I left about 10 months ago. I have an open invitation to come back anytime I feel like it. There was nothing like a breakup or anything. I just asked to be retired out because of general frustrations with the world of music. You can be a great player... you can be in a great band... but the clubs will lie, the managers will treat you like children, the fans try to steal your stuff, and the less said of the legal/recording/record label side of the business the better. I can understand everyone in the food chain trying to make a buck off of you for various promotions and services... its just that everyone tries to take half to all of your existing profits and half of all of your future profits on a mere promise... and half the time... doing nothing at all.
Our guitarist bailed out after a botched Halloween concert 16 months ago. The drummer got icy feet 6 weeks later and left. There was then a 3 month nightmare of trying out various people, hiring them on, and then watching them fuck up and flake out on us in rapid succession. We then took a month long hiatus. It was then that I decided that music simply wouldn't work with my Vulcan stiff spine sense of order and reliability. I quietly fizzled out as well.