Harper, who has no relation to the solo artist of the same name, has not played with the band for several months, and fans had been buzzing about his departure since August.

In a statement released November 7, the band announced that Harper would be leaving to focus on his label, Takeover Records, and other projects.

“We know there’s been a lot of confusion about the situation with Ben Harper and Yellowcard,” the statement said. “Out of respect for all involved we’ve kept the details private until everything was sorted out.”

The band is currently in the middle of a lengthy tour scheduled to run through the end of November.

Harper explained, “Due to some ongoing tensions within the band, and some great new opportunities with Takeover bands which have recently presented themselves, it seemed time to take my experiences with Yellowcard and apply them to the development of other new artists and new music-centric media projects that I’m planning under the Takeover Records Entertainment Group umbrella.”

Yellowcard violinist Sean Mackin added, “We’ve simply grown apart, personally and creatively, which can happen in any relationship. This change is hard for all of us, but Ben will always be our brother.”