BOSTON, MA. (Top40 Charts/ Paid, Inc.) - RETURN TO FOREVER, one of the most influential jazz/rock groups of the 1970s, has enlisted Paid, Inc.'s celebrity services business (OTCBB:PAYD) to provide its fans with the experience of a lifetime and innovative state of the art fan services for its newly announced Return to Forever...Returns Tour - an extensive North American and European tour that will be their first performances together in more than 25 years. (related tour announcement: www.return2forever.com/index.cfm?pk=viewall&cd=NAA&pid=400132). Paid, Inc. will be managing the development and fulfillment of VIP ticket packages for the tour, overseeing its official fan club and web site, as well as handling tour merchandising for the band.
'I've been a huge Return to Forever fan for over 30 years and I've tried to bring that passion and the fan's viewpoint to the marketing of this incredibly special tour,' says RTF Manager Bill Rooney. 'Our relationship with Paid's celebrity services has enabled us to offer our longtime and new fans a very exclusive level of accessibility to what used to be the unreachable inner sanctum of a tour. This will be very exciting, and I believe it's of great value to fans of RTF.'
RTF was founded by 15-time Grammy winner, composer and keyboardist Chick Corea, who will return to the stage with the supergroup's classic lineup, which includes the renowned musicians Stanley Clarke on bass, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White. The foursome is scheduled to begin touring this summer, playing 50-plus dates across the U.S., Canada and Europe that will feature classic music from their chart-topping albums.
According to Corea, the group has long heard the call from their many fans for this tour. In his words, 'It's been a long time coming, and I think it's going to be a blast! We plan to take the songs from the albums we made in the '70s and just play them like they've never been played before.'
RETURN TO FOREVER is credited with helping to create and define the genre of fusion music, which brought multitudes of rock 'n' roll fans into the jazz scene for the first time. Their influence has continued to appear and evolve into many other musical genres popular today, and echoes in the hip-hop samplings of Dr. Dre and Lupe Fiasco and through a litany of today's jam, techno and prog bands.
'Our relationship with RTF will be all about fusion - bringing classic products and state-of-the art systems together for one cohesive and very satisfying fan experience,' Paid celebrity services President Keith Garde said. 'We are thrilled to take part in the excitement surrounding these incredibly successful musicians, and to help them leverage all of that positive energy in the areas of marketing, VIP packages and an online presence befitting a tour of this magnitude.'
This partnership with Paid, Inc. will allow RETURN TO FOREVER's musicians and their fans an opportunity to experience the classic sound while benefiting from completely modern methods of delivering the best possible live music experience.
Paid, a firm specializing in the coordination and execution of innovative celebrity-centric brand management and fan experiences, has assembled VIP ticket packages for the RTF tour that will deliver a 'once in a lifetime' experience for fans of the master musicians that make up Return to Forever. The packages will include highly sought after perks such as premium concert tickets, exclusive meet & greets with band members, pre-concert parties, pre-concert access to backstage and/or sound checks, exclusive merchandise, giveaways and much more.
VIP ticket packages are available per the schedule below. Unless specifically noted, tickets are on sale now via the stated ticket outlet.
May 29, 2008 Paramount Theatre Austin Austin, TX GetTix.net
May 30, 2008 Paramount Theatre Austin Austin, TX GetTix.net
May 31, 2008 Verizon Wireless Arena Houston, TX Ticketmaster
June 1, 2008 Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie Dallas, TX Ticketmaster
June 3, 2008 Paramount Theatre Denver Denver, CO Tickethorse.
June 4, 2008 Kingsbury Hall Salt Lake City, UT kingtix.com
June 6, 2008 Schnitzer Concert Hall Portland, OR Ticketmaster
(VIP package without tickets available from Return2Forever.com)
June 7, 2008 Britt Music Festival Jacksonville, OR Britt Festival
June 8, 2008 The Paramount - Seattle Seattle, WA Ticketmaster.
June 9, 2008 The Centre For Performing Arts Vancouver, BC, Canada Ticketmaster
(VIP package without tickets available from Return2Forever.com)
June 11 & 12, 2008 Shows 1, 2, 3 & 4 The Grand at the Regency Center San Francisco, CA Ticketmaster
June 13, 2008 Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk Los Angeles, CA Ticketmaster
June 14, 2008 Dodge Theatre Phoenix, AZ Ticketmaster
June 17, 2008 Fox Theatre St. Louis, MO Ticketmaster
June 18, 2008 Holland Performing Arts Center Omaha, NE TicketOmaha
June 19, 2008 Orpheum theatre Minneapolis, MN Ticketmaster
June 20, 2008 The Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL Ticketmaster
June 21, 2008 Freedom Hill Amphitheatre Sterling Heights, MI Ticketmaster
June 22, 2008 Murat Theatre Indianapolis, IN Ticketmaster
June 24, 2008 The Plain Dealer Pavillion Cleveland, OH Ticketmaster
June 25, 2008 Sony Centre Toronto, ON, Canada Ticketmaster
June 26, 2008 Ottawa Jazz Festival/Confederation Park Ottawa, ON Canada Ticketmaster
June 27, 2008 Place des Arts - Pelletier Hall Montreal, PQ, Canada Ticketmaster
June 28, 2008 Saratoga PAC 0 Freihofer's Jazz Festival Saratoga Springs, NY Ticketmaster
July 2, 2008 Utenos Arena Vilnius, Lithuania TBA
July 4, 2008 Congress Hall Warsaw, Poland TBA
July 5, 2008 Budapest Arena Budapest, Hungary Coming soon
July 6, 2008 Belgrade Arena Belgrade, Serbia Tickets.co.yu
July 8, 2008 L'Olympia Paris, France TBA
July 9, 2008 Vienne Jazz Festival Vienne, France TBA
July 10, 2008 Via Jazz Festival Madrid, Spain TBA
July 11, 2008 Cap Roig Festival Girona, Spain TBA
July 12, 2008 Lorca Festival Lorca, Spain TBA
July 13, 2008 TBD Valencia, Spain Valencia, Spain TBA
July 16, 2008 Neu Hardenberg Festival Neuhardenberg, Germany TBA
July 17, 2008 Pori Jazz Festival Pori, Finland TBA
July 18, 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux, Switzerland TBA
July 19, 2008 Grugahalle Essen, Germany TBA
July 20, 2008 Museumsmeile Bonn, Germany TBA
July 21, 2008 Indigo2 London, England Ticketmaster UK
July 23, 2008 Nice Jazz Festival Nice, France TBA
July 25, 2008 San Sebastian Festival San Sebastian, Spain TBA
July 30, 2008 The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre Miami, FL Sales to begin around May 14 via Ticketmaster
August 1, 2008 House of Blues Orlando Orlando, FL Ticketmaster
August 2, 2008 Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Atlanta, GA Ticketmaster
August 4, 2008 Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD Ticketmaster
August 5, 2008 Mann Center for Performing Arts w/ the Flecktones Philadelphia, PA TicketsPhiladelphia.org
August 6, 2008 Bank of America Pavilion w/the Flecktones Boston, MA Ticketmaster
August 7, 2008 United Palace New York, NY Ticketmaster
Event schedules, ticket sales dates and ordering information are updated regularly on the www.Return2Forever.com web site.
As part of the agreement with RTF, Paid will be managing the design, manufacture and sale of merchandise for the RTF tour and online.
Paid will also manage the Return2Forever official fan club and corresponding web site, www.return2forever.com - organizing a broad array of interactive communication and activities designed to strengthen the relationship with the band's loyal fans.
Paid's creative team has helped create Return2Forever.com with a full array of cutting edge features including the opportunity to sample and purchase classic and new RTF recordings, photos, exclusive apparel and other merchandise. Paid Inc.'s involvement adds a broad range of unique features, from the ability to offer online contests and promotions, live chats with band members, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia backed and certified by Paid Authentic, to the availability of virtual products such as RETURN TO FOREVER computer wallpaper and buddy icons. Registered fans will be able to receive up-to-date tour news including video updates and exclusive newsletters and can participate in online contests and promotions.
