Glen Phillips, John Mayer team for club tour

Unsigned singer Glen Phillips, former frontman for Toad the Wet Sprocket, will hit the road beginning Jan. 25 for a 15-date, small-club tour of the northeastern U.S. with Aware/Columbia artist John Mayer.

Phillips is a touring veteran, having spent 13 years as the main singer-songwriter for Toad the Wet Sprocket, which chalked up the Top 40 singles "All I Want," "Walk on the Ocean" and "Fall Down," and the platinum albums "Fear" and "Dulcinea."

"We toured like maniacs and released six albums, and from time to time we had some of our songs played on the radio," Phillips writes on his official website. "We never fit in too well in the rock world, but many people were kind enough or not conspicuously cool enough to worry about such things and listened to us anyway."

Phillips recently released his first solo album, "Abulum," which is available through his site.

Newcomer Mayer is offering his major-label debut in late March. Produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, Ben Folds Five), the album features a full band--bassist David LaBruyere, who often accompanies him at live performances, and drummer Nir Zidkiyahu (Genesis, Alana Davis).

Phillips and Mayer, who have unofficially dubbed the tour the "three guys (tour manager included), two guitars and a mini-van tour," are supporting not only their upcoming solo albums, but also their recent inclusion on "Aware 8," an annual compilation of new independent music released by the label of the same name.

Aware's compilations are well known throughout the music industry for helping to launch the careers of several platinum sellers including matchbox twenty (formerly Tabitha's Secret), Hootie and the Blowfish and the Verve Pipe.

Joining Phillips and Mayer on this year's compilation are Peter Stuart (Dog's Eye View), Marty Lloyd (Freddy Jones Band), Howie Day and Riddlin' Kids. While the first seven Aware CDs are available in stores, "8" is sold only on the label's partner website.