In the middle of a very long, rambling MySpace post, Thomas revealed that March 17th, St Patrick's Day, was guitarist Matt Sherwood's last show with the band. He's left the band to pursue projects closer to home, including maintaining an art school.
Thomas described the performance as, "glorious, somehow achieving a mood of reverence, ferocity, respect and drunken fun all at once."
Thomas added a request that nobody make a big deal about it, as the split is entirely amicable, with Sherwood remaining friends with the band. He said, "His contribution to this group, its spirit and origin, and to our lives in this mission cannot be accurately described, or overstated. He will be smiling at you all through the songs he helped to write and the good times shared in his eight years helping to build this band with his whole heart. We won't be making a big deal ( or any deal at all ) out of this, and we'd appreciate it if no one else did as there is really not much more to say about it. We are not inviting questions, speculations or any other opinions about it, only a lot of love, understanding and positivity . And full speed ahead for the rest of us."
There's tons more to read about the state of the band, and this, over at the official blog, but suffice to say, there's no need to give the band, or Matt, grief over the decision. Sometimes people do what they have to do, ya know?
