Go back to 1996, and you’ll find that one of the rising stars in the underground is a little band from New York City called Texas Is The Reason. With the release of the now legendary Do You Know Who You Are?, their popularity would rise to the point of a million dollar contract with Capitol Records. But before they could finalize the deal, TITR shockingly broke up, leaving many to wonder just what could have been. To the surprise and delight of many, the band decided to reunite for two final shows, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their epic release. In the weeks prior to the shows, I had the opportunity to speak with guitarist Norman Brannon via telephone.

Interview by Timothy Garso

Can you describe the feelings and emotions the first time all four of you got together in a room to rehearse for the reunion?

Hmm…mostly, for me personally, I’d say a little bit scared and a little bit confused. I mean, we’ve all been really close since the band broke up. Scott and Chris were roommates for a long time; Scott and [I] are roommates now; we were in a band together after Texas, me and Scott. We all have been part of each other’s lives for the past ten years in one way or another, if not in the capacity of really, really good friends. And so hanging out was never, you know, it was never subconscious; when we hung out it was never, “Oh, we’re Texas Is The Reason.” After some time, you forget and just become friends. But when we actually got into a room with instruments, that’s a totally different thing. All of a sudden we weren’t just friend’s hanging out, we were Texas Is The Reason. I guess I was kind of scared about how that would affect our relationships where our relationships went in the past ten years, which were all very good. But I guess, at the same time, that level of excitement when we finished playing the first song, and thinking to myself how great it was that we could play a song that was ten years old and it doesn’t feel irrelevant. That was a huge realization for me. And that is something I would probably equate to some of the happier moments in my life.

It’s always been known that one of the main reasons the band broke up was because you wanted to maintain the friendships, rather than continue on and possible ruin those friendships. I find that very noble and really rare in an industry like music. Has the way band ended, that you’re still friends, has that made the reunion even more sweet?

Definitely. Because now, every practice is exactly the way it was when everything was great within the band, within the ranks. I have to say, this band (and I think I can speak for everyone when I say this) is that the chemistry we had was not just musically, but personally. It’s something that I don’t think we’ve ever really been able to repeat in subsequent attempts. It’s special and natural and fun. I personally can never anticipate coming into a chemistry like that again, it’s just one of those things that happens or it doesn’t. So to come back into it and feel like all the good things about Texas Is The Reason are still here, and all the bad things have gone away. That’s just super empowering and I think it makes me feel like after these shows are over, I’ll be able to have complete closure with this band.

Texas Is, and in particular your album Do You Know Who You Are?, are hailed as iconic and legendary. And with the years that have passed and the way the band ended, this legend has only continued to grow. What would you say is the single item you are most proud about with your time in Texas?

Oh…that’s interesting. [pause] I think one of the best things about Texas Is The Reason, and one of the things that kept us relevant over the years, is I do feel the decisions we made were very uncompromised. We were almost stoic [laughs] about the decisions we made, in terms of keeping the band together. I spent probably six months after the band broke up dealing with people asking the same question over and over, which was, “What, are you crazy?!” And yeah, to the outside eye, it seems totally crazy to break up a band who is clearly, I mean, it’s hard to say if we were peaking at the time when we broke up because…we broke up. [laughs] but we were clearly on a rise: we were making a living, we were playing great show and we were about to sign a seven figure record contract. And to say, “Nah, forget it,” that does seem crazy to some people. But one of the most satisfying things about it is over the years I feel like time has kind of vindicated that decision as probably the sanest decision we could have made. A great decision even, because it kind of allowed Texas Is The Reason to be what it was and kind of give it that quality of it never got old.

While recording Do You Know Who You Are?, did you have any idea to just how lasting and special that record would become?

None. [laughs] None. I mean, I remember being ridiculously proud of it. I remember finishing the record and feeling as if…well, let me go back a little bit. I think that one of the things that people don’t always realise about the band is that clearly, we were completely entrenched in the hardcore/punk scene. That’s where we grew up. The bands we played in before Texas were all hardcore bands. And you know, hardcore is a great style of music, it’s a great community, and I love it. But, at the same time, as you develop as a songwriter or develop as a player, sometimes it feels very confining and limited. And so, to make a record like the one we made, which for a bunch of kids essentially (we were 22, 23 years old at the time) it felt very ambitious for us at that time. And I feel like, to hear it back after we finished recording it, for me personally there was almost this sense of surrealness [sic] to it. Because it felt like after all these years, it sounded like a “real record”. [laughs] So it was kind of a personal achievement, on a level of 1) this was the first band that I could definitely say was our creation as opposed to one person’s vision that I was just playing with, like with Shelter or with Resurrection. Those bands weren’t mine, you know. And I think with Chris Daly, having just come out of 108, that was clearly Vic’s band. There was something extremely gratifying about making this record and saying, “This is our band. And if you took anyone out of this equation, we would immediately disband.” That was pretty much the law in our group.

You just don’t see that in today’s scene. Instead you see so many over the top front men who take the attention away from the rest of the group and it becomes their bands. And I think when you have that family mentality that Texas, it shows in the music and makes it that much more accessible to fans.

Yeah, I would agree with that. I think one of the things about Texas that separated it from the other musical projects I’ve been in is that it really did feel like a concentrated mission. It felt like we were trying to accomplish something, not just musically but personally. It felt like every show was it’s own little…thing [laughs] that we needed to accomplish. I can’t explain that, really, in a cohesive way I guess, but I never felt it again, I’ll just say that.

You mentioned the bands you’ve gone on to do, one of the most prominent of which was New End Original. And of course, the front man of that group was Jonah, and while he’s not an over the top or out there kind of guy, but at the same time, he seems to have more control over the projects he’s involved in, as opposed to that “family” mentality. Do you feel like that maybe somehow limited the enjoyment you were able to get out of New End?

When we started New End, we had a lot of conversations about how New End was going to run. Because he had done and was doing onelinedrawing all throughout New End Original, he was totally game to do something on a completely democratic platform. And ultimately, we had conversations where I said that’s pretty much the only way I roll [laughs]. And he was totally, totally cool with that. So that worked out on some level, but there were just a lot of extraneous circumstances that made that project not work out. None of which were really between me and him. It was definitely our project and obviously I have no hard feelings because last year I did a Gratitude tour last year for fun. You know, it was more like, they had lost their guitar player and I was friends with them and it was like, “oh yeah, let’s go on tour, that’ll be fun.” So yeah, Jonah and I are still good friends and there was definitely nothing weird about it. I think there was just that point where you kind of feel like this isn’t what we wanted it to be and there’s no sense in kicking that around any longer.

You originally announced the one reunion show and it sold out insanely quick so you added the second one, which also sold out fairly quickly. Despite the fan reaction, have you ever for a second since you’ve announced the shows regretted the decision to reunite, has it ever felt like a hassle that you don’t want to deal with?

Um…I wouldn’t use the word regret. There have definitely been moments where I feel like, “Oh my god, what did I get myself into?” and you feel a little over you head. But most of that is coming form the production stand point. Basically meaning, these aren’t just shows to us; as far as we’re concerned, these are events. These are the only two times we will ever play again, period. So we want everything about them to be thought out, and that involves a lot of preparation and a lot of production work before November 25th even happens. Even aside from just practicing music, there are a lot of other we’re trying to put together for the show to make this a special experience for everyone who comes. So on that level, it seems to get overwhelming because since we’re not a band, we don’t really have a machine working behind us. We don’t have management or a record label or anything like that. We’re pretty much doing everything on our own. And that sometimes is a lot. But as far as regret, no not at all. I’m totally excited to play these shows.

You have fans like me who were never able to experience the band when you were first together, so being able to attend one of these shows is just a really cool experience. But I can imagine that on November 27th, I’ll look back and wish I could relive it again and again. What’s the day after the show going to be like for you, how will you be able to reconcile yourself to that fact that it’s done forever?

Well, it’s not going to be too far from the feeling I had after the last show we played in 11997. At least, that’s what I’m thinking right now; it’s difficult to say exactly how I’ll feel on November 27th. But, you know, at our last show in 1997 it was a combination of sadness and relief. And I say that because…I think one of the reasons why the members of this band have stuck with each other on a personal level for so long, so tight was this was probably one of the most intense experiences for us on any level. We pretty much grew up very fast in that short period of time together and that period of time completely changed our lives without a doubt. So that’s good, but at the same time, I’m 32 now, I have other things I like to do; I still make music and I’m happy about the new songs that I’m making. So I’m excited about that too.

Well, I know I’m definitely counting the day and it’s only a month away, so I know it’ll be a crazy time for you. I really appreciate you taking time out to talk to me. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Hmm…that’s always the hardest question. I guess the thing that I always try to say is that, if anything, we’re super grateful that so people have maintained the kind of interest in our band that allow us to do these shows. Honestly, I think that if we were just going to play the Mercury Lounge to 200 people, we would have done that as well. As much as we’re psyched to play for everybody, this idea came from just hanging out night, just four friends just saying, “Hey, lets go into the studio and play.” So, while we’re really happy that the interest is there, I think it means something to say we’d be doing this if the interest whether or not it was there. We’re doing it because the band is special to us and we just want to end it the right way.

Well, your fans appreciate it too.

Thank you.

Again, thank you very much for talking to me and I wish you luck over the next month, I know you’re going to be preparing a lot of stuff.

Thank you very much.

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