Just wanted to pass this along. Its off of theniche.org
ALL THINGS MUST PASS
September 4th, 2006 -
About a week ago, I invited Todd and Jay out to dinner and spoke with them about many reasons why I feel it is time that we should end the band. As I expected, they agreed. While fighting back tears, we discussed everything from the realities of getting older to our frustrations with the music business of today. Knowing that in some ways I assume a leadership role in this band, I tried to be strong and confident while assuring Jay and Todd that this really was the best decision for our band. However, the scene in the parking lot didn’t go quite as well, which ended up with the three of us hugging and crying like little girls. In the next few days that followed, this same dinner was had with both our current guitarist, Paul, as well as with Erik, our former guitarist. And last night, our final decision was discussed with our manager Zuke.
The Niche began as a place for us to let our shared passion of music bring all sorts of people together to have a good time and forget about the hardships in our lives. Like any other young band, the greatest goal was to make it to the big time and never have to work another regular job for the rest of our lives. A never ending party, where we could hire all of our friends to be roadies, bus drivers, security, or any other job we could think of. An ultimate dream was to achieve the status of Phish, the band that gave us much of our inspiration during our earlier days.
As you grow older, the truths about “making it” gradually set in. You begin to realize that in the youthful flame that ignites you to blindly chase your dreams, life’s harsh realities can become clouded by the smoke. I think of Todd’s favorite song, “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter” by Pearl Jam, (of which he serenaded me with the other day):
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place,
I wish I’d seen the place
But no ones ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away...
So what exactly is “making it”? Over the years our idea of “making it” gradually shifted from being the next Phish to just being able to sustain a reasonable living off the band, while still maintaining our integrity and trying to progress the band creatively. A slightly more realistic goal, yes, but one that we soon found to be equally as challenging. For in a perfect world you could “make it” on talent and heart alone, but in the real world you also need an endless supply of time, energy, commitment, money, luck, knowing the right people, and being in the right place at the right time. And although we feel that we still have the youthful flame, the heart, the talent, and not to mention the greatest friend and fan base we could ever ask for, we just don’t have all those other things. Zuke brought up a good point, “Why don’t you guys just forget about ‘making it’ and play gigs here and there just for fun?” Our answer was simple- because we care so much about the band and all of our friends and fans, we would never want to let our shows become something less than what they are now. And I’ll tell you what, you let our band go a few weeks without practicing and I would feel sorry for anyone in our audience. So to accurately follow in the footsteps of our heroes Phish, we thought it would be best to gracefully end on a high note than to gradually fade away and eventually burn out.
When all is done and said, and I know this sounds mushy, but we truly feel that in actuality we have “made it” after all, because we were able to get together with all of you and have the seven best years or our lives. And to show you our deepest gratitude for this, we are going to throw a huge final show which, among others, will include our original guitarist Erik Ward. The tentative plan is for this to take place in Rochester around the holiday season, but nothing is set in stone. We would strongly appreciate all your feedback on this. On behalf of The Niche and all its extended members new and old, thanks again for nearly seven years of nothing short of magic.
- Willy O’Riley
“None of life\'s strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It\'s not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away” – George Harrison
