On Tuesday, Philadelphia indie rock outfit Beach Slang announced that guitarist Ruben Gallego would be fired amid four-year-old allegations that he committed sexual assault.
The band will begin its fall tour tonight in Washington, D.C., as a solo acoustic trek behind singer and chief songwriter James Alex.
As the band wrote via Facebook: “There have been allegations involving sexual assault and our guitarist, Ruben. Although this occurred four years ago and prior to him joining Beach Slang, we cannot in good conscience continue with him.”
The band also said it would make a charitable donation to RAINN, an anti-sexual violence nonprofit, in light of this news: “We strongly support survivors and organizations such as www.rainn.org and we encourage you to use their resources if you need help. We will be making a donation to RAINN at the conclusion of this tour to do our part in helping to ensure these resources are there for those who need it.”
Reach Beach Slang’s full statement below:
H/T Brooklyn Vegan