Staph Infection Plagues Hootie and the Blowfish

Source: The Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/17/2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hootie & the Blowfish is again delaying the start of its summer tour as lead singer Darius Rucker recovers from a staph infection in his left knee.

Rucker has undergone three surgeries to clear the infection and is still trying to rehabilitate the knee, the band said in a statement released Tuesday.

The band will cancel four shows and postpone eight more. They already postponed the first 13 shows of the tour that was supposed to begin on June 29.

The tour will now start Aug. 10 on Hilton Head Island. Hootie & the Blowfish will keep a date to play three live songs July 20 in their hometown of Charleston as part of "The Early Show" on CBS.

The canceled shows are in Roslyn, Wash., Jacksonville, Ore., Ventura, Calif., and Turlock, Calif. The postponed shows are in Kelseyville, Calif., Temecula, Calif., Anaheim, Calif., San Diego, Livermore, Calif., Glendale, Ariz., Tucson, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M.