The band now boasts Ben Combe on guitar and vocals, in addition to original members Eric Gould (bass), Steve Molitz (keys) and Darren Pujalet (drums). The group plans to unleash more new material throughout its forty city cross-country Spring tour, which begins with an appearance at South by Southwest in mid-March. The newly formed quintet will also make appearances at Jazzfest in New Orleans and The Green Apple Music Festival in New York City. Listen to new tracks with vocals at www.myspace.com/particlepeople.

Ben Combe is a Massachusetts native who relocated to Arizona after his tenure at the Berklee School of Music. He has written and produced music for his former Arizona based project Badshoe. Combe was urged by a friend to send his CD to Particle for an audition and the band was so impressed they called him immediately. Metzger and Combe met for the first time at the band’s initial rehearsal and the new combination is yielding excellent results.

Gould, Molitz, and Pujalet have been preparing for this new phase in their evolution, writing new material and sitting in and recording with other acts including Blues Traveler, G-Love, and Umphrey’s McGee.

This past week, the band shot a DVD at The Fonda in Hollywood for release this summer via Shout! Factory, alongside special guests Joe Satriani, Robby Krieger, Blackalicious, and DJ Logic. Particle also debuted fresh songs including “Give,” which opened the show and reinvented Particle originals such as “Triple Threat” and “Simulator.” They also dove into each of the respective new guitar player’s catalogues and debuted Combe’s “The Sweeper” and “Losing It,” as well as Metzger’s “Smile” and “It’s So Hard (Believe Me).” The show also featured a stunning encore of Metzger and Combe reinterpreting The Verve’s “Lucky Man” before finishing off with an all-star laden version of “Superstition.”

Particle’s Spring tour kicks off with an appearance at SXSW with Brazilian Girls. After a short Texas run, the band heads West and will hit Phoenix and San Diego. The band returns to Boulder’s Fox Theatre and Denver’s Gothic Theatre before heading to Lawrence for an evening at the Granada Theatre. Midwest stops include Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, and Detroit. The East Coast is highlighted with appearances at the Paradise in Boston, the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, and the Trocadero in Philadelphia. The Spring tour wraps up in the South East including return stops to Charlotte, Asheville’s Orange Peel, and the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta.

Particle has been featured on CNN and in Rolling Stone. Their debut album Launchpad was named one of 2004’s Top Ten albums of the year by the Associated Press and they have appeared at Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Austin City Limits Music Festival. They have played over 700 shows in 8 countries since their inception in October of 2000.

Particle’s new dynamic allows the act to stretch in many different directions that had previously been off limits. The addition of guitar and vocal harmonies as well as the restructuring of their material and the magical journey to discovering this new incarnation of the band makes Particle a force to reckon with this Spring.