Friday, September 07, 2007

R.I.P. Sound Team




Hello friends,

By now you might have heard that Sound Team is disbanding, so to speak.

The reasons are numerous and boring, so I will spare details. They are the typical band problems: stress of the road, diverging tastes, personal tensions, and monetary difficulties. Nothing too dramatic. Just time to move on, that's all.


As to the future

:
Jordan will of course continue drumming. The man is a machine. I have no idea who he will play for, but that band will be lucky indeed.

Gabe has written some great songs on piano and I hope to help him hone / record some of these.

Will has been playing and recording as Sleep Good, and will continue doing so. He has started a band with Michael Bain. Preliminary results indicate great things to come.

Matt has written a fantastic set of songs, his best yet, and will likely record and release them.

Bill (me) will continue recording and releasing music under the {{{ SUNSET }}} moniker ( I have actually changed the name to Silent Sunset). I'm hoping to release an album that far surpasses anything I've previously released. Brighter colors, sharper contrasts, better lyrics. "Raising the bar," it's been called. That is my hope.

Sam, part of the original "rock" lineup of ST, left the band in December to pursue his art and painting. His work is prodigious and impressive, and can be found here.

Michael, who also left the band last December, has returned to school.

Big Orange will change, no doubt, but the dream will remain alive as long as there's breath in my body. I will try to operate the studio more as a commercial venture, engineering bands and producing when asked. If anybody wants help with their music, my rates are quite competitive.

Sound Team's Catalog will be available on our website, completely free, and in high quality digital format. Unreleased material will also be available, including live recordings, radio session, b-sides, and outtakes.
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Having founded the band with Matt, I feel emotional about all this. I invested years into the group, dreamt crazy dreams, laughed, toured, made great friends. I regret nothing. The band, in my mind, achieved great success and made fantastic music. I set out with this band to restore a sense of joy and exuberance to musical performance. At our best, we achieved that goal.

As my official "farewell," I leave you with a video I made for the song "BEDROOM WALLS." Within the video are much of what I hold dear about this band; I worked quite hard on it. I hope you enjoy.

BTW, the conversion was not properly sized; our faces look a bit puffy! I will fix this shortly. Until then, here's the poorly sized "BEDROOM WALLS."

18 comments:

Boy said...

you guys were great. though i lament over sound team's early end, i look forward to what each of you will produce over the next few years.

Patrick said...

This is the saddest day of my life.

doof said...

what do you do when your favorite band breaks up? get drunk, masturbate and cry at the same time, take out aggression on friends and loved ones..... i'm not sure yet

Unknown said...

I couldn't be more sad about this. I almost started crying watching the video for Bedroom Walls. Thank you guys for everything you have created. You have certainly made a lasting impression on my life, and will be severely missed.

Unknown said...

You guys are the best. You came to my town of Springfield, Missouri once. The crowd kinda sucked. But you guys rocked and became my favorite band. If you were to never release another song, you'd still be one of my favorite bands ever. Keep making your great music in whatever ways you see fit. You will be missed, Sound Team.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

:(...

love the video, of course!

ps. ontario big apple? or am I crazy?

Bill Baird said...

that is indeed an ontario big apple! but it's supposed to be a big orange in the video. oh well.

Anonymous said...

haha ooops.

I figured that much, but my curiosity killed the cat.

I loved the place when I was little on the drive from Ottawa to Toronto!

Aaron78 said...

So sad to hear this, you guys were great.

julie anna said...

will the acl show still go on? will sound team pull a white stripes?

(just so y'all know, i asked the question on my blog, www.myexboyfriendsband.com)

Unknown said...

I remember the first time I heard Sound Team, opening for The Walkmen in Grand Rapids Michigan. I've been a huge fan ever since. This is really sad news.

Unknown said...

TOTAL BULLSHIT!

gp said...

hmm.
billbot.
i wish to direct you to my own little bloggy place, as I have actually begun to put actual ideas there, and as always, I am interested in any reflections you might have. cheers.

Unknown said...

Thanks Bill, Gabe, Sam, Matt, Will, Michael & Jordan for all the great shows and music over the years. It has been a pleasure to watch the creative arc of the band and each members other artistic endeavors. Keep strummin', shooting, and playing.

Special Guest said...

You guys are the best. My interview with Bill and Jordan stands out as one of the best on the blog to date. The songs of Movie Monster will always be with me. The best to you all.

You have a friend in Boston.

Unknown said...

Why in God's name have you guys disbanded? I just don't understand! This band was really going somewhere. You only needed time to be truly great man... Yeah! You played in Leeds for fuck sake. People loved you guys man!SXSW was the greatest day of my life!

RABBIT said...

WOW.. SOMETIMES GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.. IM SO VERY SAD I NEVER GOT TO SEE SOUND TEAM LIVE. I WILL HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU GOT NOW, IM SURE DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THINGS REALLY SUK, AND YOU GUYZ GET OVER WHAT EVER IT IS...(LIKE THOSE EGOS) WILL GET BACK TOGETHER AND ROCK THE HOUSE.. SO I WILL WAIT TIL THEN, EVEN IF ITS A LONG WAIT.... HAVE FUN TIL THEN...