The Riot Before announced that Cory Manning(Bass) and Freddy Clark(Drums) have decided to leave the band. The band will move forward with Dan Zimmerman of Dirty Tactics temporarily filling in on bass this Summer, while they search for a new drummer. A statement from frontman, Brett Adams, can be read by hitting the jump.
After 5 years and 500 shows I am in the unfortunate position of announcing that Freddy and Cory, our band’s drummer and bass player, have decided to bring to an end their time with The Riot Before. The decisions were made about a month ago, both independently and amicably. There was a no big fight or incident that led to them choosing to leave, rather the culprit was exhaustion. The truth of being in The Riot Before, and I’m sure this is the same for a whole host of other small touring acts out there, is that you can either be in the band or have a life. It’s almost entirely one or the other. The jobs you work when home, the hours you work those jobs, the places you live, the tenuous relationships you hang onto, they all are governed by your involvement in this band. And about a month ago, Freddy and Cory decided it was time to focus on the rest of their lives. It’s a decision that I don’t at all fault them for making.
But it’s a unfortunate decision too. Over the past half-decade I’ve shared some of the best and worst experiences of my life with both of them, and it pains me to think that they won’t be there on tour in the future.
We have a song on one of our records titled Capillaries, which is named for the smallest vessels in the our body’s circulatory system. It’s in those tiny little vessels, so small that blood cells must bend in half just to pass through, that our body is fed by our blood. It’s in those near countless, tiny little passageways that our body is kept alive. And in the song I wanted to pose the idea that maybe it’s not our big, grand goals and ambitions that end up being the most valued, substantial parts of our lives. Those things may motivate us, but they don’t feed us each day. Rather, it ends up being the small things that matter. The highway tedium, beers on a generous stranger’s front porch after a show, passing European castles, passing cars while stranded on an Ohio highway. The countless little capillary moments that fondly overfill our memories. And I want to thank Cory and Freddy for sharing those with me. I want to thank them for putting their lives on hold for five years in exchange for making our band’s songs better. It means the world to me. And I want to wish them the best of luck, with whatever their futures hold.
As for the future of The Riot Before, it’s still expansive. Jon and I are as committed to the band as ever, and personally I’m excited every day for what the upcoming months and years hold in store for this band. Our good friend Dan Zimmerman from the great band Dirty Tactics is going to be filling in on bass for us during some tours we have booked later this summer. And right now we’re in the process of trying drummers out. If you happen to be a drummer that doesn’t mind pushing aside life for a while in exchange for some time in a van, hit us up at theriotbefore@gmail.com with “I like to hit stuff” in the subject. We have some cool stuff coming up, and we’re going to need someone to keep time for it.
Thanks to everyone for reading and listening and hanging out. We’ll see you on tour very soon.
-Brett
