Rock Bottom Remainders Ending After 20 Years

You may not have heard of them but Rock Bottom Remainders have been around for 20 years.  They are worth the mention because the members of the band include acclaimed authors Stephen King, Amy Tan and Scott Turow.  They also got an (almost) endorsement from the Boss himself – Bruce Springsteen said that they were nearly as good as a lousy garage band.  The literary giants have decided that, after their last two shows in Southern California this month, they will be calling it quits after two decades. 

As best-selling humorist, Dave Barry, who serves as the group’s guitarist, explains:  "We've gotten as good as we're ever going to get.  You can't get any better.  Well, you actually can get a lot better. But we can't get any better. We're up to almost four chords now, and the Beatles quit at that point, I'm pretty sure."

I can see why he makes his living by being funny!

Considering the fact that the band wasn’t able to do more than one or two gigs a year with sparse rehearsal time, it’s amazing they have been around this long.  The biggest reason, though, that they are ending their run is that Kathi Goldmark, the band’s founder and lead singer, died last month.

Barry adds:  "We sort of felt this would be a good time to end it because it just isn't going to be the same without Kathi."  This, of course, makes complete sense.

If you want to catch them before they end their run, they will be at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre on June 22, 2012 for their last public performance (followed by a private show for the American Library Association's Anaheim convention).

The group have raised around $2 million since its inception and all profits from their final gig will also go to charity.