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PWR BTTM Lose Touring Members and Opening Band

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, May 12, 2017.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    The touring members of PWR BTTM have left the band after yesterday’s publication of allegation of sexual abuse. T-Rextasy, the opening band from their upcoming tour has pulled out, and the band’s record release show tonight has been canceled.

    Cameron West:


    Hi everyone. Today, like many PWR BTTM fans, I was shocked to discover that sexual assault allegations were levied against Ben Hopkins. From my understanding, these accusations were in fact levied via e-mail months ago, but were left unshared with other members of the band, including myself. In order to provide the highest possible respect to everyone who has come forward, I am hereby ending my tenure with the band as an arranger and touring musician.

    Nicholas Cummins:


    I’ll say what I told Ben; while I will never dispose of them as a human, I fully believe all accusations that came up today. Regardless of their intent it’s clear that multiple people had their boundaries crossed. that’s incredibly unacceptable and needs to be acknowledged… I am deeply horrified by the thought of any role I may have played in doing harm to those people when playing with that band. All I can do is hope that the band does the right thing and pursues accountability in an honest and transparent way.

    T-Rextasy:


    We wish we could say these allegations come as a complete surprise, but that is not the truth. Around the time we agreed to a July tour w PWR BTTM, someone came to us privately + warned us that they had these experiences w Ben. They asked us not to share them publicly. At the time we felt we should continue w the tour. We did not want to out the person who had had come to us in confidence. We feared that ducking out of a tour offer with no excuse would damage our professional relationships, many connected very personally to PWR BTTM. This in no way excuses us from culpability. We were scared and confused but we were also selfish. We made a mistake supporting this band. We put our career above the safety of fans who have trusted us and supported us and there’s no way for us to remedy that.

     
  2. Yellowcard2006

    Trusted

    Looks like at least some people are doing the right thing. Wonder how much of a coincidence this all came out the day before their album release...
     
    Turkeylegz and mattylikesfilms like this.
  3. Tancred dropped too.
     
  4. Orla

    little old lady Prestigious

    Tancred has also dropped from the tour, as of this morning.
     
  5. jorbjorb

    7 rings

    good one them.
     
  6. mattylikesfilms

    Trusted

    Good. I was sure Jess would not put up with that shit so it was only a matter of time.
     
  7. cwhit

    still emperor emo Prestigious

    this tour isn't going to happen and this band is dead
     
  8. I Am Mick

    @gravebug Prestigious

    Good
     
  9. skogsraet

    Trusted Supporter

    The fact that this many people are publicly denouncing and distancing themselves from the band gives me so much hope for the future, and for my future as a musician tbh. I'd really like to see this across genres and I think that is happening, in varying degrees.

    Also considering how many of the most glorified musicians in history had fucked up relationships with women (I'm looking at you, John and Jimi), it's really nice to see something like this tank a band for once. Good fucking riddance.
     
  10. transrebel59

    Regular

    How do you all feel about T Rex admitting that they knew something about this but continued the tour?

    I think the apology was heartfelt and I believe they are genuinely heartbroken that they put their career over the safety of their fans. But I also know that they never would have dropped off the tour if this wasn't brought to light.
     
    I Am Mick likes this.
  11. I Am Mick

    @gravebug Prestigious

    Yeah. I appreciate their honesty but it boils down to "we knew these are shit people who could be dangerous to our fans but we would rather help ourselves."

    Not a good look
     
  12. I posted about this in the primary thread just because I was recently in a similar situation and know it can be difficult to navigate the correct course of action while honoring a victim's wishes (I believe she asked the band not to out her). I don't think they did the right thing, but I empathize with the difficulty of that situation. That being said, I have zero knowledge of the band and had never heard of them prior to their statement, so generally speaking I don't know what kind of people they are.
     
  13. Ourchestra

    Newbie

    I don't think it's a coincidence at all.
     
  14. Malatesta

    i may get better but we won't ever get well Prestigious

    the big takeaway here is that T-Rex appears to have known, which for me is the final straw. fucking disappointed in and disgusted by both of the groups then, ofc PWB moreso.
     
    Petit nain des Îles likes this.
  15. TerrancePryor

    https://mp3sandnpcs.com/ Prestigious

    As far as I'm concerned, T-Rextasy are done. There is absolutely no way they'll be able to get back on anyone's good graces after hearing about the situation and going, "Ehh. We just wanna play shows, man." There are a million other good bands that will take their spot on whatever future tours they had their eye on.
     
  16. incognitojones

    Some Freak Supporter

    Nnamdi dropped too, his post:

     
  17. whitenblue88

    The rivalry is back on

    I think the T-Rex thing sucks, but I don't think about it like that.

    I'd be a little surprised if some of the bands that are being praised for dropping off tours with them, like Tancred, Nnamdi, etc were completely in the dark about it. Some of the posts by some of the most passionate voices against this stuff (Sadie Dupuis, Adult Mom, etc) heavily alluded to this being common knowledge for months in the scene. Many bands that toured with them had to have known some sketchy stuff was happening, and everyone collectively stayed quiet. The label and the booking company let them tour in the time in between this despite the allegations.

    The T-Rex post was made to help back up the victims and give support that it wasn't all made up. I agree that it's awful, but I wouldn't vilify that band the same way PWR BTTM should be/is. I think it's a systematic failure by the scene and I wouldn't be any more mad at this band than I would be at the DIY scene as a whole for enabling it.
     
  18. Malatesta

    i may get better but we won't ever get well Prestigious

    Yeah, it's possible the other bands know, and if they do, I'm disappointed in them too. It is systemic more than individual, especially for bands composed of women and LGBTQ folks. But, I think it's still pretty reasonable to be deeply saddened by groups who potentially could have said something sooner, and instead risked their fans, and it sounds like they feel the same way. We don't have to cast them off, i mean, but it's an awfully troubling data point.
     
  19. thevheissu

    that's not how the force works Prestigious

  20. I Am Mick

    @gravebug Prestigious

    Good
     
  21. Tom Lee

    Regular

     
    Aaron Mook and incognitojones like this.
  22. SkyGrowsBigger

    Regular

    Wow. Kudos for the artists and labels making this band accountable for their actions. It's disappointing that T-Rextasy seemed to have some indication that this was happening but chose to continue their relationship with the band. Not that it matters but the band is made up entirely of women, at least some of which have identified as queer. Coincidentally, I saw them open a show in Toronto last week and they delivered a passionate set with heavy-feminist message that I really enjoyed. Hopefully they can find a way to be accountable for their role in all this because I don't think the world is a better place with this band no longer in it.
     
  23. SuNDaYSTaR

    Regular Prestigious

    You can never stress that enough.
     
  24. shadowsofskylines

    Newbie

    Glad to see the swift backlash happening here. I've been trying to get Sorority Noise to respond to this post on their Facebook page as well. It was posted a while before the allegations came out, but seems in incredibly poor taste now. Either my reply to the post is getting ignored or they are busy out on their tour and not checking/updated Facebook as frequently. I sincerely hope it's the latter...
     

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