1997: Oh, I Wish I Was a Fly On Their Wall

Posted by pixie | Filed under Uncategorized

Although the news broke last week that Alida and Alan were out of 1997 — people learned of this after the band missed some shows on their tour — the band finally made the obligatory MySpace post explaining what happened. Unfortunately, the post just makes me ask a million more questions — especially because the tone is odd and they don’t seem to care that Alan left the band.

As some of you have already figured out, our band has experienced some changes - on July 28th, 2008, 1997 decided to part ways with our current singer/keyboardist Alida Marroni. Bassist Alan Goffinski also decided to leave. Alan was an original member and Alida joined the band in april 2007 shortly after Kerri Mack left the band for personal reasons. It is unfortunate, but we wish Alida all the best for the future.

On a positive note, 1997 will be back on the road in no time at all. For the time being, Cody is going to play bass, and we are auditioning girls to come on tour as a replacement for the next few months. After that we will find a permanent girl to write and record the new album with. We’re also happy to announce that Kerri will be joining us for our Chicago Metro show on August 8th for one night only, it will be a very special performance where we will be playing the whole of A Better View Of The Rising Moon so please come and hang out with us!

Although the band is sad to lose a member, we are also very excited to show every one what we can accomplish as a cohesive group of friends. We are optimistic about our future and confident that our shows will be better than ever and the next record will be the best 1997 record to date! We will never stop playing our songs for the people that enjoy them. This is what gives us joy and strength to carry on. Thank you to all of our fans who have stuck with us through all of our craziness and turmoil, we love you from the bottom of our filthy hearts.

It’s odd for so many reasons. First off, they only wish Alida well, and then they say they are sad to lose “a member.” Many people say Alida and Alan are dating, which would be a good explanation for any light animosity there, as it seems safe to say Alan didn’t want to part ways with her. I’m guessing the conversations about putting her out of the band were a bit tense.

Then, we have to wonder why they parted ways with her. They don’t really say, but it seems like they weren’t getting along, especially with the reference to being happy to be a “cohesive group of friends” in the future.

And finally, I love the way they say they will look for “a permanent girl.” I wonder why they are dead-set on having a girl singer… especially since their track record isn’t so great with them. [And especially since female-fronted bands don’t do all that well in this genre, anyway….] But hey, to each their own.

That said, the gossip hound in me would just love to know what really happened….