Third Eye Blind tour charts path for ‘Ursa Major’ concerts

Five years after their last studio release, the members of Third Eye Blind are looking to a new tour to support two upcoming records. The 30-city tour launches on March 18 at the House of Blues in New Orleans, LA, and is booked through June 18 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose, CA.

Highlights for the tour, which is currently based mainly on the East Coast, include a March 21 set during the SXSW Music Festival at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre in Austin, TX, an April 22 gig at Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA, a May 2 performance at Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, and a May 15 concert at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, NJ.

Third Eye Blind is touring in support of the group’s upcoming fourth studio album, “Ursa Major,” which is tentatively set for release in fall 2009. The band has also lined up a follow-up release of rarities and B-sides, titled “Ursa Minor,” for a late 2009 or early 2010 release.

The band’s last full-length release was 2003’s “Out of the Vein.” Third Eye Blind is best known for its 1997 self-titled debut, which included the popular singles “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper” and “How’s It Gonna Be.”

The trio’s frontman Stephan Jenkins attributes the delay between albums to his difficulty completing lyrics for the effort. “As a songwriter, I was in this phase where, you know, there are times that you need to listen and times you need to speak. I needed to listen, and I wasn’t doing a very good job of that,” he explained in a statement on the band’s Web site.

Third Eye Blind itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)