Say it isn’t so. I would like to say it isn’t so, but unfortunately it is. Seminal rock’n’soulmen The Afghan Whigs have officially called it quits, after 14 years and six great albums. According to a statement released by Columbia Records this week, singer/songwriter Greg Dulli, bassist John Curley, drummer Michael Horrigan, and guitarist Rick McCollum are “blaming geographical distance as a factor too great to overcome.”
Dulli lives in Los Angeles, Curley and Horrigan live in Cincinnati, and McCollum lives in Minneapolis. “Dulli says that the geographical distance, which for so long kept the band fresh, began to work against them,” reads the statement. “The band remain friends and, apart from the often cruel and unsentimental banter between members, still plan to call each other on holidays.”
The statement goes on to say that Dulli is the only band member who has indicated that he will continue making the music. From the band: “It was a blast. We’d like to thank everyone who took the ride with us and let us ride with them.”
The Afghan Whigs came together in 1986 when Dulli, Curley, McCollum and then-drummer Steve Earle hooked up in Cincinnati. The band went on to become one of the most beloved garage-rock-soul bands of the ’90s, releasing early records like Big Top Halloween, Up in It, Congregation, and Uptown Avondale (the last three for Sub Pop) before signing a deal with Elektra, and releasing Gentlemen in 1993 and Black Love in 1996. 1965, the band’s last record, was released on Columbia in 1998.
In 2000, Dulli released the outstanding debut album from his side project, the soul-infused Twilight Singers, Twilight as Played by the Twilight Singers.
According to Columbia, the Singers are currently recording the follow-up to that record.