Well, this is the beginning of a letter that I never wanted to figure out how to write. I'll probably write, rethink, and re-write again 10 times over, but it's not going to change the purpose of it no matter how hard I try.
It is with regret that I announce that Between The Trees will be disbanding by the end of this year. It's not a decision that we all fully agree with, but it's a decision that is final.
After 5 years of being a band we've had our highs and and we've also had our lows. Each member at some point has wondered what life outside of the band might be like. As of late, Ryan has stated that he had lost his drive and passion to continue with Between The Trees. With that, it obviously raised questions that needed to be answered. So after much thought and prayer, Ryan feels in his heart that it is just time to move on. He still loves every bit of it and, just like all of us, is thankful for the friends and fans that we've met over the years. However, when it's time, I guess it's time.
It is impossible to sum up an obsession that has consumed our lives for this many years. Anything that I write will never, ever truly express how we feel about this past stage of our lives. Truthfully and honestly words cannot describe it…trying to show it in a measly blog or news post is an injustice, but such is life.
We've had an incredible life over the past 5 years. We've seen more of this world in our early 20's than most people will see in their lifetime, and we were blessed to do it playing music that we love. We've met amazing people, interestingly odd people, as well as numerous friends that will extend well beyond the existence of this band. We've spent hours upon hours in a van driving to cities and towns hoping to meet and win over new fans, and usually always left more than satisfied in calling this our job. It's been an amazing journey and we wouldn't trade this experience for anything in this world.
We want to thank our families for every ounce of support since the beginning. It's not easy telling your Mom and Dad when you're 18, 19, and 21 that you're not going to college, but have decided to hop in a van and drive around with a couple friends. Also want to thank our Wives/Fiancees, as it was also never easy saying "see you in a month" more than 8 or 9 times a year. Our thanks to our friend/Manager/twice removed Record Label owner David McKenna for taking a chance and being there through it all, as well as many other business men and women for taking a chance on a group of guys playing music they wrote in a cramped bed room. Thanks to the faithfuls that were at every show in a 4 hour radius, and a handful that really didn't know what a radius was. And last, but certainly not least, being as least cliche as possible, thanks Jesus for giving us this opportunity. It's safe to say that we would have never written a single song had it not been for you, so thank you.
So, where do we go from here?
We're going to continue as planned with our tour with The Almost coming up starting on September 14th and will finish up at the end of the month. Past that we currently have nothing planned. However, we've decided that we wanted to give anyone who wanted to see us one last chance to hear some songs.
With that said, if enough requests come in, we'd like to do a House Tour. A House Tour consists of shows in your living room where we charge a certain amount (we obviously need to make money to tour ;-), and we play an hour long or so Acoustic set in your home for you and your friends on Acoustic instruments. We'll hang out as long as you'll have us, we'll chat, have fun, and just have a good time. The date range you have to choose from will be from October 1st-October 30th. You can email BTTHOUSESHOWS@GMAIL.COM to book your show. We'll let you know how much money we'll need to make it happen to travel city to city. It's on a first come, first serve basis, but the routing will have to make sense, so as requests come in we may have to change accordingly. The deadline for show requests will be September 25th. (Overseas is excluded, sorry guys, but thanks for everything.)
Now as far as the Southeast region, we'll be playing a string of final full band shows in late November into early December. It will most likely consist of an Atlanta, Jacksonville, Tampa, and of course a final Orlando show. So be looking for those. After that, you'll only have our CD's to remind you.
Lastly, and we're not making any promises, but we're going to try our hardest to record any songs that we ever wrote that didn't make it on past records, or even ones we maybe had in mind for records to come. It may be 3 songs, or it may be 13 songs, it all just depends on what we have time for. When we finish we'll throw it up on iTunes for everyone to download if they choose to. Look for that by December.
In case anyone asks what we'll do now and are curious on a personal level, none of us are really sure? Ryan is an incredibly talented individual. His voice is something that will carry him through life no matter what. He may do some composing, he may just write songs, I'm not sure, but I do know he'll find his way in music. As far as Josh he too will always be in music. He is an incredible drummer and musician. He is the one that introduced me to music and I look up to him immensely. He will probably end up playing drums for a country band (hey hey T-Swift), but will definitely be doing some studio work. He's also mentioned Architecture quite a bit. I'm sure me and him will end up opening some sort of Butler Brothers business :) For now, I'll head back to school, get a degree, and see what happens. I may be looking into taking in everything I've learned in a touring band and putting it to use in Band Management, so look for that from me. We'll all continue to write music. We all contributed to BTT, so I'm sure you'll see traces of that in all of our future projects. Just know that all of us will still be involved in music in some facet or another. Also know that we all love each other more than you know and will always be the best friends that drove away on that first tour 5 years ago.
One last note. As some of you may know, we had the opportunity to share the stage with our pseudo 4th member Stevie Benz for the past 8 or 9 months. He's been great and been more than we could ask for in not only a hire on guitarist, but a great friend. When you spend as much time together as we do, it's hard to not feel as though we're all family. Had BTT continued, the idea of making Stevie official was a thought in the forefront of all of our minds. So we all sat down and talked and decided that it would only feel right if Stevie finished it out the right way. Josh, Ryan, and myself have decided to officially re-add a 4th member and make Stevie that person. These final 3 months will feel complete for us, as we know it will for him. Beyond Between The Trees, Stevie will continue as a touring guitarist, so I am sure you will see him on a stage near you in no time.
Well, it's been a fun ride. Thank you for everything guys. Thank you for coming to shows, buying CD's, buying merch, and listening to our music. Hope to see you all in these coming months and the memories that will follow.
Sincerely,
Jeremy, Josh, Ryan, and Stevie
Between The Trees
