A message from Dan Murphy

[levybaxter]

Thank you so much Dan. I have truly enjoyed the performances - I think I undestand your frustration with the music industry today, as it has been voiced by many musicians. Enjoy your family, business, and especially your fine little doggie. Good luck and I think we all hope we will see you around. Don't be a stranger - just be happy.

[blueharvest]

Hmmm... I haven't posted or checked the site much in recent months. Even when the new album came out my excitement wasn't very high. It must be some weird intuition that got me to check the site and see the news. Dan has left. Long live Dan!

I can't say this actually affects me that much. I've been a fan since '94. Not because of GDU or LYDLS, but because I saw the video for Sometime to Return on TV. Bought Hang Time. Hooked. Got all the other stuff including the obscure shit. Have listened liberally ever since especially the pre-GDU era which still gives me chills. Highlights have always been Dan's songs. Cartoon. Gullible's Travels. Long Way Home. Can't Go Back. Nowhere to m#####f###in' Go! Pure awesome. Later Danny tunes Promises Broken. Dreams Deferred; Golden Smog tunes Ill Fated. Reflections on Me. Classics all. Nobody writes melancholy with poignant melodies like Dan Murphy. So many of his lyrics have that "Aw shucks, I get left behind... again!" feeling. I can completely see how the industry ground his passion down. No anger or sadness from me for leaving, just gratitude for all the Awesome.

So I guess for me with this news... it just seemed like it had already happened for me years ago. I'd already come to terms with the fact that the band I truly loved was gone. I never got the chance to see them live. If I had a time machine, I'd be hitting all the tour stops from '85 to '90.

Best of luck with future endeavors to Dan.

Don't be sad everyone. The music and the memories are still here. Soul Asylum is dead. Long Live Soul Asylum!

J (good times are as near as sitting back and drinking beer!)

[TANEYTOWN]

Loved and enjoyed the heck out of the band and what Dan brought to the band. Really hate to hear this. But wish Dan all the best.

[Miss Fitt 2]

So I guess for me with this news... it just seemed like it had already happened for me years ago. I'd already come to terms with the fact that the band I truly loved was gone. I never got the chance to see them live. If I had a time machine, I'd be hitting all the tour stops from '85 to '90.

As a fan who fell in love with SA when Made to Be Broken came out, I know where you’re coming from as a fan of the "old school" material. And it’s true that the original incarnation of the band – in terms of both members and material – has been gone for some time. But I think a big factor in your feeling that the band you love had been gone for a long time is the fact that you didn’t see them live. SA released some great albums, but it’s the live performances that catapulted them into the stratosphere -- then and now.

I think if you had seen them live, you might not have mourned the loss so much – not because the original members and early material weren’t absolutely fabulous and incredibly special – but because you would have liked “this” Soul Asylum, too. And you would have been able to cherish the band you loved, while also enoying some of the most amazing live performances of some of the greatest songs in rock and roll.

I know it’s not helpful or constructive to point out how much people missed if they didn’t get to live shows. And I’m definitely not trying to pour salt in anyone’s wounds. I know how much the fans are hurting right now and I don’t want to add to it. But I do want to challenge the notion that SA has been “over” for a long time or was “past it.”

When I made plans to go to that Aug. 2006 Boston show (after a long SA concert hiatus), I remember being wary of how the radio-friendly hits, the passing of Karl, and the slicker production quality of the records would affect the performance. But I remember telling my friend, “If Dave Pirner has 10% of the performance in him that he had in 1988, it will be a good show.” Well, Dave had about 110% in him. No question, he’s one of the all-time best front men, and SA is one of the best all-time live bands -- including in their most recent incarnation. There may have been the occasional sub-par performance, but in my experience, it was when they were an opening act for another band like Cheap Trick and played an abbreviated set. Most of the time, they blew the roof off the place. Like Yaz McBoo said, waking up the morning of a SA show was like Christmas. The euphoria always lingered the next day, and when the post-show “crash” eventually set in, I would already be planning the next show.

Now, whether they can still do that without Danny remains to be seen. And I understand both sides of the argument for retiring or maintaining the Soul Asylum name. Danny ‘s departure is a huge loss. And it’s sad that the band is down to one original member. But for my money, Dave Pirner will always be worth going to see. And I don’t think I could bear the thought of not hearing SA songs performed live anymore, so I hope he carries on.

That being said, if you did have that time machine, I'd be hitching a ride.

Meanwhile, I’ll be at the Orlando show with bells on.

[Closer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g3AhYURb_g

I guess this was Dan's last show... too bad they didn't do that get down on their knees thing together during the guitar interlude, like they always did before. Oh well. Let's cherish the music, that will never go away.

oh, and:

Most users ever online was 191 on Tue Oct 09, 2012 2:25 pm

Kinda sad that the website gets a record for something as sad as this, and not when they released a new album, for example.

[OneLovedBand]

I already posted my reponse on Facebook and don't want to repeat myself so here I'll just thank Dan for all he's contributed to the music world and my life and wish him and his family the best.

[EasyStreet]

I don't think this has been posted yet, but here is a link to a recent City Pages interview with Dan

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2 ... e_band.php

[carolp]

I know I'm a few days late for this, but I just wanted to say how incredibly sad I am to read this.
After losing Karl far too soon, it's once again a pity to lose one of the founding members of this amazing band!
And it just makes me even sadder to know I will never see Dan (or Karl, for that matter) live
I've been a huge Soul Asylum fan since I was a little kid (I'm 28 now) but I still haven't been to a SA concert, unfortunately (sucks having been born and lived most of my life somewhere they almost never came to - and when they did, I didn't have the chance to see them).

I wish nothing but happiness to Dan, though! Hope we hear from him again!
And I sure hope Dave keeps Soul Asylum alive! They're way too good and young to stop!

[Monolith Maniac]

I posted the following on Facebook too.



I can't believe I've been listening to you guys for over half my life already. Dan, you and Dave have changed me for the better, the way I listen to and appreciate music. You have helped me through the good and bad, and led me to discover many other things so far during life.

Mr. Dan Murphy, in my opinion other lead guitarists "Can't hold a candle to you".

On behalf of myself and the fans, we want to say thanks for everything that you have done over the past 31 years with Soul Asylum. Dan, I wish you, your friends, and family the best in your future endeavors.

-----

Although the video is not one of your awesome performances of the early days, but one of your last with the band. It displays that you not only rocked out from day 1 but to the very end 31 years later. It was definitely one of the best days I've had.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvUfGhyuzSU[/youtube]

danny.jpg

[Sometime to Return]

Whoa.. haven’t checked in for a while, actually checking in to see if a Christmas/ Holiday show has been announced yet and then to find this—Yikes !!

At work, so I don’t think I am fully up to speed ( will go back through posts later ) but it appears , Mr. Murphy , you are walking away on your own terms. Glad to hear it’s not health related, that was my initial thought. When I first saw the “So Long Dan” Headline on the front page, I must admit, I was thinking the worst ( moderators can we update that headline?, it almost gave me a heart attack ).

“Our” journey began in the spring of 1985 when I first heard “stranger--” continued at Hamline University in St. Paul in the late 80’s- early 90’s, where there was “a ringing in my ear that was heaven sent” and a number of drunken/ knucklehead college students would yell .. “it’s e’ffing SA” .. after our favorite line from Hang Time as we’d watch the needle bump up and down on the vinyl – to finally being able to scrape $7 together to see my first show (at the entry no less ) in the summer of 1991 – to 40ish shows in the 90’s – to 25ish shows in the ‘00’s and a couple in the ‘10’s

to getting my ass handed to me by 4-5 guys in the early 90’s at a party when they wanted put on POISON and I said they sucked and they should put on something good like SA and they said SA sucked, which was the wrong thing to say, it didn’t end well for me but the ass kicking was worth it -- to Thanksgiving Eve shows – Fine Line – to 1st Avenue shows - to introducing my wife to the magic of SA – to my kids first concert --

In the book of Genesis 12:1-3.. the basic message is that, you (all of us ) are blessed to be a blessing.. and what you have created in/ with SA ( SA being blessed ) is truly a blessing for all of us.

Your music lives in our home, we play it constantly. Thank you being a founding member and a creative force in one of my favorite bands.