Charlie Hitchcock Leaves Particle

[leith]

Wow! From Jambands.com
In what has become something of a trend this Friday (see hookah story below), Particle has announced that guitarist Charlie Hitchcock is no longer be a member of the group. Hitchcock was the second guitar player to perform with the band, joining in early 2001 after founding guitarist Dave Simmons passed away in December 2000. In a statement on the group’s website the band explains, “We\'re very thankful for the tremendous spirit and talent that Charlie has brought to the Particle world. Our musical journey together has been amazing, and we will all look back on the experiences we\'ve shared as some of the best of our lives. Simply put, we found ourselves moving in different directions musically and we felt it was necessary for everyone involved to make this change.” It is unclear at present whether the group will reconfigure itself as a trio or will bring in any additional members. Beyond that the band explains that it is “looking forward to using this time off the road to rejuvenate, regenerate and enter the new year with a passionate return.”

Personally I think this is actually the best thing they could have done. Charlie was a good guitarist but too bland for the kind of music Particle makes. I bet this was really evident to the rest of them while touring as Hydra.

[Spacey]

I got this email from Particle. I occassionally help them with promo and flyering when they head to the East Coast.

A SEASON OF CHANGE FOR PARTICLE

After five years and seven hundred shows across the world, Particle is ready for
their first extended break heading into the winter holidays.  The next phase
will be a time of change for the band as we part ways with our longtime friend
and guitarist, Charlie Hitchcock.  We\'re very thankful for the tremendous spirit
and talent that Charlie has brought to the Particle world.  Our musical journey
together has been amazing, and we will all look back on the experiences we\'ve
shared as some of the best of our lives.  Simply put, we found ourselves moving
in different directions musically and we felt it was necessary for everyone
involved to make this change.

These past five years wouldn\'t have been possible without the love and support
of all the Particle People.  We truly thank you for your commitment to live
music and dedication to our sound.  Your enthusiasm has been a huge part of our
inspiration, and it\'s that same passion that will fuel us for the next wave of
our journey.  Particle is looking forward to using this time off the road to
rejuvenate, regenerate and enter the new year with a passionate return.

Keep in touch at http://www.particlepeople.com for further updates and announcements.

I personally would like to see them as a trio. Keys/Synth, Bass and Drums/Percussion

[Marcial]

he must have missed one too many gigs because he had to tape a Breakfast show...

[leith]

Yeah that is posted on the website and on the Breeze Board
Here is another post from that board.
hitchcock     
n00b
Group: Members
Posts: 1
Joined: Today, 04:33 PM
Member No.: 111
   
hey this is Charlie here.... never posted here before.. but I guess there\'s a first (last?) time for everything.... anyways... I just saw the bullshit post on the headlines of my...... or what used to be my website.. so I thought id post just to set the record straight... I could go on and on but I figure ill start with telling the truth as concisely as possible.. I woke up this morning, like every other morning, and the band said they wanted to have a meeting.. I drop everything im doing and head to the spot they wanted me to meet at.. long story short they kicked me out of the band.. there was NOTHING mutual about this.. believe me, ive been busting my ass for 5 years and sacrificed everything for this band.. LAST thing I want to do is throw it all away.. I realize the fans love us and I myself would stick it out thru anything to make people happy and feel good.. the overwhelming majority of you out there love me and im sending love back at you... It saddens me that this is being forced apon me and you.. but this isn\'t my decision.. they feel that they are better off without me... I feel that they are making a mistake for themselves and the future of particle... I could go on and on about ego\'s, insecurity, and my theory why this happened.. but ill save it and wish everyone the best...
love
Charlie

But yeah Jeff, I would like to see them perform sans guitar for awhile I think it would be pretty good actually.

[Spacey]

he must have missed one too many gigs because he had to tape a Breakfast show...

lol

one can only imagine

[Wolfman]

That\'s an interesting read from "Charlie" but unfortunately there\'s no way to prove it was him and not some tweaked-out fan wanting to raise eyebrows.

The question now is not if but when do they approach Tim Palmieri to fill the spot.

[Spacey]

I think if they want to seperate themselves from the rest of the pack they go a different route here and not find a new guitarist, at least for a little while. Maybe, continue working with a reworked Hydra or just mess around with the keys, drums and bass.

I think TPalms is to good for Particle. Besides, isn\'t he known for being concretely rooted in rock? (btw, I get the joke)

[leith]

That\'s an interesting read from "Charlie" but unfortunately there\'s no way to prove it was him and not some tweaked-out fan wanting to raise eyebrows.

The question now is not if but when do they approach Tim Palmieri to fill the spot.

Yeah Seth I took the post w/ a grain of salt. The poster did not go all assholes this asssholes that so I gave it a little more credit.

[Gordo]

i dont think that was charlie.. its possible i guess but while i was reading it i felt like it wasnt real.

do a lot of you guys like particle? i think molitz has some ser talent but their music is incredibly redundant. first time i saw them i had fun and i liked it, next time i saw them i felt like they were pulling the first Millie-Vanillie (sp?) of the vocal-less jam-band world. tim palmieri with Particle-- bwahahaha!! but i would definitely buy a ticket then, hed take a mediocre band and make them fucking sick no doubt. it\'s funny though, another band that gets so much attention yet has an enormous discrepancy of talent compared to The Breakfast.

[Spacey]

I dug Particle for a while. Like most others have said, if you seen them once you have seen them all. I felt every show I listened to was the same. They didn\'t have enough material to keep me interested. No lyrics, kinda killed them from being really good, IMO. There sound was too much of a rip off from other electronica bands.

[boombox]

Particle taking a break? About time. They are the only band I\'ve ever seen who I thought sucked worse than The Wedding Present (only gig I\'ve ever walked out of!). I only stayed to the end in case they brought k-dub up on stage for the encore, which they didn\'t.

Sorry to any particle fans, but their guitarist seemed far too reined in by the boring keyboard player - who jordan would run rings around. The guy has obviously listened to far too much hawkwind and jean-michel jarre, tried to copy the style, but failed to come to grips with that aspect of music known as melody. Maybe the guitarist could have let rip a few decent solos, but wasn\'t given the space. When he was allowed to (twice), he wasn\'t that bad, though as has been said Timmy would be waaaay too good for this lot.

[Spacey]

Honestly I wouldn\'t care if care if Particle ever came back from this break.

[Rujah]

im not to keen to particle either, have seen them like once. funny story actually, a few of my buddies and I interviewed them for our college radio station.  they are decent guys for sure, anyways so we did this awesome interview, a good 7 or 8 mins then when we got out in our van to listen to it, the kids forgot to turn on his mic. so we had nothing. later on after the show, we talked to them after the show and they gace us some liners for the station.  however we never did tell them what had happened.

[Klout]

boo hoo

[Rujah]

boo who?