As a father to an 11 month old boy, stories of sexual assault and rape, in a community that’s supposed to be free of pretension and full of support for people of any color or gender, is absolutely frightening. The Kesha/Dr. Luke controversies, and constant accounts of rape/sexual assault in our community, it’s terrifying to me.
The band Better Off is no more after a disturbing account of rape/sexual assault by their touring/fill-in bassist, David Hobbs, against artist/musician (Bleed The Pigs) Kayla Phillips, who has been previously featured in Spin Magazine.
This account contains some graphic details, but it’s an important read if there’s anything that can be done to prevent these things in a community that’s supposed to be ours. Read on for more.
This is a brief account of what Kayla experienced. Link is available here:https://www.facebook.com/KaylaXVX/posts/1194487127236149
The response from Better Off band member Luke, however, is scary… If someone is really your friend, isn’t the right thing to do to call them out on their bad behavior?
Here’s what Luke said on the situation: https://www.facebook.com/bttroff/posts/1071685919557834
There’s obviously two sides to every story, that’s certain. There will definitely be more information coming out about this situation. But let this be a lesson to anyone, whether you’re in a band or not – have respect for people of any gender, race, or creed. If your advances aren’t wanted and aren’t reciprocated, back off! It’s really not that hard. If you do something wrong, take accountability for it. And if you’re a musician, you have even more of a responsibility to do these things.
To summarize this story, Foxie had this to say about the situation overall.
I think people should realize that no one comes out with these things on the music community for shits and giggles. I didn’t drag my own name and the band name I worked hard for just to rile up the Internet. I’m mostly pretty private because I have a lot of people following my social media accounts and it’s not my thing to let my business out. But we have to realize that our friends do horrible things sometimes and the way to help them get better is not by coddling them. If you wish to stay friends with an abuser, hold them accountable and be honest, because victim blaming only keeps victims silent. I was horrified of the thought of this somehow taking music away from, but I’ll continue and do what I have to do for myself. Sometimes all people ask for is accountability.
We’ll provide more details and statements as they come.
