Philadelphia punk act Beach Slang are down a member just weeks after delivering their new album A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings. Guitarist Ruben Gallego has agreed to exit the band following some recently surfaced allegations of sexual assault.
The group shared a statement on their Facebook page explaining that they "cannot in good conscience" continue working with Gallego.
Here's their statement in full:
For us, Beach Slang has always been and will always be a safe place for everyone. It was built to be welcoming. It was built to be soft. If we are going to continue to exist, we have to exist in this way.
There have been allegations involving sexual assault and our guitarist, Ruben. Although this occurred four years ago and prior to him joining Beach Slang, we cannot in good conscience continue with him. We believe survivors and we want to believe Ruben, but until we learn more information, we don't feel it's appropriate for him to be a part of Beach Slang.
We strongly support survivors and organizations such as www.rainn.org and we encourage you to use their resources if you need help. We will be making a donation to RAINN at the conclusion of this tour to do our part in helping to ensure these resources are there for those who need it.
Given the timing of this, our only option is to play as Quiet Slang (James solo acoustic). I mean, giving up never seems to fix things. Maybe today, we can start putting some stuff back together. The Bleached Slang tour starts tonight in Washington, DC. Maybe that's a good place to start.
Keep each other safe,
Beach Slang
This marks Beach Slang's second lineup change in 2016. Earlier this year, they parted ways with their drummer. Read Exclaim!'s recent interview with the band's James Alex here.
The group shared a statement on their Facebook page explaining that they "cannot in good conscience" continue working with Gallego.
Here's their statement in full:
For us, Beach Slang has always been and will always be a safe place for everyone. It was built to be welcoming. It was built to be soft. If we are going to continue to exist, we have to exist in this way.
There have been allegations involving sexual assault and our guitarist, Ruben. Although this occurred four years ago and prior to him joining Beach Slang, we cannot in good conscience continue with him. We believe survivors and we want to believe Ruben, but until we learn more information, we don't feel it's appropriate for him to be a part of Beach Slang.
We strongly support survivors and organizations such as www.rainn.org and we encourage you to use their resources if you need help. We will be making a donation to RAINN at the conclusion of this tour to do our part in helping to ensure these resources are there for those who need it.
Given the timing of this, our only option is to play as Quiet Slang (James solo acoustic). I mean, giving up never seems to fix things. Maybe today, we can start putting some stuff back together. The Bleached Slang tour starts tonight in Washington, DC. Maybe that's a good place to start.
Keep each other safe,
Beach Slang
This marks Beach Slang's second lineup change in 2016. Earlier this year, they parted ways with their drummer. Read Exclaim!'s recent interview with the band's James Alex here.