On Monday, I woke up to the painful news that many people in the garage and punk scenes had been accused of taking advantage of underage fans. It left me feeling heartbroken and angry. This is a scene that I always took great care of and pride in. It felt safe, and it seemed, on the surface, to be very open and accommodating and respectful. I wrote a piece that is a little disjointed and without a clear focus. But it was also a very pure sense of how I was feeling, and I’d like to share it with you.
Before I continue, I’d like to clear the air a bit… Spinning Platters, though priding itself on elevating female voices and always being on the side of believing women, has made a few mistakes. I was reminded by a fellow writer that we did, indeed, sponsor a few screenings of the R Kelly film Trapped In The Closet. I even presented R Kelly trivia at one of these events. If I could take that back, I would. We also once had a member of our staff that was accused of many of the same things being written about Burger Records and many folks within that scene. When this came to light, we immediately fired this writer, but we did it silently, without any statement. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but after the deafening silence of the men when women come forward, I realized that our silence only protects the perpetrator. It does nothing for the victims, and, really, does nothing to help move society forward. I am grateful that Total Trash, the folks that put on Burger Boogaloo, made a statement, and that they have cut ties with Burger Records and will be renaming the event. I am also grateful that Nobunny has actually admitted to wrong doing, something that few others are willing to do. We need more men to step up. We need more men to call out their fellow men for bad behavior. We need men to admit to the ways they’ve abused people they hold power over, and take responsibility for their actions. After the jump is the piece I wrote… Continue reading “Op-Ed: The Damage Of Rock n Roll’s Obsession With Underage Girls”