Facing loss can be a real bitch sometimes. Not only do I feel like my heroes are dying but I feel like my favorite bands are starting to drop like flies. When I say drop like flies, I don’t mean that they’re dying; I mean they’re breaking the fuck up. First big blow for me was when 3 Inches of Blood announced their split last year after 16 years. This year, my heart was broken when Graveyard announced their break up and then right here at the tail end of 2016, Purson announced that they were calling it a day after five years.
On Purson’s official Facebook page, drummer Raphael Mura said:
“As of today, everyone is well. The band is taking a break after these shows for “x” amount of private reasons we wish to keep amongst ourselves. Thanks for you for your concert and support. With love, Raph.”
Hearing this news definitely hit me where it hurts. Purson is a band that I discovered when on a quest to discover something new for my ears, mind, and heart. I had just been bitten by the occult/psych rock bug and I sought out something new and exciting. How funny is it though that on this very same quest I would discover two other bands that would go on to be huge favorites of mine: Jess and the Ancient Ones and Blood Ceremony.
Over the past few years as a Purson fan, I had the pleasure to see them live two times and interview them once. On all occasions Purson were sweet, fun, funny, and a great bunch of people who treated me really well. Musically, they released one of my favorite albums this year and put on two absolutely unforgettable performances.
So why did they split? Who cares? I truly mean that. Why is it whenever a band breaks up the first thing everyone wants to know is why? It’s as if people just want to know where they can place blame for losing their favorite bands. All I know is that “taking a break” usually means that things are over for a long while if not forever. This truly saddens me because Purson, in my opinion, was really on to something.
Even though we all know that Rosalie Cunningham pretty much was Purson, we cannot discredit the magic of the band as a whole. There was such chemistry and musical communication within that band and to see it all happen live took all of these great songs to a whole other level. In my opinions, great songs are only as great as the musicians who are playing them so it’s going to be sad to not get to see these songs played by these individuals again.
Saying farewell to one of your favorite bands is never an easy thing to do but what we can do as fans is to hold tight to our memories of them as we sink into their musical legacy. Even though Purson’s legacy isn’t that big of a legacy, it’s a timeless one that is full of amazing music that will be every bit as timeless 20 years from now as it already is. Rosie, Sam, Raph, Jus, and George, thank you all for all you have given to us fans.
RIP Purson.
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