Turkuaz announced the departure of seven members of the band. The exiting musicians include guitarist Craig Brodhead, multi-instrumentalist Chris Brouwers, drummer Michael Carubba, saxophonists Greg Sanderson and Josh Schwartz, and vocalists Shira Elias and Sammi Garett. Sound engineer Zach Fichter is also leaving Turkuaz.
The announcement was made in a message posted to the band’s social media accounts and signed by those mentioned above. Frontman/guitarist Dave Brandwein and bassist Taylor Shell are the only remaining members of Turkuaz.
The statement from the departing musicians did not explicitly state a reason for their decisions to leave the band. The message stated, “We are very excited to share the many different projects that we’ve all been working on – there are some truly amazing things to come.”
Turkuaz released their self-titled debut album in 2011. Their most recent release was the studio single “Shakin In My Sheets,” which came out last Friday, October 29.
Read the full message from the departing members of Turkuaz below:
From: Craig, Chris, Mikey, Shira, Sammi, Greg, Josh and Zach
Dear fans, family and friends,
We have made the difficult decision to step away from Turkuaz.
We have spent the last several years traveling the world together with the intention of spreading love and joy through our music. During that time, we have grown together as a family, and we’ve learned how to love and support each other through both the best and worst of times.
We stand unified and in full support of one another as we make this decision to end our involvement with Turkuaz. We are eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to perform for all of you, and even more grateful to have become close friends with so many of you along the way.
We thank you for respecting our privacy in this matter, and for your continued support. We are very excited to share the many different projects that we’ve all been working on – there are some truly amazing things to come.
We love you and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely,
Craig Brodhead, Chris Brouwers, Michael Carubba, Shira Elias, Sammi Garett, Greg Sanderson, Josh Schwartz, Zach Fichter
Brandwein’s message in response follows:
Dave here:
With a heavy heart, we regret to say that the future of Turkuaz is uncertain. Today’s news is probably a shock to many of you. And unfortunately, this means any upcoming Turkuaz dates will not be happening as planned.
Taylor and I respect the decision of our former bandmates to pursue their individual artistic endeavors.
We love and appreciate all of our fans so much. Because of the positive moments, we enjoyed many years on the road playing the music we love to our fans across the country, and even globally.
This is not the end of our artistic journeys. There is more to come. In the meantime, thank you for your support and the respect of our privacy as we navigate this new phase of our lives.
