Angry at former bandmates?

[Alex]

Here's the situation: I was in a band for three and a half years. Over those years, there were many lineup changes, but me and the original drummer were always there from the start. We achieved some success in the band, such as winning a local battle of the bands this year, and we took a bit of a break for the summer. Coming back in the fall, we played a few shows, and our last one went quite badly. Two days after that gig, the guitarist (who has been with us for a long time) and the drummer both came to my house and announced that they were resigning, therefore breaking up the band. I understand that the last gig had discouraged them, but instead of having a meeting discussing what we could have improved on, they took the easy way out and quit. I can understand a few reasons why they did, but some of their reasons were incredibly stupid. They tried to be as civil and friendly as they could when they told me about their resignation, but at the same time, they were being hypocrites. They questioned my talent as a vocalist, and I'll admit that I'm not the best in the world, but I think that I did very well as a singer in that band. They accused me of not taking the band seriously, but I was the one paying the fees for the venues, recording sessions, and doing ALL of our marketing and merchandising, and not to mention working my butt off in rehearsal and onstage. They said that they didn't want to offer me any constructive criticism because "they didn't want to hurt my feelings," which is a p***y excuse, because that meant that they didn't take the band seriously by acting like a team. I appreciated constructive criticism without any bad feelings, and they know it, but they were too cowardly to say anything. They wanted to pin all of the blame on me and do it while smiling through their teeth, when they played just as much a part in the breakup as I did; in the later parts of this year the drummer was too much of a coward to speak his mind and the guitarist became a dictating jerk, which resulted in poor set lists from his ego and lack of effort. I admit that I had a hand in the factors surrounding the breakup, but I'm not he only reason it happened. So anyway, once the band had broken up, I had requested to the drummer that he let me write out a message to the fans saying thank you and farewell to them on our facebook page, and he agreed to it. An hour later, before I even get started on the message, the drummer posted a quick message that essentially said: "Two things: first of all, here's our new single on Youtube. Second, we broke up today, etc." It was a slap in the face me, the fans, and everything that the band was about. Even worse, however, was that IMMEDIATELY after the breakup, the drummer jumped ship to the guitarist's new band, and I ended up finding that out from someone else. With those two in that band, the way I see it, they didn't break the old band up; they kicked me out, brought in new guys, and gave it a new name, but I don't care what they call it, since it's nothing but a cheap parody of the old band as long as those two are in it. Part of me wants to support them and wish them the best, but another part of me frequently hopes that this new band fails within a few months. Although me and my former band mates are now on "good terms," every time I talk to them I have to resist the urge to verbally tear them to pieces. By forming this parody band and not giving the old band a proper farewell, they destroyed a three and a half year history that we all worked so hard for. If they wanted to break the old band up, that's one thing, but they acted in an extremely poor and unprofessional way during and after the breakup. I'm working on a new band myself, but I can't help but look back and despise those two for how they disrespected me and the old band. They lied to me when they said that the band mates of the old band were not a good combination of musicians and that they didn't have the time in their schedule to be in a band. I understand completely that it was all their choice and they have a right to make those choices, so maybe I'm still just angry about the whole thing and have yet to cool off. I still feel betrayed on so many levels. So my question is: am I too angry at them, and is there any way that I can start to forgive them and ultimately reconcile with them?

[M.i.s.s.]

Ok...if they did a slap in the face to their fans and everything, they'll do again in their next band. Good riddens