Band Statement
After much prayer and reflection, the members of the
Collaboration Element have decided to hang it up as a band.
All existing bookings have been cancelled.
Greg Jones, on behalf of the band, has issued the following statement:
"I hope no one reading this will take this as a boastful statement or
as a slam to other bands with different styles. I'm only expressing
what many other people (not just biased spouses and relatives) have
told us. People who didn't know us personally, who in many cases had
the musical knowledge and experience to earn our respect, confirmed
anything in the following statement that might sound proud or haughty:
When, as a result of years of practice, hard work and dedication,
you're able to play things that no other local band (as well as most
nationally known bands) can play, you expect to excel. When those
successes don't come, when you see other less advanced musicians
favored over you, you begin to feel like you're banging your head up
against a wall.
We broke up because our heads hurt..........
We always realized that not everyone is into technical, complex and
unique music. That's why, in addition to these "elements," we always
made sure to incorporate lots of emotion into our music through the
use of melody and dynamics. But when even that's not enough, what
else can one do?
Jason and I started the Collaboration Element knowing full well not
to expect "commercial successes" or even mass appreciation locally.
However, we thought that we could bring enough creativity and
originality to the local music scene so as to at least garner modest
success.
For the first two years we saw that success, expressed through the
appreciation of local fans, fans abroad (via the Internet) and local
venue operators. We expected to achieve greater heights with the
release of our cd and the addition of a bass player. When we instead
began to see the opposite, we knew it was over.
CE's main audience has always been college students and adults in the
age group of (20-45). Unfortunately, over the last 6 months or so, we
began to notice that most of the local music venues were trying to
target teenagers. It's not that we don't have or want teenaged fans. A
few of our fans are teenagers and we greatly appreciate them.
But because of this emphasis, our crowd drawings began to diminish
greatly. We never formed the Collaboration Element with the
expectation
of drawing great crowds (otherwise we would have played more
commercially
viable music) but when the work that you put into such a band is
demanding, and the fruits of your efforts are small, frustration
begins to set in. This is why we have decided to quit.
Our memories of this band will always be great. We met a lot of great
people. We played a lot of great places. We'll never forget our 2000
New Years Eve show. The crowd put us on cloud nine! We got signed by
Fossil Records. We got to play with some great bands.
FUTURE PLANS
I'm a hired gun........
I want to stress that this breakup was amicable. Jason, Ed and I are
still very good friends. This split was NOT over personal differences.
With the above in mind, it's quite possible that you may see us
playing together in the future in one form or another.
We're open to an occasional CE reunion show. We'd love to play next
year's Gathering Grounds New Years bash under the right circumstances.
Right now, we're open to other things musically. If you're a musician
or a band that is seeking either a guitarist, bassist or drummer,
please look us up. Maybe something will work out.
Jason is leaning most strongly towards a Praise & Worship type band
or project.
Ed is considering his options.......and with bass players being as
rare as they are (especially good ones) he has a lot of them. Ed
is open to other prog rock bands, heavier alternative bands, old
school rock along the lines of Iron Maiden, as well as other styles.
I'm very interested in Praise & Worship. In addition to this possibiliy,
there are several other areas that I'm considering exploring. Those areas include
the following:
- A solo project (either instrumental guitar, rock vocal music, or even
a combination)
- Joining another band (preferably an already established band). As for
style, I'm open to almost anything that will allow me to keep the
guitar parts interesting (no punk or country).
If you'd be interested in working with us, or you'd just like to send
us reactions, please e-mail us.
Our separate e-mail addresses are:
To all of the fans who came out to hear us over the last three years,
to all of the members of our mailinglist, to Fossil Records, to
everyone who actually bought the cd to
the few fans that we gained over the Internet, including people from
Puerto Rico, Italy, and Canada, we say thank you for letting us share
our music with you! You made the last three years possible. Most of
all, we thank God! He is so good! We deserve nothing from Him. That's
His grace!"
