It’s not Saves without Dave

After this video started circulating of Saves the Day’s performance at this year’s Soundwave festival in Australia, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not David Soloway was still in Saves the Day.

David Soloway, longtime member of Saves the Day.

At around noon today, an email went out to the band’s mailing list, announcing that Soloway has indeed left.  You can read letters from both Soloway and frontman Chris Conley at the band’s website.

Conley tells in the letter about how he was on the verge of disbanding Saves the Day when he found out Soloway was leaving, but decided to keep going after last year’s solo tour with Matt Pryor.

Soloway will continue to work with Conley in Two Tongues, their collaborative effort with Say Anything’s Max Bemis and Coby Linder.

For longtime fans, it’s hard to see Dave go.  He’s been an integral member of the band since its start, first as a manager and soon after as lead guitarist.  Saves the Day’s most recent albums have seen Chris and Dave’s collective styles meshing and melding more distinctly than ever before, and Dave’s lead work on songs like “Kaleidoscope” is unmistakable.

Thomas Hunter of Forgive Durden, who is rumored to be the new guitarist, has some  big shoes to fill.  Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what this hardship and a new member will bring to Saves the Day.

Hopefully “Daybreak,” the third installment in a trilogy of albums that began with “Sound the Alarm,” is still on its way.  In the meantime, join the Facebook group dedicated to Dave.