Fortune Telling. 8 years approaching. None the wiser.

the past. 
The first time Taylor and I corresponded was via Myspace in May 2008. We exchanged some basic musical goals and inspirations. A good 5 months went by before we began rehearsals. We started off as a 4 piece. I was actually on violin, mandola, guitar and if you can believe it bits of clarinet. We did our very first photo shoot at Pennhurst State School and it was shortly followed by our very first show at a place in Cambridge, MA called The Lilly Pad. By the time spring hit we had dropped a member to the 3 piece we became known as and began hosting our own quarterly events in Wilkes-Barre called "Freak Show Fridays." We got our first tour under our belt in in 2010 and shortly after expanded our troupe to include, Jaclyn on mandolin, Joe on Trombone, and John on Tuba among others who are no longer in our band. In 2011, we released our first album and did our first national tour of 28 shows in 32 days. Yikes!  In 2012- we did a 2 week to New Orleans and began writing our 2nd album. In 2013, we released our first music video and our 2nd album. Immediately after the 2nd album dropped our original drummer Mat, quit. After Mat quit the band the 5 of us set off on a national tour by Amtrak. Yes, 5 of us, with out a drummer, on a train. Prior to leaving for that tour we met and trained our 2nd drummer (now trumpet player) Chet and he set off with us on our 2nd full out national tour that fall. Shortly after in 2014, we met and trained our 3rd (and probably most influential drummer to date) and started to work on our 3rd album. We ran a successful Kickstarter to fund it. That entire album was written, funded, rehearsed, arranged, recorded, pressed and toured all with in a year. Great Balancing Act was released in 2015 followed by a three week tour to Texas and back. Fall of 2015, 6 months after our 3rd album dropped, our third drummer Zach quit the band. 4 months after he announced his departure he played his last show with us.


the present.
Fast forward 10 months, 2 subs, 9 auditions, and a potential 4th drummer in the works,(fingers crossed) we have purchased a school bus to convert for touring and have begun writing for our 4th studio album. (which we kind of would like to call "This Way to the EGRESS marches to the beat of

another drummer" but have reluctantly decided against) When our days aren't filled with working on the bus and multiple rehearsals with multiple musicians (mainly drummers), Taylor and I find ourselves discussing the trials and tribulations, the who's & where a bouts, the where are we goings & what's next's. The plans of the new album have been reluctantly pushed back until we can properly determine training logistics with our potential new drummer. This has been an incredibly hard pill to swallow because really the 5 of us just want to make more music, travel more miles, play more shows, meet more people and have more experiences. Taylor has been bursting with songs,  Jaclyn left her full time job of 15 years to have more time for the band, we have a new tour vehicle, 8 years of experience and a great team by our side. Yet, still we are at a cross roads because of a hole in the band where the musical heart beat would be. It has been at times very overwhelming and deflating to have so much forward momentum, increased album sales, better gigs, more equity and notoriety and to be at a stand still.
I never realized how much my relationship with music would change when I sought out to co-lead an original project. I never realized that my 5 band mates would become my family, my home and my community. I also never realized that in some ways, (pause for dramatic effect) it would become bigger than I had expected in terms of the amount of room it takes up in my life. I have missed birthdays, funerals, canoe trips, gatherings and hours and hours of sleep and although I would do many things differently and treat many people differently,  I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Yet here I am, in a shadow of uncertainty trying on a new outfit,..........................................hope.

the future.
So where do we go from here?
The cards are unclear.
What I do know is that our roots grow deep and an 8 year "banndiversary" party may need to be in the works. That is one thing the 5 of us and our friends & fans seem to do well,....... raise glasses, raise spirits and dance and play the demons away. We will continue to convert the bus and we will go back to the drawing board about a path to the new album which is almost more than half written. And behind the scenes Taylor and I will be discussing day in and day out how to enhance our community, how we will expand our range, and how we will keep. fucking. going. 
The world (although it has always been) is growing increasingly more agitated. Flood waters are rising, poisoned waters, poisoned politics, class war fare, education warfare, race division racial injustice and race and religion wars, air strikes, over consumption, lack of communication and compassion. It is the paradox of our time. 
I might not know what will work out, but I know where I'll be, who I'll be doing it with and what  I am doing it for. 

the fool.(s)
The Fool is numbered 0, the number of unlimited potential, and does not actually have a specific place in the sequence of the Tarot cards. The Fool can come either at the beginning of the Major Arcana or at the end. The Major Arcana is often considered as the Fool’s journey through life and as such, he is ever present and therefore needs no number. The Fool is shown at the beginning of his journey with unlimited potential. The sun rising up behind him represents the beginning of his journey. He is facing north-west, the direction of the unknown. He is looking upwards, toward the sky, or Spirit. He is about to step off a cliff into the material world but is he prepared? He has all the tools and resources he needs in the bag on his staff but he has not opened the bag yet. The white rose in his left hand represents purity and innocence. He has a guardian in the little white dog who will protect him throughout his journey but who will also push him to learn the lessons the Fool came here to learn. The mountains behind the Fool represent the realms of Spirit that he has just left and will spend his life trying to regain.