Third Eye Blind Opens Up With Indaba

Katie Hasty, N.Y.
Third Eye Blind is inviting fans to witness -- and even take part in -- the completion of its next album, "Ursa Major." The pop-rock group's first album in five years will be promoted through an extensive online portal via Indaba Music.Through it, fans will get an insider look into the completion of "Ursa Major," due in early 2009 via the band's own imprint with distribution from Sony/RED. Third Eye Blind will be updating fans via blogs and videos, as well as inviting readers to interact with the band by allowing user comments on song mixes, opening discussion boards and contests. The first competition is for readers to mix and add their own instrumental stems to the new song "Non-Dairy Creamer." Several other tracks will be previewed through the site.Third Eye Blind rose to fame in the late 1990s with hits like "Semi-Charmed Life" and "Jumper." The band's last studio album was 2003's "Out of the Vein," released by Elektra.The four-piece has two upcoming shows on its calendar: Sept. 27 at Stafford Lake Park in Novato, Calif., and Oct. 10 at Depaw University in Greencastle, Ind.