As of late Assembly of Dust founding drummer Andy Herrick has not been performing with the group. In his stead, Todd Isler (Mike Gordon Band) has been behind the kit for a number of shows. Herrick has just posted a statement to the AOD site explaining his recent absence and future plans.

As you might have noticed, I’m no longer regularly touring with AOD. And I know what you’re thinking: “Ooh, what’s the real story? Health issues? Drug addiction? Internal strife?” Well, here’s the real story:

Nate’s coming back and he wants to play drums. [Editor’s note: good one!]

No really, here’s the story:

After almost ten years of rockin’ with AOD, I’ve decided to focus my time and energy on other things, namely my family and my career outside of music. While I’d love to place blame on Adam’s snoring or John’s food snobbery or Reid’s inability to zip his fly, I won’t. In fact, I’ll miss all these things, and more. AOD has been one of the greatest joys of my life. The friends I’ve made and the memories we’ve made together will last a lifetime.

To play music at a level you can be proud of requires time and sacrifice, both of which I’ve given willingly over the years. I simply can’t commit to the band what it deserves. With that said, I’ll still be working behind the scenes and I’ll be at the shows from time to time.

I would be remiss not to extend my gratitude to you, the fans. Thank you for coming out to the shows. Thank you for supporting us as we honed our craft. And thank you for allowing me to experience what in many ways has been a dream come true.

See you on the other side,
Andy

Next up for AOD is a performance at the River City Rock & Roll Festival in Madison IN on September 10.