The Times They Are A Changing

Today a big ol’ jet airliner is going to take Magnapop over to the Netherlands for a brief tour of Belgium and Holland. I won’t be on it.

I’ve decided that as much as I love it, I can’t devote the time and energy it takes to play drums in 2 different bands. Something had to give. And since Magnapop is getting ready to drop a new album early next year, I decided that they were in need of a drummer who didn’t have a full-time job with a monster commute, another band, wife, dogs, cat, mortgage payment, freelance career, exercise regimen, very little free time and the need to veg the fuck out from time to time. They need someone who can bring the rock consistently and often. That’s not me anymore.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve been gallantly attempting to juggle all the things that are going on in my life. All of them are good things, but too much of a good thing gets to be a major drag when you don’t have time to wind your watch or tie your shoes or simply relax on the back deck of your house with a whiskey and a cigar.

So, about 6 months ago I started trying to learn how to say no. It was hard at first (n…n..nn…ah, fuck it, let’s rock!), but I quickly got the hang of it and my life is getting far less stressful every day because of it. Yes, it’s hard to say no to the opportunity to do some really cool things, but it’s also really fun to play fetch with your dog or go see a movie with your wife.

So, there’s a new Magnapop album coming out next year with my drums holding down the beat. It’s just that I won’t be touring to support it. Everyone in the band has been really supportive of my decision–I can’t overstate how cool they’ve been to play music with and how understanding they were when I broke the news.

I played my last show with them in Athens a few weeks ago and it was super fun. There were some Athens celebs in the audience (I spotted M Stipe, M Mills, Scott McCaughey (in town rehearsing for the REM tour), John Keane, and members of Macha, Elf Power, Widespread Panic and I’m sure many more) and I couldn’t think of a more fitting place to play my final show with Magnapop–the place where they started playing so many years ago as Homemade Sister. I’m going to miss the hell out of playing drums for Magnapop, but I got some really cool memories and lifelong friends out of the deal too.

So, good luck, Linda, Ruthie and Scott, I’m going to miss playing with you. If you need me, I’ll be in my back yard playing fetch with Charlie.