They are having a (hopefully temporary) break.  The below is taken from an email from Kristin last October:
 
 
 
Dearest g'Earls & g'Earlfriends,

We've had some big planning meetings here at Earl Central, and we thought it was about time to let our friends in on what we're thinking. As of right now, we're intending to take 2009 as a year off for the band. We're not breaking up. We just aren't putting any dates on the calendar.

It's a bittersweet announcement to make. We'll each miss not playing with Uncle Earl next year, but at the same time the main reason we're taking a break is that each of us have other projects on the go and we'll be happy to explore new directions musically and personally.

In this newsletter, please check out the newsblurbs from each of us on our individual projects. That will tell you where to find us next year. We'll probably still send out the occasional Uncle Earl newsletter, but if you really want to keep in the loop, it would be a great idea to sign up for our individual newsletters as well!

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To: UncleEarlFans@yahoogroups.com
From: Thad14433@...
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:36:22 +0000
Subject: [UncleEarlFans] Springfest