American Head Charge have issued a statement on their web site about their recently departed drummer Christopher Emery.\"It turns out Chris was thinking of leaving anyway, although we only just found out by his posting on our website. Before the show, I pulled our guitar tech into the hallway and said \'Mark my words. If he quits, he\'ll blame it on the band\'s drug use and his inability to deal with his own drug use.\' Everyone knows our addiction history. Hell, it\'s part of our bio. And it\'s common knowledge we\'re no angels. But Chris [Emery] was one of those guys that felt like he had to go to rehab every nine months. We\'re no worse than when we met him. Drugs aren\'t the problem. The problem is that his brain and heart were no longer in it, his responsibility level became nonexistent, and his playing became so drastically inconsistent that I had to fire him onstage at our last show of \'The Feeding\' touring cycle. I had made a sign in advance that said \'I\'m fired\' and held it up to him halfway through the set when I got sick of how godawful his playing and professionalism were that night. It was embarassing and our fans didn\'t deserve it. He was a major factor in our pulling the last seven songs out of our set. It made me furious, and I\'m glad we won\'t have to deal with it anymore.\"
Yes, playing in a band is often very much like a marriage, and departing like a divorce - including the bitter words.
