The following is Bryan's official statement to our fans and the world on his leaving SMB:
"Hey everybody,
So, as you may or may not know, I
have decided to leave SMB. Know right away, that this was my
decision...there was no "quit or get fired" or any stupid drama or
anything. As cliched as it sounds, I quit because I love the band.
Let me try to explain.
For the last 10 years, almost every decision I've
made from career choices, to relationships, to friendships, to family
has all been made in regards to the band. The band came first, even
before myself. I wanted nothing more then to play my drums for people
and have fun. Of late, I've found myself having more and more
difficultly doing this. I've alienated my family and the majority of
my social contacts, and whilst this is most certainly not the bands
fault, it is most certainly my fault, and being in the band contributed
to my choices. Gotta tell ya, it's rough having a 3 year old niece
that doesn't even know who you are, even though she lives 15 minutes
away.
Boo hoo sobby sobby crap aside, here's the main
reason why I decided to leave. I didn't think I was going to be able
to help the band progress any further. I love SMB and I want NOTHING
but success for them, and I had found myself in a position where I felt
I was starting to negatively effect the band's goals. That's it, it's
pretty cut and dry, and not full of the drama fueled BS that I'm sure
some people were looking forward too. Speculate as much as you wanna,
but that's the reason. I don't know many people that have done 10
years of anything...at all...ever (heck, for some of you guys you
haven't even been alive that long! har har)...but for those of you
that have, you'll understand my point of view in regards to this
situation. I want my "kid" (read as the band for you slow ones out
there) to succeed, and would do whatever it takes to make that happen.
That used to be sleeping on cat pee covered hardwood floors for weeks
on end, eating nothing but beef jerky, skittles and rum. Now it
involves me stepping out.
I'll be around, you can keep tabs on me at the
links below, and any of you are welcome to contact me whenever you'd
like. I can't thank the fans enough for all the support you've given
me over the years, you've been the force that's driven me to become the
musician that I have...and for me, that's the biggest compliment I can
give. Catch y'all later.
Bryan 'Da Gimp' Pierson
XBL: BryanDaGimp"
We here at SMB understand and respect his decision. We will be sad to see him go, and wish him well.
Our November dates have been canceled, but we are going to be working with a fill in for our December shows and finding a permanent drummer very soon.
There are a couple of people we are trying out right away, but we also are putting out an open invitation for anyone that wants to take a shot at the worlds most difficult drum position. Frankly, we dare you.
If you want to try out to be our drummer, you need to be able to play to a metronome live. To submit, we will need a video of you playing along to one of our more difficult songs. We can send you demos of very new stuff if you are serious.
We move on, we write more new songs, we will be playing live again soon. There's new pictures and a new web design coming.
Rev. John