We Never Close

In the age of the "indefinite hiatus," what if we just normalized changing our minds?

Patron Saints of the Indefinite Hiatus: At the Drive-in, live at the First Unitarian Church. Philadelphia, PA, 1999. Photo by Michael Dubin.

I.

Not too long ago I was asked a very pointed question: “Why did you feel this need to say that everything Texas is the Reason at the end did was the ‘final’ thing?”

It’s a good question. There were practical reasons, first and foremost. If you are going to be playing shows that you know will more likely than not become your “final shows” for various reasons, then I don’t think it’s unethical to let your audience know that—regardless of whatever the future might hold. But on a more personal level, I have always tried to do things intentionally. In the case of Texas is the Reason, I knew my intentions in 2012 were to track the two songs we never got to record in 1997 (both of which were released as part of Do You Know …