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title: Texas Is the Reason created: 2026-04-07 updated: 2026-04-07 type: band tags: [post-hardcore, emo, era-1990s] sources: [raw/articles/texas-is-the-reason-wikipedia.md]

Texas Is the Reason

New York City. Formed 1994 by Norman Brannon (guitar, ex-Shelter) and Chris Daly (drums, ex-108). Garrett Klahn (vocals) and Scott Winegard (bass). Post-hardcore/emo. A short-lived band (1994-1997) whose influence far exceeds their output.

Key Releases

  • Texas Is the Reason (1995, Revelation Records) — Self-titled EP. “If It’s Here When We Get Back It’s Ours.” Angular, emotional post-hardcore.
  • Do You Know Who You Are? (1996, Revelation Records) — Full-length. Named after a Jawbreaker lyric. “Back and to the Left,” “The Day’s Refrain.” One of the best emo albums of the 90s — melodic, dynamic, emotionally complex without being mawkish.

The Revelation Connection

Texas Is the Reason were on revelation-records — the label that moved from youth crew to emo in the mid-90s. The band fit perfectly into Revelation’s expanding aesthetic: hardcore kids making more melodic, atmospheric music without abandoning intensity.

Norman Brannon

Norman Brannon (also known as Norm Arenas) is one of punk’s most interesting figures:

  • Shelter — Played guitar in Ray Cappo’s Krishna hardcore band
  • Texas Is the Reason — Co-founder, guitarist
  • New End Original — Post-TITR band
  • Anti-Matter — His zine/blog, one of the most important punk publications of the 2000s-2020s
  • Thursday — Touring guitarist (later years)
  • Writer, educator, cultural commentator

Brannon bridged the straight edge/hardcore world and the emo/post-hardcore world in a way few people managed. His writing (especially in Anti-Matter) explored the cultural, political, and personal dimensions of punk with intelligence and nuance.

Garrett Klahn

After Texas Is the Reason broke up, Klahn formed The New Rising Sons — a late-90s band that had a major label deal that fell through. The story of The New Rising Sons was the subject of a documentary (Endless Calls for Fame) about the era when major labels were signing every punk/indie band they could find.

Influence

Do You Know Who You Are? is one of those albums that musicians and serious fans revere but that never reached a wider audience. The band’s influence on 2000s emo and post-hardcore is well-documented.