I really didn't want to post anything up here, but with all the lies and misinformation being thrown around, I felt it was in my best interest to clear things up. Sorry about the long post. Here is how the story went in my opinion: On our drive home from tour at about 2am, Tim and I were discussing the tour while Brandon listened and Joe slept. During our conversation, Tim began to bring up points how a lot of people (fans, bands, etc.) were saying negative things about my hair, and of course all my responses were "I don't care what other people think."

Yet Tim continued in saying "the length of your hair is getting in the way of the message that the band is trying to convey." I began thinking this was some sort of joke because it was so ridiculous to me, but as words went on, I realized it wasn't. Tim finished up with "Dan, if you want to succeed in this band, there are some changes you will need to make." Mind you, this entire time we were ONLY talking about my hair. No one ever said that I HAD to cut my hair, but with the words that Tim said, and the asinine beliefs he held in this situation, I had no choice but to tell them that I quit. I started a punk rock band to play good music, not to worry about being ticketed by the Fashion Police.

Three days later, I received a call from Joe saying that it wasn't just my hair, but there were other reasons. He said I should hear them out and that he thinks I made a rash decision. I agreed to have a meeting with them that same night. During this meeting I was told that I was "stressing out the band on tour because I had to have my hands in everything." They felt that I was taking control of the band. I basically felt that I was doing things that they did not want to do and they never showed any initiative that they would do these things, bar driving the van.

I also must admit, I found it very hard to trust people to do the things that I had been doing well for the past 7 or 8 years. I guess this is a fault of mine. However, there were times that I felt I SHOULDN'T be doing all those things, and when I left some simple things for the others to do, they failed. So even after they told me they could accomplish all these things without my help, I was still hesitant. Finally, towards the end of this meeting, I decided that I would make a change during the next tour to try and work things out. I would make a change on how I handled situations on tour, but NOT to my appearance. It seemed that Joe and Brandon were willing to give me a chance, but Tim wasn't when he said "you already had your chance." With that comment I left the meeting saying "I guess Tim already made the decision for all of you."

The very next day I got another call from Joe saying that he talked to Tim for an hour and convinced him to give me another chance, but they wanted a second guitar player in the band and I needed to make all the changes I talked about. I actually STILL CONSIDERED IT for 24 hours. Luckily, the next day, I came to my senses, called Joe back, and let him know I would have no part of it.

Now, the very next day, I received a call from a dear friend of all of us, Mass Giorgini. He talked to me and said, "they all really want you back in the band and Joe really wants to talk to you." An hour later I called Joe and he told me, "we really want you back in the band. We realize now what an integral part you were in this band." He said other things that made me realize that the band wasn't the same without me, and this made me feel good. They realized also that they/we didn't need a second guitar player and they would take me back, just the way I am, with of course, the changes in my controlling the band issues. Again, I agreed, especially since we had a show the next night and I figured this might be a great way to get back on track.

We played the show the next night and we were supposed to have another meeting to talk about everything once again. The meeting never happened, because Tim once again decided that he did NOT want me in the band. Confused and remorseful, Joe and Brandon both apologized to me and said they didn't know what they wanted to do. I couldn't believe how relieved I actually felt, being out of this tangled web of confusion. Through a business aspect, I can see why they decided to carry on with someone like Tim…but from a respectful friendship standpoint, I feel nothing but shock and apathy; especially for someone that I was friends with for 10 years…how can these things happen.

I only put this post up to let everyone know the story from MY POINT OF VIEW. I don't want to start any arguments on a message board. I'm sure there will be replies to this, wanting to get more out of me, but I've said all I've needed to right here, so do not expect me to reply back. I'm sorry it all had to end this way, but I am already back on my feet looking to start a new band or join someone else's creation. Music has sometimes given up on me, but I will never give up on Music.

Dan

PS. I see a lot of people posting that they don't care who is in the band and they just care about the music and the message. How can you trust a positive message when people can't back up their words with their actions?