The Wallflowers' Guitarist Michael Ward Quits

NEW YORK (AP) - In what appears to be a surprise move to the band's handlers as well as their fans, guitarist Michael Ward has left the Wallflowers.

A notice on his official Web site over the weekend said only that he had left and he wished his former band mates well. Spokespeople for both Ward and the Wallflowers confirmed the news, but could not provide a reason for Ward's departure.

Ward joined the band in 1996 as a permanent member shortly after being called in by producer T-Bone Burnett to provide guitar and backing vocals on the Wallflowers' signature album, Bringing Down the Horse . The guitarist had previously co-founded the band School of Fish with the late Josh Clayton-Felt in 1989 (and later played on Clayton-Felt's 1996 post-Fish solo album), and played extensively with John Hiatt. Ward also fronted his own band, Tiny Buddy, releasing several albums on the Fish Of Death label.
While a member of the Wallflowers, he made guest appearances on recordings by Fastball, John Doe, Shawn Mullins, and Josh Freese, among others, and issued his own guitar album in 1999.

The Wallflowers issued their most recent album, Breach, last year, and this week has seen the release of the Zoolander soundtrack which includes the band's cover of the old Bee Gees hit, "I Started a Joke."

According to the Wallflowers' official Web site, the band had been writing and recording demos for a new album during breaks in touring and even while on the road, setting up in whatever spare rooms or rehearsal spaces were available at recent tour stops. The Wallflowers wrapped up the tour late last month after a two-month stint supporting John Mellencamp.

The group only has one more concert on its schedule -- an appearance Oct. 17 at a Groundworks charity event at the Experience Music Project site in Seattle.

According to a spokesperson for the Wallflowers, the show will be going ahead, although it's not clear who will be taking over guitar duties. Speculation is that seeing as the band added an extra member, multi-instrumentalist Ben Peeler, for the Breach tour, they may just play a man short.