A Map of Departures

Dear Friends, After 10 years of making music as The Blood Brothers, we have made the collective decision that our time together has come to an end. We feel extremely fortunate to have spent such a deeply memorable and amazing part of our lives with each other. At this point, however, we feel it's best that our futures move forward on separate paths. We'd like to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to all the bands we've played with, individuals who have helped us make our records, and fans who have come to our shows and picked up our music throughout the years. Your friendship, support and love hold such a profoundly special place in each of our hearts. We hope that the memories you attach to our music are as fond as those you have given us. Thank you and take care, we'll miss all of you. Love, The Blood Brothers

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Members at time of statement: Jordan Billie, Morgan Henderson, Mark Gajadhar, Cody Votolato, Johnny Whitney

Statement issued 8th of November, 2007, on MySpace.

Original URL: http://blog.myspace.com/thebloodbrothersband

hey

i know its been forever since i wrote anything on here. im sure by now most of you assume the band isnt happening anymore since there are no shows, no work on a new album, etc. well. i wanted to let you know that your assumptions are correct. we decided to stop doing the band... actually we decided that almost a year ago. we finished off our scheduled tour dates because there were good people working for us who relied on us to make a living and buy christmas presents and pay rent etc. we couldnt just cancel everything and leave them out to dry... plus i think we wanted to see if we would reconsider after being out on the road. our label was really hoping that we would change our minds, so they asked us to keep quiet about the decision for at first. well, its been quite awhile now and we are still very sure the band wont happen again, so i guess its time to say something.

we started as a punk band with pop aspirations and we met every goal we set for ourselves. a few weeks ago, the album finally went gold in canada and that was the final mark i really wanted to reach.. it was my goal to see how big we could become without ever compromising or changing what we did right from the start... and now i know. we did way more than i ever expected and i like to think the fans (you?) enjoyed it as much as we did.... watching us sneak our way onto network tv, big festivals and sports arenas... playing music that most people assumed only belonged in basements and dirty rock clubs. we played our first show in a living room on long island for about 12 people and played our last in the calgary saddledome for 12,000. ha! what more could i have ever asked for? ive been in lots of punk bands over the last 15 years and i played every basement, squat, hole and alley from here to eastern europe. dfa79 was the first time i ever really played on a stage, yet i really didnt change what i was doing from what id been doing in the past... hell i was even using the same amplifiers!

i never would have imagined that the wall of noise i love so much could have come this far. to see my silly elephant trunk idea become so popular... im sure its the greatest piece of graphic design ill ever do.

over the last 3 years of touring, sebastien and i had grown apart to such an extent that the only real time we spoke was just before we would play and during interviews. we both changed so much that the people we were by the end of it, probably wouldnt have been friends if they were to meet for the first time again. its a totally normal function of growing up. like how your high school bf/gf that meant so much to you would probably be the last person you would date at 30, ya know? thats where we got to. its not sad.

it would be more sad if we stopped changing and growing and kept playing the same songs for 40 years like the rolling stones. for me that would be a nightmare.

thank you so much for your support from beginning to end. thanks ache records for giving us that first 325 dollars and thanks last gang for taking us the rest of the way. thanks to everyone who came out to our shows, wrote letters just to say hi, baked cakes and made your own t-shirts. i kept everything you gave me. thanks so much to the kids who came really early to see us when were were opening for bigger bands... that meant so much to me.

i hope i have been a positive example and not a bad influence and i really want you to know that when you stop me on the street and i dont know what to say, its not because i dont appreciate you, its just not something ill ever really get used to.

thanks again.

j f k

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Members at time of statement: Jesse F. Keeler, Sebastien Grainger.

Statement issued 4th of August, 2006, on deathfromabove1979.com.

Original URL: http://deathfromabove1979.com/default.html

"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M. In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on why now. MIKE "During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next'? Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together. "We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this--there's no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We've made this decision together, amicably and with each other's best interests at heart. The time just feels right."

MICHAEL "A wise man once said--'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.' We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it. "I hope our fans realize this wasn't an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way. "We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It's been amazing." PETER "One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you. "Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it's only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world."

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