Farewell, Jeremy!

[xjsb125]

Gibbits post is a prime example of why I wished the band wouldn't post any clips of new material. A 15 second clip has yielded one person's expert opinion of what an entire song and album will be.
I see Jeremy's departure as positive, if that makes sense. Jeremy spent 21 years in a successful band. That's a great accomplishment. He played with his musical heroes, recorded successful albums, and is able to walk away with the ability to stay involved in the music business, enjoy his new projects, and spend time with his family. All without having to be away from his family for extended time. That sucks for us who are longtime fans, but it's great for him and the band.

The band is benefiting because if Jeremy wasn't into the mission anymore, the music would suffer in the long run (how the music has suffered is debatable). I think it's great that it appears to be an amicable split, and both sides are supportive of each other.

Life goes on for OLP. I hope everyone will keep an open mind when the next drummer comes around, and give a fair shot to grow in the band.

[Tinman]

[xjsb125]

Jeremy wasn't present for either recording session. The ones he mentioned on Twitter were with Danko Jones.

[OLPManiac]

I'm one of the guys that is really sad for Jeremy's departure but i totally disagree with gibbits (well i think that he talked because he was really angry). Honestly i'm not a fan of the snippets of the new song on Instagram but come on guys they are only few seconds...can you really judge something with only few seconds? I don't know much about the new producer then i can't tell nothing about this...but here come the Tinman's thought...i don't think that after a lot of years where the band talked bad of Bob Rock they make the same mistake! But however after Jeremy's departure i have a lot of doubts about the new stuffs that will come but is also true that if Jer hadn't the motivation to continue with the band he made a good move to leave! Of course is really strange that Jer left especially after Curve that reinvigorated the band, in fact i remember that Raine told "We are waiting for other 10 years", about this i look forward to see what Jeremy will do if he will be in hiatus or if he will join a new band! We need only to wait and see...and also i'm curious to see who will be the new drummer also if i think that for summer shows they will take a guest drummer..i'm also curious to know who is that is recording the drums in the new song...like i told we need only to wait and see...and believe me guys i'm really really sad because i never see the guys live..i think that one day maybe i will see them but at this point without Jeremy (and for me this a great regret!), for now OLP is my favourite band and i wish that they won't let me down with new things!

PS I checked on some tweets of Raine during the recording sessions and on a tweet he wrote #Naveedesque to describe the new song! This gives me some good feelings (after a lot of days with bad feelings!), because i don't think that an eletronic thing can be Naveedesque! Hahahah

EDIT: Maybe i'm paranoid..however i went to OLP's instragram to listen to the clips again and i found a "trace" about the possible new drummer here:
http://instagram.com/p/psdUYmNJwg/?modal=true
like you can hear they told something about the drums and before the beginning of the music there is a man that of course is not Elizondo nor Raine nor Duncan nor Steve...some of you can imagine who is he?

[PaperMoon]

I have a feeling we'll be seeing/hearing a lot from Jeremy in other forms of media apart from the music scene. His involvement with podcasts, TV, and radio is on the rise and he's been gaining a lot of popularity with people that have never even heard of OLP. We all know the band won't be around forever so maybe he's trying to find his new calling.

[DG]

[xjsb125]

Or Steve.

[faninor]

I think that guy at the console is a recording engineer, and they were listening and discussing the tracks, probably discussing the mix.

[Mr. Sixkiller]

So the band swaps a member every four albums?

[PaperMoon]

Here's the link for an interview he did this morning on 102.1 The Edge talking about his departure.

http://www.edge.ca/2014/07/02/20958/

[ivewaited]

Hmmm.. Found out about this on their post on Facebook.. Kind of really shocked but then thought this might not be a bad thing.
Maybe they need to switch things up to get that.. UMPH.. back-- ya know?

[ivewaited]

Curious to see how the new session drummer or drummers play all the stuff live.

[xjsb125]

[MattCTUSA]

Yes, definitely seems like this is a very amicable parting. I give Jer a lot of credit for being in this band for 21 years. Like Matt said, if his heart is not into the mission, then the music and band suffers. Sure, it's sad, as like a lot of us, I've grown up with this band. I am excited for the new beginnings and am staying hopeful.

[RileyLewis]

On the one hand, I am sad he is gone, but on the other, he didn't really push the envelope in the last few albums. The first 4 albums (and even a bit on the 5th) he had some really interesting sounds, but on the last few it's been pretty generic.

I also don't like the new direction the band is headed by the sound of the clips. I can't pass judgement until hearing full songs, but it sounds very poppy. Reminds me of World on a String, which was pretty shallow. That's a good way to describe a lot of their recent stuff, unfortunately. Curve was better than Burn Burn, but not as good as the first 4 or 5. It's sad when Gravity can be looked back on as a decent album.

Someone also mentioned that Raine said something about this album was "Naveedesque." All I have to say to that, is that he's said the same thing about every album since Naveed in one way or another. Remember when Burn Burn was going to be a return to Naveed? And it was pretty bland.

I know a lot of you will stay true to the band no matter what, but I think this place (and others like it) are falling victim to "true believer" syndrome. What I mean is, is that anyone who disagrees leaves, and so only the true believers stay. So it looks like most people are excited, but in reality 75% are already gone. Even when Curve came out this place was barely active compared to a long time ago, and that's because people who liked the band's original creativity and drive have grown bored by their plateau and fall into mediocrity. They still put out a good song now and then, but they are nothing compared to some of the older stuff. If every new album has 1 or 2 good songs you can listen to for hours and stay interested, the old ones have 5-10.

I'm sure this post will be mocked in some way or another or I'll be told to stay positive, but that's just another sign of the true believer stuff in action. Over the past 15 years I'm moved away from OLP and toward Matthew Good, and here is the reason: OLP has focused a lot on the image side of things, while Matthew Good has focused on the content. Both bands basically got shook up around 2000, but both were affected differently by it. OLP was pressured into confirming to mainstream rock, and has never recovered as they've basically moved in whatever direction Raine felt (mainstream, then bland stuff, now more poppy/hipster stuff). Matthew Good on the other hand has gone a new, specific direction with each album. One will be full stripped-down rock, the next will be an orchestra-backed experimental album, and the next a throwback to alternative rock of the 80s/90s. Not everyone will like each record since they sound so different, but each is kind of like Spiritual Machines - they have a theme and feel to them that demands respect. How many times has OLP started some PR thing, or contest? Remember the cover contest where they never chose a winner? Or how about the 2 or 3 tour DVDs that were promised but never made? Or the astroturfing done by their PR guy here? Matthew Good on the other hand doesn't really give a shit about most of his fans because that's not why he does it. He'll throw us a bone now and then, but sometimes he's just a dick. And that's okay to me, because he's still creating new and original and edgy music 20 years after he started, something I can't same the say about OLP.

OLP will always hold a place in my heart for their early work, and I will still listen to a few recent songs, but I don't think I'll buy their next CD based on the last 3. It's too bad, but judging by Jeremy's slow devolution over the past 10 years in terms of his creativity on the albums, I think he kind of felt the same away about the direction, or at least the band held him back to be more mundane. They used to be edgy and creative, and now they're ho-hum and Raine-driven.

[xjsb125]

I think what I like best about your post is that you have an alternative, and realize that you still have the older albums you can enjoy. Not only that, but you have the ability to buy the individual songs you like from newer albums and not be stuck with the whole disc.

[A2K]

RileyLewis you are right on many levels. I consider myself a true believer as sad as that is. Frankly I'm surprised this band is even trying to survive without Jeremy. I believe it's human nature to be caught up in fanaticism, and the impact on some is eternal, the impact on others is more momentary. But regardless of which camp you fall in, when the community wanes the intensity does also. And while many of you would probably never admit it, your ability to appreciate music good or bad is impacted by that.

As Phillip Seymour Hoffman said in Almost famous "...it's just an industry of cool and as soon as they have you believing in the genius of rock n roll they've won" (paraphrased). As soon as OLP left the label behind the radio took their finger off the repeat button and Much Music stopped playing videos and concerts and biographies. And it became impossible for them to create an album that anyone could truly get behind with the fanatic zeal of their first 5 albums.

[faninor]

[myownsatellite]

Agreed, Josh.

Also, I'm not mocking you Riley, but there's nothing wrong with people still loving the band and hoping for some great music even without Jeremy. Maybe that makes me a "true believer." I'm here because I love the band (and most of the people I interact with on here), not because I feel the need to constantly dump on them.

[myownsatellite]

And because everyone always puts words in my mouth, I'm not saying that we can't discuss where the music is going, or that you specifically are constantly dumping on the band.