this is from a while back, but was never posted
This week has been nuts. Three tests, a group project, a Tuesday night headling gig, and a Belmont radio show acoustic set. I'm beat. To add to all of my frustration, Alabama just lost to Auburn. FUCK! Josh is in Tuscaloosa currently and got to go to the game. But oh wait, there's more. Thursday night something happened that I knew was coming for a while. My stay with Belerian as their drummer was ended in an AIM chatroom, of all places. You see, since my return to Nashville in late August, my role in Moon Taxi has become increasingly important and special to me. I no longer feel like a "replacement" player for an already established band. Much to my surprise, I now feel like a very big part of that group, a group in which many anonymous people have told me that they see going very very far. It's not just that though. I finally feel confident about something that I do. I'm no longer concerned about playing music that I collaborate on as to whether or not people enjoy it (I've been helping Trevor with lyric ideas, and Tommy and I have been working on writing some instrumental sections as well). The fact that Tommy, Trevor, and Spencer (especially) have been pressing me for ideas has helped in the affirmation of my place in that band. I'm saying all of this to say something about Belerian. I was not kicked out, and I did not quit. It was a mutual decision by all four of us that I would not be able to give the band what it deserved upon Justen's return to Nashville. I think that this was the right decision, but at the same time I wish I could have convinced them to wait until all four of us were back and see what happened. But, in the end, the same thing could have possibly happened. Belerian will always hold a special place with me. It's the first band that I made semi-serious recordings with, it's the first band that I traveled a great distance with, and it's the first band in which I covered my half naked body in fake blood for a good sense of stage presence. It was very hard for me to let them say that they could start looking for another drummer. Very hard. After the conversation, I took about an hour to an hour and a half walk around Nashville, just to think about what went down and what I was gonna do now. I'm still upset that it came down to this, but I've determined that I'm better off and they are too. There's no way that I could have given them enough attention, and there's no way at this point that I'm not willing to give up Moon Taxi. It's just too much damn FUN!!! We're working on an album (15 songs) that will be available this March, hopefully. We've got gigs lined up for Nov. 30 in Nashville, another one over XMAS break in Nashvegas, one in Louisville, and one at Workplay in Bham right after New Years. We've got a fast rising fanbase in Nashville, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Louisville, Bowling Green, and hopefully soon in some places up North. I'm doing pretty well right now, having a blast, and learning a lot about music and about myself. I make more mistakes than most people, I feel confident in saying that, but I'm learning how to lessen that to maybe a 50/50 fuckups to thumbsup ratio haha. Still no romantic involvements at this point. Hopefully that'll be remedied in the near future. I'm lonely people, ok, all I do is play drums, drive, and drink beer. It's not a lavish life, but I like it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Finally, as for Belerian, I was a founder along with Justen. It will always hold a very special place in heart.