After eight years of involvement with Panic! at the Disco, Dallon Weekes’ time as the pop-rock band’s bassist is over.
The multi-instrumentalist broke the news Wednesday (Dec. 27) over Instagram, in a departure that appears to be of the amicable variety (Panic! shared the same message over its official socials too).
“I’m grateful for the chance I’ve had to be part of Panic! at the Disco for nearly a decade,” Weekes wrote. “I will always consider myself indebted to those who made me feel welcome to be a part of P!ATD. You changed my life.”
Weekes joined Panic! back in 2009, shortly after bassist Jon Walker and founding guitarist Ryan Ross left the band. His level of involvement fluctuated from then on -- starting as touring member, jumping to full-time, then back to touring-only in 2015. Alongside frontman Brendon Urie, he co-wrote most of the songs on 2013’s Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! but didn’t reprise that role on 2016 follow-up Death of a Bachelor, as Urie moved on to working primarily with outside songwriters.
Weekes will now focus on his solo project, which he launched earlier this year. It’s called I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, and although it doesn’t include any oddly-placed punctuation, it has caps lock in abundance, along with the sort of ‘80s new wave-inspired, sample-heavy theatrics familiar to Panic! fans.