You think there is trouble in our country politically? Well, the general malaise extends to the music community. It would seem that most people these days prefer a DJ to live music. There are still some venues that book live music but they are becoming fewer and farther between. As a result, we have to take a break for a bit. We have spent the past two years living on a shoe string budget and it wore us down. Please don't think I am whining. We have had more fun than most bands could desire. However, many of the band members wanted to expand their horizons and we are taking this time to do so.
The music industry has deemed it necessary to bombard the listener with a mediocre selection of listening choices. There are still many great bands out there but it seems that the business of music finds it preferable to support the money making end of the business than to support artistic integrity. And the majority of the American listening public are happy to follow this trend.
Personally I think this is part of the culture of cool that has taken over in our country. Rather than being individuals, people are individuals as a group. To be considered 'cool' you must like and own the latest hot music offering. Don't step out of the box or you will be considered odd. This state of affairs actually goes against the idea of individualism but this is how the music industry traps listeners. To be an individual, you must like what all the other individuals like. Do you see the conundrum here? Baaaaa.
Punk music has been dead for twenty years yet the music industry is foisting 'punk' bands on the listeners. If the lyrics concerning the 'girl at the rock show' had been used when punk was punk, that band would have had the crap kicked out of them by every self respecting punk band. We have returned to the era of Pat Boone and Fabian with tripe being dressed up in punk clothing...and it is being accepted. Mistrust music reviewers also. I suspect that they are compensated for favorable reviews!
Stop listening to main stream radio. Stop giving your money to the fat cats who have no love of music but rather a love of money (in case you need further edification, I am referring to the big music combines like Sony). These blood sucking behemoths are designed to take your money instead of offering the music fan a good product. How many times can you listen to some whiny dude or dudette complain that their love life sucks of that they were mistreated in life? It is all the same music. From Nora Jones to the son of Iglesias to what ever latest angst merchant the industry finds (come on, who doesn't agree that the latest Bare Naked Ladies song about a breakup is a piece of fluff? I thought it was recorded by a Broadway cast not a 'rock' group!!!) are designed to take your money without giving you musical satisfaction.
One last question for you, if you are still reading this bitter diatribe, why has the cost of CDs gone up? Has the cost of the drugs the industry uses gone up? It costs about 79 cents to reproduce a CD, and less when the number of CDs pressed increases, so why are you still paying almost $20 for the final product? You can buy a DVD for about the same amount and that technology has been around for much less time!
I am sorry for screaming like this but due to the financial situation I outlined earlier, we have to take a break from doing what we love so much. Not that we were burning up the request lines or that the outcry for our live performances were so numerous but we still wanted to play for the few that would listen.
That's about it. Stay tuned. Support the local live music scene instead of paying outrageous sums to hear the mediocre 'national' acts.

We hope all is well,