As much as I enjoy to revel in the joys of our lovely little scene there are times when we need to take pause and mourn. Though I do not know the band personally and ne’er listened to them much in the past The Funeral March of the Marionettes lost one of their prominent members and friend Joe Whiteaker. Whiteaker was the band’s founding member and leader who unfortunately lost his battle to pancreatic cancer in May of 2024 after completing what would become the band’s final studio recordings.

Bassist and friend Darius McCaskey took on the responsibility of carrying the final EP It All Falls Apart to release and said, I’d like people to know how proud Joe was of this record. We had a great time recording what would become It All Falls Apart with William Faith in 2023, before Joe was diagnosed with cancer, and he was able to hear the final mixes before he passed away. Joe didn’t have a specific theme in mind – each song was written independently, some even several years ago – but as tracks were selected and refined, this idea of things and people breaking down and falling apart emerged.

March 15th saw the current roster of Darius McCaskey, Jeff Goins, and Joel DeLuna get together with guest vocalists to celebrate the release of It All Falls Apart at Rockford’s RPL Nordlof Center. The show was livestreamed on Bandcamp and had support from the likes of TATV GRAL, [melter], BELLHEAD, and William Faith.

All proceeds from the album will support Whiteaker’s wife and two children.