Wilders saying 'farewell,' for now

This summer they released "The Wilders," my favorite of their many good albums. But next year, the Wilders will be on indefinite hiatus. Here's the word we got today from ike, Betse, Phil and Nate:

Hi folks,

Ike here, with some news for ya.  After 12 years of the Ike, Betse, Nate, and Phil show, we're gonna take a well-deserved break.  I believe the Funk & Wagnalls word for that is "hiatus"...basically a fancy way to say we don't know what the future holds, but we know we're gonna be giving the Wilders some time off to check out life from a different focus and direction for a year, and then see how we feel after that.  We do have some shows in December around home, and have a few special select performances planned for 2012. 
 
Friends, the last 12 years have been the most amazing experience...we wish we could sit you down and tell you all the tour stories, let you stand in the middle of this outrageous band while we're playing and feel the fire, let you see from the stage all the welcoming and rocking faces that make every night meaningful, and throw you in the van so you could come visit all the big parts of the world we've been so lucky to see.  We are so thankful to all of you:  our fans, our friends, and our families...we could never have done any of this without your support and love.  That is the one thing we know for sure. 

And another thing:  we have to give a big hearty thank you and hug to our long-time agent, Mary Brabec.  We could have never achieved what we have without you.  You made opportunities magically appear for us and always took the extra step in spreading the Wilders love.  Thank you, Mary.

We are really proud of our most recent album, "The Wilders"… it was released earlier this summer on Free Dirt Records.  John Smith, label owner, is another true believer and we thank you, John, for putting out this album, and for all you've done for us too.  Phil produced it, and we wrote and played our hearts out and we're really proud of what we made. 

Maybe ya wanna check it out, if ya haven't already… you can see and order it on our site. the "No Depression" blog gave it a thumbs-up recently, and we appreciate that.   

So, now what?

Well, let's enjoy and see what happens (good advice for almost any situation).   We're not doing a "farewell tour" or anything like that..."hiatus", remember?  But if ya want, come on out and see us before we take our break.  We're gonna play a little bit in December with our St. Louis friends, Pokey Lafarge and the South City Three.  Look for us in St. Louis, Lawrence and Columbia.  Then we head down to the Ozarks for a couple of shows, too...Hey, just check out the tour page...it knows more than we do.

We do have a few goodies booked for 2012 and we're excited about those.  Keep an eye on the tour page for the announcements… but in 2012, for the most part, we all get to see again (for better or worse) what a Wilder-less year looks like.  Could be cool...or could be nasty...or anything in between.  We'll just have to see...

Everybody knows bands don't stay together forever...except the Rolling Stones…and the wonderful polka band formed out of the dust of the Korean War and northern Minnesota, "Dutch" Drebbel and his Fiddle-Faddle Fellahs (actually, we made that up...but it probably exists anyway). 

But the good thing is:  music lasts forever.  Thank you for listening to ours, and for inspiring it as well.  We really couldn't have done it with out you.

Much love to y'all... we are THE WILDERS from KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI!!!  Thanks for listening.

Your pals,
Ike, Betse, Nate, and Phil

Upcoming shows in the Kansas City area:

• Friday, Dec. 16 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence
• Sunday, Dec. 18 at the Reading Reptile in Kansas City

Comments

[emmbee]

I hope Liberty Hall is packed. I'll be there.

[DT]

What is the wide wide world of sports is the Reading Reptile?

PS
I like these guys a lot, they write like I do ;) random caps and ...s and broken up paragraphs

[chuck]

we love you guys. thanks for the ride!

[Professor]

DT, they'll be dancing around down there like a bunch of kansas city faggots....

Thanks Wilders.

[DT]

Excuse me, while I whip this out.

But seriously, what is the Reading Reptile? anyone ever been to a show there?

[eduardo]

The Reading Reptile is a small, children's book store in Brookside. I imagine this show is going to be more catered towards children and families alike.
Thanks Wilders, you guys got me hooked to honky tonk!

[gsp]

thought it was im westport?

[pellboy]

RR used to be in Westport, moved to Brookside a few years ago.

[Professor]

a standup bookstore. all kinds of cool paper mache trees, animals, etc. they have select books for older readers too, as well as cupcakes and donuts. i love buying my friends' kids books here just for the excuse to go in. a true local treasure. support them and you won't be disappointed. they also have a coin operated horse. when's the last time you saw one of these?

[NEW]

We saw them at the Reading Reptile a few years back when our son was little. It doesn't get any more intimate than that. It was completely acoustic as I recall. I highly recommend catching that show if you are a fan. I know I'll be there.

[BigSteve]

'Professor' should apologize for using a gay slur. It's not a joke, because it's not funny. Take it down.