Dear Band Members,

[Dalya]

Are you, the band, really egotistical enough to think that I and others want to “bring down” the band? Do you really think we, all the “negative” people, would spend this much energy on something we were “beyond”? Obviously the band meant/means a lot to us and it hurts me personally to see the band in the state that it is in. Despite the fact that you all apparently hate me, I don’t want you to fail. I want to prevent what I see coming.

Stop right now. Don’t get defensive. Read what I am actually saying, not what you think I am saying. Stop planning your counter-attack. This isn’t a battle. In the end you are the ones with something to lose, not me.

I went to my first spree show when I was 16 and I’m now 20. My first show was the 2002 Christmas show, long before I knew anyone in the band. I had never even heard of y’all. I walked in, expecting nothing, and it was one of the best nights of my life. In high school I quit the cheerleading squad so that I wouldn’t miss the Granada show which coincided with our Homecoming game. I promoted you to anyone who would listen and gladly helped out in any way I could. I met my boyfriend on your forum. I met half of my friends on that forum, including then-members and “associates”, who I am still friends with because of the kinds of people/artists they are, not because of the status or information they can give me. Don’t dismiss me as a character who “used to know someone in the band” or as a faceless computer nerd. My sincerity is apparent.

Blind support isn’t loyalty, its foolishness. For fans and members alike. Letting your friend drive home drunk is hardly supportive. Letting your favorite band drive off a cliff is no different. Fear is no excuse.

…And yet I still have an outside perspective, something none of you have. So here is what I saw and what I see now.

What made the spree amazing was the purity. Pure emotion, pure energy, and pure intentions. White robes. Raw demo. It was about the music. It was about performing what you felt, positive or negative. It didn’t *have* to be anything. It just was. And it was fucking beautiful.

And this is not just while TBSO was being recorded; it lasted for years.

You say you hate the image the press has laid on you as being eternally happy. Why do you support that image by playing almost entirely upbeat songs? What happened to the slow build? What happened to all the instruments having solos, not just one or two? What happened to the harp? You can’t even hear it anymore. Why do you choreograph all of your actions instead of letting the moment inspire you? What happened to all the songs with melancholy undertones? They have long since vanished from the set list. Days Like This, Lala, Have a Day, Five Years, even The March. I know they are old songs, but so is Soldier Girl and you rarely skip that one.

What made the spree amazing was the collaboration of talented musicians and their freedom to create pure and beautiful music. Members come and go, that’s true. But it is selfish and foolish to dismiss their influence and the role they each played. The music they helped write, which you still play. The recordings they made. The decisions, good and bad, that they contributed to. Auden said it best:

"For the error bred in the bone / Of each woman and each man / Craves what it cannot have / Not universal love / But to be loved alone."

The Polyponic Spre is not Tripping Daisy II. And it’s not the Tim and Julie Show. All the members matter: past, present, and future. And so do the fans. You're not doing yourselves any favors by denying that.

I am telling you now what others have tried to tell you. You wouldn’t listen. You have made enemies of people who wanted nothing but good things for you. You have ignored warning sign after warning sign. But even now it might not be too late if you will just WAKE UP.

Why are you so fucking scared?

Raw emotion is what made your music beautiful, and it rings hollow without it. That darkness gave birth to the spree. There has to be both. Darkness and light. “It takes the sun to make the sidewalk; it takes the moon to burn my feet.” As individuals or as a band, you need both. Yin and yang. You can’t appreciate the happy songs without the sharp contrast of the somber ones. This isn’t kama sutra. Nobody wants an hour-long climax. That’s not reflective of reality or of the lyrics you yourselves sing. Don’t hide behind choreography. Don’t hide behind your image. Don’t hide the honesty of the lyrics with fake smiles. Don’t hide the songs behind overproduction. It has always been about the live show and your albums should reflect that. It should reflect community and tragedy and honesty and purity. And if you disagree, then go ahead and change the album name to Radio Friendly Unit-Shifter. We don’t care if you make money or not. It only becomes a problem when that desire is apparent in the music. Its one thing to put your song on a commercial. It’s another thing to worry solely about whether your album is radio friendly, whether you have a hit, whether the songs are too long or too “weird” or too happy or too sad. Gone is the purity. Commence with the fear.

Don’t rationalize your actions because of decisions other bands are making. Your fans hold you to different standards. Maybe its not fair, but we expect sincerity from you of all bands. If the music has it, everything else is justifiable. It’s because of the music and the live shows that all this is surfacing. I know some of my past comments have been out of line. I should have shown more wisdom, and for that I am sorry. But for your own sake, don’t confuse constructive criticism with personal attacks.

We are saying it IS about the music. Not about the fucking forum. Quit lurking around and reading what we have to say about y’all and make some changes. Obviously its not working. Do something. Change something. WAKE UP.

Just be honest. In all aspects, with yourselves and eachother. It's not too late to become honest, substantial people. Honesty being sincerity and wisdom, not divulsion of secrets.

“Remember like the old, and be honest like children.”

[brine]

too bad most of them wouldn't even dare come to this forum. The only place I can see them getting this message is Myspace, as it seems they have successfully cut off all communication to the band.

[Devdog]

I don't think you can get more open and honest than that. Many of those points you have stated before on the old forum.

Devdog.

[lennon]

dalya-

several questions for you:

1. what state do you believe the band to be in? and from what do you base this information on?

2. isnt the only reason tbso was 'underproduced' was because it was put together in a very short period of time. shouldnt we expect that each album should/will sound better than the last?

3. what makes you think its not about the music anymore? even if tim is after some radio airplay, cant a song played on the radio still be all about the music? or does that automatically mean that the band has 'sold out'?

4. what makes you think that the band is over?

please do not take this post to be confrontational in any way. i, among others, are just wanting to know where you are coming from.

thanks

[mr_j]

um, julie alluded to the band being over.

[froggorino]

when? i never saw that.

[brine]

the band is over because the cool fans quit.

[Dogatron]

[quote="Dalya"]

Blind support isn’t loyalty, its foolishness. For fans and members alike. Letting your friend drive home drunk is hardly supportive. Letting your favorite band drive off a cliff is no different. Fear is no excuse.

quote]

"Also, for a band that's so "Anti-Bush", they seem to employ a lot of the same tactics he uses..." anon

saying you're not a real fan because you see the band watering down from what they were is like Bush saying you're unpatriotic if you dissent.

[Dalya]

i edited that comment about whether or not the band should be over (not an assertion that it is already over) because i didn't think it read well and detracted from everything else i was trying to say. so forget that part. (and julie never said the band is over.)

i sincerely hope the band will read what i said because i mean every word of it. all my snide comments on the spree forum and here were born out of frustration with a band that should be so much more than what it has become.

we (the fans and band members) have reduced ourselves to bickering schoolchildren, which has only detracted from the important discussion that should be taking place. much more important for them, than us. after all, to us they're a band. but that is their livlihood and identity. their defensiveness is understandable but unnecessary. i think we all need to wise up.

[Dalya]

also, lennon, i dont want to be rude but i really dont want to respond to your questions. this letter really is intended for the band to read. obviously you all are free to read it, but i dont necessarily want to defend or explain it.

[ifihadahifi]

*Stand behind Dalya and points to her*

YEAH! WHAT SHE SAID!!!

[lennon]

also, lennon, i dont want to be rude but i really dont want to respond to your questions. this letter really is intended for the band to read. obviously you all are free to read it, but i dont necessarily want to defend or explain it.

thats cool. i understand.

[James]

I could post a long, drawn out response to this, and given my past I have a bit of insight into the whole interworkings. But I won't go into it; not here, not now. I will give you the Thesis statement though:

Regarding Dalya's post, I agree with it 100%.

[kt]

Damn Dalya. Props for clarity. Incredibly insightful essay on raw emotion, purity of intent. And i dont mean that as it relates to The Band, as i dropped outa there just before all this went down a few months ago, and have no perspective on the specifics of that. Im just saying that that post resonates beyond its intended audience. Some forms of music require no synergy with fans - certain forms of technical jazz come to mind, there are more. But anyone playing a genre of music built on a foundation of spontaneous creation (whether it be notes, or emotions) has to remember that the audience is as important to the process as they are. they are there to feel something, they feed on the creation process as much as the musicians themselves. Take away rawness and uncertainty and you've lost the point. And probably the audience that feeds you back. The passion you write with is painful, beautiful. Every band should be blessed with fans that moved.

But but you nailed it about fear. I only ask that music fans have some compassion for the bands that inspire them with raw energy. Man--it can be hard to maintain an edge in songs written years ago. Sometimes--most times-- the initial magic came effortlessly, out of nowhere, from the muses. what do you do for a follow up, what should you do when the muse is out to lunch? the days you just dont connect to the original message? drop the song, maybe "fake it" a bit on stage and hope the synergy isnt lost and the fans dont notice. no one wants to feeel they're rehashing anything, it's downright embarassing. you feel naked. Its not easy making the choice to bare yourself that way, knowing you risk insincerity, or maybe sucking. and its those times fear takes you by the hand, because by god you dont want to lose those fans. some people's survival instinct kicks in, and they take the safe route and try to 'bottle the sauce', so to speak. seen it happen a million times with my musician friends. and with me. it's really, really, hard to go thru this world of BS and still keep the pure, innocent energy flowing. it can be done, but man, musicians have to be zen masters not get a little off track, or hardened, or put up seawalls that maintain a sense of control of something that cant, and shouldnt, ever be constrained: passion, and the raw emotion that is gifted freely to us in our teens and early 20s. we're made of water, we ebb and flow.

However, sometimes this energy can be gifted back from passionate fans like you who kick us in the pants and remind us why we do it. it hurts, but it helps. I've been kicked like this before for letting the edge slip, and i welcomed the insight. getting older sucks in some ways, you have to *fight* to keep edge after a while, its honestly like swiimming against the tide. but thats ok, you just *gotta do it.* i for one have pledged to do what it takes to keep it, if at all possible. i consider this a needed kick going forward as i continue to write.

i am NOT thinking clearly today and wrote this no editing so please forgive the randomness of these thoughts. its just that once again, you inspired me. i do hope the band reads your post and takes from it whatever they need to hear. again i dont know the situation so that may be a lot or a little, who knows. but there was a lot of Truth imbedded, and it was cool.

much respect.

[mere1975]

Awesome, KT.

That you can draw inspiration for your own music from this whole situation is really, really cool -- and a testament to your strength as an artist.

(How can I say "you go girl" without sounding trite? I'm not sure. Good on ya, though.)

- Mere "I'd be happy to provide swimmie arms to help you stay afloat while you swim against the tide, just let me know how" 1975