Women are told, in ways both overt and more quietly demoralizing, that nothing can be done about this problem. In the words of our president, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” As one music publicist I know recently told me, even her (female) boss said that ass grabs from a high-profile client were unfortunately part of the game. These are also the people who make money off the musician, so holding them accountable has not historically been a huge priority, particularly the more profitable the artist is. There is no HR department for this kind of issue, so it is up to those running record labels, music management companies, booking agencies, and the like to actually deal with the problem. The fan/musician vein of harassment is ostensibly professional-the musician was at work, though the fan was not-but it’s hard to conceive of a standard flow of accountability. Kelly’s sickening physical, sexual, and mental abuse, underscored her brave recent chronicle with her bona fides as a longtime Kellz fan, illuminating how smart women find themselves in the most extreme of these situations. The bigger the star, the bigger that effect: Kitti Jones, who spent years enduring R. Fame, even just indie rock prominence, can embolden musicians and intimidate fans, throwing the latter off their guard. Similarly, a woman allegedly assaulted by PWR BTTM’s Ben Hopkins following one of their shows described feeling powerless because of Hopkins’ social status. Minutes after meeting and seemingly out of nowhere, Mondanile shoved her in a broom closet and stuck his tongue down her throat.
One Mondanile accuser, then a 19-year-old fan, remembered “marveling at the opportunity to actually talk to a member of a band she loved” following a 2013 Real Estate show. Instead of protesting the allegations like Mondanile and Gaslamp Killer initially did, Calder posted a long, mournful apology addressing his past misunderstanding of consent. By late afternoon, Brooklyn label Captured Tracks made its own announcement: Alex Calder, formerly of Mac DeMarco’s early band Makeout Videotape, had been dropped as a solo artist after they’d learn of sexual assault allegations against him.
A few hours later, on the heels of victims coming forward, the indie rock band Real Estate released a statement explaining that they’d parted ways with guitarist Matt Mondanile last year over his “unacceptable treatment of women,” a long-due admittance of an open industry secret. producer known as the Gaslamp Killer was accused on social media of drugging and raping two women four years ago, a detailed story that quickly led to event producers Low End Theory severing ties with him. On Friday, October 13, three stories broke regarding sexual assault allegations in the independent music world.
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