Neal did reshuffle his backing band in order to branch out into other kinds of music, which fueled speculation that he planned to abandon country music. But that is not the case, as Neal reassures his fans. Here is the entire text of his letter:

“As you well know, I recently changed bands. Contrary to what has been heard, the reason I made the change was to find some folks who shared some of my passion for the different kinds of music outside of country. This is not to say that I'm not doing country music, because I am, and hope that our fan support will continue to keep us successful in the country music business. It's just that when our schedule is slow, maybe this other kind of music will keep us working until the busier times. Hopefully, people understand that I loved all my guys, and they are all very good musicians. I just didn't feel like they would be happy with some of the music changes. I never intended for it to look like I didn't appreciate them as wonderful people or that I underestimated their musical ability. Some of things that have been heard were taken out of context or misunderstood, and perhaps shed not-so-bright a light on my former band.

Believe me when I say, I will still be out there doing country music and hope to see you out there as well. I am currently working on a new album, and hope folks will be hearing from me real soon.”