Whereas XEB, as the Cadogan-Salazar-led quartet have christened themselves, have a more modest itinerary of cafés and bars planned.
This summer, the official band - which now consists of Jenkins, debut-era drummer Brad Hargreaves, and three other undoubtedly lovely guys who nonetheless weren’t around in ’97 - will do a gala tour of pavilions and arts centers and Greek Theatres and whatnot. Even mentioning that band at all in promo material triggered lots of ornate legal wrangling, to the point where one of the pair’s first reunion shows last year was billed as "Original Members Of Influential ’90s Band Play Their 1997 Debut Album!" In fact, this new project’s lead singer, Tony Fredianelli, is another estranged former Third Eye Blind guitar player - the guy who replaced Cadogan, in fact. The one not officially traveling under the Third Eye Blind banner. Salazar and founding guitarist-songwriter Kevin Cadogan - who left the band in roughly 20, respectively, after vicious and prolonged battles with Jenkins over the holy rock-band triumvirate of money, power, and credit - are on the other one.
But the punch line is that the album got so huge, and the band’s eventual split was so irreparable, that there are two bands now, and two tours. The full anniversary treatment is in order, complete with a victory-lap tour. Two decades! You’re (probably) old! But Third Eye Blind holds up. But it’s joined here by the tender anti-suicide PSA "Jumper," and the monster power ballad "How It’s Going to Be," and (personal favorite) the guitar-driven and bumptious and valedictory "Graduate." Add "Losing a Whole Year," and that’s five of the first six tracks: Few late-’90s records in any genre open stronger, or at least huger. But first, count the bangers: "Semi-Charmed Life," a peppy and sordid tale of softcore drug abuse, was their first hit, and remains their biggest hit by orders of magnitude. Third Eye Blind came out on April 8, 1997, and turned a quartet of wide-eyed Bay Area strivers into post-grunge superstars who’d soon find themselves opening shows for both U2 and the Rolling Stones, selling millions of records, and splintering permanently. That’s the song that gets me excited every time I hear it, still. Stephan’s vocals, and the guitars, and it’s got, like, triple-tracked bass on there? I mean, it’s nuts. "I’m so proud of that, and it still gets me hyped up every time I hear it," Salazar says. The instant quiet-to-loud supernova the cheesy falsetto the feral and sugary pop-rock roar the sturdy bass line the dude-bro wistfulness of frontman Stephan Jenkins as he wails, "I remember you and me used to spend / The whole goddamn day / In bed." Total banger.
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