Those closest to me will know by now that I have decided to leave The Peppermint Apes. I loved playing music with Lewis, Zak and Ryan but the stressful pressured times massively outweighed the good and one rehearsal when a huge argument in the band broke out I decided that enough was enough. This sort of thing had happened far too many times, it really stresses me out and it could only happen again and again.

Negativity aside, I did enjoy so many aspects of playing with The Peppermint Apes. We had travelled and gigged in Belgium, all around the UK, played at the BBC and much much more but I started to find it increasingly difficult to meet the amount of hours that some members wanted to be put into the band.

What with wanting to go back to Kung Fu training, seeing more of Courtney (my girlfriend) and my friends I started to resent spending so much time with the band what with the tension and pressure that regularly went with it. Perhaps I’m not cut out for that sort of lifestyle, I love my family and friends too much to sacrifice that amount of time with them for what could very well end up being a lost dream and I’m not sure I’d like the gigging lifestyle of being town to town, away from home comforts.

Speaking of home comforts, Courtney and I are at the final stages of purchasing our first house together! It’s a nice little place, secluded in a corner of a cul-de-sac, the downstairs is beautifully done-up with a fully fitted kitchen, lovely lighting and rich wooden flooring with a quant little garden (summer BBQ parties here we come)! We’re at a brilliant point in our current economic climate to get our mortgage as even on a fixed-rate we’re only paying around 6% interest which makes it quite affordable for us, expect a house-warming party soon!

So a good-bye to The Peppermint Apes, thank you for all the great experiences we’ve had playing together. I’m going to miss you all and you’re all like brothers to me, but it is time to move on.

Good luck to you all and I hope it all goes the way you want.

Dave