Generally these posts are pretty lighthearted. They’re a little goofy and silly and I enjoy writing them like that. This one is a little different. As we gear up to play our only club date in Santa Cruz this Summer (July 21st, Moe’s Alley) we thought we needed to let the good people of Santa Cruz, as well as all followers of The Coffis Brothers, in on some rather significant happenings in the band. Before we get to the point of this post I would just like to say this…
When Jamie and I decided we wanted to start a band, only one person came to mind when we thought about drummers. It was, of course, Henry Chadwick. For about 8 years Henry has been the drummer of The Coffis Brothers. Henry has made countless sacrifices for this band for which we can’t thank him enough. Beyond all the time, energy, and money he’s put into this band, he has been one of our closest friends, and still remains one of our closest friends. We’ve shared experiences together that we’ll never forget. Henry helped shape the sound of this band and was as influential as any of us in our songs, live performances, and studio recordings. We all fully support and believe in Henry in any of his future endeavors and although we will certainly miss him with us on stage, we feel good knowing that he has helped us create what has become a well-oiled machine that will continue to run (the well oiled-machine being this band, not our Ford van.) Jamie, Kyle, Aidan, and myself are as committed to this band as we’ve ever been and will continue performing just like we’ve always done. Don’t you worry about that. Anyway, enough from me. Let’s hear from the man himself, Henry Chadwick.
Barefoot Studios, Hollywood, CA 2016.
Hey everyone,
I’ve been putting off writing this for a while, since I want to use the right words and they have been hard to find. I come bearing bittersweet news today. I feel like I should preface this by saying just how much I love being in The Coffis Brothers and The Mountain Men. A lot. I just love this band in general. I love the music, and the group of dudes who are 4 of my best friends and quite frankly, family. I’ve had the honor and pleasure of growing up with these guys. We’ve taken off our musical/drumming/touring training wheels together and learned how to ride the musical bike, so to speak. We’ve traveled to the furthest reaches of the country together in cars, mini vans, regular vans and (on occasion) planes. We’ve slept on floors, in tents, hotels, yurts, cabins and on many couches, and they’ve put up with more than one too many of my farts in the van. According to my calculations, this is our 8th summer playing together in one form or another. It’s crazy to think about. My time spent with The Coffis Brothers has been 2 or 3 times longer than any relationship I’ve been in with anyone. That made this decision that much harder to come to.
As some of you may or may not know, I write my own songs and that has been a life-long passion. Before I started playing drums, I was primarily a songwriter. As things picked up with the brothers, the songs I was writing took somewhat of a back seat, which was great for me at the time. We spent some of the best times of my life touring and recording over the years to come. It was really exciting and fulfilling to be a part of. Last year, I released an EP of my own music that picked up a little bit of momentum. It felt really good. I had forgotten just how much I missed it. Writing and playing my songs has been the thing I’ve wanted/needed to do as long as I can remember, and somewhere deep down I knew I’d regret not dedicating more time to focus on it. This creates a dilemma, since the goal of most bands is to hopefully be busier. Time is a funny thing. It turns out you can only be in one place at any given time. We’ve been able to make things work for a while as momentum has built on both ends, and I’m nothing but appreciative for how flexible, accommodating and supportive Jamie, Kellen, Kyle and Aidan have been. After a while of cramming everything in, I started to feel things spreading thin. After a lot of contemplating and soul searching, I came to the conclusion that the best thing for me and for the boys would be for me to start phasing out of my role as drummer in the Coffis Brothers. That’s a painful sentence to write. I believe in The Coffis Brothers. I know that they are great, and will continue to do great things! In order to achieve that continued greatness in the most effective manner, this seems like the best move.
I have no doubt that we will all continue to make music together in one way or another in the future, and I look forward to seeing/watching the band’s success and cheering them on from the sidelines. They are, and will always be 4 of my best friends and brothers. Thanks again to the boys and to all who have and continue to support the music. To anyone reading this, who this may apply to: Thanks so much for letting us crash on your couch/floor, coming to shows, buying CDs and shirts, selling CDs and shirts and just hanging out with us. In short, thanks for making these past 8 years the incredible journey that they were. This is the end of a chapter, but the book has barely started! I hope to run into you all again soon. I’ll be joining the Coffis Bros. on tour over the next few weeks and I’d love to see some familiar faces. After that I’ll be playing my music around, and I hope to see you around at one of those.
Thanks again for everything! I’m looking forward to see what happens next.
Sincerely,
-Henry
“Trouble Town” music video shoot 2014.
Oyster Ridge Music Festival, Kemerer, Wyoming 2015.
Halloween Henflings Tavern, Ben Lomond, 2013.
Redwood Mountain Faire, Felton, 2013.
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