Former Paramore drummer Zac Farro has opened up about his reasons for leaving the band and has strongly denied that he departed just because his brother Josh decided to go.
Speaking exclusively to NME, the drummer said that he apologised to the band when he announced in December of 2010 that he would be leaving, but knew he had made the right decision.
Asked about his departure, he said: “I love all those guys, and girl. I don’t know if they think so highly of me, but I hope they think of me reasonably well. In my last year, I know I had a really bad attitude. Having said that, I think the way I left the band, I think that was good.”
He continued: “I apologised to them for being miserable and complaining. I don’t think it’ll be back to what I was, but I just wish them well. I never hated them, we disagree on a few things, but when I left, it wasn’t an emotional decision, I really thought about it and I knew it was right.”
Then asked if he was still in touch with them, Farro said he still spoke to guitarist Taylor York quite a bit.
He said of this: “I’ve kept up with them a little bit. Me and Taylor live in the same town and we have the same group of friends. I’ve spoken to him a few times and it’s been fine. It’s like being up with a girl, so it’s been awkward, but I just wish them the best now. It was the best thing for everybody. I’m not saying that so fans will like me, I’m completely genuine. I didn’t think I’d feel this way, certainly not so soon.”
Farro then spoke about the reasons behind his decision to leave and revealed that he’d actually thought about going a full year before he actually left.
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Asked why he left and if he’d ever had second thoughts, he said: “About a year before I quit, I was feeling like I should quit and I sought advice from lots of people about it. After talking to lots of people, they all pretty much said to me ‘Stick it out for one year and then tell me how you feel’. I really tried to give it 100% in that year.”
He continued: “But, when it came to decide, I still felt the same. I knew I had to go in a different direction, I knew it was right. I knew how good the thing I was had, but I needed to reinvent myself.
Farro then dismissed the widely-believed notion that he had quit just because his brother Josh had done so, adding: “I don’t like the idea that I did things just because my brother did them. I made sure the band knew when I left that I’d made my own mind up, I sat them down separately and made sure they knew it had nothing to do with him, I really had my own reasons for deciding to leave. I didn’t need Josh’s approval for what I decided.”
Zac Farro releases his debut EP as HalfNoise on Monday (October 1). You can hear the fifth and last track on the EP, which is titled ‘Reproof’, at the bottom of the page. For more information about the EP, visit Xtramilerecordings.com.
The tracklisting for ‘HalfNoise EP’ is as follows:
‘Remember When’
‘Sunsee’
‘Hide Your Eyes’
‘Free The House’
‘Reproof’