The Dave Matthews Band [ tickets ] began selling a special package yesterday (4/21) through Apple's iTunes Store that includes an instant download of the band's latest single, "Funny the Way It Is," from the forthcoming album "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King," as well as future content that will be delivered through September, according to a press release.

Fans who purchase the package, dubbed an "iTunes Pass," also will receive exclusive live tracks from the band's spring and summer 2009 tours; the "Funny the Way It Is" video; b-sides and remixes; a deluxe digital booklet of the album artwork drawn by Matthews; and other DMB goodies that will be delivered to the purchaser's iTunes library as soon as they become available.

The DMB Pass, which is selling for $19.99, also will include a documentary on the making of the new record, and two tracks in advance of the album's June 2 release date ("Shake Me Like A Monkey" and "Lying In the Hands of God").

"Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King," which is the follow-up to 2005's "Stand Up," is described by the band as having a celebratory spirit with lyrical ruminations on fragile mortality. The album pays tribute to the band's saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, who died in the summer of 2008 while the group was on tour and midway through making the album, and features some of his last recordings.

The remaining band members continue to be the road warriors they've always been, as evidenced by a spring tour that kicked off last week at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Matthews and mates also will appear at Rockefeller Plaza June 5 for a performance on NBC's "Today" show.