm Pictures)
• Ben Lee - Hey You. Yes You. (F2 Music)
• Jeffrey Lewis - It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through (Sanctuary/Rough Trade)
• Libertines - I Get Along (EP, Sanctuary/Rough Trade)
• Charlotte Martin - In Parentheses (EP, RCA)
• Mr. Criminal - Criminal Mentality (Thump)
• New Amsterdams - Worse for the Wear (Vagrant)
• Pinebender - The High Price of Living Too Long With a Single Dream (Lovitt)
• The Poor - Poor (Rev-Ola)
• Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Unclassified (Dare/Reprise)
• Don Ross - Robot Monster (Narada)
• Rachael Sage - Public Record (Mpress)
• Smash Mouth - Get the Picture? (Interscope)
  Buy Now: Get the Picture? (Interscope)
  
• Steadman - Revive (Elektra)
• Stripsearch - Stripsearch (Magna Carta)
• Tampa Tony - Y-Not (Empire Musicwerks BMG)
• The Derek Trucks Band - Soul Serenade (Sony)
• Turbulence - The Truth (Sanctuary/Ras)
• Velvet Acid Christ - Hex Angel: Utopia-Dystopia (Metropolis)
• Ween - Quebec (Sanctuary)
• Luther Wright and the Wrongs - Guitar Pickin' Martyrs (Back Porch)
• Various artists - Supertones Surf (Golly Gee)
• Various artists - "Uptown Girls" soundtrack (Nettwerk)

August 12:

• Pat Benatar - Go (Bel Chiasso)
• Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  Read: "Dashboard Confessional Singer Heals Scars, Stops Singing The Blues On New LP"
  Buy Now: A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  

August 19:

• Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks (Astralwerks)
• Neil Young - Greendale (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  Read: "Summer Music Preview: Neptunes' Star Trak Presents ... Clones"
  Buy Now: Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  
• Bow Wow - Unleashed (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Unleashed (Columbia)
  

August 26:

• Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (Disney)
  Read: "Hilary Duff: Not Just For Kids"
  Buy Now: Metamorphosis (Disney)
  
• Peter Frampton - Now (33rd St.)
• Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From (Arista) Read: "Eve, D'Angelo Can Testify: Anthony Hamilton Is 'Hellified Powerful' "
  Buy Now: Coming From Where I'm From (Arista)
  
• Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  Buy Now: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - Songs in the Key of Poop (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Eminem Enemy Triumph Previews LP; Beefs With Bow Wow, Benji"

September 2:

• Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony)

September 9:

• John Mayer - Heavier Things (Sony)
  Read: "John Mayer Tries Hip-Hop With Help From Roots' ?uestlove"
• Seal - Seal (Warner Bros.)

September 16:

• Elvis Costello - North (Universal)
• Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope)
  Read: "Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "
  
• Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA)

October 7:

• Jin - Almost Famous (Virgin)
  Read: "Ruff Ryders' New Dog: Jin"

• Smash Mouth
• Killing Joke
• Junior Senior
• The Libertines
• Blues Traveler

Alanis Morissette
Photo: Regina Thomas/Heather Stanley

Alanis Morissette, long a vocal supporter of a woman's right to choose, will put her music where her mouth is when she headlines a benefit concert for Voters for Choice in Washington, D.C., later this month.

The singer will appear along with Blues Traveler's John Popper and Chan Kinchla, as well as Michael Franti & Spearhead and Joe Henry, at D.A.R. Constitution Hall on September 25, according to Voters for Choice executive director Maureen Britell. Feminist activist Gloria Steinem is the board president of the organization, which works to elect pro-choice candidates.

Britell said the group asked Morissette to play an acoustic set, but the Canadian singer offered to bring her band. Morissette wrapped up her next album, for which a release date has not been set, earlier this year (see "Morissette Previews New Album At Los Angeles Show").

Tickets for the concert will go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster. VIP seats, including packages with passes to an after-show party with the artists, can be purchased from Voters for Choice at (202) 944-5080.

• Alanis Morissette
• Blues Traveler
• Spearhead
• Joe Henry

John Popper
Photo: MTV News

With their sixth album, Bridge, out this week, Blues Traveler are back to being the fun-loving group fans knew them to be before a series of setbacks took its toll on the harmonica-driven jam band.

"We're very excited to get an album out after the last year and a half and be playing again," guitarist Chan Kinchla said. "We're just jazzed." [RealAudio] "We're having the most fun I've had in four or five years, because everything's new," drummer Brendan Hill said. "When [new keyboardist] Ben [Wilson] takes a solo, or when Tad [Kinchla] and I are able to do some new part to a song, it's new, it's different. That's what makes music great, when you take it to the next level." Two years ago in August, the drug-induced death of founding bassist Bob Sheehan (see "Blues Traveler Bassist Died of Drug Overdose") rocked the group. A month prior, then-overweight singer John Popper was hospitalized after complaining of chest pains (see "Blues Traveler's Popper Hospitalized; Band Cancels July 4th Shows").

Tad Kinchla, Chan's brother, was tapped as the new bass player a few months later (see "Blues Traveler Names New Bassist"), and Blues Traveler began working on Bridge soon after his appointment. The studio time proved therapeutic to the group.

"I didn't feel right about things, really," Chan said of the period following Sheehan's death, "until we started getting back to work, until we starting playing together and it felt good. Then [we] could throw [ourselves] into moving forward. Before that, it was ..." "Theory," a now slimmer Popper continued. "We were speculating that it would be good." "Once you have something to bring hope to your future," Chan said, "it helps us all move forward." Bob Sheehan is honored on Bridge with the song "Pretty Angry (For J. Sheehan)," a delicate, piano-based track Popper penned for Johnny Sheehan, the late bassist's brother. And if recording the album was a liberating experience, committing "Pretty Angry" to tape was doubly so.

"When we were recording it, it was so cathartic because we wanted to get it right," Hill said. "I'm really proud of that song. It's got a lot of emotion to it, and we said what we wanted to say. It's hard to play live, we're finding, because it brings out all these emotions." "It's the hardest song for me to sing without cracking my veneer," [RealAudio] Popper said.

Blues Traveler are in the middle of a two-month North American tour (see "Blues Traveler Mounting North American Tour") in support of Bridge.

• Blues Traveler

Pete Yorn
Photo: MTV News

Having just made his debut amid a buzz of media attention, Pete Yorn's name has been on a lot of people's lips of late — not to mention their concert lineups.

Yorn has just signed on for supporting dates with Semisonic and Blues Traveler, and he'll also open for Bob Dylan and Patti Smith at Atlanta's Music Midtown Festival on May 4.

"I'll be bowing down to them," the budding singer/songwriter said of sharing a bill with two of his musical heroes. The 26-year-old crooner released his debut album, Musicforthemorningafter, on March 27.

Musical mentors Semisonic invited Pete to join them on a late-spring sweep of the states. Yorn will hook up with Semisonic on Saturday in Minneapolis and stay aboard through a May 1 Los Angeles show.

"The guys in Semisonic are really nice guys. We've been embracing their music, so it's nice to be on board with them," Yorn said, speaking on behalf of himself and his four bandmates.

Semisonic aren't the only group to solicit Pete's talent for a supporting role; Blues Traveler invited him along for the May dates of their spring tour (see "Blues Traveler Mounting North American Tour"). Yorn will meet up with them at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta and head back west, toward his new hometown of Los Angeles. He'll finish off with John Popper and crew on May 26 in Yuma, Arizona.

Pete will sneak away from his Blues Traveler obligations for a few solo gigs along the way — May 6 in Cincinnati; May 7 in Lexington, Kentucky; and May 12 in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Pete Yorn's dates with Semisonic, according to Columbia:

• 4/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
• 4/23 - Boulder, CO @ Tulagi
• 4/24 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Dead Goat Saloon
• 4/26 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
• 4/27 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
• 4/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
• 4/29 - Stockton, CA @ University of the Pacific, Alex G. Spanos Center
• 5/1 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues

• 5/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown Festival
• 5/5 - Nashville, TN @ Nashville River Stages
• 5/9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 5/10 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 5/14 - Detroit, MI @ State Theatre
• 5/15 - Chicago @ Riviera Theatre
• 5/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Theatre
• 5/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Theatre
• 5/21 - San Diego @ 4th & B
• 5/24 - Kelseyville, CA @ Classic Concert Showroom
• 5/25 - Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay
• 5/26 - Yuma, AZ @ Paradise Casino

• Pete Yorn
• Semisonic
• Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler's<BR> John Popper
Photo: MTV News

Blues Traveler will Bridge part of the gap between mid-April and their annual Independence Day performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with a 27-date, North American tour.

John Popper and his blues-rock jam band kick off their tour of theaters and festivals April 11 at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. The outing will come to an end with their eighth July 4 performance at the famed Morrison, Colorado, venue.

Blues Traveler are touring in support of their sixth album, Bridge, due May 8 on A&M Records (see "Blues Traveler Unveil Release Date, Track List For Bridge").

Produced by Matt Wallace (Nirvana, R.E.M.), the album is the band's first with keyboardist Ben Wilson and bassist Tad Kinchla, the brother of guitarist Chan Kinchla and replacement for Bobby Sheehan, who died of a drug overdose in August 1999.

"Girl Inside My Head," the first single, will hit radio in April.

The "Run-Around" rockers last toured the United States in the fall and played a few shows in Nevada and Florida in mid-March.

Blues Traveler's seven-year string of Independence Day shows at Red Rocks was interrupted in 1999 because Popper was ill. The band resumed the tradition last summer.

Blues Traveler tour dates, according to A&M Records:

• 4/11 - Greenville, SC @ Furman University
• 4/12 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
• 4/13 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
• 4/14 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
• 4/27 - Cambridge, MA @ MIT
• 4/28 - Boston, MA @ WBOS Earthfest, Hatch Shell (free concert)
• 4/29 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
• 5/1 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 5/2 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
• 5/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown
• 5/5 - Nashville, TN @ Nashville Riverstages Festival
• 5/6 - Memphis, TN @ Beale Street Festival
• 5/9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 5/10 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 5/14 - Detroit, MI @ The State Theater
• 5/15 - Chicago, IL @ The Riviera
• 5/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Theater
• 5/19 - Dana Point, CA @ Doheny Days
• 5/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Theater
• 5/21 - San Diego, CA @ 4th and B
• 5/24 - Kelseyville, CA @ Classic Concert Showroom
• 5/25 - Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Stage
• 5/26 - Yuma, AZ @ Paradise Casino
• 5/29 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
• 5/30 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater
• 5/31 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
• 7/4 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

• Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler's John Popper
Photo: A&M

Blues Traveler have set a May 8 release date for Bridge, the group's first album without bassist Bobby Sheehan, who died of an overdose in August 1999.

John Popper and his blues-rock jam band have also announced the track listing for their sixth LP, which includes "Girl Inside My Head," the first single, and "Pretty Angry," a song dedicated to the late bassist's brother, Johnny Sheehan, according to a spokesperson at A&M Records.

Bridge was produced by Matt Wallace (Nirvana, R.E.M.) and features two new members — keyboardist Ben Wilson and bassist Tad Kinchla, the brother of guitarist Chan Kinchla.

The disc follows last year's download-only EP, Decisions of the Sky — A Traveler's Tale of Sun and Storm, and 1997's Straight on Till Morning. Blues Traveler are planning to mount a national tour to support the album, though dates have not been announced. Meanwhile, the band will play Saturday at Mardi Gras at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.

Track listing for Bridge, according to A&M:

• "Back in the Day"
• "Girl Inside My Head"
• "Rage"
• "Just for Me"
• "You Reach Me"
• "All Hands"
• "Pretty Angry"
• "The Way"
• "You Lost Me There"
• "Sadly a Fiction"
• "You're Burning Me"
• "Decision of the Skies"

• Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler's<BR>John Popper
Photo: MTV News

A revamped Blues Traveler plan a March release for their new album, the follow-up to 1997's Straight on Till Morning and the band's first since founding bassist Bobby Sheehan's death. Produced by Matt Wallace (Nirvana, R.E.M., Creed, Deftones), the blues-rock jam band's sixth album will feature the band's new members, bassist Tad Kinchla — the brother of guitarist Chan Kinchla — and keyboardist Ben Wilson. Tad Kinchla joined the band after the 31-year-old Sheehan died of a drug overdose in August 1999. Blues Traveler — known for such hits as "Run-Around" and their improvisational jams featuring frontman John Popper's harmonica — are planning an extensive U.S. tour that will coincide with the release of the as-yet-untitled album and run through the end of the year, a management spokesperson said. The band released songs from Decisions of the Sky — A Traveler's Tale of Sun and Storm — a four-song, download-only EP, on its Web site in October and November. The suite included "12 Swords," "The Sun and the Storm," "Traveler Suite" and "The Path." The band plans to release live MP3s of songs from its fall 2000 tour, as well as some tracks from the band's early days, on the site in the coming weeks, the spokesperson said.

• Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler plans to break in its two new members with a brief tour next month.

The band plans to hit the road on June 28 in Chicago for a six-date outing that will give the new lineup of Blues Traveler a chance to get to know one another onstage.

The two newcomers to the group are keyboardist Ben Wilson and bassist Tad Kinchla, who is assuming bass duties following the passing of founding member Bobby Sheehan, who died last August of a drug overdose (see "Blues Traveler Names New Bassist") will have 6 dates to sharpen their live chops.

The outing will also provide a bit of relief to the band, which has been itching to perform some of the material it has been working on.

The group's mini-tour ends July 5 in Boulder, Colorado, the day after the band's annual Red Rocks show on July 4. Last year's Independence Day gig was canceled when frontman John Popper was hospitalized and treated for a blocked artery (see "Blues Traveler's Popper Hospitalized; Band Cancels July 4th Shows").

Blues Traveler's upcoming dates:

• 6/28 - Chicago, IL @ Metro / Smart Bar
• 6/29 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
• 7/01 - St. Louis, MO @ Mississippi Nights
• 7/02 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
• 7/04 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
• 7/05 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre

• Blues Traveler

While their favorite band works away in the studio and beyond, Phish fans are being given a chance to get involved in a couple of new band-related projects, including a tribute album.

• Blues Traveler
• Phish