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Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation. In full.

“We are excited to announce 2 very special live shows in July to celebrate Darran’s leaving the band in true style.

We’ll be playing the whole of ‘Casually Dressed..’ back to back with a few special extras. And we’re really looking forward to it.

As sad as we are to see Darran leave, these shows will be guaranteed to give him a great sendoff. We played the album in it’s entirety when we toured it back in 2003/4 and never really planned to do that again, but obviously with it being Darran’s last shows it seems like a perfect opportunity to play the record for the final time.

Our friends Young Guns will be supporting on both shows.

The dates are:

Thu 22 July: Cardiff, University

Fri 23 July: London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Tickets for these shows go on general sale on Friday 21 May via all usual outlets but we have a limited quantity for exclusive presale with a low booking fee at www.funeralforafriend.com from 9am Wednesday 19th May.

These shows are gonna be special.

See you there!

Love
FFAF”

FFAF will be releasing a new EP. ATTENTION! This is a edition very, very limited! Click here and get involved!

“2010 marks the start of new times. Good new times. And most importantly, those times involve you. As you’ll already know if you’ve been following us on Twitter (@ffaf / www.twitter.com/ffaf) or checking out the MySpace or Facebook pages we’re deep in the middle of hatching plans and writing and demoing lots of new music. Back to basics. It’s truly sounding awesome. Some of it will end up on an album. But before that album sees the light of day we’re going to be releasing a BRAND NEW EP and circumventing the usual method of hooking up with a label, delivering it to them, waiting and then letting them put it out. We’re going to carry through with what we started with Memory & Humanity and put it out ourselves – except this time things are different because we’re bypassing all the bullshit and making it cool, limited and especially for you.

If you want to get involved and be part of helping us make this record, you’re in the right place. We’ll be recording, mixing and releasing it starting in June and you’re invited. Check out the list of Pledges to see the ways you can get involved and get your hands on the music. There are tons. By Pledging you can ensure that you get a copy of the record as soon as it’s out plus whatever else you choose to get involved in. If you only want the music that’s cool. But if you want to get more involved, we can do that too. If you want to get on Skype for a chat we can do that. If you want to come to a rehearsal we can sort that. There’s lots more, check it out.

As a final note, 10% of any profits from this Pledge release will be donated to charity, and we’ve chosen a couple of our favourites to nominate. PETA (www.peta.org.uk), Teenage Cancer Trust (www.teenagecancertrust.org), the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity (www.rainbowtrust.org.uk). These have been chosen by us, not by our management, by Pledge or by anyone else.

Thanks for your love and support for the past 7 years and we hope that you’re on for the ride on the next 7.

Love

Matthew, Ryan, Kris, Gav & Rich “

That’s right, the boys flew to China yesterday and will perform two concerts this weekend. They sent an email to everyone today about the show in Groezrock last weekend, commented the last show of Darran Smith, that will be in Sonisphere Festival, and here is the message about the China:

China

“Yep, we’re playing shows in China this coming weekend. It’ll be an amazing experience. FFAF HQ caught up with the band before they hopped on the plane and asked Ryan how it felt to be going:

“It’s a huge honour for us to be invited to China and to repay those fellas for the wonderful culinary delights they’ve given us in our lives. I promise to repay them for every last morsel of sweet and sour pleasure they’ve blessed me with – in the currency of rock and roll!”

“Seriously though, it’s an absolute privilege and we can’t wait to perform for the great people of Beijing and soak up the culture. We’ve actually got our day off mapped out to include visits to The Great Wall, The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square so it’s going to be an all-round unforgettable trip.”

Matt agreed and had this to say:

“It’s amazing to be able to play in a country you thought you might never get the chance to play. There’s nothing quite like that feeling, not knowing what to expect, if the fans know the words or not. It’s is going to be crazy and mind blowing, and at the end of the day Ryan is right – playing there is going to be a total privilege.”

On Saturday we’re headlining the Yixian Festival and on Sunday we play our own show in Beijing at Yu Gong Yi Shan. It promises to be an amazing weekend. We’ll report back. And after a trip to the Great Wall, we get back on the plane and fly home, and the real work starts..”

And in the same message, the boys comment the news next week:

NEXT WEEK

“The MOST IMPORTANT news in this mailout is that you need to be watching this space for a special announcement EARLY NEXT WEEK. We can’t say more at this stage but the fact that you’re reading this means that it’s something you’ll want to know about. And you’ll hear it from us first. So keep an eye on your inbox..

That’s it for now. Keep in touch.

Love

FFAF HQ”

Will they release some new song? Will it have new videos on Funeraltube? We don’t know, but stay tuned!

A message from the band:

“Hey all

So by now you’ve all heard the news that our beloved Darran Smith aka Smicko / Big Bobby D / Bobby Dazzler / The Smickster / Ol’ Smickarelli is leaving us for pastures new. I can tell you that the D-Man has greatly appreciated your warm messages of support and well wishes, and is looking as forward as the rest of us to making sure that his remaining shows with us will be something special to remember for him, us and you.

Of course – you guys won’t be the only ones who are going to miss “The Smickster”. We can all sincerely say that it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to share some of the best years and best times of our life with Darran, and we’ll always treasure the great music and great times that we shared. We join you guys in wishing Darran all the best for the future and urge you all to come out at Sonisphere and give him the farewell he deserves.

As for the future of FFAF?

Although the news from Darran has come out of the blue for you guys, it’s actually something he decided on a little while ago. During this time we’ve been hard at work on album number 5, which although it has been written without Darran, it’s been given his complete blessing and approval – which means the world to us. We’ve got so much more to share with you when the time is right, so keep your eyes peeled this week for some exciting news on Darran’s farewell and the future of FFAF.

For those of you wondering who will be stepping into Darran’s jet black shoes? Well, you already know the fella.

Step forward Mr Gavin Burrough. You all know Gav as the big fella who’s been melting your hearts and faces for the last couple of years while playing bass for us. Some of you with longer memories might remember Gav tearing it up on his beloved six string guitar as a founding member of both ‘Hondo Maclean’ and ‘The Future’. As great as it’s been having Gav on bass for the last couple of years, he’s still never really “gotten over” his first love – his guitar. Suffice it to say, Gav’s contribution to the new record and interplay with Kris has been mind-blowing and we can’t wait for you all to hear it.

So this left us with a dilemma. Do we:

1) Continue without a bassist and go for that “White Stripes” sound and write an album of ‘7 Nation Army’ rip offs?

or

2) Go out and find ourselves a fantastically talented Nordic looking bassist with locks of gold and a penchant for good curry and crap jokes?

We chose option 2. Welcome Richard Boucher. You’re gonna love him. He’s SO good on bass that we let someone with blonde hair join our band. That ought to be an indication of how great he is. He’s a bit tasty on the guitar as well actually, and has been contributing some great material in that area too. The creative well is well and truly overflowing. Exciting times.

Stay tuned, and be ready.

Love xxxxx

FFAF”

Source:  Official Facebook