My decision to leave UTD was not abrupt or just out of nowhere as some of the following texts will show

At the end of January while we were in Europe my girlfriend informed me that I was going to be a father. The day after finding this out Dani told me that we were offered some shows in Russia and asked if I was good to play them to which I had to tell him no because of my situation at home. I felt it was in everyone’s best interest to be back home and be with my girlfriend for obvious reasons. The band agreed to finding a fill-in and that it was no problem taking the month of March to be back home.

Throughout the rest of the Euro tour things started to sink in and I had to decide if I would be able to tour full-time and still support a family. While I have a love for music and being on the road is an amazing experience, the fact of the matter is, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my responsibilities financially with the little money that the band was bringing in.

After the tour in Europe I returned home. I contacted our tour manager Chris Fotch and told him that I was most likely going to be leaving the band and explained why. (see below) He agreed that it was probably for the best. Upon further discussion I decided it would be a good idea to go out on a positive note with the rest of the band and finish the 2 currently booked US tours.


(same text sent to Dani, Matty and Teo)

(Dani’s response)


This was not an easy decision for me because I am truly grateful of the opportunities that these guys have given me. They have been through situations with other former members of the band and I didn’t want to put them through another stressful situation but I figured finishing out the 2 US tours would allow them time to find a new drummer and finishing things out as positively as possible.

(me trying to help come up with a solution)


As you can see from these texts I didn’t get the sort of response that I expected from the band. After some very hateful responses via text, FaceTime and phone calls I decided it would not be a good idea to spend 2 more tours with guys that truly seemed to hate me. That being said, I still hoped to help them find a replacement so they wouldn’t have to cancel the tours.

After continued harassment (see below) I decided we weren’t getting anywhere and started to ignore them. If someone is completely disrespectful towards you and your decisions you can only want to help them for so long. As much as music and touring with these guys meant to me, the simple fact is I now have more important responsibilities.


All of this being said, Dani, Matty and Teo, I’m sorry that things had to go down this way. I handled this situation the best way I could. I wish the band the best in the future.

No hard feelings.

-Chris Deets