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Pennywise gives away 'Reason' for spring run

Punk rockers Pennywise have lined up a late-spring headlining tour to support their latest studio effort, which the band will release later this month free of charge online.

The veteran Southern California outfit, which is scheduled to play parts of the Vans Warped Tour later this summer, currently is set to kick off the run May 6 in Salt Lake City. The 11-date outing follows an overseas stretch that takes the band to Japan, Australia and New Zealand in April. The Warped dates follow in July and August.

All of the group's currently scheduled US dates are below; for international shows, consult the band's MySpace page.

Pennywise made news recently when it revealed that its forthcoming ninth studio album, "Reason to Believe," would be released as a free download as part of a collaboration between the band, MySpace Records and online music distributor Textango.

"I think for a band like ours that has put out eight albums already, it's a great way to give back to our fans for their support over the years," said lead singer Jim Lindberg in a statement. "We can also potentially expose our music and message to people around the world who may have never had the opportunity to hear it because they either couldn't afford to buy a CD or they didn't have access to music outlets or good distribution."

The band worked with producer Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead) on the disc, which hits the web March 25 (a standard CD with two bonus tracks will be released simultaneously through Epitaph Records).

The new album is "a combination of what our fans expect from us with a few curveballs thrown in here and there," said Lindberg. "We have to be happy with what we're doing before anyone else, so it will all be about trying to challenge ourselves."