Accountability in Music • Page 987

This was the most powerful piece of writing I’ve read on the subject of Jesse Lacey, let alone power dynamics among celebrity and the psychological effects of grooming minors. The photos made the piece all the more stomach churning.

I’m so sorry for what you’ve experienced over the past 19 years since your initial encounter with Jesse. Thank you for sharing your story, @aiyana91

 

I’m just spitballing memories here from 21 years ago that I haven’t thought about in a very long time, and I wasnt in the best condition to retain memory at the time. But my friend I’ve since lost touch with was sober and recalled all of it. It was at soma in San Diego and I was on the drive thru street team at the time.

Members from early November and senses fail were the guys on the bus (don’t know their names, Ace from early November was nowhere around) and Allister’s roadie was the guy who yelled the “your dad is better…” comment at the girls. But there were a lot of band members/roadies standing around shaming and whistling at the girls as they got off the bus. Bass player dude from home grown was in the general vicinity and was super blacked out but was disgusted at the situation and told us he was basically in drunken months long crisis over a breakup. Makes sense that he quit the band right after. I don’t remember who else was around, but it was mostly the newer bands that were in the first half of the lineup that were being dirtbags. I didn’t see anyone that is somewhat famous or whatever taking part in it.

Meanwhile Kenny from the starting line was nowhere around that mess after the show, and before the show we got faded in their bus while they showed us new demos. He’s the guy that I remember being the coolest.

seperately around that time, a member of a static lullaby was accused of statutory rape in their van after a show at chain reaction in Anaheim. It blew up on message boards at the time including their own message board, but I couldn’t find anything about it archived online.

also at chain reaction right before he got huge, a newly solo artist that did get huge a couple years later tried to get a 16 year girl from my high school to drink with him and hang out with him, but she shut that down. Without naming him let’s just say he’s rich enough to sue me if I did without having her corroborate it.

this is all just a midnight brain dump of decades old memories from my late teens.

 

@Drewski, I appreciate your attempt to answer the question, but I need to be honest about the harm that your “I don’t know” ultimately perpetuates, especially from someone in a mod position within a community that continues to center and uplift Brand New.

When you say “I don’t know,” what you're actually doing is refusing to take a clear stance in the face of overwhelming evidence of abuse. That ambiguity doesn’t read as thoughtful introspection, it reads as complicity. For survivors such as myself watching, it feels like our pain is something you’re still weighing, something you’re still unsure about. That’s not neutral, that’s a choice.

You mentioned that your wife is a survivor who continues to support the band. I want to be clear that I’m not questioning her experience or yours, and I’m not trying to come for you personally. But I do think it’s important to point out that one survivor’s relationship with the art isn’t a stand-in for the broader impact these kinds of public platforms have.

The idea that you've “never tried to convince anyone” of your stance doesn’t absolve you, because maintaining a platform where Brand New is still celebrated is a stance. I’m not asking you to be perfect, or to deny where you’ve been or how you’ve felt along the way. But at a certain point, “I don’t know” becomes a shield for “I don’t want to let go.” And if that’s the case, I just want you to say it plainly, because that’s a much more honest answer than the one you’ve given.

 

Genuinely can’t imagine admitting to being a mod of the brand new sub in 2025

 

Really truly feel like the conversation happening between Alyana and Drewski an important one and one of the most delicate I've seen in here and for the time being I really think we should let that happen without dunking on Drewski and making the thread unusable again.

 

I wasn’t asked and should probably just shut up, but can be honest about where my similar “I don’t know” came from (at one point). There are allegations and acts that are so severe and wrong that they can’t be overlooked or ignored. No room for “idk.” Jesse, at this time, probably falls in an area for a lot of fans where it just isn’t viewed as the same. So it’s “this feels weird and is wrong, but it’s not illegal.”

Let me be clear, I am not defending him. But I get it. I’m not speaking for @Drewski, but I had my own “I don’t knows.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not taking an immediate stance on serious topics. I just don’t think “idk’s” should jump into serious debates and defense until they figure it out.

 

Haven't the allegations always been of illegal conduct with minors since day one, though?

 

I get that these situations can be confusing but to be explicitly clear, grooming a minor is illegal in the US, even without physical contact. The federal law criminalizes actions that use persuasion, manipulation, or coercion to sexually exploit a minor, and this includes emotional or psychological grooming. The key here is intent and manipulation -- if the actions are intended to exploit or coerce a minor, even without physical touch, they can lead to prosecution. While it can feel like a gray area to some, the law doesn’t view it that way.

I say this not to shut down conversation but to help ground it in facts, because misinformation can really cloud our ability to respond with care to survivors and victims.

 

Thank you for expounding. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to prove intent, which is probably why these allegations unfortunately never get anywhere, furthering the damaging situation of turning a blind eye.

 

Yep.

 

I for one was not expecting this thread to go this way after the last couple weeks of just, annoying back and forth?, but I’m really grateful for the sharing of thoughts and opinions that I’ve seen today.

 

It just really hammers home that there has to be some level of sheer narcissism behind the reunion, which I guess should have been obvious, but how does one operate knowing there are more survivors out there that may come out and STILL have the gall to come back?

I also recently turned 30, and while the allegations were always upsetting, it's particularly disturbing to me now to think about being this age and attempting to court someone that is maybe barely a high school freshman. Just echoing what everyone else has said, but I really don't know how you could possibly separate the songs from the songwriter knowing that.

As a former Brand New fan, I am so glad so much of this information has come out and it's hard for me to imagine feeling any other way at this point.

 

I can only speak for me but I know this hits differently than the original allegations solely because in 2007 was 29 years old and absolutely knew better than to have a 15 year old on his tour bus. Its easier to wrap my head around a 23 year old in the scene at the time thinking it was to look at a 16/17 year old in a sexual way. Not defending it. Still gross, but a 29 year old absolutely shouldn't be looking at 15/16 year olds in that way. Again, thank you for sharing your story and helping open my eyes.

 

Sorry, I'm really on one now and I'll stop after this - it's also the fact that there is SUCH CLEAR EVIDENCE that these allegations are true. This is no longer a case of he-said-she-said, which should always have been taken seriously anyways, but you have to be absolutely deluded to not recognize the truth in those stories and photos. Gut-wrenching stuff.

 

Agree entirely. I have zero doubts about the validity of this.

 

Yes. I’m having flashbacks of defending Joseph Smith and his teenage brides as a former mormon.

 

What really gets me is bros on facebook who are defending them and all the reasons, then have their main photo being them with a daughter/child. Can they not make the simple connection that if their 15 year old kid was being groomed by a 27 year old singer, they would NOT be ok with it?!?!?!

 

Personally think it's gross that it took until this for some people to come to their senses about it especially with the photos that one of the original victims is also in but whatever, hopefully helps make the case to stand by victims in cases like this. Super glad it's out there now and the courage it takes to put it out there for everyone to see, absolutely inspiring.

 

Exactly this. Imagine knowing there are others out there who haven't shared their story and going "well, it's been 7 years, and the first few mini-shows did well - let's pull the trigger on this thing!" Imagine how we feel knowing a documentary is coming. It is almost unfathomably crushing.

 

i’ve been struggling to not respond to every facebook ad, instagram post, reddit thread, etc, celebrating their reunion because i knew their culty fans would just brush it off.

this newest article just confirms that i shouldn’t have held back. thank you to the author that shared and so sorry you experienced this.

 

I swear, it’s always the guys that say “I would kill for my kids” or have that “8 rules to date my teenage daughter” shirt or poster that are like “Let’s hear (disgraced artist) out.” Like, these are living, breathing humans that are someone’s daughters, much like your own, that have to read your stupid, hurtful words. What will you do if it happens to your daughter? How will you feel when the tables turn and it’s a beloved member of a community or something that denies it or uses the Jesse playbook?

Also, the fact that some frame as “wanting publicity” is also baffling because who in their right mind would want to carry that weight?

 

I think I know who you’re talking about as I saw one of them post linking to their old podcast episodes about Jesse a few weeks ago (in a different subreddit entirely). At least I assume there’s only one duo that has a Google drive of “evidence” lol. I had a long road trip last weekend and decided to listen to their episodes to see what their stance on all it was because it was presented as being balanced. it was… some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard in my life. made me actively angry that I couldn’t yell at them through my speakers.

 

As others have said, thank you for your courage and shedding more light on this. I hope you find support here and in real life for whatever fallout comes from it and whatever horseshit Brand New pulls from here.

 

there are a few people / influencers in this scene who have covered this and attended a show i’d love to hear from now.

 

I messaged the Rochester venue the medium article, but since they deleted all of my other comments on the event I doubt they care