Beach Slang part ways with guitarist Ruben Gallego following sexual assault allegations

Beach Slang have posted a statement to Facebook revealing that sexual assault allegations against their guitarist Ruben Gallego had surfaced, and that “although this occurred four years ago and prior to him joining Beach Slang, we cannot in good conscience continue with him.” Here’s the full statement:

For us, Beach Slang has always been and will always be a safe place for everyone. It was built to be welcoming. It was built to be soft. If we are going to continue to exist, we have to exist in this way.
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. We believe survivors and we want to believe Ruben, but until we learn more information, we don’t feel it’s appropriate for him to be a part of Beach Slang.

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.

Given the timing of this, our only option is to play as Quiet Slang (James solo acoustic). I mean, giving up never seems to fix things. Maybe today, we can start putting some stuff back together. The Bleached Slang tour starts tonight in Washington, DC. Maybe that’s a good place to start.

Keep each other safe,
Beach Slang

UPDATE: Ruben now gave his own statement to Pitchfork:

I’d like to say that what’s important to me is that people stand with survivors and that we continue to foster an environment where people aren’t afraid to speak out against their abusers.

Although I do feel like what’s being said about me is inaccurate it’s irrelevant. I think it’s totally possible for people to see a situation completely differently and if this person feels I harmed them then that’s what I care about and I want to make that right.

I also care deeply about how this affects other victims of sexual assault specifically the ones who attend Beach Slang shows and felt that sticking around would further isolate them.

James [Alex] and Ed [McNulty] are the sweetest most caring people I’ve ever known and I feel they did the right thing and I will always support them.

This comes a few months after the band parted ways with drummer JP Flexner.

The tour already hit NYC for two shows. Updated dates are listed below.

Beach Slang released A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings earlier this year.

Beach Slang — 2016 Tour Dates
Oct 11 Black Cat (w/ Bleached) Washington, DC
Oct 12 SHAKA’S LIVE (w/ Bleached) Virginia Beach, VA
Oct 13 New Brookland Tavern (w/ Bleached) West Columbia, SC
Oct 14 Backbooth (w/ Bleached) Orlando, FL
Oct 15 Jack Rabbits (w/ Bleached) Jacksonville, FL
Oct 16 Masquerade (Hell) (w/ Bleached) Atlanta, GA
Oct 18 Mercy Lounge (w/ Bleached) Nashville, TN
Oct 19 Zanzabar (w/ Bleached) Louisville, KY
Oct 20 The Southgate Revival (w/ Bleached) Newport, KY
Oct 21 Grog Shop (w/ Bleached) Cleveland, OH
Oct 22 Cattivo (w/ Bleached) Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 24 Rumba Cafe (w/ Bleached) Columbus, OH
Oct 25 The Bishop (w/ Bleached) Bloomington, IN
Oct 26 Old Rock House (w/ Bleached) St Louis, MO
Oct 28 Triple Rock Social Club (w/ Bleached) Minneapolis, MN
Oct 29 Codfish Hollow Barn (w/ Bleached) Maquoketa, IA
Oct 30 Reverb Lounge (w/ Bleached) Omaha, NE
Oct 31 The Tank Room (w/ Bleached) Kansas City, MO
Nov 01 George’s Majestic Lounge (w/ Bleached) Fayetteville, AR
Nov 02 89th Street Collective (w/ Bleached) Oklahoma City, OK
Nov 04 Sound on Sound Fest Austin, TX
Nov 05 Sherwood Forest Faire Mcdade, TX
Nov 07 Mono Glasgow, United Kingdom
Nov 08 Scala London, United Kingdom
Nov 09 Brudenell Social Club Leeds, United Kingdom
Nov 10 The Haunt Brighton, United Kingdom
Nov 11 Le Guess Who? Festival Utrecht, Netherlands
Nov 12 Witloof Room Brussels, Belgium
Nov 13 Knust Hamburg, Germany
Nov 14 LUX Hanover, Germany
Nov 15 Lido Berlin, Germany
Nov 17 Conne Island Leipzig, Germany
Nov 18 Chelsea Bezirk Ottakring, Austria
Nov 19 Albani Winterthur, Switzerland
Nov 20 Ampere Munich, Germany
Nov 21 Sputnikhalle Muenster, Germany
Nov 22 Gebaude 9 Cologne, Germany
Nov 23 La Maroquinerie Paris, France
Nov 25 La 2 d’Apollo Barcelona, Spain
Nov 26 Moby Dick Madrid, Spain