Thou Shall Kill, part 2

Maddy Hebard, guitarist for Seattle extreme metal band Thou Shall Kill, has made the following post:

"Due to highly unprofessional conduct that was displayed recently by the owner of a Seattle venue, I am going to be speaking out against some very serious matters - please take a moment to read this ESPECIALLY if you are involved in the Seattle music scene. I am absolutely astonished by the level of misconduct showcased by this man and his attitude towards women in general and in the music scene. Here is what I have to say..

Many of you may be aware that I play in a band. Some of you may also be aware that, up until recently, we practiced at a venue called Studio Seven. We reserved a 24 hour lockout, so we essentially paid a monthly rate to come and go as we pleased. One night after a show, we decided to head over to our space to hang out and play music with some friends. Later on that evening, I went next door to say hello to our neighbors. Right as I was about to knock on their door, the venue owner, Tracy came out and quickly shut the door behind him, leaving both of us alone in an empty hallway. He began to put his hands on my waist, moved up my body, and started to push me into the wall. I told him to "stop" and then told him to "get his fucking hands off of me". He got freaked out and ran away, likely realizing that the door to our room was cracked and people probably heard what was going on. After he left, I stood there for a minute completely petrified and furious. I could not believe what had just happened. I supported this venue for years never realizing what kind of person I was giving my money to. Tracy, if you're reading this, I hope you consider the fact that you cannot get women to say "yes" to your sexual advances, so you resort to unsolicited touching in a pathetic attempt to get what you want. I also hope you consider the fact that as a person, and as an undeserving venue owner, you are deeply segregating this scene by making women even more fearful than they already are of entering a secluded location alone. This should speak VOLUMES as to how disgusting of a person you are. Fuck you. To any other women who have experienced this kind of treatment from Tracy, I offer you my deepest condolences, as it is totally not alright for someone to act this way or be presented with potential opportunities to repeat said actions. Everything aside for a moment, I want to say a huge "thank you" to my friends and bandmates who were very supportive, equally repulsed by Tracy's actions, displayed zero hesitation in making a swift and permanent exit from this venue, and in their eagerness to join me in never paying a cent to this place again. I have also never felt more empowered than I did the moment I was able to walk back inside with a couple of you to call him out in front of all his friends for what he had done. You all have no idea how much I appreciate the fact that myself and other women have allies in this scene that will have our backs no matter what, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. To all who read this and have plans on returning to this location to play/attend shows, I hope you consider what you have just learned. I will never set foot in Studio Seven again, and I hope you will take my stance as well. As a scene, we should support each other and make playing music something that is team oriented. Everyone deserves to feel welcome and respected in music, and I have absolutely had it with people who feel as though it is alright to act this way. Please share this post and help raise awareness of this kind of behavior in our scene. Feel free to reach out if you have an questions and I would be happy to answer them. Above all, if you witness this happening to anyone, help them. We should always be there for each other even if we don't know one another that well. Thank you for reading and I hope you feel the same way I do.

www.facebook.com/maddy.hebard?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

www.facebook.com/thoushallkill