The Famine have decided to split. Hit the jump for statements from Nick Nowell and Mark Garza(who had recently left before the split).
You can read our "Feast with the Famine" feature HERE.
Nick Nowell:
"The Famine never should have existed. I don't mean that like when a jealous brother screams 'I wish you were never born!' at his little sister. What I mean is that we came together as a group of married thirty-somethings with kids and small businesses. Our singer lived on the other side of the country. It was a cumbersome proposition, but we made it work. Most of you are familiar with the fire that claimed most of our equipment and the departure of our vocalist about a year ago. We should have never been able to make our last record, but we did. This brings us to the present day.
"As of this past Saturday, The Famine is no more. In my mind, bands break up because Courtney Love kills their singer or because they can't stand each other. Neither of those circumstances is descriptive of our situation. For us, life simply got in the way, as it often does. There is a medical emergency in my family, and I'll be moving to Los Angeles in August to care for a loved one in his final days. Mark and Andy both have families for which they are the breadwinners, and Jon has been putting off going to graduate school. Instead of trying to simultaneously satiate Mark's drive and Andy's inability to tour and my distance from the band and Jon's webbed toes (sorry, Jon), we came together and decided as a group that it is time to lay The Famine to rest.
"Words cannot express how thankful we all are to have had these experiences, and without those of you who are reading this right now, none of this would have been possible. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for the support and kindness you have shown us for the past four years. Thank you for allowing us in to your lives, and for giving us the opportunity to connect, even though most of us have never met. You'll see us around. You might not see the same faces or the same names, but I know that music means too much to all of us to let it die with this moniker. So, this is goodbye for now."
Mark Garza:
I wasn’t intending The Famine to be done with after my departure, but now that it is, I do have a few things to say. Nick, Chris, Drew, Jon, and Tooley are the best, most amazing group of people I have ever met and will probably ever work with. I truly did go out on top with these 5 individuals. In my typical bravado about our band, I was always a fan of the type of machismo that we brought to the metal table. It started with Chris McCaddon and his complex style and unorthodox delivery that made the early sound so angry and disjointed. He was necessary to reviving the process and the attitude that we had in our earlier Embodyment days and he delivered perfectly. I don’t know what to say about Tooley other than the fact that he may just be a figment of my imagination. There is no way that a guitar player so casual and effortlessly great at an instrument could walk the earth under my radar for so long. Its a shame that he only played a handful of shows with us, but the more I think about it, he may have just been the manifestation of Drews left over raw talent in human form. Come to think about it, they were always together, hmmmmm. Anyhow, what do I say about Jon Richardson that hasn’t already been said. The most reformed of reformed Jews, and personification of all that is good and pure in this universe. He is way too good a friend than anyone of us ever deserved and an amazing player as well. Spinning dreidels as a kid made him into a monster bass player and Yiddish master of his mother tongue, which is highly respected some circles. You will never find a guy like Jonny, you are only blessed for them to find you. Nick is a kindred spirit and definitely the yin to my yang. His no B.S. attitude and honesty was refreshing to be around, and if you got hung up on his methods and missed the truth behind his words, you will have missed the essence of Nick. He is complex, as all singers are, but only after many years pass and you finally delve into the meaning behind The Famine lyrics, you will be profoundly saddened to not have been a part of what it was we were trying to do. Nick made sure that it wasn’t just about the music, that would have been too easy. His heart and talent were only as big as his passion for meaningful interaction, and this is why I consider him my closest of friends. I have been through hell and high water with Drew over the course of many, many years. We have been through the deepest tragedies and most sour of sour disappointments but I only seem to remember that he is the best guitar player I have ever known. He made it easy for me to play drums, and that is the highest compliment that I could give. We went down so many paths together that over almost 20 years, we inadvertently set the courses for each others lives with nothing but our trust in God to take care of us. As bad as the tragedies may have been, every day that we were in a band together was a victory that I will always cherish. I have left this band a better person than when I started and the natural course of everyday life dictates that I will probably leave these friendships as well. And if I ever have a doubt about what their friendships meant to me, ill just pop in The Architects of Guilt, sit back, and remember that I was once in The Famine.
