For those of you following along, I know it’s been a minute since we turned in a proper update, but I didn’t wanna fire up the headline-maker until I had all the facts checked.

With that now out of the way, here we go…

For the last year or more, I’ve been navigating an issue with my hands. On any given day, said navigation might have me maneuvering like a champ one minute, with the digit dexterity of a brain surgeon, or losing my grip on a half-full coffee mug the next, and unintentionally flinging it across the room.

My hands would go numb while driving, and some nights I’d wake up from a restless sleep with what felt like flames running through the muscles of my left arm.

Eventually this started to impact my guitar-playing, as I’d lose sensation in the middle & index fingers of my fretting hand, or worse, have shooting pains, like jolts of electrical current running through them. I figured out, over time, that I had maybe 30 minutes of relatively unimpeded noodling at my disposal, before the trouble would start in earnest.

We rarely play for 30 minutes or less, so this presented a real problem, and necessitated a serious adjustment to our gigging schedule.

Some would argue that I’ve ALWAYS played like I was managing an impediment, but I swear that’s by choice, and I’m actually a pretty decent guitarist. I just like really laying into it live, and besides, that’s why we have Rizzo, to cover all the delicate bits, while I keep the greasy stuff properly slopped-up and gnarly.

Before long though, even my best efforts to fumble through weren’t gonna cut it, because I started having almost as much trouble with my right hand as I’d been having with the left. I’d been to the doctor, ran through a few refills of an anti-inflammatory that shot my liver enzymes through the roof, sending me to a rheumatologist who then referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. He set me up with a specialist, who ran ACTUAL current into my nerves via electrodes and needles (or at least that’s what I think he was doing…many big words were used throughout this process), while using a tape measure and a Sharpie to sort out whether or not everything was firing as it should be.

It wasn’t.

The diagnosis: Severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The fix? I go in at the end of the month for surgery on both wrists…at the same time. I know it’s gonna suck for a few days/weeks, but I  just wanna get it over with, and get back to picking up a guitar without trepidation. The truth is, outside of shows, and rehearsals, I’ve barely touched a musical instrument all year (other than piano, which doesn’t seem to aggravate the condition quite as much). As a result, I’ve done almost no writing, completing just a single track in all of 2024, where I’d normally have dozens of tunes demoed, fully worked up and ready for consideration, whether we were looking at doing another record or not. It’s just what I do…what I’ve always done.

I really hope this procedure does the trick. I know it’s a common problem, and I’ve talked to plenty of people who’ve had the work done, with no regrets, so I’m confident I’ll be good as new in relatively short order.

We do have shows on the books for 2025 already, but they don’t happen until Spring/Summer, so we’re not cleared to announce any of them yet. They’re cool bills though, and we’re really looking forward to being back on the road in the new year, for some short runs.

We’ve been changing up the live show, and even adopting a tune from the ‘Nothing’s Broken’ record Kenny & I did as The Die Youngs in 2014, to keep things interesting, so we truly have been doing what we can to stay busy while I get myself sorted. I really appreciate the guys understanding, and putting up with even more bellyaching from me than the usual ration of piss n’ moan.

OK then, I guess Merry Christmas & Happy New Year wishes are getting served up right here, right now, while I have your attention, and full use of my phalanges.

Please be good to each other, as always, and we’ll see you in ’25.

  -Denny

p.s. Check out a few interviews we’ve done recently…chats on everything from the debut W.A.S.P. album, Soft Rock, Candlebox, & more.