EJ! SNAP OUT OF IT!! A band is not a marriage. There are no bonds of fidelity to be broken here. You're working with some new people who have re-lit your pilot light. That's a good thing - not only for you but for your band, too. The only way to keep from stagnating in a band is to keep new stuff flowing through it. You say that you don't have time for two bands; my thought is that you don't have time to pass up growth experiences that are put in your path.

If your long term band is working out, don't think that about jumping ship just yet. You are in the "striking sparks" stage with your new playmates. This is a very cool place to be, but it doesn't last forever. Eventually the newness wears off and people stop being so polite and deferential. The masks get dropped. Maybe the real faces and the masks are both OK - but don't count on that now. If you've been playing with a crew that has an established method for working, rehearsing, sharing ideas, de-fusing problems, supporting each other and all the other things that develop over time between band members remember how all that came about. Eventually you'll need to build that level of trust with your new friends. There are many, many shared experiences that bond band members together - these cannot be replaced and should be set aside only when needed to spur further growth and development.

A lot of times "a fling" like you're having is the best thing that can happen for your current band (try to avoid thinking of it as "the old band"). Let everybody know what you're doing - there is nothing to be gained by keeping your activities secret and a lot of years of trust that may be lost. There is also much to be gained by sharing. If you weren't entertaining thoughts of leaving before you met these new players you have nothing to hide. If you were - well that's another story altogether...

Birds got to fly, players got to play. Enjoy this new opportunity; they don't come around often enough, if you ask me.