Back in November we reported that the original members of Gang of Four were working on some new material. Exciting stuff, but it appears a snafu has entered the studio in the departure of bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham.
On Allen's Pampelmoose blog, the legendary post-punk bassist revealed the split, which he says was primarily over the release of Go4's music. The statement reads:
"At the beginning of April, I decided that I could no longer continue to be a member of Gang of Four. My ability to give 100% to the band is limited and I feel that if I cant do so, then I shouldnt continue. As I expand my research and thinking about contemporary music distribution on Pampelmoose.com, and as I focus on online technology and social networking at Nemo Design here in Portland, I find myself conflicted about how the bands new music should be released. To retain any credibility for Pampelmoose.com about what the future of music distribution will look like, I have to move on and not hold back Jon and Andys music plans. I have had a side project for a while now with John Askew of Tracker and Menomenas drummer Danny Seim called Faux Hoax (pronounced Folks), and I look forward to fun times finding ways to get our music into peoples hands in unique ways.
Burnham also added his reason, stating: "It was a great couple of years of intermittently reminding people old and new, far and wide just how powerful the original four of us were together. Age only increased our power and focus onstage, and it was a rare pleasure to work with the original band once again. Being in a band requires handling the business side of it too, and that became boring and the constant travel became debilitating. I am soon to start my Doctorate, as well as broadening my teaching at more than one college here in Massachusetts, so my free time has become increasingly limited, making it difficult to be involved with them going forward. Musically, I am recording and writing with members of Boston noise-merchants, The Bags and I have also been doing some recording lately with Mike Watt. I wish Jon and Andy luck with their new musical endeavours; I am sure they will be interesting.
Gang of Four reunited for a successful run of reunion shows in 2004, and celebrated their revival by entering the studio to re-record their classics for 2005's Return the Gift. No word from King or Gill as to how they will get their rhythm back.
On Allen's Pampelmoose blog, the legendary post-punk bassist revealed the split, which he says was primarily over the release of Go4's music. The statement reads:
"At the beginning of April, I decided that I could no longer continue to be a member of Gang of Four. My ability to give 100% to the band is limited and I feel that if I cant do so, then I shouldnt continue. As I expand my research and thinking about contemporary music distribution on Pampelmoose.com, and as I focus on online technology and social networking at Nemo Design here in Portland, I find myself conflicted about how the bands new music should be released. To retain any credibility for Pampelmoose.com about what the future of music distribution will look like, I have to move on and not hold back Jon and Andys music plans. I have had a side project for a while now with John Askew of Tracker and Menomenas drummer Danny Seim called Faux Hoax (pronounced Folks), and I look forward to fun times finding ways to get our music into peoples hands in unique ways.
Burnham also added his reason, stating: "It was a great couple of years of intermittently reminding people old and new, far and wide just how powerful the original four of us were together. Age only increased our power and focus onstage, and it was a rare pleasure to work with the original band once again. Being in a band requires handling the business side of it too, and that became boring and the constant travel became debilitating. I am soon to start my Doctorate, as well as broadening my teaching at more than one college here in Massachusetts, so my free time has become increasingly limited, making it difficult to be involved with them going forward. Musically, I am recording and writing with members of Boston noise-merchants, The Bags and I have also been doing some recording lately with Mike Watt. I wish Jon and Andy luck with their new musical endeavours; I am sure they will be interesting.
Gang of Four reunited for a successful run of reunion shows in 2004, and celebrated their revival by entering the studio to re-record their classics for 2005's Return the Gift. No word from King or Gill as to how they will get their rhythm back.
