"It hearkens back to the Sugar Ray videos of old," says singer Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray's new clip for "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)." The song is the band's first single from the band's fifth album, In the Pursuit of Leisure, due June 3rd.

"It starts off like that Car Wash movie," McGrath says of the video, "where you see a dirty-ass car comes through, and then it turns into like something out of a 50 Cent video with lots of T&A. We're a band that likes to embrace the video. If somebody wants chimps in the video, by all means go ahead."

Directed by Steven Murashige (Rage Against the Machine, the Ataris), the video features a cameo from actor John Witherspoon, best known for playing the dad in Ice Cube's Friday flicks. "He's actually at the top of the video yelling at us to get back to work," says McGrath. "He's so animated, and his dialogue is so funny -- basically, the entire campaign of this record will start with John Witherspoon yelling at us."

The song actually started as a lark. "We were like, 'What would happen if you took a classic rock song from the Seventies and mixed it with an early Eighties R&B tune,'" McGrath recalls. "We stumbled on Sweet's 'Love Is Like Oxygen,' and then for the chorus we turned to Midnight Star's 'No Parking (On the Dance Floor).' We threw a little Sugar Ray in the Nineties in there and we came out with this beautiful mess. 'Mr. Bartender' made all of us move our heads a little, and we were like, 'We gotta have this straight-up dance track.' As for the lyrical depth, don't go too deep -- you might hit your head on the bottom of the pool . . . you know what I mean?"

A planned collaboration with the Neptunes didn't pan out, but Sugar Ray got guest spots from Canada's Esthero and Jamaica's Shaggy. "Shaggy's on a song called '56 Hope Rd,' which was Bob Marley's address in Jamaica," McGrath says. "It's kind of a surreal vibey song about love and how we need more of it. Shaggy jumped on there and added some real nice parts to it. The texture of his voice is so amazing. He really elevated the song."

A tour with Matchbox Twenty kicks off April 26th at the Alltel Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas. "We'll try the new stuff, see what works," McGrath says. "We're planning on playing forty-five minutes. We'll be on while everybody is having their first beer."

The Track listing for In the Pursuit of Leisure:

Chasin' You Around
Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Heaven
Bring Me the Head of . . .
Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)
Can't Start
Photograph of You
56 Hope Rd
Whatever We Are
She's Different
In Through the Doggie Door
Blues From a Gun
Matchbox Twenty/Sugar Ray tour dates:

4/26: Little Rock, AK, Alltel Arena
4/27: St. Louis Savvis Center
4/29: Fargo, ND Fargo Dome
4/30: St. Paul, MN, XCEL Energy Center
5/2: Chicago, United Center
5/3: Milwaukee, US Cellular Arena
5/5: Detroit, The Palace
5/6: Cleveland, Gund Arena
5/7: Toronto, Air Canada Arena
5/9: Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena
5/10: Philadelphia, the Spectrum
5/12: Boston, Fleet Center
5/13: Albany, NY, Pepsi Center
5/14: East Rutherford, NJ, Continental Airlines Arena
5/16: Washington, DC MCI Center
5/17: Wilkes Barre, PA, First Union Arena
5/19: Manchester, NH, Verizon Wireless
5/20: Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
5/21: Rochester, NY, BlueCross Arena
5/23: Indianapolis Conseco Fieldhouse
5/24: Grand Rapids, MI, Van Andel
5/25: Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
5/28: Kansas City, MO, Kemper Arena
5/30: Denver, Pepsi Arena
5/31: Salt Lake City, Delta Center
6/2: Seattle, Key Arena
6/3: Portland, OR, Rose Garden Arena
6/4: Vancouver, GM Place
6/7: San Jose, CA, Compaq Center
6/8: Sacramento, CA, Arco Arena
6/10: Bakersfield, CA, Centennial Gardens
6/11: Phoenix America West Arena
6/13: Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Events Center
6/14: Los Angeles, Staples Center
6/16: Albuquerque, NM, Tingley Arena
6/17: Las Cruces, NM, Pan Am Center
6/19: San Antonio, SBC Center
6/20: Houston, Compaq Center
6/21: Dallas American Airlines Arena
6/23: Wichita, KN, Kansas Coliseum
6/24: Oklahoma City, Ford Center
6/25: Bossier City, LA, Century Tel Center
6/27: Memphis, the Pyramid
6/29: Atlanta, Phillips Arena
7/1: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Office Depot Center
7/3: Pensacola, FL, Pensacola Civic Center
7/5: Charlotte, NC, Charlotte Coliseum
7/6: Raleigh, NC, RBC Center

COLIN DEVENISH
(April 16, 2003)