​Carrie Brownstein on Janet Weiss Leaving Sleater-Kinney: "It's Hard and Sad"

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Jul 16, 2019

Carrie Brownstein has opened up a bit more about the departure of her longtime Sleater-Kinney bandmate Janet Weiss.
 
In the comments of a recently posted teaser for the band's upcoming album The Center Won't Hold, a follower asked, "Why haven't y'all made a statement about her leaving?" and demanded "to know what's up."
 
Despite the fact Brownstein and her remaining bandmate Corin Tucker did already issue a statement, the snarky remark was surprisingly met with a lengthy response from Brownstein, who explained how she's been affected by Weiss' decision to leave the band.
 
Brownstein admitted her and Tucker "also expected and wanted [Weiss] to be a part of" the upcoming tour and album cycle, but that they were nevertheless going to "honor the work" by continuing to do their jobs without Weiss.
 
"But we have to keep looking to the future," she continued. "Things change, even when those changes are hard and unexpected."
 
Her full response reads:
 
What am I supposed to say? She left. We asked her to stay. We tried. It's hard and sad. Most people would ask me, "hey are you ok?" That's the human response. She's left us with a job to do, a job we also expected and wanted her to be a part of. Her playing on this record is amazing and she's raved about this album to us and to Annie. But we have to keep looking to the future. Things change, even when those changes are hard and unexpected. Four amazing women worked on this record and we are going to honor that work. So, what's up? The usual....Women picking up the pieces when someone quits, because we have to and want to. We're going to keep going because we believe in ourselves and it's a privilege to get to play music for people. It's a new chapter. And all artistic entities have many chapters, if they're lucky. Either the music will resonate or it won't.
 
The St. Vincent-produced The Center Won't Hold is due out August 16 via Mom + Pop. The band will also embark on a North American tour this fall, without Weiss.

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