 Asked about the band 's future plans after Hummel 's death , Stephens told Billboard , " It 's music we all really love to play , and we love to play it together , so we 're trying to figure out a way forward where we can keep doing it . " In a Rolling Stone interview , Stephens said that the May 2010 tribute performance would be the group 's final show as Big Star , although not his last show with Auer and Stringfellow , stating , " I can 't see us going out as Big Star ... But I would hate to compound the loss of Alex by saying , ' That 's it ' for Ken and Jon , too . I can 't imagine not playing with them . There 's so much fun — but an emotional bond there too . " 
