No Pressure at New Cross Inn, London.

07/06/2022

I know I don’t really post on this blog anymore, but there’s an issue that really needs the attention of the scene, and I’m going to use whatever platform I have to bring awareness to it.

I usually ask my followers to support artists-- that was the goal of creating this blog. However, in this case it’s important to consider what it means to support the band No Good News or their label Pure Noise Records.

For those of you who are currently unaware, Harry Corrigan, of No Good News/ formerly of Bellwether, sexually assaulted a 17-year old girl a few years back (read about it here). To make matters worse, he shows a clear lack of sincerity or honest remorse.

Pure Noise Records signed No Good News after concerns about Harry being a sexual predator became public. Not only was this clearly not seen as a reason not to sign the band, but Pure Noise has been working to stop fans from publicly speaking out against Harry. In one instance, according to AbsolutePunk, “the label have already told one fan to never buy another record from the label for calling attention to this”.

Pure Noise is not the only one enabling Harry’s grotesque behavior. John James “JJR” Ryan, who was formerly the tour manager of The Wonder Years, and is currently the tour manager of Four Year Strong, Transit and A Loss For Words, has also helped cover up the incident. Christian Holden of The Hotlier, is friends with the victim and has defended her. JJR has attempted to stop him from doing so and further uses her anonymity as a way to easily spread lies about her. He claims "she already reached out months ago, apologized, and took her things off the internet”, when sources who know her (i.e. Christian Holden and her friend who was original poster of her accusation) say otherwise.

Please do not support Pure Noise Records as a company. By all means, continue to support the bands on the label. It is possible to support a band but NOT the label. These days, most bands on indie labels sustain themselves almost exclusively from tours and merch sales, where their label doesn’t get a cut. All the more reason to attend more shows!

You should also unfollow Pure Noise Records on social media, and like/ follow the bands instead.

Take note of the artists below and their relationship to the situation and/ or Pure Noise. This list was borrowed from an AbsolutePunk thread:

Associate Pure Noise Acts include: Brigades Counterparts Elder Brother Forever Came Calling Four Year Strong Gates Gnarwolves Handguns Heart to Heart Hit the Lights Jule Vera Landscapes Like Pacific My Iron Lung No Bragging Rights Reggie and the Full Effect Rotting Out Seaway Senses Fail Sights and Sounds Speak Low if You Speak Love State Champs The Story So Far To The Wind Vanna Bands that Showed Support for Harry/Made Jokes Knuckle Puck (“Bullshit”) State Champs (“Tumblr Justice, baby”) The Story So Far Fireworks Handguns Seaway Second to Last I Call Fives A Loss For Words Four Year Strong Transit Turnover Bands Associated with JJR Four Year Strong (Current) Transit (Current) A Loss for Words (Breaking Up) The Wonder Years (They gave him the boot due to his support for Harry) East Coast Collective played a part in supporting Harry. JJR works for/ is closely associated with ECC. Mixtapefest is being sponsored by ECC. Please reach out to any bands on the lineup and make sure they are informed about the connection between ECC and the Harry/Pure Noise situation. 

I am deeply disappointed in the above artists (i.e. the middle category) for defending their friend rather than questioning if he is really as a good of a guy as he says. Many men in the industry, particularly musicians, have a poor track record of using their power to take advantage of women. This has been happening for years, and I think it’s time we turn our backs on those who abuse their power.  Boycotting those who defend assailants, like Pure Noise, helps ensure that situations like this do not happen to more young women.

My heart goes out to the victim. While she remains anonymous, we need to believe her and defend her. Her value as a human being should be seen as more important than the success of her abuser.

Again, it’s important to spread this information as far as we can: talk about this with people you know, tweet about it, post about it, or share mine. I will continue to update this post, if necessary.

by Zack Zarrillo

From Jake Round, owner of Pure Noise Records, regarding No Good News and Harry Corrigan : 

We appreciate that the community brings issues to our attention. It’s very clear that after the two unfortunate events that we’ve been through that better checks and balances within the all ages community are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone. In the future, Pure Noise will certainly be more thorough in it’s A&R dealings prior to signing a new artist. My own perspective about the changing all ages community is unique. I’ve been involved in punk rock for almost twenty years. I’m a cisgender, white, college educated male who has had all the privileges as such. I’ve been a supporter of liberal politics since I was in college and always supported the causes of women, minorities and the less fortunate. I’m also a survivor of habitual sexual abuse as a child. I am well aware the kind of trauma a negative sexual or physical experience can leave on a person and how it can resonate for decades. I’ve experienced it. It would be very easy for me to act swiftly and violently toward anyone who is guilty of any major discrepancy. As you can imagine, it’s not a subject that I like to spend time with. However, something that I’ve always liked about myself is that, usually, I can put my emotions aside and try to judge each situation judiciously and carefully and treat all parties involved in any situation with the humanity and respect they deserve. I take my time to do what I believe is the right thing which isn’t necessarily the easiest thing. As someone who’s given their life to punk rock I’m proud that the community is moving forward toward the advancement of all genders, sexualities, orientations etc. None of these things change over night but discussions like these open the door for a better, safer and more positive future for everyone.

by Zack Zarrillo

From Harry Corrigan: 

I’d like to address the event on July 23rd, 2012. I feel extremely remorseful about what happened that night. I am not apologizing because of public scrutiny, but because I treated someone incorrectly. I was insensitive and I was wrong.

This event has forever changed my view of what consent is. I was 19 at the time of the event and I’ve spent the last three years confused as to why people were upset with me because I knew in my heart I would never do anything to intentionally hurt someone.  I take full responsibility for being insensitive and misjudging the situation. I believed it was a consensual occurrence between two adults and in the heat of the moment I should have been more responsible and conscious of the parties involved. While I know I am not guilty of anything legally speaking, I apologize for my behavior and am taking action to become a better person. I became defensive and reacted insensitively to a delicate situation that needed far more care and thoughtfulness. For all of these things I apologize to everyone both directly & indirectly involved. In the three years since this event, I’ve reflected on my actions and have realized the negative impact it has had not only on those involved, but also on our community as a whole.

As a person, I hope that over time people will regain their trust and belief in me, and I understand that is something I must earn back. As a musician and artist, I want people who support No Good News to feel safe at our shows and in our scene. I hope this starts a dialogue within our community, not only about consent but the rights of everyone, all genders, and all sexualities, because this is a scene that is built on acceptance and open mindedness.

I want to make it clear that I take this event seriously. I will be stepping away from No Good News for awhile to take some time to reflect and work on myself as a person.

As a sign of good faith in my commitment to personal change, No Good News will be donating 100% of the net profits of our upcoming EP pre-order to The Safe Center LI, a non-profit agency that serves the victims of domestic abuse and child abuse.

I understand that no single statement can right the wrong that I’ve done and it’s only through my actions moving forward that I can hope to regain the support of the community I love so much.

by Zack Zarrillo

It was announced on May 1st that No Good News signed to Pure Noise Records. Harry Corrigan, formerly of Bellwether, is a member of the band. In November of 2013, Corrigan was accused of sexual assault. PropertyOfZack covered this story then, but you’ll notice today that those posts no longer exist on the website. Towards the end of last year, I removed the posts. The obvious question is: Why?

I made a very, very serious mistake. Several months ago, I was given information that indicated that the matter at hand had been settled between the two parties – which led to the decision to remove the posts about it from the site. Unfortunately, that information has turned out to either be false, or cloudy at best. Those posts, or any post that sheds light on serious matters, should never have been removed from the website. I was ignorant to the general situation at hand and did not consider the weight that small decisions can have on an entire community and how that affects the comfort and safety of others. It was easier for me remove the posts than it was to do the proper research, ask the necessary questions, and be patient instead of hasty.

The resulting dialogue from this situation has made it abundantly clear that I, and countless others, are not as educated and empathetic in the matters of equality, safety, consent, and community as we should be. Situations like this can be drastically damaging to an individual’s life and beyond that create bad examples for others to incorrectly follow.

Ten years ago, I found an online community with (mostly) open arms, and without it, my life would be much less fulfilling. If anything I’m part of can give someone else an entry point in this community, I would be proud. However, the inverse of that would be completely unsettling, and while I may have good intentions, I stumbled. I’ve received fair criticism for taking several days to post an acknowledgment of the above, and while I have other things taking place currently in my personal life, it’s hard for me to state just how much getting this right matters to me.

Over the coming days and weeks it is an incredible priority of mine to further educate myself on the subjects mentioned above, and to also share links on the website for others to read. Whether you’ve followed this story since November of 2013 or are seeing it brought up for the first time now - I believe we all have more to learn and consider. There is no excuse for removing the posts and I hope the future for our community is more progressive, empathetic, and understanding than it’s shown to be over the past week.

I’d like to further extend an apology to the victim of this ordeal, and to any others who may have experienced pain through my actions. I am deeply sorry, but also beyond aware that no apology will resolve this specific issue or the larger one at hand, nor will it erase or ease the harm that victims of sexual assault, in this situation or others, have endured.1

Thank you.