The news saddens me for sure. For me, YMSB was something special. Excellent group of gentleman seemingly meant to play together. Their energy and stage presence was fantastic. I feel lucky to have been part of it since the beginning.
Fun story - When I moved to Denali Park, AK in 2002 I was certainly disappointed to leave behind Carbondale, IL and all the access to live music. Especially Yonder as I was drinking the kool-aid really heavy at the time. After already making the decision to move, Yonder announced two nights in Anchorage. Obviously I was super excited. I made it to the show very early and actually had some beers with Jeff Austin as he was drawn to my Cubs hat. The show was at the Bears Tooth Theatre for anyone familiar. After beers with Jeff I had just the right buzz to quietly walk over to the bulletin board, unpin the very cool YMSB playbill and walk back to my vehicle. When I got back to my vehicle a Bear Tooth employee confronted me and told me to put the poster back. My car still had Illinois plates (along with YMSB stickers) and I told the dude I drove all the way up here from Illinois for these shows and I really want the poster. He let me keep it. Anyone want to buy it? It's vintage baby. Kidding.
Not sure why I told you that....part of the healing process I guess.
Jeff is a great guy and I wish him the best of luck. I also wish the remaining members the best of luck.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will Jeff be a special guest with YMSB at Telluride? Hopefully for Telluride this means Ronnie on mando and Jason Carter on fiddle. Didn't get to see any of these shows but I do have a recording from the Orange Peel in Asheville. The Vamp in the Middle is sick. Ronnie and Jason sound great with Ben, Dave, and Adam.
Listening to:
Cubs vs. Diamondbacks
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