Staind gets ready for 2006 roadwork

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis will soon tackle a series of solo acoustic shows, but his bandmates will rejoin him for a winter tour that kicks off in late January.

The Massachusetts-based group, which wrapped up its 2005 tour schedule last week, gets back on the road with a Jan. 29 show in Philadelphia, and subsequent dates so far stretch into mid-February.

Lewis, meanwhile, will play a handful of December and January solo acoustic dates, including a four-night run at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun casino that concludes with a New Year's Eve performance. Details are shown below.

Last Friday (12/16), Staind capped its 2005 tour schedule with a stop in New York City that included an early morning concert on the streets of Manhattan, part of a send-off rally for radio talk-show host Howard Stern, who ended his 20-year reign on terrestrial radio that same day.

Staind's Stern-rally performance included the cut "This Is Beetle," a.k.a. "The Beetlejuice Song," a cover of a novelty song written and originally recorded by frequent Stern-show guest Lester Green (a.k.a. Beetlejuice) and Stern-show staffer Richard Cristy. The cut is featured on a recently released limited-edition version of the band's latest album, "Chapter V," which also includes a 36-page book featuring the lyrics to all Staind songs, a photo history of the band and liner notes, as well as a bonus DVD that features a full band documentary, plus extras including the "Right Here" video, two songs filmed live, bonus interviews and outtakes.

Originally released in August, "Chapter V" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's third consecutive album to do so. The set has spawned the hit singles "Right Here" and "Falling."