Statement from Damien:

"Hello all. I have recently made the very difficult decision to leave As Friends Rust. This was an extremely confusing and stressful situation for me, as I started (and held the band together through various line-ups) for 5 incredible years. Even more difficult was the fact that the current line-up is the best and most productive that the band has ever had, and we accomplished so much together. So much, in fact, that the opportunities created by our hard work became the impetus for my departure.

Let me explain. For years, I wanted nothing more from life than the opportunity to tour non-stop (and actually be able to pay rent - which never happened) and to have AFR recognized as the fun-yet-provocative institution that I feel it is. I labored under incredibly hostile and changing conditions in pursuit of this goal. It never came. Then this new incarnation of The Rust arose, and since the release of the album Won, things began to take a sudden turn for the best. Tours began presenting themselves to us, reviews and features started sprouting up everywhere, various managers sought the band out, and well-respected labels offered contracts.

What, then, is the problem? The problem is that just as these opportunities surfaced, I was stricken with a bad case of burn-out. A new and unexpected (and highly uncharacteristic) distaste for touring grew in me, as the expectation and need to tour more developed for the band. I began focusing on school and my fiancee more, as the bands' focus on being away from home increased. We were no longer on the same page.

There were several ways to go. Could I continue expecting the band to compromise tour after tour to accomodate me and my life at a point where doing so would only be injurious to theirs? Should the band break up, simply because the singer couldn't "get in the van"? Especially at a crucial point in the band's life?

No. I felt, as we all did, that the only bigger waste of 5 years of hard work than leaving the band, would be for it to end completely. There are still so many things to be accomplished for AFR, and those in the band with the drive and time should enjoy whatever success the next years may bring the band. Won is a great album, and the EP we recently recorded for EVR is another huge progression. The members of the band are awesome songwriters, and great friends, and I feel that they will not suffer from this change. Instead, I am pretty confident that it's the best thing for them. They will no longer be held back, and have to pass up shots at something great because I want to be home.

I simply could not hang. Not at the pace needed.

If you have ever supported AFR, do continue. The feel is the same. The ideas are the same. The songwriters are the same as on Won and the forthcoming EP, which are the band's finest moments ever. This is not a setback, but a graduation. Freed from the anchor, so to speak.

I plan to do another band, one that would require less serious and rigorous things of me. And I'll be taking a crack at some different music-related things like maybe a label or doing booking and/or publicity. So, much to many peoples' dismay, I never disappear entirely

Anyway, thanks so much for everything. For listening, for being there. I will always love The Rust and all of you. Goodbye"