Third Eye Blind to play show at Ferris State
Third Eye Blind has been, writing, recording, and growing in anticipation for their new album and return tour, which will be making a stop in Big Rapids on Oct. 29 for Autumn aLive 2009.
Third Eye Blind (abbreviated “3EB”) is most often recognized from their sudden emergence onto the late ‘90s music scene, when singles from their debut album Third Eye Blind such as “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life” dominated pop radio rotations and had videos on MTV and VH1. To date, the album has sold six million copies in the U.S., easily making this 3EB’s most successful record.
Diagnostic medical sonography major and Ferris junior Katie Edgar remembers the band in its heyday. “I liked Third Eye Blind when they first came out,” said Edgar. “Their music was catchy and I could really associate with their lyrics at that time in my life.”
The band found similar, though smaller, success with their second album Blue in 1999. Shortly after the release of the album, guitarist Kevin Cadogan was booted from the band after not agreeing to a $1 million advance and EP deal that the other three members had agreed to. Cadogan was a critical member of the original lineup who co-wrote most of the songs on their first two albums, and following his departure the band fell into troubled times.
In 2003, the band released Out of the Vein, which didn’t sell to the same level as its predecessors. Elektra Records, 3EB’s original record label, was absorbed into Atlantic Records at the time of the album’s release, so the band found itself without label support. A year later the band was dropped completely from Atlantic Records, and from that time until now the band members have been doing their own thing.
With the recent release of their fourth album, Ursa Major, Third Eye Blind has been rabidly touring to try to regain some of their original luster. Many of the latest 3EB shows have sold out. Stories of fans sitting out on the first day of ticket sales, sometimes in the rain, have surfaced on multiple online news sources.
Freshman Kyle Andras, pharmacy major, speaks in consensus with most other 3EB fans. “When Third Eye Blind was big, I was too young to go see them in concert – my mom never would have let me,” said Andras. “It’s really exciting to see them return, especially to Big Rapids, because now I can finally see one of my favorite bands from my childhood.”
The band will be performing at this year’s Autumn aLive, which will be held in the Wink Arena on Oct. 29. Tickets are $10 for FSU Students, $20 for others, and are being sold at the Wink Arena Box Office, startickets.com, and the Rankin Information Center.