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December 23, 2018

Season's Greetings and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2019!

We've been a bit neglectful of our poor website, but suffice to say we've been hard at work on various things:

Prepping to mix the massive 25th Anniversary Live Show
Completing and mixing an early (and dramatically different) version of Static
Completing and mixing the pre-Tiles Tightrope, a song we never previously "got around to"

We're keeping as many of the original tracks as possible and adding Paul's vocals, a guitar or keyboard part here and there, etc. Static was slated for our first album so it features special guest Kevin Chown on bass; otherwise, it's all Mark, Chris, Jeff, and Paul. Our goal is to clean up some unfinished business and commemorate Paul-era Tiles with the 25th Anniversary live album (and video bonus material) – release dates TBD.

In other news, Chris is working on the proverbial "solo-album" of tunes written over the past few years which never seemed quite right for Tiles. Special guests will abound...

See you in 2019!

Cheers..., Paul, Mark, Jeff, and Chris

January 22, 2018

Since our record company's diligent publicist is always one step ahead..., you may already know our excellent vocalist, friend, and all-around-nice-guy Mr. Paul Rarick has decided to retire from singing and tendered his resignation from Tiles. We were just as surprised as you (likely) are upon hearing Paul's announcement. There were no discussions or clues that foreshadowed his decision. In fact..., the mood of the band has been upbeat. Pretending 2 Run received an overwhelmingly positive response from fans and critics – due in no small part to Paul's contributions. We enjoyed a successful tour in 2016 as guests of District 97 and once again lately found ourselves as the Detroit-band-of-choice when the likes of King's X, Fates Warning, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jane Getter, and others passed through town. We also enjoyed spring 2017 shows with the remarkable Cosmosquad and a summer trek with Chicago's Fire Garden. However, the weather did not cooperate for our mid-August outdoor show in Gladwin, MI. With a forecast of scattered clouds and only a slight possibility of intermittent rain it seemed logical to keep the show outside. Inevitably, with blue sky all around us, the few clouds that did pass directly overhead delivered enough rain to interrupt our performance several times and cause problems with the guitar amps.

So after a busy year, and with Chris playing shows with Discipline in September and October, we decided to relax a bit and reconvene in November to figure out what to do next. It was during this meeting Paul announced his surprise (and at that point) immediate retirement from singing. Simply put, he felt he had been struggling with his vocals and it was time to bow out gracefully. We assured him there was little evidence to our ears this was the case and diplomatically tried to convince him to reconsider. This is a delicate conversation to have – striking a balance between respecting what we could tell was a tough decision for Paul and letting him know we hoped he would stay. We were careful not to pile on additional pressure, but each of us needed to offer our perspectives.

If indeed his mind was made up, then maybe a planned ramp down of the band over the next few years would be feasible? We aren't getting any younger (except Jeff) and – after all – we've got more promotion to do for P2R. An album of that scope and investment necessitates an extended cycle of promotion! And if a ramp down isn't possible, how about at least a final show since none of us could feel good about the weather-ruined Gladwin performance representing our swan song.

Much to Paul's surprise, each of us brought up the possibility it might be time to simply retire the band. Always humble, he had minimized the significance of his departure – expecting us to quite naturally keep plugging away with someone else. But replacing any member after 25 years together, especially the voice of the band, is a daunting task. It's not just the music, but also the friendship, musical chemistry, and group dynamics. After several weeks of letting reality sink in we finally decided to search for a new vocalist – and Paul agreed playing a final show is the right thing to do for the fans, and provides closure.

Over the Holidays we applied no additional pressure but continued to hold out hope he would have a change of heart; although knowing Paul, we knew the chances were slim and none. Once he makes up his mind..., that's it! We set a date for the Farewell Show and prepared our official announcement for release mid-January. The irony is it was 25 years ago, almost to the exact month, we invited Paul into the studio to sing on an early (and so far unreleased) version of "Modification" and "Opportunity" (which would later appear as a bonus track on the Fence the Clear Special Edition reissue. He passed the audition and we immediately started working on the songs Mark and Chris already had in-progress for the first Tiles album.

It is with much relief we can offer one final appearance with Paul Saturday, April 28th in Ferndale, MI before we begin our next chapter. It's a celebration of 25 years of camaraderie, friendship, and music. We hope to see you there!

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Pretending 2 Run