Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Mark and Rob....

I guess I feel like I should say some things regarding this change. The announcement on the website was rather brief as was Mark and Rob's goodbye notes...but that's not to say that we in the band don't recognize the loss. I love Rob and I love Mark to death and maybe it hasn't hit me yet, or maybe we have too much to focus on at the time being to let it really infect my thinking...nostalgia will surely have its way with me sooner or later. We know this is a bad blow, and we know that some people will abandon us, it would be silly to play like it was a minor change that we will skip on through. The point is....it sucks, but a lot of things suck, and you keep moving past those things. Dave and Jacob and I have definitely talked through some issues over the past week, and there is nothing for us to do but make music. It wouldn't make any sense to stop, but it would be dishonest and pathetically dismissive to act like it will all the the same, it won't be, it will be different, but MAE has never shyed away from change, or challenge..that is what makes us evolve. Like I said, I love Mark and I love Rob, and the music I made with them, and the times I spent up all night driving in the van, watching Mark play Grand Theft Auto like a zombie in the middle of the night, all the times Rob and I got up early together to walk and get lunch or breakfast. One time in New Jersey, while on tour with Copeland, Mark peed behind an amplifier on stage, into a bottle, right in the middle of our set. One time in New Orleans, Rob rode a mechanical bull and stayed on a whole one second. When I first joined, Mark jumped up and started dancing to the happy birthday song (ya konw, the generic version that restuarants sing because the real happy birthday song is copyrighted) right in the middle of a West Virginia Golden Coral. I don't know if I spelled that right. Anyway, the point is..the memories are there and they will never not be there. So whatever, things happen and sometimes you want them to happen and sometimes you don't, I don't believe in fate, but I do believe that people do things for a reason..and in this case, we'll adapt, and take advantage of what we can, and move past this, and continue to do what we do.

14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good luck with everything.

11:41 AM

 
Blogger AJ said...

please send our kindest "thank you" to mark & rob for all the years of sharing their musical gifts with us. their presence will be missed. and, we honor their courage & yours (zach, dave & jacob), in embracing all the beauty that this new season of life holds for all of you. all of our love, support, and prayers are with you now and always...:)

2:09 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

While it really does suck that Rob and Mark left and it will be a "different" mae, I promise I won't abandon mae!

4:23 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rob and Mark will be surely missed. Best of luck to you Zach, and to Dave and Jacob as well. One thing for sure though, I shall not relent in my promotional work for Mae! :)

Keep rocking!

Much love,
Natalie (Capitol Street Teamer who promoted for you guys at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, 8/28/07)

5:46 PM

 
Blogger Melanie said...

I gave a lot of thought as to how things might change now that Rob and Mark are leaving, and I know they will have to. I was thinking it is probably providence perhaps that you went a different direction than The Everglow which so heavily depended on the keyboards.. not that they aren't integral now. I was trying to imagine how someone else could quickly try to pick up the slack on some of The Everglow songs on tour, and couldn't picture it until I remember that you managed to do them acoustically and Rob wasn't there. So, things will work out. Things will be different, but you will ultimately still sound like Mae, and things will go on. At least, that is my hope.

I love the funny stories. It is funny that when a band member leaves, it almost sounds like a eulogy, huh?

It really did make me sad that it is much less likely that I will see Rob again. I remember telling him how I took Hershey's kisses to Salt Air for you and the security guard wouldn't deliver, so I gave them to Darren King. Rob's eyes got as big as saucers when I said chocolate. So it's kinda sad I won't be delivering them to him again anytime soon. IT also meant a lot to me that he remembered me from here (you, too.) :) Anyway, thanks for sticking with it. They will both be missed, but I look forward to seeing you again.

--Melanie

P.S. Mark really did that on stage?! LOL Too funny.

6:03 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope everything will well!!!

Best wishes to Mark and Rob.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in Japan tour next year!

I always love MAE.

from enthusiastic Japanese fan.

7:03 PM

 
Blogger Jecca said...

thanks for saying something, zach. i was hoping you would. i'm very glad MAE will continue on. i echo the others...i'm not going anywhere. i love you guys. let us know if there's anything we (the fans) can do for you.

7:05 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

we will always support you guys no matter what.

9:39 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks sooo much for writing this Zach. I've been so depressed ever since finding out about Rob and Mark. I always thought in the back of my mind when I started listening to mae, "This is too good to be true," mae's music was so good, there was nothing else like it and then when they left it was almost like, I knew it.. this perfect combination of people and their instruments couldn't go on forever... but reading that the three of you (Dave, Jacob, and You) have every intention of going on makes me sooo much happier. Because I really do think you all are meant for this, these songs, lyrics, melodies ect. mae has created are bigger than the band itself, they can't even be described in words, the way they make people feel and affect lives, I'm just so glad that it will continue, mae's sound will be different but I don't think it will loose it's value at all with mark and rob gone, because behind all of mae's music the five of you were united, so the three of you togehter still stand united, and still are essientially what we love >>> mae

So with that, my prayers will be with you and the rest of the guys, and I can't waith for the Halloween show in Orlando! Best of luck with the tour!

3:04 PM

 
Blogger Nutmeg said...

Hey Zach! I just wanted to say that when I saw the post, I was really really upset. I have never had a band that has meant so much to me ever and I love coming up and saying hi to you guys before or after every single show!!! I just wanted you guys to know that John and I will support all five of you in your avenues. I will be at the show in Detroit for sure, just like I promised and you know I'll come say hi as usual! Good luck, and I know a lot of people that will definitely support you guys! See you in a little bit!
Love, Megan

6:24 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

Hey Jacob and Zach,

I first want to say that MAE is just frigging amazing. As a college freshmen in New England, your music has helped me get through my work, and the band's messages have affirmed my strong belief that love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Just a couple of concerns too: I don't know anything about being in a band and I know that you shouldn't miss out on opportunities when they come, but I feel that Singularity sounded a bit forced and lacked the originality you had before.

Also, with the departure of Rob, will you still have a pianist? I was raised as a classical pianist, but in the last 7 years or so I've become an alternative fan and when I think of alt. pianists, there is Ben Folds and then there is...Rob.
I'll miss songs like "We're So Far Away" --> "Someone Else's Arms", or the heart-wrenching beauty of "The Ocean."

The world is always changing as it turns around, and there is so much fear of being left behind. But though I'm not religious, I recognize that us Americans and our modern societal values have basis in the Bible, and it's similar for music. There are just some things that are rooted in our brains and we catch onto them and we never want to let them go.

Sorry for the long-winded comment, but I guess what I'm trying to suggest is to never forget about the passion you guys had together all these years.

You guys are the best and along with wishing you good luck, I hope you guys have a ton of fun and you can share it with me and my fellow fans in the years to come.

-ChanLing Beswick
cpb@wpi.edu

9:38 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i just found out today that rob and mark are leaving, it was very disapointing. sure, the sound will be different, but i believe that dave, jacob, and you zach, will continue to make amazing music for us fans. i think all of us are very pleased that you guys are doing that; i know that i am. i have total faith in all three of you, and i know for a fact that i will not abandon you guys. you guys have inspired me so much and have helped me through hard times that i could never immagine abandon you guys now.

as for mark and rob; they have always inspired me as well, and i wish the best of luck to the both of them!

2:05 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you Zach for leaving your thoughts. I am pretty much on the same page as Anonymous. I too thought it was too good to be true, but it is comforting to know that you, Dave, and Jacob are going to continue writing music.
Best wishes.

2:37 PM

 
Blogger ry said...

i still love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9:50 AM

 

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