With the announcement that the release date of Shitar's much anticipated What Have You will be pushed back from July to a date yet to be determined if the album will be released at all, rumors swirling around the break up of one of the world's most beloved bands has reached new heights. It has been noted by more than one close follower of the band that the entire band has not been seen together in the same place for well over a year. The closing, last summer, of Beach Front Studios, where the vast majority of the bands last few albums was recorded, also has added fuel to the fire.

Where does all of this leave Shitheads around the globe?

I've spent the last few weeks pouring over any news from the band to determine if there was any validity to the rumors.

Matthew Gorney, in an on air interview with WEEU in Reading, Pennsylvania was quoted as saying, "We are in the middle of constructing a new studio in rural Pennsylvania. I don't want to give the exact location, lest the media descend on the place, but we're working on it. I have pretty exact specifications and am taking my time to ensure it is done the way I like it. John has done some work on a little pet project he and I have been working on and, once the studio is up and running, I'd like to move forward on that....

"...no, I don't mean to say a side project that isn't Shitar. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is a little something that couldn't be more Shitar. I really don't want to say any more without giving it away. I really think the long term fans will appreciate it. After all, we're doing this for them."

Mark Mistysyn spoke with similar optimism about the future of the band. "We've all moved on in life and priorities shift, but don't, for a moment, think that Shitar isn't a priority. It just isn't at the top for all of us." This was in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. "I'm really looking forward to getting the guys in the studio together, sitting down, and really digging into the next album. There is nothing like that energy. I feed off of John and Matt. They can be task masters sometimes, but they drive me to bigger and better things. I really would like us all to get together and get going on the next project. I'm just not sure when."

It was more difficult to find a quote from John Gorney about Shitar. There were plenty of diatribes about this, that or the other thing, but I did find a gem he stole in the Washington Post. "The tales of Shitar's demise are greatly exaggerated."

All of this gives this author hope for Shitar. But, to quote guitar legend Mistysyn, "I'm just not sure when."

Published: 7-5-2006

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