Very interesting thread. Every band has it's own dynamics and every member takes a role within it. Sometimes those dynamics lead to one or more people leaving or the band disintegrating. But every band also has it's own parabola and every member it's own parabola within it.

All bands finish sometime. The important thing is to be as reasonable as possible when leaving, even if other members aren't. That way your conscience is clear and even if there is bad feeling at the time you stand the chance of making it up later when people have a bit of perspective.

Life's too short to stay where you don't want to be, to lose friends unnecessarily and to harbour grudges. I've played with loads of people over the years and they're all friends that share something special with me - even if it's only the memory of how terrible we were!