San Francisco's Third Eye Blind will open for the Rolling Stones in Tempe on Friday. On Saturday, the group fills the opening spot in St. Louis for U2.
Quick, someone, light a candle and a say a novena. This is miraculous stuff here.
"I'm kind of scared to ask how it all came about, actually," says Kevin Cadogan, the band's guitarist. "Maybe we bribed someone? Who knows? It's pretty ridiculous to think about."
Ridiculous, but in a wonderful Frank Capra kind of way. The group's self-titled debut album isn't even six months old, but in the next eight weeks, the band will open eight shows for the Irish rockers, six for the aging bad boys.
Cadogan is pretty matter-of-fact about the business aspect of it.
"The Rolling Stones liked our record and contacted our booking agency," he says. "With U2, I think someone kind of slipped us in there. It's really flattering. It's like it just couldn't get any better."
There's a neat little twist-of-fate aspect about the whole deal. When the four Third Eye Blind members venture to Sun Devil Stadium for the Stones gig, it won't be their first time in Sparky's home. They actually caught U2's "PopMart" show there in May while they plied their wares at the Electric Ballroom.
"The U2 crowd looked just like a bunch of people in their 30s," Cadogan recalls. "It was older than I thought."
What else does he remember from that night?
"Well, it was funny, because we had just finished a sound check at the Ballroom, which was so ugly. I remember thinking "a little landscaping would be cool here.' "
Forgive him if things are going by in a blur. It's been a big year for Third Eye Blind, thanks to the darkly upbeat Semi-charmed Life, perhaps the happiest-sounding tune ever to deal with meth addiction. It cracked the Top 10.
"It ended up being extremely commercial," he says. "It's just a catchy little song, the kind of infectious thing kids might sing along with. Certainly Wal-Mart didn't pick up on what it meant."
For Third Eye Blind, the tune has meant huge success, obviously grabbing the attention of some important industry shakers. On their own, the guys still are playing the club circuit. The gigs with the Stones and U2, in front of packed stadiums of fans, are putting their faces in front of literally thousands of listeners.
"Well, more people are going to see you trip, that's for sure," he says. "It's funny, because when you ask most musicians if they like playing smaller things or bigger things, they're gonna say the smaller places, because it's more intimate, you're closer to the audience, that type of thing.
"But me, I just want to be on a big stage, playing for millions. I love hearing my guitar go off into space. I know it sounds like a big ego thing, but I love hearing the notes I'm playing bouncing off of buildings."
His life is more than semicharmed, no doubt about it. The group has been together a little more than four years. Although there have been the usual bumps for his bandmates - singer Stephan Jenkins, drummer Brad Hargreaves and bassist Arion Salazar - it has been a relatively smooth ride into the limelight.
"We went through a lot of disastrous showcases, failed attempts at getting signed, all that kind of thing," Cadogan says. "But it's all the emotions that every band goes through when things are getting pretty rocky. We always knew something would come along or hoped that it would."
Another neat twist of fate: The first concert Cadogan ever caught was a U2 show in San Francisco. It was the "War" tour. As for his Stones experiences, he's a little more vague. He hasn't even picked up the group's current disc, Bridges to Babylon.to now, just in case anyone else asks me that question."
"Actually, I haven't listened to it," he says. "But I'm going to."
(c) Arizona Republic, Nov '97