During a conversation with Metal Hammer, Suicidal Tendencies vocalist Mike Muir looked back on the band briefly splitting up for about a year back in 1995.
“We were opening up for Metallica, playing in front of 20,000 people, and I was absolutely miserable. You walk out at a show and it’s like, ‘I don’t want to be around these people!’ because it’s the people I tried to avoid in school.
“Someone comes up and goes [adopts annoying shouting voice], ‘Dude! You’re that f*ckin’ dude! F*ckin’ A, dude!’ It’s a five-minute conversation like that and I’m thinking, ‘Scotty, beam me up!’, you know? My head’s spinning. This is not what I want to do!
“The manager would say, ‘The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re selling records!’ and when he said that, a lightbulb went off in my head and I said, ‘You know what? It does matter.’
“Sometimes it’s hard, but it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate everything.”