IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL, BUT …: The implosion of the California-based indie music label Burger Records probably didn't even register on the radar of most Worcesterites, except for the city's biggest music buffs. It was a hugely influential label, releasing work — mostly on cassette — by more than 350 artists, including Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, a collaboration between Beck and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Devon Williams, Hunx and His Punx, Bell Gardens and The Go, but it still seemed pretty far from Wormtown. When, as the popular music website Consequence of Sound reported, the label was called out for a toxic culture and members of some of the label's bands were accused of sexual assault, statutory rape and sexual predation, it still seemed a distant problem. It's not like it was a New England label, after all.
Then, Kris Thompson of the seminal Worcester punk band the Prefab Messiahs, posted this on his Facebook wall: “I've felt terrible reading the accounts coming out in the past few days from victims of sexual abuse from Burger Records bands and employees. I hope that the sharing of stories can help with the pain, self-doubt, and trauma that's been caused. The label has now shut down, but the hurt remains. When I connected The Prefab Messiahs with Burger to put out our first cassette (in 2011), it was because they seemed to be championing a cool movement, and sounds compatible with ours.
"Our last two albums were co-released with Burger, but they provided us with no funding or other input, creatively or financially. At the time, we were happy to bask in the glow of their solid (industry) reputation from way across the country. Now The Prefabs are embarrassed, sickened, and sad to hear about the rampant abuse that went on for so long.”
There are other New England-based bands on the label, but it appears that no artists from the region were caught up in the scandal. Which, judging from Thompson's post, doesn't make the whole situation less painful and embarrassing, and certainly affects the bottom lines of numerous artists, although Thompson points out that the the Messiahs own all their digital rights, and Burger has never profited from the band's online sales.
Still, if there's a lesson here, it's about how the toxicity of harassment and abuse are never really isolated incidents, and its repercussions are often felt well beyond the individuals directly involved. This one's shockwaves were felt clear across the country, by one of the most popular bands to come out of the city. They did absolutely nothing wrong and had no involvement in the mess whatsoever, and were still touched by it. That should be something to chew on.
ONE TIME FOR THEM PRAYIN' ON MY DOWNFALL: In happier news, local viewers of the July 28 episode of “World of Dance” might have been surprised to hear junior division dancers Bailey & Kida dance to Joyner Lucas' "Isis" in their “dual” competition against amateurs James and Harris.
The original track, which appears on Lucas' recent album, "ADHD," also features the rapper Logic.
Lucas might be on the Billboard charts, but it's still jarring to hear his music out of context on network television. And Bailey & Kida's hip-hop routine to the song? Pure fire, their staccato, animation moves bristling with swagger. It was fun stuff that really brought out a different dimension in Lucas' song.
July 31, 2020 at 03:50AM
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Worcesteria: Prefab Messiahs label implodes, Joyner Lucas has song on World of Dance - Worcester Mag
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