June 4, 2010 -- It was hard to miss the Stones last month, as they took over the airwaves to promote the reissue of "Exile On Main Street." They ventured out of their comfort zones by appearing on TV shows you wouldn't normally expect to see them on. Mick popped in on Larry King, Keith did a sit-down with Jimmy Fallon, and even Charlie grabbed a few seconds of face-time on NBC.

The three Stones descended upon New York City to partake in the media blitz. While here, they also attended the May 11 premiere of the "Stones In Exile" documentary at the Museum of Modern Art. (Photo top left.)

By far, the band's heaviest TV exposure last month came via the Fallon show on NBC. For five consecutive nights, beginning May 10, the Stones took part in comedy bits -- yes, even Charlie -- as bands like Phish, Sheryl Crow, and Green Day performed songs off of "Exile." And when Keith sat down for his interview with Fallon, it marked his first-ever chat on late-night TV.

And so, in case you've been in a cave, here's what the "Exile" hoopla is all about:

The Stones remastered their classic "Exile On Main Street" album, and, on May 18, released it as a deluxe package with ten previously unreleased bonus tracks. Unearthed from the vaults were alternate versions of "Soul Survivor" (featuring Keith on vocals) and "Tumbling Dice" (titled "Good Time Women" in its earlier incarnation), among many other gems.

Although the bonus outtakes come from the "Exile" sessions, which took place almost 40 years ago, Mick recently touched some of them up. For instance, "Following The River," a track that originally existed in the vaults as an instrumental, was given new life last year when Mick came up with lyrics and laid down a vocal track. Word has it that erstwhile guitarist Mick Taylor was even brought in last year to overdub some guitar parts. (Mick Taylor, by the way, recently launched a solo tour of U.S. nightclubs. But he took ill after the third show and had to cancel the remaining dates.)

As for the "Stones In Exile" film, it will be released on DVD on June 22. It's a documentary about the "Exile" recording sessions, featuring old clips and new interviews. Parts of it were shown on NBC during Jimmy Fallon's "Stones Week." (When Fallon announced that the DVD will offer Spanish, French, and Portuguese translations, Mick added that "Keith actually makes more sense in Portuguese.")

Following his media appearances in New York, Mick headed to France, to screen "Stones In Exile" at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19.

Keith stuck around New York, where he attended a show by Bernard Fowler and Waddy Wachtel at the Canal Room on May 25. (Bernard, of course, is the back-up singer for the Stones, while Waddy was Keith's bandmate in the X-Pensive Winos. The additional draw for Keith was that his daughter Alexandra handled the club's DJ duties that night. She spun no Stones songs, but Keith was still proud.)

Noticeably absent from all this, of course, has been Ronnie Wood. But since he wasn't a member of the Stones during their "Exile" period, he had no reason to participate in the media blitz. He's got a solo album he's hoping to release, titled "I Feel Like Playing," and he'll be reuniting this summer with two of his old Faces mates.

Along with drummer Kenney Jones and keyboardist Ian McLagan, Ronnie will be playing the Goodwood Festival in West Sussex, England, on August 13. They're being billed as the Faces, even though Rod Stewart won't be there. Mick Hucknall, formerly of Simply Red, will spell Rod, while Glenn Matlock, originally of the Sex Pistols, will play bass. Additional European dates are being considered.

Ronnie, by the way, has done a decent job of staying out of the tabloids lately, as he is now dating someone young enough to be his daughter, not his granddaughter.