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

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.

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.

The Devil Wears Prada Guitarist Leaves Band

A couple of hours after announcing they had officially resigned with Rise Records for the release of their upcoming new EP, The Devil Wears Prada had the sad task of informing fans that they were down a member.

Taking to Facebook, frontman Mike Hranica revealed that founding member and guitarist Chris Rubey had decided to leave the band.

In the post, he writes that Rubey’s decision to leave the band had been made back in October after they concluded their Mexican tour dates. Rubey explained that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and daughter as opposed to constantly being on the road; a very understandable reason.

Unlike the departure of many founding members, Hrancia reveals that Rubey’s exit “couldn’t be more amicable” and that they already had asked a friend of theirs to fill in his vacancy during the “Zombie 5 Tour” which kicked off this past weekend.

Read the full statement below and keep an eye out for the release date of Space.

Joey Jordison Reveals He Did Not “Leave” Slipknot

By the sound of things, it seems that the departure of longtime Slipknot drummer, Joey Jordison was not at all what the band had made it seem to fans.

Last month, the band has released a statement letting fans know that Jordison was no longer in the band. At the time, information had been scarce and the band had said that when the time came, they would reveal what exactly led to his abrupt departure.

Jordison now, has beat the band to the punch and released a statement of his own revealing that his departure was much more like the band firing him than him leaving the band for personal reasons, like fans were led to believe originally.

Read his statement here:

“To my fans, friends, and associates…

I would like to start the New Year by addressing the recent rumors and speculation regarding my departure from Slipknot. I want to make it very clear that I DID NOT QUIT SLIPKNOT. This band has been my life for the last 18 years, and I would never abandon it, or my fans. This news has shocked and blindsided me as much as it has all of you. While there is much I would like to say, I must remain silent to further details at this time. I would like to thank you all for your unwavering love and support, and wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year.

-Joey”

Recently, frontman Corey Taylor dispelled the rumor that the band were breaking up on Twitter. In his post which was dated December 29 he writes, “For those who think The Knot are falling apart, you are greatly and sadly mistaken. Bring On 2014. Great Things Are Coming. Stay Tuned…”