MTV News Online

After scoring a summer hit with a breezy cover of N.W.A's "Boyz-n-the-Hood," Dynamite Hack are getting ready to kick off their opening slot on the Weezer tour on Wednesday (Aug. 23) in New York.

The Austin, Texas, band will use the high-profile outing to help push its new single, "Anyway" (RealAudio excerpt). Two radically different versions of the song appear on the group's Superfast album: a full-tilt punkish workout and, on a hidden track, a piano-driven ballad sung by Emily Kate, sister of Dynamite Hack frontman Mark Morris.

Morris said he thought the gender differences in the two vocal interpretations of "Anything" would help bring added weight to an otherwise simple breakup song.

"['Anyway'] is just a straightforward song about losing a girlfriend and being angry about it," Morris said. "We have an acoustic version of the track where I play the piano and my sister sings, and it's the prettiest song and the best song on the record, almost.

"I think we're gonna try and do a video where we [begin with] the acoustic one," he said, "and then have the rock one come after it to give people an idea of our dynamic range."

"Yeah, 'Dynamic Hack,' " joked guitarist Mark Vlahakis.

"[My sister] sang in the choir," Morris said, "and she was always the soloist in the Christmas play, and she would always walk around the house and rub it in by looking at me and singing. Then I'd start singing, and she'd go, 'Uh-uh. Nope.' "

"She did it in one take," Vlahakis recalled of the session. "It was one of the most amazing things. I was in the room, on the couch, sleeping, and she just nailed it. It was amazing. Just beautiful, really."

Dynamite Hack will open for Weezer for the next three weeks and later will play dates with Goldfinger.

The tour with Weezer is a reunion of sorts, as Dynamite Hack hung out with Weezer's drummer, Pat Wilson, when the revitalized band was rehearsing songs for its new album.

"We stayed next [door to Wilson] when he was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel in L.A.," Morris said reverently. "He was telling us all about the [new Weezer album]. He was with their new bass player. Rivers [Cuomo], Brian Bell, Pat Wilson and their new bass player [Mikey Welsh] were rehearsing on Hollywood Boulevard in some rehearsal studio to get their new album ready.

"I was just like, 'Oh, yeah,' 'cause I didn't want to kiss [Wilson's] ass too much," he continued, " 'cause you don't want to walk up and go, 'Dude, you're my hero, man.' So I was trying to be too cool."

"So you pace around him," Vlahakis interjected, "and circle him like a shark."

"And point at him and go, 'Whisper whisper whisper. That's Pat Wilson,' " Morris said. "So, I got to meet Pat. We talked about 'Rushmore,' the movie, and he was real nervous. I had the 'Rushmore' soundtrack, and he goes, 'Isn't that a cool movie?' I said, 'Yeah, man, it really is.' Then he was like, 'OK, guys, I've got to go,' and he walked off.

"You could tell [he was nervous], because he was shifting a lot. I'd be nervous, too. I mean, look at me," Morris said, laughing.

Dynamite Hack tour dates:

Aug. 23; New York, N.Y.; Irving Plaza (with Weezer)

Aug. 24; Asbury Park, N.J.; Stone Pony (with Weezer)

Aug. 25; Boston, Mass.; Axis (with Weezer)

Aug. 26; Providence, R.I.; Lupo's (with Weezer)

Aug. 28; Washington, D.C.; 9:30 (with Weezer)

Aug. 29; Philadelphia, Pa.; TLA (with Weezer)

Aug. 30; Cleveland, Ohio; Odeon (with Weezer)

Aug. 31; Toronto, Ontario; Phoenix Theater (with Weezer)

Sept. 1; Buffalo, N.Y.; The Runway (with Weezer)

Sept. 2; Detroit, Mich.; St. Andrew's Hall (with Weezer)

Sept. 3; Chicago, Ill.; Metro (with Weezer)

Sept. 5; Milwaukee, Wis.; Rave (with Weezer)

Sept. 6; Minneapolis, Minn.; First Avenue (with Weezer)

Sept. 7; Columbia, Mo.; Blue Note (with Weezer)

Sept. 8; Lawrence, Kan.; Granada Theater (with Weezer)

Sept. 10; Austin, Texas; 101X Fest (with Weezer)

Sept. 11; Houston, Texas; Numbers (with Weezer)

Sept. 12; Dallas, Texas; Deep Ellum Live (with Weezer)

Sept. 14; Nashville, Tenn.; WZPC-FM Show

Sept. 15; Cincinnati, Ohio; Bogart's (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 16; Chicago, Ill.; House of Blues (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 17; Chicago, Ill.; House of Blues (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 19; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Club Laga (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 20; Baltimore, Md.; TBA (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 21; Virginia Beach, Va.; TBA (with Goldfinger)

Sept. 23; Philadelphia, Pa.; Theatre of Living Arts (with Goldfinger)

— David Basham, with additional reporting by Meridith Gottlieb