Today, the Ivy League Brawlers announced that they will be folding up the band and calling it quits. It's an unfortunate development, but probably for the best. To be completely transparent, I had actually already stepped down from the band a couple of months ago. I had a blast with the Brawlers and learned a lot from them, but all good things must come to an end. The band's official release concerning the situation sums it up perfectly:
"Hello Brawlers and Brawlettes, your friendly neighbourhood ILB here with a big (but not necessarily good) announcement.
The Ivy League Brawlers have decided to call it quits as a band.
With time comes change, and for the 8 of us, that change has come in the form of new commitments, different priorities, and big life decisions.After 5 exciting years together as a band, we've experienced a lot together, played some amazing shows, and accomplished a lot, but now we've come to a point where our focus as individuals is elsewhere. Know that we're all still great friends, there's no animosity between members, no huge arguments, nothing like that. We've just decided that, since the 8 of us are all getting to a time and place in our lives where we can't commit as much time to this band as we'd like to, it's better to quit now and go out gracefully than to let it fizzle out and die.
That being said, we've still got some stokeworthy news! We're going to be playing a final farewell show JUNE 29TH AT FORTUNE SOUNDCLUB with our great friends Criminal Caterpillar and Fall Fair Car. This is gonna be a great show, and more importantly, it'll be the last time you can see us play live! So come on out and say goodbye to us in person, share some memories, or just cry in our arms.We'll be playing some old favourites, some new favourites, and even a couple songs that you may have never even heard. If you don't come to this show then you'll never be able to hear those songs again, so that's an incentive, right? Stay on the lookout for the event page for that show that will have all the details.
Equally if not even more exciting: We've been recording a FINAL EP for you guys to listen to after we're gone. This is a collection of some of our newer songs, stuff we've been working on after we got tired of playing Argyle Album songs all the time. We're doing it almost entirely DIY so it's slow going, but it's gonna be good! With any luck that will be available in time for the farewell show. So keep your eyes open for that.
This band has been a huge part of all of our lives, 5 years playing with one group is a huge undertaking and we've all learned a lot playing with ILB. It'll be sad to see it go, but we're not disappearing off the face of the earth. Here's a little insight into what the members of ILB will be doing after:Anuar, our sexy lead singer, will be continuing to sing with local choirs, groups, and is going to continue his acting career.Tom, our leading guitar man, will continue working on various music projects that “will hopefully see the light of day in the near future.”CJ, bassist extraordinaire, is going to finish school and then continue playing music in and around Vancouver.Nikko, the rumbling drum man, will continue playing with Dark Sun Profits (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Sun-Profits/129254880462467?fref=ts) and will definitely still be playing around town.Mat, the mohawked wonder, might be joining forces with a certain well known Vancouver band, but we don't want to spoil it, so just keep your eyes and ears peeled. Also, he's going to continue working with the musicians he's met through ILB.Jimmy, sax man with the ears, will continue playing and touring with his band No Island (www.facebook.com/noislandband) and Los Furios (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Furios/189330161139990?fref=ts) as well as teaching lessons to little kids that want to grow up to be a rockstar just like him.Quinn “Quinn” Quinn, will be finishing school and then is hoping to travel across the world before coming back to Vancouver to continue playing music with the people he's met through ILB.Mike, that guy with the huge sax, will continue playing with his groups Big EviL (facebook.com/bigevilmusic), VaudeVille Vagabonds (http://www.mythmaker.ca/vvv.html) , Edarem (https://www.facebook.com/edaremband?fref=ts), and a bunch of other groups around Vancouver.
Thank you all so much for supporting us for 5 years, you made this band what it was, we couldn't have done any of it without the support of our fans. You guys made it fun to play this music, and you drove us to keep going for long after any other band with 8 members would normally go for.
So thank you all so much, and we'll see you on the dance floor one last time on the 29th!- Ivy League Brawlers"That being said, we've still got some stokeworthy news! We're going to be playing a final farewell show JUNE 29TH AT FORTUNE SOUNDCLUB with our great friends Criminal Caterpillar and Fall Fair Car. This is gonna be a great show, and more importantly, it'll be the last time you can see us play live! So come on out and say goodbye to us in person, share some memories, or just cry in our arms.We'll be playing some old favourites, some new favourites, and even a couple songs that you may have never even heard. If you don't come to this show then you'll never be able to hear those songs again, so that's an incentive, right? Stay on the lookout for the event page for that show that will have all the details.Equally if not even more exciting: We've been recording a FINAL EP for you guys to listen to after we're gone. This is a collection of some of our newer songs, stuff we've been working on after we got tired of playing Argyle Album songs all the time. We're doing it almost entirely DIY so it's slow going, but it's gonna be good! With any luck that will be available in time for the farewell show. So keep your eyes open for that.This band has been a huge part of all of our lives, 5 years playing with one group is a huge undertaking and we've all learned a lot playing with ILB. It'll be sad to see it go, but we're not disappearing off the face of the earth. Here's a little insight into what the members of ILB will be doing after: Anuar, our sexy lead singer, will be continuing to sing with local choirs, groups, and is going to continue his acting career.Tom, our leading guitar man, will continue working on various music projects that “will hopefully see the light of day in the near future.”CJ, bassist extraordinaire, is going to finish school and then continue playing music in and around Vancouver.Nikko, the rumbling drum man, will continue playing with Dark Sun Profits (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Sun-Profits/129254880462467?fref=ts) and will definitely still be playing around town.Mat, the mohawked wonder, might be joining forces with a certain well known Vancouver band, but we don't want to spoil it, so just keep your eyes and ears peeled. Also, he's going to continue working with the musicians he's met through ILB.Jimmy, sax man with the ears, will continue playing and touring with his band No Island (www.facebook.com/noislandband) and Los Furios (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Furios/189330161139990?fref=ts) as well as teaching lessons to little kids that want to grow up to be a rockstar just like him.Quinn “Quinn” Quinn, will be finishing school and then is hoping to travel across the world before coming back to Vancouver to continue playing music with the people he's met through ILB.Mike, that guy with the huge sax, will continue playing with his groups Big EviL (facebook.com/bigevilmusic), VaudeVille Vagabonds (http://www.mythmaker.ca/vvv.html) , Edarem (https://www.facebook.com/edaremband?fref=ts), and a bunch of other groups around Vancouver.Thank you all so much for supporting us for 5 years, you made this band what it was, we couldn't have done any of it without the support of our fans. You guys made it fun to play this music, and you drove us to keep going for long after any other band with 8 members would normally go for.
So thank you all so much, and we'll see you on the dance floor one last time on the 29th!- Ivy League Brawlers"
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