Flush with the news of the highest Billboard 200 debut of its short career, animated U.K. act Gorillaz has confirmed details for an innovative virtual U.S. tour. Unique performances will be streamed via the Web sites of radio stations across the country, beginning June 6 at KNDD Seattle’s www.1077theend.com.
Through June 21, the Demon Detour will “visit” the sites of 39 U.S. radio stations, and two national broadcasts, one via radio host Mancow’s syndicated show and the other via Sirius Satellite Radio’s Alt-Nation channel.
The activity comes in support of Gorillaz’ sophomore album, “Demon Days,” which debuts this week at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 after selling 107,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The mark is a career best for the act, which is a creation of “Tank Girl” creator Jamie Hewlett (aka Murdoc) and Blur principal Damon Albarn (aka 2D), who co-produced the set with Danger Mouse.
“It’s not enough that we’ve just recorded and released the defining album of the century, now we’ve gotta go tell the world about it,” Murdoc says in a statement. “We’re gonna play some live songs, maybe talk a little about the album, crack some jokes.”
Last week Hewlett and Danger Mouse were found actively supporting the set with promotional appearances in New York, Boston and Atlanta. In the Big Apple, they answered questions for a lunchtime crowd at the Union Square Virgin Megastore. Later the same day, Hewlett signed copies of the limited-edition Gorillaz action figures he designed for Kid Robot.
The Demon Detour will be the most extensive U.S. “visit” by the group, which is rounded out by characters Noodle and Russel. In support of the band’s 2001 self-titled set, the real-life counterparts of band members played shows behind a screen, onto which were projected images of their virtual selves.
“You know, doing a tour like this is a little like running for office, campaigning for the listener’s vote. Although in this case I think it’s a little er… like bringing the mountain to Mohammed,” Murdoc says of the radio station trek. “I mean, we’ve just released a CD with 15 f***ing good reasons to vote Gorillaz, so if that ain’t enough you’re probably not the type of fan we should be after anyway.”
Here are the Demon Detour dates:
June 6: KNDD Seattle
June 7: Sirius Satellite Alt Nation (Channel 21)
June 7: KCNL San Jose
June 7: KNRK Portland, Ore.
June 7: KMBY Monterey, Calif.
June 7: KCXX Riverside, Calif.
June 8: KITS San Francisco
June 8: XTRA San Diego
June 8: KJEE Santa Barbara, Calif.
June 9: KRZQ Reno, Nev.
June 9: KEDJ Phoenix
June 9: KMYZ Tulsa, Okla.
June 10: WSUN Tampa, Fla.
June 10: WOCL Orlando, Fla.
June 10: WPBZ West Palm Beach, Fla.
June 13: WNNX Atlanta
June 13: WEND Charlotte, N.C.
June 13: WDYL Richmond, Va.
June 13: WROX Norfolk, Va.
June 13: WHFS Baltimore
June 13: Y100.com Philadelphia
June 13: WHTG Monmouth, N.J.
June 14: WXRK New York
June 14: WBRU Providence, R.I.
June 14: WFNX Boston
June 14: WCYY Portland, Maine
June 15: WBTZ Burlington, Vt.
June 15: WEQX Albany, N.Y.
June 15: WZNE Rochester, N.Y.
June 16: WXDX Pittsburgh
June 16: CIMX Detroit
June 17: WGRD Grand Rapids, Mich.
June 17: WWCD Columbus, Ohio
June 18: WBUZ Nashville
June 18: KPNT St. Louis
June 18: KRBZ Kansas City, Kan.
June 19: WLUM Milwaukee
June 20: Mancow (syndicated)
June 21: WKQX Chicago
June 21: WMAD Madison, Wis.
Source billboard.com.
