The Tufted Puffins

After ten amazing years, the Tufted Puffins have decided to call it quits. This band has survived Covid, the shutdown, broken bones, personnel changes, and prolonged vacations.

When Markymoon, Tom, Ken and I first got together in a basement we had no more ambitions than to jam together and drink some beers. We weren't forming anything. However, the jams started to sound really good and it became apparent that we had the makings of a band. Anyone who's ever started a band knows how much work goes into building up a quality set. We tried a bunch of things in the beginning and it took about a year or so for us to find the energetic punk / rock and roll style that really fit us all. We made what I think is a pretty good record at almost exactly the time that covid shut everything down for 2 years. After things opened up again, we had to rebuild. This is always a lot of work. We got our band back to the sweet spot. We played a ton of shows and opened for some great national acts. It was buckets of fun.

Ken's wife became the director of the St Louis Aquarium and he had to leave. Brian P. McCafferty took over the bass spot and did a great year of pushing the Puffins a little harder edged. This was again another rebuild. The next year Markymoon parted ways and was replaced by Will Scharf, who was healing from a nasty broken foot and hadn't played in quite a few years. He brought a whole different energy and rhythmic style to the Puffins. Another rebuild. Will was in Greece for a couple of months in the summer and Brian took leave. Ron Kretsch stepped up to handle the bass and had to learn the entire set in two practices when Will got back to play Cincinnati and Indianapolis over a weekend. An incredible trooper.

Next came bouts of Covid, broken ribs, and me fracturing my wrist to the point that I don't know when or if I will be able to play guitar in the same way. Life pressures outside of the band affect us all. Tom and I have been doing this band for ten years. That's a long time to maintain the excitement, energy, and passion to keep a band really good.

With all these considerations and the desire to move on to new projects, we decided it's time to close out this chapter while we still love it. Playing music with people is a unique experience. It is extremely intimate. You experience those people in a way that only musicians can. It creates a bond that never goes away. I feel so privileged and grateful to all the Puffins for making this wonderful ten-year ride possible. And the people who consistently came to our shows are what sustains me and keeps me positive and moving forward. You will never know how much you mean to all of us. Thank you from the bottom of our Tufted little hearts.

Onward to new projects and experiences. Nothing is ever off the table. What a freaking blast this was!

Mike

Update: Bwak Dwagon and Lords of the Highway will be joining us at Yorktown Lanes. Gonna rock!

We are in danger because too many are reluctant to admit what is an obvious truth; we are under attack by authoritarian forces under the guise of the Republican party trying to dismantle our democracy in order to achieve total political dominance.

Opinion | Self-government is worth defending from an illegitimate Supreme Court The transformation of the court into a partisan player contradicts the central premise of democracy.