Guitarist Warren Haynes shocked music lovers when he announced his departure from the Allman Brothers Band last week. In a new interview published on Rolling Stone‘s website, Haynes opened up further on his decision to leave the band.

While news of Haynes’ departure shocked many Allman fans, Haynes said that his decision was something that he and the other members of the band had been talking about for a while. “It’s not as big a surprise in our network as some people might think,” Haynes told RS. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time.”

Both Haynes and guitarist Derek Trucks announced that they would leave the band at the end of 2014. For Haynes’ part, the departure has to do with a greater desire to focus on his band Gov’t Mule while having time for “family time.”

Haynes also gave some hope to despondent fans by indicating that his departure from the Allmans isn’t going to be a permanent thing. “It’s a good place to kind of stop,” Haynes said, while adding that he wouldn’t “predict the future.”

The Allman Brothers Band will have a busy docket this year, with their annual Beacon Theater residency beginning in March and a headlining date at their own Wanee Festival in Florida coming up in April.