UPDATE: Sticky Fingers’ Dylan Frost Issues His “Last” Statement On Allegations Of Racism & Violence
ORIGINAL STORY: Sticky Fingers have given their first interview since returning from a 12-month hiatus, with all five members speaking to triple j‘s Hack host Tom Tilley.
After frontman Dylan Frost responded to allegations of racism and violence made against him in a statement last week, the band today responded as a whole.
Asked directly to respond to the accusations made against him after remaining silent for portions of the interview, Frost said, “I guess I’m not that good at interviews, you know?
“My violence in my past, under the influence… I guess… boys will be boys, you know?
“That’s not what I’m here to promote,” Frost added, before saying, “I promote peace and love.”
When asked to clarify his statement that “boys will be boys”, Frost responded, “Shit happens, man.”
As for the specific allegations of racism made against Frost after he attended a show by the Sydney band Dispossessed in 2016, the singer said, “I’ve gotten myself into situations, under the influence, where people have kind of thought these things of me.
“I’m not racist, I’m wholeheartedly against it… It’s against my nature, and I guess everything just kinda got a little bit…
“I guess I am sorry for making people feel that way… on that night.”
Sticky Fingers were also asked to explain how they felt after Frost was accused of intimidating a female member of the music community in 2016.
“It was tough, it was definitely tough… We’ve had some time to reflect on this. A year is a long time,” said keyboardist Freddy Crabs.
“We’ve been seeking help, and we’ve actually spoken to a lot of strong voices in the community, where we’re gaining more insight into how our actions have affected other people.”
Crabbs reiterated what Frost said in his earlier statement, saying that Sticky Fingers as a whole are now sober.
“We were legless a lot of the time, and regardless of who you are, if you’re constantly doing that to yourself you’re going to get yourself into bother, you’re going to get yourself into situations that you don’t want to be in,” he said.
“As a band we are sober and we are really committed to doing that.”
Sticky Fingers also said their hiatus was not directly caused by the allegations which preceded it, saying that they were at times “physically fighting each other”.
“This has all been a single attack on [Dylan], but we’ve all been in that situation where we are fundamentally ruining what the most important thing about us is,” said bassist Paddy Cornwall.
“Not just because of these allegations but because of a lot of other behaviour before that was ruining the core sides to us.
“It came a number of days after we’d finished a tour and we just scraped through it.”
Listen to the full interview below.
Sticky Fingers played their controversial first show back from hiatus at Sydney’s Bad Friday festival last month.
UPDATE: Sticky Fingers have released a further statement via Instagram, elaborating on the “boys will be boys” and “shit happens” statements. Read the statement below.
UPDATE: Sticky Fingers Announce World Tour, Share New Song ‘Kick On’
Sticky Fingers Statement (Via Instagram):
We spoke up tonight. Tough issues. It was hard for us. We want to clarify a particular sentiment. We answered a question with the line “boys will be boys” and “shit happens.” This was in reference to our past experiences of fighting one another and the headspace we were in at the time. Our point is that the attitude of “boys will be boys” and “shit happens” is no way to look at violence. It was in no way intended to show we aren’t genuinely on a path to positive change, in fact it was there to highlight that we get it. We stand by our interview. And what we were hoping to bring light to. We love all the support and feedback from everyone who feel passionate about our situation. We also hope that no one gets stuck in this bully-like mess. Peace n lawve to all.
