PlayStation®2 Sponsors Road to Voodoo, Featuring Fuel, Smile Empty Soul and DJ Swamp

Twenty-One-City Fall Tour Paves the Road to 2003 Voodoo Music Experience

PRNewswire
FOSTER CITY, Calif.
09/17/2003

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today its title sponsorship of PlayStation®2 Road to Voodoo, a coast-to-coast tour that brings the music of Fuel, Smile Empty Soul, and DJ Swamp to 21 cities across the country. PlayStation 2 Road to Voodoo is presented by Best Buy and produced by House of Blues®, and will kick-off on the West Coast in San Francisco on September 29. The cross-country tour culminates in a blow-out bash in New Orleans in the midst of the 2003 Voodoo Music® Experience.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a )

In addition to its first-ever sponsorship of PlayStation 2 Road to Voodoo, the company also announced its sponsorship of the 2003 Voodoo Music Experience, which runs from October 31 - November 2 in New Orleans. Over the years, the festival has grown from a one-day event to a full-blown three-day music extravaganza. The 2003 Voodoo Music Experience features top musical acts including 50 Cent, Godsmack, Queens of the Stone Age, Staind, Paul Oakenfold and Marilyn Manson, as well as the PlayStation 2 Road to Voodoo Tour artists, Fuel, Smile Empty Soul and DJ Swamp.

"As sponsor of the Voodoo Music Experience four years in a row, we've delivered the PlayStation 2 experience to diehard music fans as they make their annual pilgrimage to New Orleans," said Sharon Shapiro, director, promotions, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "This year, we are expanding our reach by bringing the PlayStation 2 experience and a taste of Voodoo to fans in their hometowns across the country with PlayStation 2 Road to Voodoo."

On the Road to Voodoo

The Road to Voodoo tour begins just as Fuel's highly anticipated new album, "Natural Selection," hits stores shelves on September 23. "Natural Selection" is the follow-up to the Pennsylvania quartet's Recording Industry Association of America double platinum certified sophomore effort, "Something Like Human." Smile Empty Soul, the trio from Santa Clarita, Calif., will be bringing their hard hitting rock and intense lyrics from their latest album, "Bottle," to the Road to Voodoo tour, joined by DJ Swamp, who will add his dynamic hip-hop style and sinister rhythms to the mix.

"We look forward to hitting the road with PlayStation 2 Road to Voodoo and sharing the music from our new album with our fans across the country," said Carl Bell, Fuel's guitarist and main songwriter. "We are huge PlayStation 2 fans -- when we have downtime backstage, on the tour bus, or just taking a break from writing and performing our songs, we play games."

Sony Computer Entertainment America will give fans the chance to win a trip to the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans. The grand-prize winner will also receive a PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, library of software titles, an autographed CD from Smile Empty Soul, an autographed drum head signed by all members of Fuel, the entire Fuel CD catalog, and $75 toward dinner at the House of Blues in New Orleans. Sony Computer Entertainment America will also give fans the opportunity to meet the artists through local radio promotions in select markets.

Fuel fans can visit www.us.playstation.com for exclusive music and video clips from Fuel's new album. To register to win PlayStation 2 sponsored prizes, and to purchase tickets for the Road to Voodoo tour, visit www.hob.com.

PlayStation 2 at the 2003 Voodoo Music Experience

This year festival-goers can stop by the PlayStation 2 DJ Tent and groove to the beats of numerous DJs including Oakenfold, RJD2, DJ Dan, Sandra Collins, Bad Boy Bill, Felix da Housecat, Z-trip, ?uestlove, Rabbit in the Moon, and more. Concert-goers who stop by the DJ tent will enjoy new and soon-to-be-released software titles for PlayStation 2 including SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, Rise to Honor™, Ratchet & Clank™: Going Commando, NBA ShootOut 2004, and EyeToy™ (ESRB ratings E-M). And for those PlayStation 2 fans looking for more opportunities to play the latest software titles on-site, they can also stop by the PlayStation 2 Touring Attraction, a 77-foot truck featuring 31 interactive kiosks. For additional details about the 2003 Voodoo Music Experience, visit www.voodoomusicfest.com.

  Road to Voodoo Schedule*:

   Date           Location                   Venue
   Sept. 29       San Francisco, Calif.      Slim's
   Sept. 30       Anaheim, Calif.            House of Blues
   Oct. 1         Sunset Strip, Calif.       House of Blues
   Oct. 3         San Diego, Calif.          Cane's Bar & Grill
   Oct. 4         Las Vegas, Calif.          House of Blues
   Oct. 5         Tempe, Ariz.               Nita's Hideaway
   Oct. 7         Denver, Colo.              Gothic Theater
   Oct. 9         Austin, Texas              La Zona Rosa
   Oct. 10        Dallas, Texas              Gypsy Ballroom
   Oct. 14        Atlanta, Ga.               Cotton Club
   Oct. 15        Orlando, Fla.              House of Blues
   Oct. 18        Myrtle Beach, Fla.         House of Blues
   Oct. 19        Washington, DC             9:30 Club
   Oct. 21        New York, N.Y.             Irving Plaza
   Oct. 22        Philadelphia, Penn.        Trocadero
   Oct. 23        Boston, Mass.              Avalon Ballroom
   Oct. 25        Cleveland, Ohio            The Odeon
   Oct. 26        Detroit, Mich.             St. Andrews Hall
   Oct. 28        Minneapolis, Minn.         Quest Club
   Oct. 29        Chicago, Ill.              House of Blues
   Oct. 31        Memphis, Tenn.             New Daisy Theater

  *All dates subject to change

  About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one™ game console, and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Visit us on the Web at http://www.us.playstation.com/

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a
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PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

SOURCE: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

CONTACT: Janette Barrios of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.,
+1-650-655-5583, or janette_barrios@playstation.sony.com

Web site: http://www.us.playstation.com/

Web site: http://www.hob.com/

Web site: http://www.voodoomusicfest.com/

Web site: http://www.playstation.com/