By Will, April 21st 2010 — with 13 comments
“The career path of Voxtrot was truly one of long, simmering build, explosion, and almost instantaneous decay. Slowly, I am learning to replace any feelings of regret with positive memories of how amazing the whole thing was, and how it has, in an unexpected way, fortified my character.”
That was how Voxtrot’s front man Ramesh started out his letter explaining why Voxtrot are calling it quits as a band. Ramesh and the guys seem to have hit the wall creatively as a band, and need to find closure so that they can branch of to do new things. You can read the whole thing at their website.
This official break-up of Voxtrot has made me very sad. They hold a special place in my heart, and in some ways this blog may not be in existence without them. I remember discovering them early on as a young 14-15 year old. I just started discovering music blogs, and figuring out what their purpose was. I remember seeing all the collective buzz for Voxtrot, and how happy it made these bloggers. I downloaded every mp3 I could get my hands on, and hit play. The tunes were amazing, so much pure energy and warmth. It was so different, but it seemed so familiar.
Sure Voxtrot weren’t reinventing the game, but for a young me, they were. At the time, my tastes were drastically changing away from alternative rock only (Green Day, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Muse, etc.). I was trying to find new music, but I didn’t know where. Stumbling across music blogs and seeing this incredible amount of buzz over a band was so refreshing. I wanted to be a part of it. So I did what I could and bought the bands EP’s. I have everything they ever put out. I saw them open for The Arctic Monkeys in Central Park. I was a part of the rise of Voxtrot, and I was really proud to do so.
You see, watching the incredible rise of Voxtrot made me want to discover new bands just like them, and tell my friends about it. It introduced me to a new world of music, and in many ways probably is the reason I am typing this now. Without experiencing their rise, I don’t know if I would be as in love with music as I am, willing to spend hours a day finding new music, and blogging it.
This was practically a ranting essay, so I am sorry if you don’t like Voxtrot and couldn’t care less. I however, do care, and this news really does suck. I do understand their reasons for breaking up though. You could tell they were in a rut. Their debut album was somewhat disappointing, even though it did have some flashes of brilliance on it. They haven’t released anything but a few 7″ singles since then. We could have figured out something wasn’t right with them even before this letter.
Voxtrot’s first two EP’s still sound just as fresh and memorable as they did 4-5 years ago. Those things will live on in everyone who was a part of that initial buzz. I can pinpoint certain memories in my life connected through Voxtrot tunes. I remember driving up to visit Binghamton for the first time and listening to their album in the back of my parents car. I remember my ex mentioning that there was a cool band named Voxtrot making tunes and to check them out. I went into my room, put on my headphones, went onto blogs, and instantly fell in love. Being able to attribute clear memories to music is something special.
We were all a part of something special back then, and we can still hold onto the good. This is what Voxtrot want us to do. Although their album may have disappointed some, it truly wasn’t a bad album. It just couldn’t recapture the energy and passion of their earlier works. Something was missing. Something within the band just wasn’t right. It’s just too bad that the band never went on to fully reach their full potential. I predicted big things from these guys, it’s heartbreaking to see it all end here.
So, Voxtrot are leaving us with nothing more than a “Goodbye, Cruel World…” tour. It will be Voxtrot’s last tour as a band for now, and I think it is quite fitting for me that their last tour is at Bowery Ballroom. I was there from the start, I’m more than happy to be there for the finish. Thanks for all the memories guys.
Tour dates for their goodbye tour are below. Once again here is Ramesh’s letter. I also posted a collection of all my favorite Voxtrot songs below:
[mp3]: Voxtrot – The Start Of Something
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Raised By Wolves
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Soft & Warm
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Your Biggest Fan
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Introduction
[mp3]: Voxtrot – Every Day
Goodbye, Cruel World… 2010 Tour Dates
MAY 21 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
MAY 22 – Appleton, WI @ Lawrence University
MAY 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
MAY 29 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
JUNE 3 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
JUNE 23 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
JUNE 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
