scattering tea leaves

i almost feel like someone died. i got this email last night:

"After ten great years on the road as a touring musician, I have come to the realization that this life is not for me. As a result, I have decided to leave Tea Leaf Green to pursue some of my life's other passions. I wish my brothers in the band only the best. Their future is surely bright. Most of all, I am so grateful to my family, friends, and fans. You've always encouraged my free spirit; thanks for your continued support.

Ben C.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In any band, there exists a dynamic between the collective's goals and those of the individual members. At times, aspirations that were once aligned, diverge. This is one of those times. We support Ben's decision without reservation and wish him only the best. We know he put his heart and soul into thinking this through, just like he did with Tea Leaf Green these past ten years; we admire Ben for staying true to himself.

As one chapter ends, so another begins. In this moment of transition, we've reached out to our good friend, Reed Mathis, who enthusiastically accepted the torch. Please join us in Santa Cruz as we welcome Reed to the band. Let's get this show on the road!

Tea Leaf Green"




he went by many names - milky chambers, the weed, franz hanzerbeak, & more - he was hard to photograph because he moved too constantly, always grooving head bobbing chicken walking plucking his bass hard and when they passed the mic to him he rapped heady funky goodness and the dancefloor was instantly transformed from manic schwirly chaos to a community getting down to ben c. all together now.

and today he's off to pursue other passions and i wish him extremely well but my heart aches with i feel like we let him down, i as a fan let him down, he wasn't happy enough playing for us to keep doing it. i shouldve gone to more shows, shouldve burned cd's for more people, all that stuff a band as talented as tea leaf green deserves but i also feel like could be they're tilting in a different direction from the planet of green love into the rock n roll band and they're playing 100+ shows a year back and forth and back and forth across the US and canada & a lot of those shows are short festival sets and opening for other bands, and hardly ever do they pass the mic to ben c. in a show like that. life on the road for these people is never easy i imagine. i'll always have a biscuit from NYE '05 to remember him by, and the memories, good god the memories, and the live music archive.

can't wait to see the new tea leaf green, hope they come this way soon.