Spencer Smith bids goodbye to fans.
Spencer Smith, the founding drummer of pop-rock band Panic! At The Disco, has announced his official departure from the band, following his leave of absence in 2013 due to his battle with addiction. Having been with the band for a decade, Smith’s departure means that frontman Brendon Urie is the only remaining member from Panic! At The Disco’s original lineup.
“To our fans…After 10 years of being a part of this unbelievable journey it saddens me to say that I will be leaving Panic,” Smith begins a long letter posted to the group’s website on Thursday morning (Apr. 2). “This was not an easy decision to come to, but after a lot of thinking it became clear that this is what’s right for me and the band. I love this band with all my heart, and getting to see it grow from 4 kids in my parents garage to what it is now has been incredible. I loved it all. But, at a certain point, I realised that I wasn’t able to be there for the band the way I wanted to be, and more importantly, the way they needed me to be.”
Throughout his lengthy statement, Smith also mentioned his past struggles with substance abuse, and thanks his bandmates for their continued support.
“They helped me through those rough times, and now, on the other side, with two years sobriety from prescription medication, and working on a year sobriety from alcohol, I am nothing but grateful for all they have done,” he writes.
Panic! At The Disco made headlines in the pop scene in 2005 with the single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The flamboyant video for the single won the MTV VMA for Video of the Year in 2006 and according to Nielsen Music, the band’s debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” sold 1.98 million copies since its release in 2005.
Following the band’s 2008 album “Pretty.Odd.”, guitarist/songwriter Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker quit the band to form the band the Young Veins. Since then, Panic! At the Disco went on to release two more studio albums, 2011’s “Vices & Virtues” and 2013’s “Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!”
Spencer Smith’s full note to fans can be read here.
We now leave you with one of our favs from Panic! At The Disco – “The Ballad Of Mona Lisa”.
via Billboard
