Group is disbanding, but has no regrets

The musicians remember notable moments but dislike the cutthroat music industry.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
After a decade long pursuit in search of something bigger, local band December Son is calling it quits.
"I'm disappointed but I don't regret anything that happened," said singer-guitarist Joe Muscatello. "We're all disappointed that it's over but I can't look back and think of one thing that I would take back. We spent 10 years together, had a lot of good times, made a lot of fans and did a lot of good shows."
So close yet so far defines the alt-rock quartet -- Muscatello, Ric Panning (guitar), Jamie Goodlet (drums) and Sam Camouse (bass) --- which released one studio album, 2004's "The Better Happier You," and a few EPs, as well as performed between 250 to 350 shows during its existence.
In the beginning
Muscatello, who started the band with Panning while the two were still attending Hubbard High School, said there were plenty of notable moments for the group. This included opening for national touring bands such as Fuel, Chevelle, Shinedown and Kings X.
"We got to live the dream for a little while," said the 25-year-old Hubbard native.
While there were hints of label interest over the years, the next step proved elusive. Muscatello believes one of the contributing factors to the group's disbandment was the cutthroat music industry business, which has left a bad taste in his mouth.
Such acrimony manifested itself in band track "I Hate John Mayer," which can be found on "The Better Happier You."
"It's nothing against John Mayer and has nothing to do with John Mayer," Muscatello said. "That song is about is how the record industry just sort of tears their artists apart. There is no support anymore. It finds an artist and sucks them dry for everything they're worth and then throws them away."
Still making music
As bitter as Muscatello sounds, he's not ready to give up the dream just yet. A week after the band's final show Friday at The Cellar, the musician will be moving to Hollywood, Calif., to work in a music studio and, well, pursue whatever is next.
As for the last show, the members of December Son plan on leaving it all on stage as a lasting thank-you to its fans.
"It's going to be just balls to the wall and all the rock we've got," Muscatello said. "We're going to play our hearts out. For us, it's going to be the last time we'll play these songs together."
Muscatello quickly added, "Well, maybe not forever but at this point we're going to play every song like it was the last time, which is how we played every show."