Dave Matthews confirmed with Rolling Stone that he is working on a new studio album to follow up last year's Away from the World. According to the interview, the band is currently working with producer Rob Cavallo and recording engineer Doug McKean, who both worked on the band's seventh studio album Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King.
"I've been in the studio trying to get a couple of things ready for the band to go back in, having fun," Matthews told them. "I'm just trying to come up with something that doesn't sound like the past."
The band kicks off their first ever South African tour November 30 and will play a milestone show on December 3 in Johannesburg where Matthews was born (he completed high school there then moved to New York in 1986). After that, they head out for a string of shows in South America then an Australian tour in April.
According to Matthews, fans have already heard some of the songs he's been working on. "There are some songs the band has been playing for a long time," he teases. "And then whenever I start messing around in the studio, I start writing, so hopefully we can come up with something worth listening to."
After these next few tours are over, the band will have time to revisit the studio and write some new material. "I'm excited about some of it," Matthews told them of the songs. "I'm just trying to suck blood from a stone."
In other DMB news, the band has plans to release a live album and DVD of their Charlottesville, Virginia show from November 19, 2010. It is due to ship around December 13. The show has been a hardcore fan favorite and on the wish list for a release for the past few years, according to JamBands.com.
While you wait for more news on the new album, check out footage of the song "Halloween" from that Charlottesville show here. Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
