Three members quit The Fall, tour to continue 
May 09, 2006 01:20 PM
Despite the sudden departure of three of the band's members after an incident in Phoenix which saw lead singer Mark E. Smith hit in the face by an object thrown from offstage, The Fall (
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music) will continue its current North American tour with replacement musicians.
The three band members in question--guitarist Ben Pritchard, bassist Steve Trafford and drummer Spencer Birtwhistle--reportedly left the band and flew back to the UK following The Fall's Sunday (5/7) show, which was cut short when singer Smith was pelted by a banana peel thrown by Justin Williams, lead singer of the evening's opening act, The Talk.
In a note written on his band's MySpace
site, Williams blamed Smith's bad behavior during the preceding US dates for his action in Phoenix, which prompted Smith to chase the singer out of the venue, effectively ending the evening's entertainment.
"MARK E. SMITH a.k.a MR. BURNS has managed to piss off his band so bad they quit and left him in america with his crazy wife slash one fingered keyboard player," Williams wrote. "MARK pulled a corkscrew on his bass player poured beer and ashed on the head of his tour manager while driving (who has also quit the tour) and played only one full set without slithering off stage to his R.V. to dive into a bottle of scotch."
Despite the lingering bad feelings (and Williams' errant fruit toss), The Fall's official
website is reporting that The Talk will continue as the tour's opening act.
The Fall, which is scheduled to play tonight (5/9) in San Diego, will supplement its depleted lineup by adding guitarist Tim Presley and bassist Rob Barbato from Los Angeles band Darker My Love, as well as East Coast percussionist Orpheo McCord filling in on drums. It's not yet known if this lineup will continue for the remainder of the tour, which began May 2 in Austin, TX. The band's US tour is scheduled to run through a June 2 date in Brooklyn, NY.
Smith's wife, keyboardist Elena Poulou, will also continue with the tour.
This is not the first time the British band has undergone dramatic lineup changes during a US tour. An onstage row during a 1998 performance in New York reduced the band to Smith and keyboardist Julia Nagle after Smith sacked the group's other three members.
The band is supporting "Fall Heads Roll," the group's 25th official studio album of a career that dates back to 1979's "Live at the Witch Trials." Aside from the constant presence of Smith, the band has gone through countless lineup changes, with an unofficial count placing the number of Fall alumni at approximately 30.
[Note: The following tour itinerary has been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.
May 2006
9 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
11 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
13 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
14, 15 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
16 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
18 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
20 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
23 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
25 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
26 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
27 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
29 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
30 - Chicago, IL - Logans Theater
June 2006
1 - New York, NY - Knitting Factory
2 - Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
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