So to start this off I am not talking about me doing it all personally but am referring to how difficult it is to manage everything as a band on our own... This is why bands get management. It would be so nice one day to not have to worry about where we were playing, if we need to bring equipment, if we have merchandise, if we can find someone to run the board, if we have a place to stay, if we have a ride, how much money is this going to cost us, etc. This is one of the main reasons bands fight. There's is a ton of stress involved when your coming up. You don't have the luxury of just playing there is sooooo much more involved behind the scenes and when you're not making the big bucks it's all up to you to get it done. Without guidance from someone with industry experience you take your best guess, self promote, try and be creative and see what happens . As an artist it is completly draining to deal with all the business side of the operation because it leaves you no time to focus on what really matters...the music and the creative process. You get so involved in the business side of things that making music loses it's romance; it just seems like another task. Just yesterday I spent at least 4 hours trying to come up with designs for t-shirts. I'm not a graphic designer and art is not my forte. But as an upcoming band you make it work, you figure it out. I just wish I could afford someone who knew what they were doing in designing and in other aspects so I could work on what I know how to do; which is to write music. Maybe one day huh? It's nice to dream... :)

Well, I don't think there is any way that I would have been able to forecast all the dynamic changes Sober Down has felt as a band over the last little while. It has been such a crazy time for us. First we lost Darvell, our beloved sax player, in late March from some inter-band conflict, but we picked up Nate immediately there after and Nate has really owned that role for 8 soulful months. Then were wrapping up the end of a very busy summer and BOOM we loose our drummer then BOOM I'm hospitalized for a month with a shattered leg. Then come out of the hospital unable to walk and am only able to get around on a wheelchair. We were unsure of when we would be able to play as a band again. The Dr.'s told me I was looking at about 6 months of recovery time which basically solidified Joe's (our bassist) decision to move to California where his family had been living for several months. The only reason he was staying in Utah was because of the band so if the band was going to be on hiatus for several months there was really no way that he could justify any further stay in Utah. So after more than a years time we said goodbye to Joe. Suddenly we were at 4 members with Tim, Matt, Nate, and myself being the only ones who remained. It seemed like such a quick transition. We had played with 6 members for so long and it all seemed to dissipate so fast. One of the hardest things as a band to do is to keep everyone together. Life happens though and you can never really prepare for it. When you have 6 people all with different lives, schedules, jobs, relationships, incomes, families, it is a balancing act of sorts. Making the music is the easy part keeping everyone on the same page is a different story. Despite all the chaos that has circled the band for the last part of this year I feel like we have truly weathered the storm. We have some new faces who have instilled some fresh energy into this project and I feel like we are really connected as a group right now. Jake on the bass, and Ronnie on the drums have been amazing additions to the band. The drums have never sounded tighter, and we have never had such showmanship on the bass. Everyone seems really positive about what we are doing and we are making a lot of progress writing new music and pushing toward our second album. We are having a lot of fun playing together right now as well. Practices are all very constructive and we are all bringing new ideas to the project to keep the momentum going. I feel like the band is at a really good place right now and everyone is really excited about the future. Our fans continued support has really fueled all of us. I believe Sober Down's success is a product of your energy at the shows. Our fans have really kept us motivated and I can't tell you what your support means to the band. So watch for some really exciting things coming up. We are starting to plan our CD release show... :) What is a new CD release without a party to kick it off?! This will be nothing short of EPIC truly in Sober Down fashion!!!