Photo credit: Kat Nijmeddin
The Milwaukee hardcore metal band Stone has been dropped from an upcoming tour with Kentucky's Knocked Loose following an outpouring of sexual assault allegations against the band's singer Zach Dear.
In a statement, Knocked Loose explained their decision. "We have been aware of recent incidents and paying very close attention to every story, tweet, and Facebook post being shared. Stone is no longer on the upcoming tour, it was never a question from the start. This is being worked on from our end since the very beginning please do not take our silence as hiding from the issue, instead we have been working to make our first official headliner a better tour and a safer place for everyone involved. We are sorry it took so long to update. We have always promoted a safe place for every different kind of person that wants to come to our shows, and have vocally promoted a safe space for women. We DO NOT stand behind these actions, and it will not be tolerated."
Dear, who previously played guitar for the popular Milwaukee hardcore punk band Expire, tweeted his own response to the allegations Sunday night.
In the last few days there have been some stories involving me circling around the internet. Most saying that I hurt people in different ways. While on tour I was shamefully promiscuous. It's not something I'm proud of but it is something I've been honest about. I lived by the rule that every intimate encounter was over when a woman said "no." In every intimate situation I've been in, my understanding at the time through body language, being kissed back, etc., was that everything was consensual. I am not the kind of guy who would intentionally harm anyone and - given the chance - I would apologize to anyone who felt I misinterpreted their signals or hurt them. That was far from my intention. I think it's important for women to raise issues like this. No question. It gives everyone the opportunity to reflect and deal with them honestly which is what I'll be doing while we take a break from touring.
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That statement, though, doesn't address the sheer scope and severity of the allegations against Dear, more than a dozen of which have been compiled on a Tumblr account.
Dear's former Expire bandmate Caleb Murphy tweeted an apology to the victims. "A lot of people were really hurt and I can’t help but feel slightly responsible for not knowing," he wrote. "No one ever wants to except the fact that their friend is capable of terrible things and this really is a hard pill to swallow ... I’m sorry to any woman hurt by these actions. I’m sorry to anyone who opened their house to us and was met with disrespect and I’m sorry to those who looked up to the band ... Zach is no longer my friend or our friend. From the bottom of my heart I’m sorry to the women that he assaulted. He used something I held very dear as a platform to prey on people. I’m proud of the women who came forward and named him and I’m proud of my friends who denounced him."
Murphy also promised to pull all remaining Expire merchandise from the market, and to donate any money remaining in the band's accounts "to a charity that advocates for sexual abuse awareness."
The allegations against Dear date back years. “I’m glad Zach Dear was outed and all these women who are coming forward are met with love and kind words,” wrote one of Dear’s accusers. “When I tried to speak out, in 2011, about what he did and who he was, I wasn’t met with such kindness.”
