Norm Arenas (guitar), guitarist for the hardcore Hare Krishna band Shelter, formed Texas Is the Reason with friend and then fellow Hare Krishna devotee Chris Daly (drums), formerly of the band 108, which played music of a similar kind to Shelter's, some time in the early 1990s in New York City. They both desired to leave the macho attitude and religious preaching of their former projects. With former Fountainhead bassist Scott Winegard (bass), the three recruited one-time bassist for Buffalo's Copper, Garrett Klahn (guitar/vocals), to round out the quartet.
The name "Texas Is the Reason" is lifted from a Misfits song, entitled "Bullet". It also makes reference to a conspiracy theory about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, in which the president was killed in a plot arranged by Texas Democrats in order to give Lyndon B. Johnson control of the White House. Releasing three songs on an EP, Texas Is the Reason became an underground smash and helped usher in an era of similarly motivated and styled emo bands. They then released a split single with The Promise Ring through Jade Tree Records. The following year (1995) they released another split single with Samuel through British record label Simba.
What followed was their first and only full-length album, Do You Know Who You Are?, named after the last statement John Lennon supposedly heard. Produced by Jawbox's J.Robbins and released on Revelation Records , Do You Know Who You Are? brought a lot of major-label courtship to Texas Is the Reason, who were being hailed as the "next big thing" in the growing punk explosion on MTV. Song titles from the album, such as "The Magic Bullet Theory" and "Back and to the Left", continued the allusion to one of the Kennedy assassination theories.
In 1997, on the eve of signing with Capitol Records, the band flew overseas for a European tour. Ongoing intra-band tensions arising from the major label attention reached their apex. The night of the final stop of the tour in Bielefeld, Germany, Daly and Arenas agreed before the show that if the show was "awesome", it would be their last. Arenas later related, "I walked on stage and we opened with 'Antique' and when Garrett started singing, there were eight hundred Germans singing along with us. I looked at Daly and knew that this was over."
The members headed to various different musical projects, with Klahn to New Rising Sons and Daly to indie outfit Jets to Brazil. Winegard started putting out other bands' records through an imprint he co-owns called GrapeOS, while playing with other musicians in a band called the Americans. The only member to go inactive in the world of indie rock was guitarist Norm Arenas, living in Chicago and DJing for almost three years.
Winegard and Arenas joined Charlie Walker of Chamberlain and Jonah Matranga of Far and Onelinedrawing to form the band New End Original, which lasted from 2000 to 2003. Klahn's New Rising Sons released two EPs through GrapeOS, were dropped by Virgin Records, and then disbanded; he now plays in the band Solea. Daly left the now-defunct Jets to Brazil sometime after their 2002 release, Perfecting Loneliness.
Klahn now plays in Solea, with members of Samiam and Sense Field.
After nine years apart, the band decided to reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of the release of Do You Know Who You Are. A single show was scheduled for New York City's Irving Plaza on November 25, but a second show was added for the following night due to an unexpectedly quick sell-out of the first show. In interviews leading up to the reunion, the band noted their long-time disappointment at not playing a final show in their home city. The band also insisted that the reunion shows were a one-time event, and that they had no plans for further shows: "While we empathize with everyone who wants to come to the show, but can't come for any reason, this will not become a tour and we are not reforming the band. That is as clear a statement as anyone can make."
In January 2012, it was announced that Revelation Records would be holding a 25th anniversary celebration at The Glass House in Pomona, California in July of the same year. The band was approached to reunite once more, but ultimately refused the opportunity. Daly, however, traveled to California for the show, featuring a reunited Quicksand, and returned excited about the prospect of another reunion for Texas is the Reason. The band then agreed to headline the opening night of Revelation's east coast event in October 2012 at New York's Irving Plaza. The show sold out immediately upon going on sale, and the band announced a second night held at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Daly was quoted as saying, "It's like we have this really cool old car that's in really great shape…it's not built for, like, a cross-country trip, but it's good to take out and drive around the neighborhood."
After high demand, the band decided to embark on a brief 8-date 2013 North American tour in that began in Chicago and ended in Los Angeles. That April, the band announced a European tour that they called their "final shows ever," that were to begin in Germany in the summer.
Paying homage to their past, the band decided in July 2013 to play a one-off show at the legendary venue of Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey to celebrate the club's legacy before its closing at the end of that month. Tickets went on sale three days after the initial announcement and were sold out instantly.
On Sunday August 4th, 2013, the band played their "Grand Finale" at London's Electric Ballroom. A post on their official Facebook mentioned that "It is never happening again."
Every Little Girl's Dream
Texas Is the Reason Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ive got a feeling I wont make it all in time
No we dont even make a sound
Just let the room spin us around
Yeah we aint take this road
You trip your hands in behind
Yeah we will loose control, show
Rush in this citys calling rock through
If we have to know
We dont even make a fool
You just keep walking and you hold it up so
We aint take this this road
You trip your hands in behind
Yeah we will loose control,
I aint trying to save me
I can hear you scream for all
Just hold on
This ...falls away, dont let go, dont let go
What do you think you see
Just what you want to be
We take this road
You dip your hands in mine
And we can loose control
I aint trying to save me
I can hear you scream for all
Now you got a life said you save me
Just hold on
Morning sky, velvet skies
And the rain falls down
Alone we ...one, theres more when Im gone
So lay down
Who can you save, just lay down
When you think
Dont be late
I aint trying to save me
I can hear you scream for all
Now you got a life said you save me
Just hold on.
The lyrics of Texas Is the Reason's song, "Every Little Girl's Dream," are somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. The first verse seems to convey a sense of urgency, as the singer is on a journey and fears that they will not arrive on time. They are with someone else, but the two of them don't speak, they simply let the world spin around them. The chorus suggests that the singer may be experiencing a sense of overwhelm or loss of control, and perhaps they are being urged to let go and not hold on too tightly to their own life. The second verse starts with the phrase, "what do you think you see," which could be interpreted as a challenge to a perceived status quo or an invitation to question one's own perceptions.
The song continues with a repeated refrain of the singer insisting that they are not trying to save themselves, but that they can hear someone screaming for them. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is being urged to lay down their arms and surrender to something greater than themselves.
Overall, "Every Little Girl's Dream" is a song that seems to be wrestling with issues of control, surrender, and what it means to be truly alive in the world. The lyrics are poetic and evocative, but also somewhat cryptic, allowing for multiple interpretations and layers of meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Weve been on these here at this time at night
We have spent many nights at this hour
Ive got a feeling I wont make it all in time
I feel that I won't be able to accomplish everything in time
No we dont even make a sound
We are silent
Just let the room spin us around
We allow the room to spin and disorient us
Yeah we aint take this road
We did not choose this path
You trip your hands in behind
You hide your hands behind you
Yeah we will loose control, show
We will lose control and display ourselves
Rush in this citys calling rock through
The energy of the city is calling us to rock out
Yeah you dont like it, straight...
You do not enjoy it, to be direct
If we have to know
If we need to know
We dont even make a fool
We do not embarrass ourselves
You just keep walking and you hold it up so
You continue to walk and keep your composure
We aint take this this road
We did not choose this path
You trip your hands in behind
You hide your hands behind you
Yeah we will loose control,
We will lose control
I aint trying to save me
I am not attempting to save myself
I can hear you scream for all
I can hear you scream loudly
Just hold on
Just wait
This ...falls away, dont let go, dont let go
This feeling is disappearing, do not give up
What do you think you see
What do you believe you are observing?
Just what you want to be
Exactly what you aspire to become
We take this road
We choose this path
You dip your hands in mine
You hold my hands
And we can loose control
We can relinquish control
Now you got a life said you save me
You have attempted to save me from myself
Morning sky, velvet skies
The sky in the morning is like velvet
And the rain falls down
And the rain continues to fall
Alone we ...one, theres more when Im gone
Being alone makes us feel like we are one, but there will be more when I am gone
So lay down
Relax
Who can you save, just lay down
Who can you rescue? Just relax
When you think
When you ponder
Dont be late
Do not be tardy
Now you got a life said you save me
You have tried to save me from myself
Just hold on.
Just wait.
Contributed by Kennedy H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.