You Say Party will party on

After the death of Devon Clifford earlier this year, You Say Party have been thinking through their options.

Today, the issued a statement. They're going to party on, but never say die:

To all of our fans and supporters,

Heartfelt thanks for all the messages of love and condolences that you have sent since Devon's passing. We have drawn a lot of strength from these as we navigate this difficult time. Losing Devon has been a profound loss for the family this band has grown to become. We have taken some time out of the spotlight these last few months to heal, process, reflect and re-evaluate the future of this band.

We have talked at great length with each other and our families and friends about the future. Devon's parents have encouraged us to continue on and given us their blessing. It is their opinion (as well as ours) that Devon would never have wanted his death to end the band. He would have wanted us to continue on.

In the time between Devon's passing and this statement, we have all reflected upon our personal lives. Krista has decided that her time with us has come to an end as she no longer desires the long drives, poor sleeps and revolting selection of road food. Instead she's choosing a home, a garden, some gluten-free baking and a proper education. We will miss Krista very much and she remains a part of our lives.

We have turned to our good friends and former tour-mates Robert Andow and Bobby Siadat of Vancouver band "Gang Violence” to play keyboards and drums. This new line up will continue the tradition of excellent live shows and sweaty dance floors, with new strength and a renewed commitment to music and touring. The 5 of us look forward to carrying the spirit of our friend Devon with us everywhere.

The cancelled European tour is being rescheduled for this fall and we will announce the dates as soon as possible. We are also planning select shows for the rest of 2010.

Out of respect for Devon and the evolution of life, today we announce that we will no longer be known as "You Say Party! We Say Die!" but instead as simply "You Say Party".

Lately, we’ve been thinking a lot about the words and meanings we've spoken through our music. To return you to the core message of our band, we present the first track "There is XXXX (Within My Heart)" as the next single in North America.

With XXXX and light.
YSP

It can't have been an easy decision; you'd have to wish them all the best for the future.