After six years and two recordings, Grand Rapids pop-punk band Maybe Next Time is taking an “indefinite hiatus.” The group plays its final show Saturday in Holland.
Different Directions: Maybe Next Time aims to put all of its heart into its farewell performance.
If there’s no “next time” for pop-punk’s Maybe Next Time, band members will still carry with them some treasured remembrances from six years of recording and performing across Michigan.
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“The best memories of being in Maybe Next Time all center around connecting with each other and with listeners. We have met so many amazing people and made lifelong friendships along the way,” guitarist Riley Aalderink said as the Grand Rapids group prepared to play its farewell show Saturday at Holland’s Park Theatre.
Lifelong Friendships: Maybe Next Time
The band – featuring Aalderink, bassist-singer Matthew Grodus, guitarist Sam Engelsman, drummer Miles Foster and keyboard player Mark Avery – has announced that it plans to take “an indefinite hiatus” from writing, recording and performing.
“After much discussion, we determined we can no longer apply the necessary time, effort and passion to Maybe Next Time as we once did,” the band wrote in an announcement to fans. “There are no hard feelings between any members and we plan to stay very close friends for several years to come.”
During its heyday, the pop-punk band released two albums – 2012’s “Safe to Say” and 2013’s “Nothing on the Surface” – and has opened for popular acts such as The Wonder Years, Hawthorne Heights, Hit the Lights and Knucklepuck. Aalderink described release shows for Maybe Next Time’s albums as “two of the best nights” of band members’ lives.
Consequently, Aalderink said fans are “saddened” by the decision but “extremely supportive” at the same time.
‘INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT’ TO MAKE THE BAND WORK
“Our lives are pulling us in different directions and it has become increasingly difficult to make Maybe Next Time work to the extent we wish it could,” he said. “We hope everyone will join us in celebrating all the things Maybe Next Time has meant to fans and ourselves at our farewell show.”
Maybe Next Time, “Nothing on the Surface”
Interestingly, that “final blowout party” at Park Theatre will feature the performance of a new band single, “Clarity,” as well as a guest appearance by the band’s original bassist, Josiah Samy. (Listen to “Clarity” below.)
“We will be putting all of our heart into Saturday’s show, and we can’t wait to share the experience with our family, friends and fans,” said Aalderink, noting Maybe Next Time plans to play an extended set on Saturday.
As for future musical endeavors, synthesizer/keyboard player Mark Avery already has two side projects, The Local News and AudioSoma. Other band members “plan on continuing to play and write music,” Aalderink said.
And fans, of course, can still hold out hope that Maybe Next Time might eventually reunite down the road.
Said Aalderink: “We aren’t ruling out a next time.”
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Park Theatre, 248 S. River Ave. in Holland. Tickets for the Maybe Next Time show are $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Get more details online here.
AUDIO: Maybe Next Time, “Clarity”
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