Ryan Adams has announced that he is to leave The Cardinals.
Adams posted on the band's official website yesterday, stating that he intends to depart the band when their current tour ends in March.
Adams was initially a member of alt-country band Whiskeytown before going solo in 2000 with his acclaimed debut 'Heartbreaker'. The musicians that formed his backing band became officially known as The Cardinals in 2005, and the musical collaboration was known as 'Ryan Adams and The Cardinals' until last year, when the singer announced that he had fully integrated himself into the band and was dropping his name from the title. Nevertheless, their latest album 'Cardinology' was billed as a 'Ryan Adams and The Cardinals' offering.
Adams cited a disillusionment with his recent audiences, as well as hearing loss, as some of the reasons he had chosen to leave the band.
"This is not much of a life; not glamorous like those ridiculous videos a long time ago television played," he wrote. "And no, it is not monetarily as rewarding as people would like you to believe. And yes, it is soul destroying. Especially when you spend your life trying to write about the really difficult stuff and you stand there losing your way and people yell at you like you were in a circus. When it was your dream to matter and you realise one day, it never mattered - I mean, I am a punchline and a footnote."
He will publish his first book 'Infinity Blues' this spring. Fellow Cardinal Neal Casal releases his new album 'Roots & Wings' next month.
