Hootie and the Blowfish far from done
After speculations abound, ’90s alternative chart-toppers Hootie and the Blowfish are vehemently denying rumors of a break-up in lieu of lead singer Darius Rucker’s blossoming solo career. At least that’s what Rucker proclaimed in a recent interview with Billboard:
“We’re still a band. Even if something were to happen and we didn’t play for years, we would still consider ourselves a band. We’ve been doing this more than half of our lives…We have four shows coming up in March. But it was more the group wanted to stop touring every summer, to not go on the road every summer just ’cause we can. People wanted to do other things with their lives.”
Like marrying former wives of fellow bandmates?
Instead as the South Carolina native went on to explain, his recently released second solo effort, Learn To 
Live and the resulting #1 country single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”, the first by an African-American since 1983, by no means marks the end of Hootie. In fact, Rucker does plan on making another record with his main outfit, “it’s not going to be this year or next year, but I’m sure we will.”
But with the success of the solo career, Rucker looks to be sticking to himself for the coming months:
“I’m ready to start writing and ready to record. [Capitol Nashville] has a lot of single ideas for this record, so we’re just gonna play it by ear. I’m just gonna keep putting out singles as long as they want and stay on the road.”
It is also said that due to a stockpile of sixty songs from the Learn To Live sessions, a followup should be in the works shortly. Let us hope that while Rucker’s new direction seems to suit his down-to-Earth persona, he never forgets his roots and sends us all a new Blowfish record in the near future.
Darius Rucker chimes in on a long list of pop and rock icons of 2008 who are taking trips to Nashville. Betwixt the ever-popular tuna girl Jessica Simpson and uber-fem crooner Jewel to tabloid fiend Bobby Brown, artists seem to be intrigued by the organic simplicity of country music. While not everyone is thrilled about Brown and Jewel, the All-American genre is gaining momentum with new acts like Lady Antebellum leading the pack.
Hootie & the Blowfish 2009 Tour Dates:
04/03 - Columbia, SC @ Koger Center For The Arts
04/04 - Columbia, SC @ Koger Center For The Arts (early show)
04/04 - Columbia, SC @ Koger Center For The Arts (late show)
Darius Rocker 2009 Tour Dates:
01/15 - Tupelo, MS @ BancorpSouth Center
01/16 - Little Rock, AR @ Alltel Arena
01/17 - New Orleans, LA @ Alltel Arena
01/18 - Pensacola, FL @ Pensacola Civic Center
01/22 - Austin, TX @ Frank Irwin Center
01/23 - Bossier City, LA @ CenturyTei Center
01/24 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
01/25 - Lubbock, TX @ United Spirit Arena
01/29 - Dayton, OH @ Nutter Center
01/30 - Moine, IL @ iWireless Center
01/31 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
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