As It Is founding member exits band, group announces ‘going-away’ tour

As It Is may be down a member going into 2020, but they’re going to make sure to give him one hell of a going-away celebration.

On Monday (Sept. 9), the British band announced the departure of founding member and longtime guitarist Ben Langford-Biss. The news came on the same day that the group was supposed to make a huge announcement. Considering the impact Langford-Biss’ departure will have on the future of the band, it was definitely a massive reveal.

After releasing a saddening (and lengthy) letter from Langford-Biss, the remaining members made it known that they weren’t going to let the guitarist leave so easily.

Instead, they’ll honor his decision to walk away by embarking on one final tour. Dubbed the “Ben Today, Gone Tomorrow” tour, the November-centric journey will find the group performing at venues across Europe.

The tour will begin on Nov. 4 at the Baroeg in Rotterdam and conclude a couple of weeks later on Nov. 15 at Dingwalls in London. The outing will act as both Langford-Biss’ final trek and a tour in support of their recently released record, The Great Depression.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale this Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 9 a.m. local time.

As evident by the tour plans, there are no hard feeling between the remaining band members and Langford-Biss. The letter to fans reveals that the guitarist felt that it was time to “pursue other paths and projects” and that his passion for “music has waned.”

He jokes that even though he’s leaving “his brothers” after this difficult decision, he’s hopeful that “they’ll still let me guest when I undoubtedly ask for a guest list spot to a show.”

Read Langford-Biss’ letter to fans here.

Last week, the group teased that there was a massive announcement and that it would be “the end of an era.” For some fans, they speculated that the band would be dropping their current emo look that came with the release of The Great Depression and begin a new chapter in the band’s history book.

Well, it looks like they weren’t THAT off after all.

The Get Up Kids extend 2019 tour itinerary

The Get Up Kids’ 2019 tour schedule just keeps on getting longer and longer.

On Monday (Sept. 9), the Missouri-founded band revealed a new set of tour dates for later this year.

The newly added gigs will find the band performing at venues across the United States in November and December.

The 22-stop outing will include shows in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, New Orleans, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and more. The newly announced trek begins on Nov. 13 at the Oriental Theater in Denver and concludes on Dec. 15 at Loving Touch in Detroit.

Before hitting the road during the final months of the year, the act has a slew of previously announced shows on tap including their performance at his year’s Riot Fest Chicago.

The upcoming tour dates are in support of the group’s first new album in eight years, Problems. The album, their sixth full-length record, was released in May and yielded several singles including “Satellite,” “Waking Up Alone,” and “The Problem is Me.” Problems is official follow-up to 2011’s There Are Rules.

The newly added tour dates come several days after the band confirmed the departure of longtime keyboardist James Dewees. During the weekend, the act posted a straight-to-the-point message stating that the musician was no longer part of their current lineup.

“James Dewees is no longer a member of The Get Up Kids,” the tweet reads.

No further information was given about the departure while Dewees has yet to formally comment on the matter.

THE GET UP KIDS FALL 2019 TOUR DATES:

Nov. 13 – Denver, CO – Oriental Theater
Nov. 14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Nov. 15 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
Nov. 16 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Nov. 17 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
Nov. 19 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Nov. 20 – Fresno, CA – Strummer’s
Nov. 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
Nov. 22 – Anaheim, CA – Chain Reaction
Nov. 23 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
Nov. 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Dec. 4 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
Dec. 5 – Austin, TX – Barracuda
Dec. 6 – Houston, TX – Secret Group
Dec. 7 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
Dec. 8 – Memphis, TN – Growlers
Dec. 10 – St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill
Dec. 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Southgate House
Dec. 12 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Dec. 13 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater
Dec. 14 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Riverworks
Dec. 15 – Detroit, MI – Loving Touch

Neck Deep bassist exits band

It looks like Neck Deep will be down a band member when their fall tour kicks off later this week. On Tuesday (Sept. 4), the Welsh band announced the departure of longtime bassist Fil Thrope-Evans just a couple of days before hitting the road for their North American tour. While some may want to twist the departure into something negative, the band shared a statement directly from Thorpe-Evans where he assures fans to “leave no room for speculation and make it clear that this is a decision born of positivity, not negativity, with no ill feeling involved.”

In his letter, Thrope-Evans reveals that his time in Neck Deep was nothing short of a “dream come true” and that he will forever be grateful for his time in the group and his former band mates who have been nothing but supportive over his difficult decision.

“Also want to mention early on in this that the guys in the band have been super supportive of my decision, and I know they are going to continue on their path to world domination with no problem.”

He goes on to explain that the next chapter in his life will be filled with a lot of new goals including music, business, and family. He also reveals he has been spending a lot of free time working on other music projects for himself and producing for others. Though no specifics have been mentioned, he assures fans that he will be sharing new music soon.

He closes his letter by telling the fans that he is remaining true to who he really is and he hopes that anyone reading his letter will do the same.

“I also hope this can serve as an inspiration to anyone out there who might be scared to chase their passion. Seriously, life is way too short for negativity, unhappiness, or delayed dreams, so start today and go for it!”

Thrope-Evans’ full letter to fans can be read here.

As mentioned above, Neck Deep’s tour with Trophy Eyes, Stand Atlantic, WSTR and Gardenside is set to begin this Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California. No word yet on whether the band will have anyone fill in during the upcoming trek.

NECK DEEP FALL 2018 TOUR DATES:

Sept. 06 – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst^
Sept. 07 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Theater^
Sept. 08 – Las Vegas, NV – BK Bowl^
Sept. 10 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theatre^
Sept. 11 – Lubbock, TX – Jakes^
Sept. 12 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom^
Sept. 14 – Louisville, KY – Headliners^
Sept. 15 – Nashville, TN – Marathon^
Sept. 16 – Birmingham, AL – Workplay^
Sept. 18 – Columbia, SC – Music Farm^
Sept. 19 – Greensboro, NC – Arizona Pete’s ^
Sept. 20 – Richmond, VA – National^
Sept. 21 – Long Island, NY – Stereo Garden^
Sept. 22 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland^
Sept. 24 – New Haven, CT – Webster^
Sept. 25 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom^
Sept. 27 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls^
Sept. 28 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak^
Sept. 29 – Cleveland, OH – Agora^
Sept. 30 – Toronto, ON – Danforth^
Oct. 02 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts^
Oct. 03 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Clyde^
Oct. 05 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Club^
Oct. 06 – Des Moines, IA – Woolys*
Oct. 07 – Omaha, NE – Sokol*
Oct. 09 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater *
Oct. 10 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater*
Oct. 12 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fremont*
Oct. 13 – San Diego, CA – SOMA *

^ with Trophy Eyes

* with Gardenside

Ice Nine Kills drummer exits band

When Ice Nine Kills take the stage this summer on the final Vans Warped Tour, fans may notice a missing member. On Thursday (June 14), the Massachusetts-founded band announced the departure of longtime drummer Conor Sullivan. Taking to social media, the band unveiled the news, stating that Sullivan had decided to leave the group to pursue other musical interests and projects.

“After nearly ten years of working together and creating wonderful music and memories, our creative musical roads have taken us in different direction,” the remaining members posted in a joint statement.

In the same letter, the band announced that Patrick Galante (ex-Affiance) will take over their drum kit during the band’s trek on Warped Tour this summer.

“While it won’t be easy, filling his shoes on this summer’s final Vans Warped Tour will be our good friend Patrick Galante.”

The remaining members did not further elaborate on whether Galante’s stint will be solely for the upcoming tour or if he may become an official member of the lineup.

Earlier this year, Ice Nine Kills revealed that they were in the process of working on the follow-up to 2015’s book-centric album Every Trick in the Book. Last year, the band surprised fans by releasing a one-off single titled “Enjoy Your Slay” based off Stephen King’s The Shining.

Thirty Seconds to Mars guitarist exits band

When Thirty Seconds to Mars began their press cycle in support of their fifth studio album, America, fans began to notice that longtime guitarist Tomo Miličević was missing from all the meetings. In March, frontman Jared Leto advised fans that Miličević was taking some time off to deal with a “personal matter,” though fans were left wondering what exactly the personal matter was. On Tuesday (June 12), Miličević formally announced his departure from the California-founded band.

Taking to social media, the guitarist posted a letter to fans addressing his decision to leave the band he had been a part of since 2003.

“I don’t really know how to explain in a note how I could have come to a decision like this, but please believe me when I say that this is the best thing for me in my life and also for the band,” wrote Miličević.

In his letter, he continues to thank the fans for letting him live his dreams on stage every day for the past 15 years and thanks the Leto brothers (Jared and Shannon) for letting him be a small part of their massive dream.

“Most of all, I want to say thank you to Jared and Shannon for allowing me the privilege to be a small part of their dream and to have been able to share the stage with them for so long.”

For fans who are angry or sad about his decision to leave the band, Miličević had one final thought for them: “Please don’t be sad or angry over this and most of all, please don’t be divided over this. This is a good thing and will be good for everyone.”

Read Miličević’s full statement here.

Now that Miličević is longer in the band, there is no word on whether the band has found a replacement, though it looks like it won’t affect their summer tour.

Last week, Thirty Seconds to Mars officially kicked off their North American “Monolith” tour. Tonight, the band will perform at the DTE Energy Music Theater in Detroit with Walk the Moon, MisterWives, and Joywave. The complete list of upcoming “Monolith” tour dates can be found here.

Founding Taking Back Sunday member exits band

If you happen to notice that a familiar face is missing this summer during Taking Back Sunday’s North American tour, then you won’t be the only one. Over the weekend, the Long Island-founded band announced that longtime guitarist Eddie Reyes had left the band due to “personal reasons.” In their short post on social media to fans, the group did not further elaborate on Reyes’ “personal reasons,” just that they wish him well on all his future endeavors.

“Guitarist Eddie Reyes and Taking Back Sunday have parted ways due to personal reasons,” begins the group’s post on Facebook.

“Eddie was a founding member of the band and his contributions can be felt all along the way. John, Shaun, Mark, and Adam love Eddie, wish him well in his future endeavors and look forward to hitting the road soon.”

Reyes, along with fellow guitarist John Nolan, was the only remaining members from the original Taking Back Sunday lineup. Though Nolan left the band for a while to pursue his own musical endeavors (Straylight Run), Reyes remained on the guitar since the group’s inception in 1999.

Reyes contributed to all seven Taking Back Sunday records including their most recent release, 2016’s Tidal Wave.

Though Reyes is no longer in the band, it does not look like his departure will affect the band’s massive tour itinerary. Back in February, Taking Back Sunday announced a joint tour with longtime friends, Coheed and Cambria. The trek will find the two groups traveling across the country during the months of July and August.

The tour will officially kick off on July 6 at Bayfront Park in Miami and wrap up a little over a month later on Aug. 12 at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix. The complete list of upcoming summer tour dates can be found here.

Beartooth guitarist exits band

Beartooth are going to down a member when they hit the stage alongside A Day to Remember and Silverstein in mid-June. On Tuesday (April 10), longtime guitarist Taylor Lumley took to social media to announce he had exited the band. While some departures can be blamed on inter-band turmoil, Lumley was quick to point out that there is no ill will between him and the guys.

Instead, the musician revealed in a short post on Twitter that his reason for leaving was more personal; he wants to spend time on his art and life.

“Hey y’all, I quit Beartooth today to focus more on my life and my art,” he posted on Twitter.

“I love all the dudes in our band and crew like family and there was no ill will at all. Thank y’all for loving me through this chapter of my life, and encouraging me to love myself. I’ll be back?” Alongside the post, Lumley added a gif of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Lumley joined Beartooth in 2013.

Though Lumley formally announced his departure from the group yesterday afternoon, the rest of the band members have yet to comment on his decision and whether this will affect their upcoming show (June 16 at the Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City, Iowa) or the new album.

Last month, vocalist Caleb Shomo confirmed the group was working on their new album, though it was taking a little longer than they anticipated. According to Shomo, they are taking their time because the guys want the new record to be the record they deserve.

“This record is extremely important to me, mainly because I feel like I owe you all the record you deserve.”

Beartooth’s last studio album was 2016’s Aggressive.

Panic! at the Disco bassist exits band

Just a few days before the new year is set to begin, Panic! at the Disco has revealed that they will be down a member in 2018. On Wednesday (Dec. 27) longtime bassist Dallon Weekes formally announced his departure from the Las Vegas-founded act. Taking to Instagram, the musician announced his exit from the band after eight years.

“For the last eight years, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to perform in Panic! at the Disco,” Weekes wrote in an Instagram post. “While I’m sad to announce that my time with Panic! has come to an end, I’m excited to continue making music with my new project, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me.”

Weekes joined Panic! at the Disco as a touring member in 2009 and in 2010 officially became a full-time member. Weekes went on to perform on Panic! at the Disco’s fourth studio album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! before returning to a touring musician position in 2015. To read Weekes’ full departure announcement, head on over to his Instagram profile here.

A few months ago, Weekes launched a side project named I Don’t Know How But They Found Me with former Falling in Reverse drummer Ryan Seaman. As said in his departure post, it looks like Weekes’ main focus will now be on I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. For now, you can stream IDKHBTFM’s first single “Choke” here.

As for Panic! at the Disco, the band released a new Christmas song titled “Feels Like Christmas” just in time for the holiday. The week before that, the group released their second live album, All My Friends We’re Glorious.

As It Is parts ways with longtime guitarist

If you’re a fan of As It Is, then you may notice that someone will be missing from the stage during the group’s last set to tour dates. On Monday (Oct. 9), the British band announced that they had parted way with longtime guitarist Andy Westhead. News of Westhead’s exit began when a fan took to Twitter to make sure the musician was okay after not being present at a recent show.

Westhead responded to the inquiry with “I guess the others didn’t think you guys were worth an explanation either – I wish the others would allow me to be there.” A few hours after the post was made public, the remaining members of the group (Patty Walters, Patrick Foley, Benjamin Langford-Biss, Alistair Testo) released an unofficial press statement about Westhead’s abrupt departure. According to the letter, the band wanted to reveal the news to their longtime followers, but they were hoping to “make one with Andy’s full involvement and approval.” That ended up not being the case when Westhead went forward with his response to the fan’s question.

According to the statement, issue between the band members and Westhead began in August when they realized that they could no longer work with Westhead. As the letter goes on to explain, “feelings and differences had been building up for at least a year” and even though they tried to make things better, things did not improve. According to the group, they constantly conversed with Westhead, reiterating that the reason for them moving forward without him all stemmed from the same issue and were surprised when Westhead took to social media to throw the other band members under the bus. As It Is’ full statement about Westhead’s exit can be read here.

As It Is is currently in the middle of Neck Deep’s “The Peace and the Panic” UK/ European tour. After wrapping up their time on the tour in late October, As It Is will join Waterparks on their “Made in America” tour which will find them performing across North America during the months of November and December. Earlier this year, As It Is released their sophomore album, Okay.

Of Mice and Men frontman leaves band, group issues statement

As the world was getting ready to bid adieu to 2016, fans of Of Mice and Men were given the news that an important member of the band will no longer be featured in the lineup. On Friday (Dec. 30), frontman Austin Carlile announced he had departed the band. The singer’s announcement came a couple of months after the band had to pull out of their European tour due to Carlile having to undergo surgery again for his Marfan’s Syndrome. In a lengthy post to fans. The former frontman revealed in the post that he finally realized he needed to stop during that cancelled tour. “I had three tears in my dual sac surrounding my spinal cord, and we discovered that every time I would push down to scream spinal fluid would rush though the tears which was causing me the violent pain every time I’d perform,” Carlile explains in his letter. Since revealing to the public his longtime struggle with Marfan’s Syndrome last year, the frontman has been open about his struggle every day.

During his time in the hospital in 2015, Carlile had assured fans that he was hopeful he would be well enough to perform for the group’s dedicated followers. Apparently, as explained to Carlile, his team of medical professionals had advised him that if he continued, he would cause “permanent and irrevocable damage” to his spinal cord and nervous system. Because of the news, Carlile decided to step away from the band, even if he says it was the hardest thing he had to do. “After learning this I realized that I had to step away from Of Mice and Men. No longer able to scream most of our old material, or continue to scream on anything new, I cannot continue on. This has been the hardest thing that has happened in my life for a very long time, but thankfully the band, my family, and closest friends stand behind me and understand.”

As stated in Carlile’s letter, the remaining members of Of Mice and Men (Aaron Pauley, Alan Ashby, Phil Manansala, and Valentino Arteaga) are supportive of his decision, especially his well-being was always important to them. “Though we’re heartbroken that he [Austin] can no longer continue, his health has always been of utmost importance to us and we support him now in this decision and are proud of his perseverance over the years.”

While they are currently down a singer, the band has announced that they will continue as a four-piece. Currently, the first show the band has planned for 2017 is their appearance at the Download Festival during the weekend of June 9-11 in the United Kingdom. After that, they are scheduled to hit the European road later that month. For now, both letters from Carlile and the remaining members of Of Mice and Men can be seen here.