Above: Kevin Griffin and Rob Salzer, Mulcahy’s Pub, Wantagh, NY, 11-29-07. Photo by Jeremy Gordon

U-Melt guitarist Rob Salzer has left the band he co-founded to attend to some minor medical problems and pursue other personal endeavors. Salzer helped form U-Melt out of a440 in 2003 and has grown into one of the band’s most visible members and prolific songwriters. Longtime band friend Kevin Griffin has been named the band’s new guitarist and will begin touring with the band this February. Griffin has shared the stage with U-Melt a number of times and is familiar with the band’s catalogue. According to the band, “Rob is always a member of the U-Melt family and we look forward to collaborating with him in both the studio and on the stage in the future.”

“Kevin’s sense of timing and space are fantastic, and he can make some great sounds with his guitar rig,” U-Melt keyboardist Zac Lasher said in a statement. “When we were playing together the other day, he was doing some textural stuff that absolutely blew my mind. He brought a new sound and energy to the music that had Bendy, G, and I looking up and laughing because it sounded so damn good.”

Griffin, a veteran of bands like The Point or Reckoning, studied jazz woodwinds in collage and will likely bring some new instrumentations and a diverse catalogue of covers to the band, which has been affectionately dubbed (N)U-Melt.

The group’s upcoming tour is as follows:

February 12 Ithaca, NY—Castaway’s
February 13 Buffalo, NY—Nietzsche’s
February 18 Narragansett, RI—The Wheelhouse
February 19 Philadelphia, PA— The North Star Philadelphia, PA
February 20 New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom (official album release party)
February 25 Baltimore, MD—8×10 Club
February 26 Stroudsburg, PA—Sherman Theater
February 27 Allston, MA—Harpers Ferry
March 4 Burlington, VT— Nectar’s
March 5 Troy, NY—Revolution Hall

March 24 Raleigh, NC— The Pour House Music Hall
March 25 Charleston, SC— The Pour House
March 26 Charlotte, NC— The Double Door
March 27 Atlanta, GA—Smith’s Olde Bar