Those who’d like to hit the road with the band don’t need a special ticket or a tour bus, but they will need a computer and preferably a high-speed Internet connection.

The band plans to digitally document every aspect of not only the 25 concerts, but the long stretches in between gigs as well.

There will be daily-updated tour diaries, photos, a fan forum in which the artists will answer questions, contests and, of course, concert video as the caravan progresses.

Joining Death Cab For Cutie on the bill will be Jealous Sound and The And/Or.

The idea behind the virtual tour is to give people the chance to experience the rock ‘n’ roll road lifestyle – which they may discover is not as glamorous or as hedonistic as they may think.

All the band members will have digital cameras and laptop computers, and will record and report not just what happens on stage, but how they spend their down-time before and after the shows as well.

In addition, concerts in Los Angeles and Pomona on February 7 and 8 will be recorded for streaming online at a later date, and the February 28 Chicago show will be webcast live at the Holiday Matinee Tour Web site.

Death Cab For Cutie’s singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard, guitarist/keyboardist Christopher Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Michael Schorr aren’t amateurs when it comes to this touring thing. They’ve logged plenty of miles in the last year promoting their third album, We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes and an EP, Forbidden Love, released in October.