Mr. Simpson also finally committed to reissuing both of the band’s long-out-of-print albums. Last month’s "Mineral 1994-1998" (Arena Rock Recording Co.) combines remastered versions of both 1997’s “The Power Of Failing” and 1998’s “EndSerenading” as a double-CD set. Mr. Simpson describes it as “pretty loud music,” a nod to the dynamic shifts from loud to almost pastoral, but does not deny that most would just call it emo, a term that makes him uncomfortable.

“Musically, I think people were connecting to the volume and the passion,” he said, “and sure, definitely the emotional forwardness, the emo-ness. But to me, emo always felt like it had a derogatory connotation. It was like they were belittling the emotional content of the music by pointing it out.”

However the music was labeled, by the late 1990s major labels began seeing the mainstream potential of Mineral and emo-leaning bands like The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring and Jimmy Eat World. After being courted by industry heavyweights like Arista’s Clive Davis and Interscope’s Jimmy Iovine, Mineral signed with the latter and promised a third album. But before the band could make it, they unceremoniously quit after a tour with The Promise Ring.

“As that tour went on, it just felt unworkable,” said Mr. Simpson, who throughout his time in Mineral had dispensable day jobs. “I also naïvely thought I could just take a break and go back whenever. I saw, through subsequent projects, that bands are about the moment, or if you’re lucky, a series of moments, and when you step out you have to find a whole new way back in.”

Mr. Simpson’s post-Mineral efforts have included the group The Gloria Record and a series of recordings under the Zookeeper moniker, the latest of which, “Pink Chalk,” was released last month. Zookeeper will tour next year, but Mineral is not quite finished. After the Fun Fun Fun Fest, the band is expected to announce dates in Dallas and Houston. Mr. Simpson said he has had too much fun reconnecting with his bandmates and, to his surprise, the music, to close the door again on Mineral just yet. The irony isn’t lost on him.

“For a long time, I saw Mineral as a step back,” Mr. Simpson said. “Now I see it as more of a river than a road — what you did in the past is still with you. We’re not going to overstay our welcome, but it’s also finally something I don’t have to run away from.”