posted by Brandon. June 12 2005. 12:07pm
One the road again. I'm so excited and anxious to get out on tour again. Although I have loved being home for so long with the people that I love, there is still something so exciting and unknown about what this tour is gonna be like. Not only will we be tighter than we have ever been before, but there's a certain camaraderie between us, that to me promises a great time on this tour.
It's just new, and refreshing to think of what this tour is gonna be like. I'm already convinced that the live show will be way better than anyone has seen from us before. But on top of that, I look forward to stopping for food at some random truck stop in the middle of nowhere - and just sitting with 4 guys that have so much to talk about, and just enjoy being around each other all together. While we were up in New York rehearsing this spring, we found ourselves all sitting at a pub together, with so many new things to talk about. We said "Man these other bands on the tour are gonna think we're jerks, because we'll always be hanging out with ourselves." Obviously, this won't be the case, but it's just exciting to know that there's so much to talk about between the five of us.
I think this tour is gonna be cool. We're ecstatic about the bands that have come along, and hope that the kids are as excited as we are. I want the kids to know that they are coming to see 5 guys who have a new and refreshing career before them - and are so excited to just be out on the road again, with a band they can take some ownership in. We're definitely going to take out live show to the next level on this tour.
We've been promoting the crap out of the tour on myspace. Holy crap - MySpace is nuts. I posted a video code on there a few weeks ago - and right after I sent it, I realized it was wrong - so I get back in to send out another code only to find that over 30 people have just responded to tell me that the code was wrong - and it happened within 2 minutes! I hope other bands have discovered the advantages of myspace, and how effective of a promotional tool it is. Thank You to every one of our friends on there, and all of the people who leave the comments. It's a huge encouragement - it really is.
So anyway, I need to get back to working on the promotion for this tour. I'm hoping to make sure that every kids that bought our record knows that we're coming through on tour. I'm always surprised at the amount of emails we get asking us to "Hey Come to (Whatever City)" when it's like a week after we played that city. I'm hoping that doesn't happen this time around.
So everyone, check the tour dates, make plans to come to the shows, and bring your friends. If tickets are available online, BUY THEM!
Thank all of you for your undying support for this band - we have so much in store for you. This is a very very exciting time for Dead Poetic!
-Brandon
No Worries
posted by Brandon - Apr 16, 4:37pm
As many of you are aware. We have made a huge amount of changes in the past year. Some of you reacted well, some were worried, some were mad, some didn't care, and so on.
Last year and the beginning of this year have been the toughest years that any of us have ever faced. We have all been extremely stressed, angry, saddened, frustrated, confused, etc. We all basically hit rock bottom emotionally at some point or another. Our band was basically ready to self-destruct, if if hadn't already. So we had to dig deep inside ourselves to decide what was going to be our own individual futures, and the future of Dead Poetic all together. Around fall of last year, I can honestly say that I was convinced that this band was over.
Reconsideration, re-evaluation, prayer, and advice all lead to the realization that we had a good thing going, and it was not time to end it. We just needed to figure out what needed to be done in order for this band to continue. There was definitely a point where every single person in the band could say that they didn't want to be in the band anymore. But we overcame it, we got through it, and now we're out on the other side of all of this; feeling clear-headed, and extremely excited about the future of Dead Poetic. We are honestly more excited than we have ever been in the 8 years of doing this.
Dusty Redmon and Jesse Sprinkle have given us a reason to get excited about it all again. Zach and I had a musical vision, a direction we wanted to go. When Dusty and Jesse got on board, we realized that we all were trying to pursue the same vision. It seems like the stars aligned for us, and we all have been on the same page since. Something happened that breathed new life into this band. We've been writing songs that are exactly what we want to do musically, and we all feel astonished and blessed by what's happening. I think that right now, at this moment, I am more happy about this band and my life than I have ever been, and it feels great. I can assure that the other guys are feeling the same way. I feel blessed to be able to spend this time with Zach, Dusty and Jesse. We just enjoy each others company, and have so much respect for each other.
We need you now more than ever to get excited about what's to come. We are currently planning a 5-band headlining tour that will span the entire US over a 6-week period. This will be your chance to bear witness to our new found enjoyment for this. I can't remember the last time that I have been this excited about anything. We are also obviously writing material for our third studio album due out next year.
With the past behind us, we can now move on. Thank you all for all of the support you have given us. Thank you for the emails, the myspace comments, the forum posts, for buying our music, for wearing our shirts, for all of those things you go out of your way to do for us. Please know that It doesn't go unnoticed - it may have quite possibly been the thing that kept this band alive. Get ready for an exciting future - it's gonna be great.
Chad
posted by Brandon - Apr 13, 3:15pm
As time moves on, things change. This is certainly true with Dead Poetic.
As of Monday, April 11th, Chad is no longer a member of Dead Poetic. After several events throughout the past year, we all came to the impending realization that we have all grown into different people. With that, we also realized that we had grown into people that we felt could not continue to be in a band together. No one is at fault, life just continues, and we all go through different things. None of us are happy with this outcome, but we all agree that it seems to be the only way for the band to continue.
Chad was a founding member of this band in 1997. We thank and respect Chad for all that he has given this band, and all of the hard work that he has exuded over these past 8 years. We sincerely wish Chad the best in his future endeavors.
New Members.
posted by Brandon - Feb 21, 1:26pm
Over the past few months, alot has changed here in the Dead Poetic camp. Some of the news may be bittersweet, but demonstrates our willingness to overcome and evolve.
As many of you know, Josh is no longer in Dead Poetic. During July of 2004, Josh went home to pursue other things. He was able to graduate from college, and go on to pursue other aspirations for his life. Josh was a founding member of this band (back in 1997) as well as a good friend, we love him and wish him all the best. We are deeply appreciative of everything Josh has done for this band, and all the hard work that has made Dead Poetic what it is today.
Our new drummer is Jesse Sprinkle. Jesse was a member of several bands, including Demon Hunter, Poor Old Lu, Serene, and Morella's Forest. Jesse is a phenomenal drummer, and we are thrilled to have him as part of this band. Jesse runs a studio in NY in which we will spend alot of time writing for the new record. We are ecstatic to have Jesse on board.
Unfortunately, soon after returning home this fall, Todd decided it was time for him to leave the band. Todd has been a huge part of this band for the past couple years. Todd' s talent was a tremendous asset to the creation of "New Medicines" and a tremendous asset to our live show. We love Todd, and are sad to see him go, but respect his decision to focus on other areas of his life. It has been a great few years.
Our new guitarist is Dusty Redmon. Dusty is from the band Beloved, and got on board with Dead Poetic shortly after Beloved's final show. We have known Dusty for years, and have built a strong friendship through many Dead Poetic / Beloved tours. Dusty is a great guitar player that shares our same vision for the musical direction we are taking. Dusty will be sure to take the position of 'band entertainment' and we are excited about what he brings to the band.
Both Dusty and Jesse have brought an excitement and encouragement into Dead Poetic that has gotten us even more thrilled to write and perform. We feel blessed that Jesse and Dusty have now become members of Dead Poetic. We are very excited about what is to come. You should be too.
-Dead Poetic
On The Road Again.
posted by Brandon - Oct 29, 1:13am
I've recieved quite a bit of feedback from my last journal entry, which is all very appreciated and encouraging. Good to know that people look at us as more than just a band, and realize we're real people dealing with life.
The Stay Medicated Tour has begun, and after a shaky start, it has gotten better and better as it goes along. Tonight we played the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC. There was a lot of people there and all of them seemed to know the words to our songs. Thanks SC.
Both Acceptance and Anadivine have come along with us for this tour. In addition, The-Pits, The Solid State Young Bloods Tour, and Classic Case have already joined the tour in specific shows. I encourage you all to check out Classic Case - they are truly one of the best unsigned bands I have ever seen.
I don't have much for now. Come out to the shows - we'd appreciate it.
Losing / Regaining Sight.
posted by Brandon - Oct 13, 3:23am
So we have this myspace account going. A girl named Heather recently asked if we "could just say something about our faith" for a lesson she was doing with her youth group. I felt like I should reply, and I was a little more honest than usual. I guess I wanted to share what I wrote, because I thought it may be of some interest to people who want to know about the beliefs of ourr band. Hopefully it doesn't read as depressing, but encouraging - I'm working my way back up. Any way here is my reply:
As far as Dead Poetic goes, it's hard to look at a rock band like us as a ministry. Sure, tons of bands would like to call themselves a ministry, and that all there purpose is to tell people about God. Unfortunately, that is not the case with most bands - even though, calling yourself "a ministry" may make a lot of Christians happy, it still does not feel honest for us.
As a band, we want to write the best music we can - that's our purpose. We want to be able to make records that we can listen to and feel accomplishment. But, as far as our personal lives go, we are all devout Christians, and try our best to find and live according to God's will for our lives, whatever that may be. Christians or not, the "rock n roll" lifestyle is still a very real stereotype. Every horrible temptation imaginable makes its presence in some way or another. At first, you do everything you can to resist it, sometimes you fall in it, sometimes you get comfortable, and those convictions that used to scream so loudly become more and more faint - the tragic result of ignoring them over and over again.
All the while, you still know God is real, you still know you love Him, you still want to live your life for Him. But for some reason or another, you don't feel motivated to get back in touch with Him the way you used to be - even though you know that He is truly the only way out of the whole you've dug yourself into.
Then you find yourself far away from God, and life is caving in on you. Everything that used to make sense to you is a complex whirlwind of confusion, leaving you so confused, empty, and angry that you truly do not know what to do with yourself.
But I don't want to feel that way anymore. We don't want to feel that way anymore. I want to find my way back to the heart of God, and try to figure out what He's telling me. I do, very very much still want to show people the God that I know, and show them that He loves them, no matter what.
Pray for me that I get back there.