Bands bounce back from loss of members

Paramore, Green Day and MxPx have lost at least one founding member. But these bands have redefined themselves and have emerged stronger than ever.

When bands lose a member, they often go through a natural grieving phase but proceed with a willful determination not to disappoint their fans.

Maybe the departure was on good terms, or perhaps it was the opposite of an amicable split, but no matter what, bands want to persevere through inevitable changes.

For some bands, departures happen early. Tré Cool, for example, has not always been the drummer for pop-punk band Green Day, although he has been on the majority of the band’s records. John Kiffmeyer joined with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt to form Green Day in 1987 and played on the band’s debut album 39/Smooth.

In 1990, Kiffmeyer left the band to attend college, leaving room for Cool to come in and help the band finish its second record Kerplunk! From then on, Cool has been behind the drum set, and now the reformed trio is one of the most well-known rock bands.

Punk band MxPx also went through a similar loss. After it released its first CD, Pokinatcha, the band lost its original guitarist, Andy Husted. Soon after, Tom Wisniewski took over, and he has been the guitarist ever since. Now in its 20th year as a band, MxPx is set to release its ninth studio album, Plans Within Plans, on April 3.

In these two instances, the losses were not too detrimental to the bands’ well-being because they were able to find replacements relatively quickly. In fact, these replacements ended up becoming mainstays who have helped the bands evolve into what they are today.

In other cases, however, departures don’t go nearly as well.

In the case of Paramore, ex-members Josh and Zac Farro, brothers who played guitar and drums, respectively, surprised fans with their unexpected departure in December 2010. They shocked the music world even more when Josh Farro released a blog post saying that Paramore was “a manufactured product of a major label” and that everyone in the band besides singer Hayley Williams was just a pawn in the label’s game.

Williams and the two remaining members, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York, denied the claims and promised fans that they would be getting back to work to release their best album yet after some touring.

Fans, however, did not know what to expect from the band. Josh Farro played a major part in the band’s songwriting, and York took over those duties after Farro’s departure.

York’s work has helped lead Paramore to a newer sound that seems to take influences from a wider variety of genres than the band’s back catalog did. Two examples of this are the hard-hitting anthem “Monster,” as well as the somber folksy tune “In the Mourning.”

So even after losing two members, Paramore appears to be more creative and inspired than ever, and the band has set the bar high for the upcoming release of its fourth studio album sometime in 2012.

Though Paramore’s story was a success, other bands have had to deal with truly tragic departures. Five-piece rock band Hawthorne Heights lost its guitarist/vocalist Casey Calvert when he passed away while the band was on tour. Calvert was an integral part of the band, as he provided all of the screaming vocals in the band’s songs to complement the melodies of lead vocalist JT Woodruff.

Hawthorne Heights re-emerged after some much-needed time off and continued touring and releasing records.

To keep Calvert’s memory alive, the band told fans that it would not find a replacement to do his screaming vocals while on tour. Instead, the crowd filled in for Calvert at each show in memory of him.

Screaming was absent on the band’s next record, 2008’s Fragile Future, which left behind the band’s hardcore arrangements and instead focused on an alternative-rock feel. The 2010 follow-up, Skeletons, also had an alternative feel, although lead guitarist Micah Carli did start doing some screaming vocals for the band.

Now, Hawthorne Heights has recently released an EP called Hate, which is the roughest and rawest music that they have ever created. Though the band has not replaced Calvert in honor of his memory, it has added a touring guitarist to its lineup, and Carli is now the official “unclean” vocalist of the band.

The band’s loss of Calvert no doubt made it rethink its sound, but now it appears the members are comfortable enough to write music that appeals to the band’s hardcore and alternative influences as it continues in its career. Hate was the first in a trilogy of EPs the band is working on, and fans can expect its follow-up sometime this year.

Naturally, losing a member is a common obstacle many bands must overcome, and some acts face harder departures than others. But every band that goes through a loss will ultimately end up being defined by how they respond to it, and how it changes them, for better or for worse.

 

Nick Mindicino is a sophomore majoring in print and digital journalism. His column “Industry Ballads” runs Fridays.