It is with a sad heart that I officially announce that the Flanders era has concluded.Adam (as his parents named him), has been playing drums for me since about 2005. The short and sweet of it is he has moved to San Francisco with his new wife to further pursue his career working in the mobile gaming industry. He’s sort of a big wig at this company called Glu Mobile, and the move was made to make him a bigger wig. This is relevant I suppose since he is, in fact, follically challenged.
I think that on some level this announcement may have bummed out Adam more than the rest of us, only because we sort of saw it coming. He travels a lot, and it became very difficult to schedule practices, shows and the lot. But I can tell you, with a great source of pride, that there are no hard feelings, no lingering anything but happiness for him that he achieves all he hopes to achieve.
And if you think I’m just being nice, you’d be wrong. It was just a month ago that I played piano at his wedding. A week later, not two days before he moved, he took part in my next video, for the single “Over My Head” and, in it, he WON’T be playing drums (God, I love surprises). I’m sure he’ll be at any show whenever we play up there in the Bay area. So, from the life perspective, it’s just one of those things that happened. But I couldn’t be happier for him, for his wife, Brooke, and for whatever bright future lies ahead for them.
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of luck playing with the musicians who have supported me. Adam was no different. A blast to play with, he NEVER let ego get in the way, always deferring to my maniacal interest in making the drum part perfect. Things we’re going to miss: his laugh (that’s not a dorky platitude; his laugh is fricking hilarious); his constant inability to remember the count-in for “Independent”, especially if he had been away from the drums for anything more than a week; and the fact that I never completed the “Flanders Flog;” it was to be a video blog of his nerdlike insanity. I even wrote a theme song, which was also nothing short of brilliant (if I may remain modest here.)
His abilities on drums were perhaps underrated by many fans due to the fact he was so very solid once we got on stage. This is the best thing in the world, when you’re the singer: not having to worry about the guys behind you. His foundation always let me do my thing. And I’m so grateful for that.
But that’s just a small part of it. In truth, Adam is also a great friend. All who know him already know that. For those of you who don’t, but believe me to be a man of my word, just do the math. He never had a bad word to say, and rarely got “in a mood” unless he REALLY needed a “beeah.” He was always so very supportive, kind, and ready to liven the party when it needed it.
But I won’t let this get too lovey dovey. Truth is, I must disclose one thing, with difficulty:
What I won’t miss are his farts.
Imagine death distilled into gaseous form. Now imagine adding to that 4 week-old burritos. Now imagine adding to that 6 and a half pounds of moldy cauliflower dipped in old cheese dip. Now imagine adding to that a hint of ground nutmeg, a tablespoon of turmeric, one box of cinnamon candy (box included)… and, of course, vagisil.
Only then will you ever remotely understand what me and my bandmates had to endure just to bring Chance & the Choir music to the high standards necessary for stage.
Love you, Adam. Hope the next musical steps I take make you proud. I know you’ll do the same for me.
Chance
Please enjoy these very relevant Flanders Links:
