Breaking Up is Hard to Do

 In the immortal albeit slightly lesser known words of Mr Gump:  

 "It happens."

 The Police. The Fugees. The (real) Smashing Pumpkins. Wham.

 Be it the ubiquitous "creative differences", conflicting egos, or just the desire to move on to something new, Life has a way of getting bands to call it quits.

   After the demise of grey, I myself remember feeling like I had been tossed aside by a significant other for a taller, cooler bass player with bigger sunglasses, a better car, and more comic books.  A scant handful of hours later I found myself at a local venue engaged in some dedicated wallowing with the assistance of a friendly bartender.  I had run into an acquaintance there, another bassists who's band had also passed away after a long period of illness.

Our  boo hooing was largely confined to shouting in one anothers' ear as the live act that was still enviously alive and rocking was quite loud. We used the silence between songs to fill our cups and privately reflect on all the could-have-beens.  Someone had the bright idea to form a band together--but as we both played the same instrument that train of thought didn't travel much farther than the next refill.  I listened to war stories about tour dates with Rollinsband. I divulged until then secret details of our New Orleans adventure. Slowly, the pity party turned into a memorial of the good times. After a while watching other people play didn't make me quite so sad.

Eventually, the show ended, we said our goodbyes and Life -- as it always does -- went on.

  The first time I heard These Black & White Flames I thought "Cool!" 

They had the sound of a band from our neck of the woods even though they lived all the way across the ocean.  We shared some of the same influences.  Following their progress, through video and headphones became a favored pass time. 

 Unfortunately, the band as we knew it is no more. The musician in me was bummed by the news, the feeling colored by understanding and memory. The fan in me though, was saddened in a whole different way. The loss of  getting to hear what a band will do next, one of my favorite things about music, made me frown my way through a listening of From the Inside of Outside.

Hopefully, we will see the members of These Black and White Flames  again.

Until then, I'll always have my ipod.  And the t-shirt.

C