"I wish more people in our management at the time would have talked to us and suggested that, instead of 'breakup,' which is too harsh a word for what happened."

If anything, Dinning looks back with relief: "You know, we were lucky that we parted ways before things got really ugly. We had worked so hard and done so many shows since high school that when we left it behind, we were just sick of each other instead of wanting to kill each other."

That latter urge is what leads to most band meltdowns, he says. And for that lack of same among his mates, Dinning will be forever grateful.

"We didn't fire somebody and hire someone else, or those kinds of shenanigans," he says.

They just parted company.

After graduating from high school in 1986, the foursome -- including drummer Randy Guss, guitarist Todd Nichols and lead singer Glen Phillips -- plied the club scene of their Santa Barbara, Calif., origins.

They eventually caught the ear of a Columbia Records scout down the road in L.A., the consequences of which were 1991's platinum-selling "Fear," and its back-to-back radio hits, "All I Want" and "Walk on the Ocean."