I did provide one answer:
However, I know you deserve more. I am sure many of you are hoping for some juicy details, stories of debauchery and drug use. Maybe Logan slept with Enright’s girlfriend, or while Swan was doing jail time he picked up a nasty Meth habit, but, sadly, none of that happened, not even some AA time for Logan and his Ice House addiction. The reality is we are just moving in different directions. Swan approached the band back in May and asked us not to book any additional shows. As you may or may not know, he joined Union Tree Review as a “fulltime” member about a year ago, I guess. Over the past year scheduling conflicts have caused us to cancel a tour, miss practices, and decline gigs, so we kind of saw the writing on the wall. He also wants to start doing some writing, and he should. He is a great musician and has an amazing voice. There is no reason he shouldn’t be fronting his own band. So with 3 potential projects, something had to give, and it was So Much Closer. At that time, I asked the Enright and Logan if we wanted to push on as a 3 piece, try to find a replacement, or call it (I was hoping for push on as a three piece…in my mind the less schedules I had to deal with the better, and I have always loved the space and freedom a 3 piece affords). Ultimately Enright pulled the plug. What I write has never been Enright’s thing. While we share some middle ground with Tom Waits and Smashing Pumpkins, most of the bands I love he doesn’t care about, and most of the bands he is into I have never heard of, so he, rightfully so, is going to look for a project that is more aligned with his interests. We used to joke about who would break-up the band first, and my money was always on Enright. I mean I wouldn’t want to play music I just kind of liked, as opposed to loved. In the end, there are no hard feelings, lots of shared love for each other, just time to move on.
The worst part about this break-up is we are just hitting our stride; we have settled in and finally found our distinct voice. I cannot count how many people told us our set on Friday was the best they had ever heard us play. Really it is like any relationship. We are just getting to the good sex. Sure new sex is hot, all lust filled and passionate, but at times it is sloppy. You’re breaking lamps and falling off of beds, hitting the wrong buttons at the wrong time and trying to recover; you spend too much time fucking on floors and tables to really enjoy it, but after a year or so, you settle in…you learn how to make your bodies talk together, learn the sounds, the unspoken language…you’ve moved into exploration, and you feel safe enough to spontaneously introduce your desires. Friday was a perfect example of how we have developed and matured, and this video filmed by Jarred Gastreich captures us in our prime.
So Much Closer - Palace Doors from Jarred Gastreich on Vimeo.
So what happens now?
Well, you support Swan and Union Tree Review. We all wait to see what Enright gets himself into, and I do what I always do, build another band and play solo shows in the interim. Well, Chris is gonna continue to play with me, so they will be duo shows, but you should know by now I will never stop playing.
