I just found out about the news that Muncie, Indiana's Arrah and the Ferns is disbanding and the core writers are moving off to the east.
I tell you, if you never got the chance to see this band live - or you haven't heard their music yet - you are missing out.
Truly, they are one of the top Midwestern bands I have ever encountered. Their music is full of absolute joy and creativity. So I wish them the best in their future out east.
As posted on the Arrah the Ferns Myspace site:
Hello Everyone,
Unfortunately, I am the bearer of bad news. But though it is bad and more so shocking news, we hope for only understanding and support from all of you who have endlessly provided such in the past.
About 6 weeks ago, our drummer Dave announced to Carl, Joey, and I his intentions of leaving the band after our SXSW tour. Thus, he would be leaving just before our planned album release that we set for May 6th. With no drummer, we had to quickly decide if we should proceed with the intended album release or not. We decided that we would postpone the release indefinitely and make our priority to first relocate to Philadelphia. This is something that particularly Carl and I have wanted to do for a long time. I have lived in Muncie my entire 22 years of existence. And though Muncie is a great and wonderful place, I think it's fair to say that it is not a place where musical opportunities are in abundance.
So with Dave's imminent departure, and the desire that the remaining three of us have to move on, we have decided to officially disband. We, Arrah and the Ferns, are breaking up. We had initially planned to play all of our shows that are currently on our myspace, including SXSW and the touring dates that precede the festival. However, more misfortune was bestowed upon me, and consequently, upon the entire band. On Valentine's Day, I was in a bad wreck on my way to work. Everyone was okay, thankfully, aside from some whiplash on my end. However, the damages to my van are immeasurable. My insurance company has decided to declare it totaled. This means that not only am I out of a vehicle, but the band vehicle is done for. We will now be detained here and will not make our SXSW showcases. We also have to cancel some of the dates that we booked in route to TX.
However, we will still be playing on Friday, March 7th in Bloomington and Saturday, March 8th in Brandenburg, KY. The other shows following will all be cancelled including our March 29th show at the Launching Pad. We are cancelling this show to have a final show in Muncie a few weeks later at Village Green Records. This show will be on Saturday April 12th and it will be an outside event. We'll be cooking out and so far joining us will be our friends Everything, NOW! and Everthus the Deadbeats. There will perhaps be one or 2 more bands playing this show. We're also looking into playing a show on Friday April 11th at Doc's in Muncie. We'll keep you posted on this upcoming weekend of farewells.
As for the future of us four individuals, Dave will be continuing his schooling in Bloomington as well as playing in his solo drum project, Whoa Bro Awesome. He's also a part of the bands Prayer Breakfast and Everybody. As for the remaining three of us, I'll announce that Carl, Joey, and I are now going to focus on my side-project, Woodlands, and make it more of a "real band." Gavin Wilkinson, Justin Spring, and Joey Morrow (all from the recently disbanded This Story) are also joining in full time to this new endeavor. The six of us are all at this time planning to move to Philadelphia to pursue whatever we may come upon as Woodlands together, or other musical opportunities that we are unable to foresee at this point in time.
I know that this is a lot of news—a lot of bad news—to hear at one time. We are all very sad and almost unprepared to end Arrah and the Ferns at this moment. We were so excited to release the new album to the world and to see whatever was next in store for us. We didn't exactly think 6 weeks ago that this would be the fate of our band. But we feel that this is what's best to do when taking in account that without Dave, we are not Arrah and the Ferns anymore.
We know that disappointment must be settling in. We have been talking for so long about this new album and probably getting everyone's hopes up (including our own). But this is life. And though we're disappointed too, we feel and want to feel excited about our new plans to move and to begin a new band with some of our dearest friends. We look forward to the adventures that are to come and are grateful for the adventures we've had because of Arrah and the Ferns.
So here's where I must awkwardly end a sad letter. I want to leave it with so much gratitude and hope, but I don't know how to do that. And I don't want to say "bye" like it's the end, because we still have a few shows left to play. And we want those shows to be so memorable and fun. So, we'll see you soon. We love you. We're so happy you have let Arrah and the Ferns be a part of your life. You all are such a big part of ours.
With all the love that I have,
Arrah Fisher
and I write on behalf of my best friends,
Carl Stovner
Dave Segedy
Joey Patrick
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