The Eels will kick off a tour with an appearance at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin on March 16th. The dates are in support of Souljacker, the band's fourth album, which the rest of the world has already heard, but will hit American shores on March 12th.

Souljackers will come with a bonus EP featuring a new song, "Rotten World Blues." The music from Souljacker can also be heard in Wim Wenders' new, ten-minute short film, Twelve Miles to Trona, which will premiere at France's Cannes Film Festival in March.

The Eels' main man, E, can also be seen in the upcoming Martin Scorsese documentary The Blues. E performs Skip James' "Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues." The six-part documentary to will air on PBS in the fall of 2003.

Eels tour dates:

3/16: Austin, La Zona Rosa
3/17: New Orleans, Tipitina's
3/19: Atlanta, Cotton Club
3/20: Carborro, NC, Cat's Cradle
3/22: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
3/23: New York, Irving Plaza
3/24: Boston, Paradise
3/25: Philadelphia, Theater of Living Arts
3/27: Toronto, Lee's Place
3/28: Cleveland, Odeon
3/29: Ferndale MI, The Magic Bag
3/30: Chicago, Metro
4/1: Minneapolis, The Woman's Club
4/3: Boulder, CO, Fox Theater
4/5: Seattle, Crocodile Cafe
4/10: Los Angeles, El Rey Theater

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(February 21, 2002)