"Attention: Matt Bartels is no longer a part of Long Knives. We were deeply shocked, saddened & disappointed to hear of his behavior when we were informed via e-mail yesterday. He is seeking help in the appropriate avenues to try and atone for his costly mistakes in his personal life & to address some severe ...problems within. He is deeply apologetic to those he has harmed & to everyone in the community. That being said-we DO NOT condone any abusive behavior & will not tolerate it within our ranks. We only wish we were aware of the situation earlier so that we could have acted accordingly. We will be moving forward as a three piece at the October 8th Hemlock show- & more than likely for the entirety of our Fall tour with Divorce. Please remember that there is help out there if you are a victim of abuse- please speak up-seek help & make yourself heard. There is ALWAYS a friend who cares a phone call or message away.
With Love,
Kristia, Connor & Robert.
http://www.thehotline.org
http://www.feminist.org/911/crisis.html
http://mentalhealthsf.org/help-now/hotline-crisis-supports/"
We do not support or condone this type of behavior. We discussed what do with the band and have decided that for the entire month of October, all Long Knives Bandcamp sales will be donated to La Casa de les Madres- the charity of the band's choice. Their EP "This is your Life" is now up on our Bandcamp for Pay-What-You-Want, so donate whatever you feel you can.
It is an unfortunate situation, but in instances like this, at the very least, we hope to bring an open dialog and discussion and bring some good out of a negative.
La Casa de les Madres: http://www.lacasa.org/
Long Knives Bandcamp: https://longknives.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-your-life