Note: I wrote this explanation in January 2002, a few months after we decided to call it quits and things were still a little uncertain. I realize few people probably care anymore, but I leave it here for the purpose of instructing you young, idealistic Christian musicians out there how quickly things can go wrong, and how getting a record deal doesn't mean you've "made it". Be warned, it's a rough industry.
What actually happened....
No, there wasn't a fight. There weren't creative differences. Nobody started dating an obsessive Asian performance artist. So why are we putting SpinAround on hiatus?
Well, SpinAround began about 1996. We were young, idealistic, and ready to starve to death changing the music industry. We toured incessantly, worked menial jobs to pay the bills, and squeezed in time for family and friends when we could.
Fast forward to early 2000. We were stuck in a really bad management deal, still in Indiana, very poor, and one by one the whole band quit until it was Jason and I. So the whole thing was up in the air. We hired musicians to fill out the rest of our gigs, and then late that spring we took a real leap of faith: We picked up everything and moved to Nashville. If the Lord wanted SpinAround to continue, He would provide the means. And He did.
Within a matter of weeks we were out of our old management deal, into a new one with a much better manager, and talking to Pamplin records about a deal. And what a deal it was! You couldn't ask for much better, and we were working with some top notch people.
So Face the Crowd was born, recorded from about September through December 2000. The plan was to release the album in April after we had done some preliminary touring to hype the release. We went out and bought a van, hired musicians and promised them healthy salaries, stocked up on merchandise, and geared up for the onslaught of success. At last, after years of struggle, of bills not being paid, of living on below-poverty incomes and 80 hour work weeks, we would finally be full-time musicians making a decent living off music!
Wrong.
Little did we know that deep within the infrastructure of Pamplin records things were going sour. According to our inside source, marketing budgets were being cut, promises broken, and whole sections of our contract being silently overlooked. Then in January, our A&R man left the company. For those who don't understand the music business, I can tell you now that this is an extremely bad thing. The A&R man is one's main champion at a record label, and without a champion, nobody is going to do anything for you. And so it happened. Without elaborating on the details, things got bad for us with Pamplin.
And so, only days after Face the Crowd's rather unheralded release, we petitioned to leave Pamplin. Of course, they said no. Of course, they also said they had no intention to do another album with us, or do any further marketing on Face the Crowd.
After a summer's-long cold war, some personel changes took place at Pamplin and allowed us to leave. We finally received the papers in September 2001, and the plan from there was to quickly showcase for a new label, taking advantage of whatever industry momentum was left from our record. Unfortunately, right at about this time, our guitar player (chandler) and drummer (matt) quit, both for essentially financial reasons, which was certainly understandable in the circumstances. This happening served us as a wakeup call to once again re-assess the status of SpinAround. Once again, if the Lord wanted SpinAround to continue, he would provide the means.
This time He didn't.
After some counsel, we decided to put SpinAround away for the time being and pursue it no further. Why?
Jason and I are both husbands and fathers, and we believe our first ministry is to our families. SpinAround was consuming 100% of our available work time and not providing even close to a living for us. Bottom line: we couldn't survive. After prayerful consideration, we didn't feel any call to continue.
For now Jason and I are both continuing to pursue opportunities in music; Jason is getting together some really killer solo material which I'm sure somebody will be picking up soon. I'm working on some projects with our long-time friend Sal Salvador and looking into the possibility of doing a small electronica project. I'll have links up to our own websites where you can read more.
Thank you all for coming along on this wild ride that has been SpinAround. We're glad to know that we've touched so many lives and that our time has not been wasted. Keep us in your prayers for the future, and, God willing, we'll be back again someday!
Peace,
Alan Moore, Jan 2002