While they get ready for their summer tour, the members of the B-52's are at work on separate musical projects.

Cindy Wilson's upcoming solo album includes the song "Ricky," written about her brother and former B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson, who died of AIDS in 1985. "I never could express how I felt about it, and the song is the best way to do it for me," she says. "It started off with a dream I had: I saw Ricky walking down the street in a crowd and he waved at me and smiled and I remember chasing him in the dream and asking 'Where are you going?' But I never caught up to him. It's so horrible he's not here, but at the same time I look back and think, 'At least I had the time with him that I did.' And the time we did spend together, it affected so many people."

Kate Pierson has been recording demos onto Mini-disc, and a couple of contenders have emerged early. "'Beauty and Truth' almost has a kind of dark feel to it with a really driving beat and a very intimate, breathy vocal," she says. "It has almost kind of a U2 feeling. And there's a song called 'Bridget Brigade' that has a really strong dance beat. There's a lot of harmonies with more traditional song structures than the B-52's."

Singer Fred Schneider and drummer-turned-guitarist Keith Strickland are also working on solo albums but are not as far along.

The B-52's will take the stage together on May 2nd at Atlanta's Music Midtown festival. Alternating between festivals and clubs, the run of dates will continue through a September 12th gig at Konocti Harbor in Kelseyville, California.

B-52's tour dates:

5/2: Atlanta, Music Midtown
5/3: Nashville, River Stages
5/4: Memphis, Beale St. Music Festival
5/31: Tampa, Taste of Pinelas Festival
6/1: Pensacola, FL, Springfest
7/11: Hampton Beach, NH, Hampton Beach Casino
7/12: Brockton, MA, Metrosouth Music Festival
7/15: Westbury, NY, Westbury Music Festival
7/31: Chicago, House of Blues
8/2: Sterling Heights, MI, Sterlingfest Celebration
8/3: Bethleham, PA, Musik Fest at River Place
8/7: Atlanta, Chastain Park Amphitheater
8/8: Raleigh, NC, Regency Park Amphitheater
9/5: Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Beach
9/6: San Diego, San Diego Street Scene
9/11: Saratoga, CA, Mountain Winery
9/12: Kelseyville, CA, Konocti Amphitheater

COLIN DEVENISH
(April 10, 2003)