SR-71's Mitch Allan
Photo: BMG

BURBANK, California — In an attempt to explain the evolution from SR-71's major-label debut to their upcoming release, singer Mitch Allan suggested a similarity to the progression from the Beatles' Revolver to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Then he caught himself.

"Not to compare our albums to those albums," Allan said. "Maybe it's more like the difference between Sugar Ray's first and second albums."

It may not be Sgt. Pepper's, but Allan couldn't be happier about SR-71's Tomorrow, which abandons the pop-punk focus of 2000's Now You See the Inside for a more anthem-rock approach.

"When people hear the first single they're going to take a step back and say, 'What the hell happened to these guys?' " Allan said Tuesday during a break in mixing the new album. "It's going to be great. It's going to be our moment. Instead of staying with the status quo, we moved so far away."

The single, Tomorrow's title track, piles thick guitars over authoritative yet uplifting vocals. The song, which resembles P.O.D.'s "Alive" without the rap-rock twist, will hit airwaves in late August, a month before the album is due.

"We thought it had an optimistic vibe, a rebirth kind of idea behind it," said the Baltimore band's new addition, drummer John Allan, sitting with Mitch (no relation) in a studio lounge, sporting an Orioles T-shirt.

"We made a conscious effort to write a lot of positive songs," added Mitch. "We didn't like the music scene a year ago. Everyone was talking about negativity and how their parents abused them and all this other crap. None of us can relate to that, and I don't want to listen to the radio and get depressed. Sometimes when I think of 'Tomorrow' I think of the 'Annie' song. In a way, that is the same type of idea. It's a day away, a new start."

SR-71 started writing songs for Tomorrow while on the road last year with Bon Jovi (see ). Those were turning out too much like the band's breakthrough hit, the energetic crowd favorite "Right Now," so when SR-71 came off the road they vowed to push themselves in other directions. They flew from Boston to Washington, D.C., and drove to their Baltimore homes. Two days later planes that left the same airport become bombs in the worst terrorist attack in American history.

"I wept for weeks," Mitch said. "It really hit me the night [David] Letterman came back on the air. That's when I realized all the negativity on the radio, most of what I call bullsh-- angst, to sell records. F--- all that. It's time to be positive, to be American. Let's not all get depressed."

Two tracks on Tomorrow in particular are reflections of the events of September 11: "Truth," which Mitch calls the "closest SR-71 will ever get to sentimental," and "The Best Is Yet to Come," a "self-explanatory, motivational song."

Around the same time as the attacks, Mitch was dealing with a breakup but continued to force himself to write about positive things. "When you think to yourself, 'I just want to be happy' and you put yourself in that position, you start talking about all of the things you are afraid of and how you want them to change," he said. "I had a lot of passion, and that's what music is about. The more pissed off I got, the better the songs got."

The band's favorite tune, "My World," directly addresses Mitch's relationship struggles. "Everyone who has been stomped on in a relationship will understand it," the singer said. "It's about the thought process of deciding if you want to stay with the person or not. It's about lying on your bed, bawling your eyes out and what's going on in your head."

When it came time to record Tomorrow, which was produced by Butch Walker (Marvelous 3) and Neil Avron (Everclear), SR-71 debated whether to ax two of the songs they wrote in the early stages that would have sounded at home on their last album. In the end they decided to keep "Lucky" and "She Was Dead."

"They're very much where we came from, and we feel it's not fair to say we're no longer this," Mitch said. "These are great songs. Let's let the listener figure out the chronology of how they were written."

After they are finished at the Mix Room, where Filter just wrapped the recording of their new album, SR-71 will shoot a "Tomorrow" video for which they plan to write or co-write the treatment. Like the song, it will differ wildly from their past clips. In fact, not much will be the same about SR-71 when they resurface in the fall.

"We started out playing guitars, and now we play tubas and saxophones," Mitch joked.

• SR-71

Green Day
Photo: Reprise

New material from Mystikal, Juvenile, Green Day, Eve 6 and others will surface next month on the soundtrack to the comedy "The New Guy."

Mystikal wrote the title song for the movie, which stars DJ Qualls ("Road Trip") and Eddie Griffin ("Double Take") and features cameos from several artists, including Tommy Lee, Jermaine Dupri, Henry Rollins and Kool Moe Dee (see "Jermaine Dupri, Henry Rollins, Kool Moe Dee Uphold The Law In 'New Guy'").

OPM and Rehab also wrote songs especially for "The New Guy," according to an Epic Records spokesperson. Other artists who lent previously unreleased songs to soundtrack are Nine Days, Vertical Horizon, SR-71 and Wheatus. A new remix of Outkast's hit single "So Fresh, So Clean" is also included.

Eve 6, whose "Here's to the Night" gave their second album, Horrorscope, a late push, covered the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" for the album.

"I'm Just a Kid," by Canadian punk rockers Simple Plan, will be the soundtrack's first single.

In the film, Qualls plays a nerd who gets expelled and ends up in prison, where his cellmate helps him change his image. He returns to a different school and becomes the coolest kid in his class.

"The New Guy" opens February 22. The soundtrack will hit stores February 19.

"The New Guy" soundtrack track list, according to Epic:

• Mystikal - "The New Guy"

• Simple Plan - "I'm Just a Kid"

• Eve 6 - "You Really Got Me"

• Juvenile - "Keep the Party Goin'"

• Outkast - "So Fresh, So Clean"

• Green Day - "Outsider"

• B2K - "Uh Huh"

• Rehab - "So Dizzy"

• OPM - "Break Out"

• Wheatus - "Dark Side"

• Nine Days - "I Love You"

• Vertical Horizon - "Heart in Hand"

• JT Money - "Hi Lo"

• SR-71 - "Let It Whip"

• Green Day
• Eve 6
• Mystikal
• Juvenile
• SR-71

Wyclef Jean
Photo: Columbia

Wyclef Jean, Macy Gray and Sheryl Crow are among the artists who will be heard on the fifth installment of the A Very Special Christmas series.

This year's edition, due November 6, features 15 traditional holiday songs rearranged or rewritten by artists from an array of genres, Interscope Records said.

A Very Special Christmas 4, released in the fall of 1999, was a live album recorded at a concert held the previous year in Washington, D.C. (see "Crow, Blige, Run-DMC On Live 'Very Special Christmas' Album"). The first three, like the new LP, were compilations.

A Very Special Christmas 5 also includes songs from Dido, City High, Eve 6, Stevie Nicks, B.B. King and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, among others.

Wyclef covers "The Little Drummer Boy," during which he breaks into the Calypso standard "Hot, Hot, Hot." He also produced City High's funky "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and raps on Stevie Wonder's "Merry Christmas Baby." Wonder also duets with singer Kimberley Brewer on "I Love You More."

"Merry Christmas Baby" is the first single from the LP, and a video for the song, featuring Wyclef in a Santa suit, is currently being cut.

Aside from producing the album with Bobby Shriver, Jon Bon Jovi contributes a bluesy rendition of "Blue Christmas." Bon Jovi and his namesake band have contributed to three of the four previous A Very Special Christmas records.

Most of the material on A Very Special Christmas 5 was recorded specifically for the LP, which, like the past projects, benefits the Special Olympics.

The new album includes a live version of Stevie Nicks' "Silent Night," which was featured on the first A Very Special Christmas in 1987.

A Very Special Christmas 5 track list, according to Interscope:

• Macy Gray - "This Christmas"
• Wyclef Jean - "The Little Drummer Boy/Hot, Hot, Hot"
• Eve 6 - "Noel! Noel!"
• Jon Bon Jovi - "Blue Christmas"
• Stevie Wonder and Wyclef Jean - "Merry Christmas Baby"
• City High - "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
• SR71 - "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You"
• Dido - "Christmas Day"
• Sheryl Crow - "Run Rudolph Run"
• B.B. King and John Popper - "Back Door Santa"
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Little Red Rooster"
• Powder - "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"
• Stevie Nicks - "Silent Night"
• Stevie Wonder and Kimberley Brewer - "I Love You More"
• Darlene Love - "White Christmas"

• Wyclef Jean
• Macy Gray
• Bon Jovi
• Dido
• Stevie Wonder

Bon Jovi
Photo: Universal

Bon Jovi may have outgrown the raucous hair-metal days of yonder, but the New Jersey rockers are still promising wild nights on their upcoming U.S. tour.

Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and crew will launch the 22-city One Wild Night Tour in support of last year's hit album Crush on April 18 in Phoenix, Island Records announced Thursday (February 15).

Bon Jovi are honoring their fans on the tour by making half of the tickets for each show available through an Internet presale at www.bonjovi.com/presale. Special passwords, sent via e-mail on Wednesday to those who have registered for the presale, will allow fans to buy as many as four tickets through Ticketmaster.com a minimum of two days before the general on-sale dates. Fans who register can also purchase Crush or the upcoming live DVD/VHS "The Crush Tour" at a discount price, and will be automatically entered to win an autographed guitar from the band.

First-time Grammy nominees Bon Jovi will compete for two of the honors on Wednesday: The band is up for Best Rock Album, for Crush, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, for "It's My Life." Crush, their seventh album, has been certified platinum in the United States and has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, according to Island.

"Thank You for Loving Me," the band's latest single, recently hit radio and video outlets.

Baltimore rockers SR-71 will join Bon Jovi on the tour. Though they're still promoting Now You See Inside, which includes last summer's hit single "Right Now," SR-71 plan to remix and reissue their independent debut album, Grow, for summer release on their own label.

One Wild Night Tour dates, according to Island: 4/18 - Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Sky Pavilion 4/20 - Anaheim, CA @ Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 4/21 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand 4/23 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Arena 4/28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center 4/30 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center 5/2 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex 5/4 - Columbus, OH @ Value City Arena at the Jerome 5/5 - Cleveland, OH @ Gund Arena 5/8 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena 5/10 - Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center 5/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena 5/13 - Washington, DC @ MCI Center 5/15 - Raleigh, NC @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre 6/TBA - Minneapolis, MN @ TBA 6/13 - Chicago, IL @ The World 6/15 - Detroit, MI @ PineKnob 6/21 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion 6/22 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium 6/24 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center 6/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ E Center 6/27 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Giants Stadium

• Bon Jovi
• Jon Bon Jovi
• SR-71

SR-71
Photo: RCA

Although Baltimore's SR-71 ended 2000 by watching their major-label debut album, Now You See the Inside, reach gold status, the power-pop foursome are still living on a prayer.

Following a winter tour with Nine Days, American Hi-Fi and Collapses that hits the U.S. in January and then Europe and Japan in February, SR-71 will hit the road with Bon Jovi.

"I can't wait," singer/guitarist Mitch Allan said. "It's a trip, man. Here's a guy who back in the '80s, when we were in junior high and high school, we listened to and looked after. He was at the top of the music world. It doesn't get any bigger. Now we actually have a chance to support him on the road. In the '80s, Bon Jovi pretty much brought the rock back, and now it's starting to come back again, and I would like to think we're part of the new rock." Dates for the Bon Jovi tour have not been announced, but Allan said it kicks off April 18 and runs six weeks.

SR-71, whose lineup also includes guitarist Mark Beauchemin, bassist Jeff Reid and drummer Dan Garvin, began touring nationally last year with Marvelous 3 and went on to headline tours with Wheatus and Harvey Danger.

"It's hard because you are playing an hour's worth of music that if people don't have your one record, they don't know," Allan said.

"But we're out with our friends [now], and it's easy. We're playing some of the smaller towns that go crazy because they don't get some of the big bands. When we do Bon Jovi, it's all major markets, so we figured we'll hit the smaller markets now and make some kids happy." SR-71 are still promoting Now You See the Inside, which includes last summer's hit single, "Right Now," though Allan said the band plans to remix and reissue their independent debut, Grow, this summer on their own label.

"It has eight tracks, two of which actually made it onto Now You See the Inside completely redone, so people are going to have a chance to hear the original versions," Allan said. "Plus we're putting on the original version of 'Nontoxic,' which is also on the new record and is the song that got all the record labels interested in us." Meanwhile, "Politically Correct," the second single from Now You See the Inside and an ode to Mel Brooks' 1974 classic comedy "Blazing Saddles," is #22 and climbing on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The band recently performed the song on "Baywatch Hawaii" (see "SR-71 Heads To "Baywatch," Talks Next Single").

"There were plenty of scantily clad women," Allan said. "We made a lot of friends." As for Bon Jovi, the New Jersey rockers were nominated for their first two Grammy Awards last week, for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for "It's My Life" and Best Rock Album for Crush, their seventh album. Bon Jovi's new single, "Thank You for Loving Me," just hit radio and video outlets.

SR-71 tour dates:

• 1/10 - Hilton Head Island, SC @ Blue Nite Cafe
• 1/11 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
• 1/12 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
• 1/13 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
• 1/16 - Jacksonville, FL @ Club 618
• 1/17 - Fort Myers, FL @ Orbit Nightclub
• 1/18 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
• 1/19 - Tallahassee, FL @ Floyd's Music Store
• 1/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
• 1/23 - Chattanooga, TN @ Rhythm & Brews
• 1/24 - Nashville, TN @ 328 Performance Hall
• 1/25 - Big Rapids, MI @ Wink Arena
• 1/26 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
• 1/27 - Johnson City, TN @ Rafters
• 1/30 - Concord, NH @ Chubb Theatre
• 1/31 - Killington, VT @ Pickelbarrel

• SR-71
• Bon Jovi
• Jon Bon Jovi

Following the conclusion of its current fall American tour, SR-71 will tape a performance of its next single, "Politically Correct," for an upcoming episode of "Baywatch Hawaii."

The Baltimore-based group, which is currently out on the road with Marvelous 3 (see "Marvelous 3's Walker On Writing, Touring With SR-71"), is scheduled to film its part for the show's season finale on November 2 in a local club in Hawaii.

SR-71 plans to release its "Politically Correct" single, the follow-up to the band's "TRL" hit "Right Now," to radio outlets five days after the shoot, which, conveniently enough, falls on Election Day.

In the track, SR-71 pays homage to the irreverent humor of Mel Brooks' 1974 classic comedy, "Blazing Saddles," a film band frontman Mitch Allan doesn't believe could be made today.

"'Blazing Saddles' pushed every boundary,"Allan told MTV News.

"C'mon, [what about] 'Spaceballs'?" joked bassist Jeff Reid.

"[Brooks] did everything," Allan added, "and you know who co-wrote that movie? Richard Pryor. The best part about that [collaboration] is that you [could] get away with that, everything that they did, because here's a guy, Richard Pryor, at the other end of the spectrum.

"[He's a] member of the African-American community, as opposed to [Brooks'] Jewish minority. Now you can poke fun at everything and everybody, and they just jabbed at everybody and they pushed and they pushed and they pushed. I don't think you could do that today. I think that's the bottom line. I think Keenan Ivory Wayans has tapped into that."

"He's tried," Reid interjected.

"But he's gotten so much crap because of it," Allan said. "I mean, how much sh** can you tolerate from people telling you 'That's offensive,' before you finally say, 'You know what? I'm sick and tired of hearing it.'"

"I think 'South Park' is coming pretty close," Reid noted.

"They're more of a Farrelly brothers sick humor than they are poking fun at stereotypes in each other," Allan answered.

"It's not like Archie Bunker [on 'All In The Family']," Reid said.

"Exactly," Allan agreed.