Hi there, it’s Jeremy! I was envious of Britt’s blog title, so I stole it!

If you’re a musician who performs somewhere in the greater Tampa Bay area then you’ve probably noticed already that a thing we call “cuffing season” has been going on for some time.

What is cuffing season? I didn’t know until it was brought up in conversation a month or two ago. In layman’s terms, it is a time when people break up and go looking for new and brighter things. For bands that means groups you know and many you don’t are splitting up and sometimes this comes at a point that seems pivotal to their success. If you find yourself in a band that is playing out and making waves, typically you will do better to keep your momentum and learn to communicate than to quit because of differences no one was willing to settle.

This has been one of the biggest difficulties for The Time Framed to date. On some level I feel like I’m just hard to get along with; maybe I take too much creative responsibility, or I take things too seriously/not seriously enough, or maybe I should be putting more energy into getting paid to play songs that nobody has heard before… These thoughts have been a plague all along my musical journey before and during these adventures as the lead for The Time Framed.

When members leave the group a lot of things have to be adjusted. For shows, certain live aspects of how members interact on stage and who takes care of what off the stage changes. Behind the scenes, there are passwords to change and contacts to keep up with that maybe you didn’t have to before. That doesn’t even account for the emotional tugs you get.

Being in a band is a lot like being in a relationship; some people are manipulative users, others are spastic puppy dogs who jump from one thing to the next but pretend like every new thing is “the one!(tm)” until a new thing arrives, and yet others are honest about who they are and what they want.

This band has played with many people I respect and I’ve shared the stage with people I considered to be an extension of my family. Looking back, the nostalgia is intense. There were songs written by other members that no longer exist in our rotation that I can still play, we’ve even run into old band mates here and there and gotten to see some of their current endeavors. It’s great to see them doing well!

So the hindsight of it all is that no matter how painful the change has been, we’ve managed to grow and move forward. I couldn’t be happier to have the band that I have and I feel super lucky to get to share the stage with them. Our current lineup has Brandon Chauncey getting busy on the drums, Britt K holding down the bass grooves, and me taking on the humble space of attention whore (aka vocals and guitar). We function like a trio of mad scientists; even though my place is under the spotlight while we’re rocking out, Britt and Brandon are the best band mates I’ve had the pleasure of working with and they really pick up my slack in areas off the stage.

Looking back, there are versions of this project that didn’t even leave the garage or the practice room. Then there were others that only played open mics. I love my band, and I love what we are becoming! A new EP is almost ready for release, new merch soon to follow that, as well as a big surprise (or two) to be revealed in the coming months.

Bye!