UPDATE March 7, 2024: Escuela Grind’s former tour supervisor Chris Cotter has responded to the allegations made in opposition to him by the band’s former bus driver Future Hopper in a press release offered to Loudwire. Learn the total assertion towards the underside of the web page.
Why is everybody speaking concerning the Escuela Grind feud? There’s been a number of dialogue on-line about them the previous few days, so we will try to break down what is going on on with them.
Escuela Grind are a hardcore band that fashioned in Massachusetts in 2016, although they have been formally simply generally known as Escuela till 2019. Till just lately, the group consisted of vocalist Katerina Economou, drummer Jesse Fuentes, bassist and guitarist Krissy Morash and guitarist Tom Sifuentes. Nevertheless, Sifuentes introduced his departure from the group final week.
Now, there are different claims surfacing on-line concerning the band, a few of which they’ve addressed. There’s some explosive backwards and forwards between members and their driver as effectively.
Evidently, there’s loads being stated about Escuela Grind proper now, so we will do our greatest to elucidate what’s occurring.
Why Did Tom Sifuentes Go away Escuela Grind?
Sifuentes shared a press release on his Instagram on Feb. 16 asserting the band’s subsequent two performances as his final with them.
“I used to be knowledgeable I’m being changed after mentioning some security issues,” he wrote. “It was a fucking honor exerting each ounce of vitality I had for you, all these exhibits. I used to be gettin busy [not gonna lie]! The best occasions although, above all else, was assembly all of you! My new buddies. You all pulled me in and bought me on this life once more after a few years away from heavy music. Till subsequent time you murfuggers! [sic]”
The feedback on the put up have since been disabled, however somebody posted a screenshot of some feedback earlier than they have been turned off on Reddit. One particular person wrote on Sifuentes’ put up that it is “form of lame” that he was let go after voicing security issues, and he replied that there is no drama between him and the band.
“I introduced it up, and tried to handle how the opposite members did not care my security/listening to was jeopardized carelessly, and as an alternative they needed to make excuses for the opposite member. I used to be battled at each step for actually attempting to not have it occur once more,” he elaborated.
“And in response, it was advised I used to be whining and ‘killing the vibe.’ Then was advised, ‘We’re in search of a substitute in any case.’ However that is it.”
What Did Escuela Grind’s Tour Driver Say Concerning the Band?
A number of days after Sifuentes shared the information of his departure from the band, their former tour bus driver wrote a put up on Instagram describing her expertise working with the band, stating that there was a number of “mistreatment all through the whole tour.”
“I saved my mouth shut the place I might, and simply hung in there till I noticed an exit. I regarded loopy on the web for a second pushing individuals till I obtained some type of apology. However, the apologies by no means got here, I by no means obtained paid in full, you kicked my greatest homie out of the band, and also you clowns are in your method house. So let’s fucking get it,” she wrote.
The motive force referred to as out members of the band individually, together with Fuentes, whom she stated is “trash,” and additional accused him of sexually harassing her daily. She additionally alleged that the band’s tour supervisor, Chris Kotter, flirted along with her “nonstop” and referred to as him a “predator.”
“Katerina, it’s disgusting to me that you’d get up there on stage each night time and fake to be a voice for the women, gays, and theys however you didn’t advocate for a single one which I noticed. Bizarre. You permit Jesse to break your band’s status and actually everybody’s psychological well being that I noticed. However, I’m only a fucking driver, what do I do know,” she continued, a comment that was directed at Economou.
“Tom, Ryan, and Krissy. I want you all one of the best. I imply that. Love and respect y’all,” she concluded in a touch upon the put up.
What Did Escuela Grind Say in Response to the Claims?
Morash responded to the tour driver’s claims in a touch upon her put up, primarily accusing her of failing to do her job appropriately.
“We have been glad to allow you to go as a result of not solely did you lie about with the ability to park trailers, you let your feelings impact your driving capabilities, aggressively driving behind/yelling at different vehicles (we’ve got had buddies get their vans SHOT at for this) you weren’t getting relaxation for lengthy drives and selected to social gathering with different bands and drink earlier than we left venues,” Morash stated.
The bassist added that the band was extraordinarily accommodating for the motive force, noting the Airbnbs that they rented whereas on tour so that everybody can be snug.
“Day 3 in D.C. after damaging our van, we nonetheless confirmed you’re keen on and compassion. Jesse sat and talked to you for hours within the chilly as a result of we believed in you. To show round and never think about any of this exhibits your true habits and it’s disheartening,” Morash went on.
“I’m not feeling the love and respect you’re portraying to a small group of this band on social media. I bit my lip and waited to even say something about this as a result of it wasn’t anyones enterprise and I thought of you have been perhaps going by way of one thing in your private life. Whereas I’m nonetheless grateful for taking day trip of your life to assist us I hope you discover different methods to cope with your incompetence sooner or later.”
What Are Folks Saying About Escuela Grind?
Lots of people are discussing the drama surrounding Escuela Grind on social media, with some commenting on the band’s Instagram posts and others taking to Reddit and X (previously Twitter) to share their sentiments.
“The Escuela Grind discourse is one other instance of a buncha individuals pretending to love a painfully sub-mid band that was by no means good as a result of they’d ‘the suitable politics,’ solely to now say they have been by no means good due to some controversy. That is my most undefeated take,” one individual wrote on X.
Others have apparently found that Fuentes is a freemason, with one individual sharing a photograph of his induction into the society again in 2016.
“Is it such a shock {that a} dude who has stolen hundreds of {dollars} from acts resembling Goolagoon, Mellow Harsher, Sick/Drained, and dozens extra; churned and burned guitarists who did not wish to be company entities in music; hurled ‘F—-t’ and ‘N—-r’ at of us and in dialog solely to defend himself with, ‘I am a a tex-mex queer. It is okay.’ is not an amazing individual?” they wrote within the caption.
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“Anyhow — I’ve sat on this picture for six+ years. Here is Jesse with Escuela’s monetary traders at Jesse’s Free Mason induction ceremony.”
Escuela Grind’s Former Tour Supervisor Chris Cotter Responds to Allegations
On March 5, Loudwire acquired a press release from Cotter by way of his lawyer relating to the allegations made in opposition to him. Learn it in full under.
I’ve just lately turn into conscious of allegations made in opposition to me by Future Hopper, generally known as @nosenachos on Instagram, who labored as a driver for the band Escuela throughout a tour that I managed.
It deeply pains me to see her expertise recounted in such a distressing method. I wish to deal with these allegations with transparency and sincerity.
At the start, I wish to acknowledge that I acknowledged the poisonous dynamics inside the band Escuela nearly instantly. This consciousness made it very troublesome to acknowledge Future’s misery, particularly contemplating the mutual confiding in one another of our frustrations about the best way we have been each being handled. To me, it felt as if we leaned on one another, mutually accepting the state of affairs as undesirable, however neither of us needed to disrupt the tour.
I wish to present context relating to Future Hopper’s public feedback relating to our relationship throughout the tour. After she was faraway from the motive force’s function, she referred to me as an “advocate, buddy, and copilot,” expressing gratitude for my help even when she did not ask for it. Given this response, I by no means thought that something I did or stated, or that any interactions between the 2 of us, have been inappropriate. These are her phrases, and I’ve textual content messages to display these assertions ought to anybody want to see them.
It is very distressing to me that she perceived my interactions at any level as predatory, and I take this very critically. It hurts me to listen to that somebody I cared about, shared nice and fantastic moments with, and actively advocated on behalf of, might be so damage. I do at all times try and be conscious of my function as a male in interactions with these of different genders. At one level, simply moments previous to her being fired, she advocated for me in a profound method. I used to be so pissed off and upset with how I used to be being handled at this level and felt like dissociating, my psychological state was beginning to turn into compromised with exhaustion and stress. Future acknowledged that I wanted assist and texted the band these precise phrases:
“We’re about to move again to the venue from the U-Haul place. There’s nothing we will do concerning the trailer for tonight. Additionally, Chris had advocated for me at occasions after I was too emotionally exhausted to talk for myself, so I’m advocating for him proper now, he wants a psychological break. He’s fully fried. He will lay down within the bunk till it’s time for him to stand up, and his presence is completely vital.”
This was in the end what obtained her fired, this was the final straw for the band. After this outburst of care and compassion for me, the band let her go together with the intention of leaving her to seek out her personal method house, hundreds of miles away from Florida. If it wasn’t for Bongniator, she would have been fully stranded with no method house and no place to remain. The band even went so far as canceling her flight, in order that she could not have rescheduled it to get house. I didn’t approve of any of those actions, however was clearly powerless to cease them.
Along with the dynamics noticed throughout the tour, direct communication from Future herself additional underscores her openness to addressing any discomfort or points inside our relationship. A textual content message she despatched to me after she was let go reads, “If it wasn’t figuring out or one thing makes you uncomfortable, simply say it.” This message not solely highlights her proactive method to resolving conflicts, but additionally suggests a mutual understanding of the significance of clear and clear communication. That textual content was according to the tenor of our relationship on the whole; I felt as if we had a really open line of communication, and did have boundaries that have been mutually revered. I’m upset to listen to that Future felt I didn’t respect hers.
Regrettably, regardless of Future’s express invitation for open dialogue, I failed to totally acknowledge the extent of her discomfort and misery. This oversight on my half is one thing I deeply remorse and acknowledge as a failure to prioritize her well-being extra. It’s clear that Future felt trapped in a state of affairs she discovered uncomfortable, and rightly so. I deeply remorse that I did not see the extent of her misery. I ought to have been extra attentive to the advanced nature of our relationship and the discomfort it prompted, slightly than simply her wants and issues. I used to be centered on maintaining her from getting thrown out of the van on the facet of the street, or left at a resort and not using a room. There have been many issues being stated within the van that made not solely Future however myself uncomfortable.
To be blunt, the language and habits occurring within the tour van and within the band group chat was lewd, and infrequently sexually charged. All events, myself and Future included, made many crude jokes, shared vulgar sexual memes, and brazenly mentioned sexual subjects. The one individual to voice discomfort about this was me. In actual fact, everybody appeared to benefit from the bawdy humor, and took part. From studying Future’s put up, it’s fairly clear this may increasingly not have been the case, and I wish to formally apologize if something I stated totally in jest was perceived in a harassing or inappropriate method. I personal my function right here; I participated in low forehead humor, willingly, with out being totally thoughtful of anybody else’s emotions. The environment on tour appeared permissive to this, and if I misinterpret anybody’s emotions, I’m actually sorry.
Nevertheless, I did voice my discomfort to the band with the extreme sexual humor at many factors. One occasion that stands out is after I requested the band within the inexperienced room at Reggie’s in Chicago to chorus from making sexual jokes referring to me getting pegged, or utilizing inappropriate nicknames, like “Creamy Chris.” in entrance of others. Sadly, I used to be met with laughter from the band members and felt humiliated on this second, making it clear that addressing such points can be met with resistance within the poisonous setting that already existed. I remorse not pushing tougher to handle these issues. These points started a lot earlier on, and manifested into the band writing “creamy Chris” on the trailer as you’ll be able to see within the hooked up picture.
It is price noting that Future’s desire for money fee over digital strategies like Venmo or Zelle could have contributed to confusion relating to compensation throughout the tour. Whereas the band acknowledged they have been keen to accommodate her desire, solely after my insistence that anybody who did work for them be compensated, she clearly felt that they didn’t intend to pay her. It seems to me as effectively, that they didn’t intend to, and that their guarantees of mailing her money on the finish of tour could have been false.
I have to additionally deal with the dynamic between Future and myself on one different degree. All through the tour, I perceived combined alerts relating to her romantic curiosity in me. I don’t blame her for this in any way; how I interpret issues is totally my very own fault. I didn’t really feel as if I had a transparent image relating to her emotions in the direction of me. At one level In El Paso I used to be so confused that I requested Future Hopper if there was something happening between the 2 of us and she or he acknowledged that “I really like you platonically,” which was a really clear message on the time. It is unlucky that this occurred so late in our time collectively, as she was let go just some days later. All of our different interactions after this second have been undoubtedly platonic. The second she set a transparent boundary, I not solely revered it, however appreciated the readability it introduced.
As Future departed the tour, she despatched me quite a few texts (of which I’m glad to supply copies) thanking me for my function, and addressing me as if I have been her buddy and ally, primarily in opposition to the band. It’s with nice confusion that I learn her assertion, calling me predatory, as her phrases, on to me, appear fairly contradictory to that. I don’t want to reconcile the distinction in her phrases to me and her assertion. Her emotions are legitimate, no matter they’re, as is my confusion because of the distinction.
In conclusion, it’s essential that we deal with the problematic nature of the insular points inside the band and the poisonous dynamics that have been going down, in addition to the best way the band’s following has reacted to all of this. I actually don’t imagine that she had any intentions to do anybody any hurt or trigger any foul when she made that put up, I do not know what her intentions have been. I wish to emphasize that my intention is to not undermine Future’s credibility or invalidate her experiences. I acknowledge that the tradition inside the band Esculea was poisonous and unprofessional, contributing to a hostile work setting that affected everybody concerned. I acknowledge my half as effectively; that I didn’t use my voice to advocate for myself or anybody else, and that I contributed to this poisonous setting by making inappropriate jokes. I failed to handle the issues that made me us uncomfortable, waited too lengthy to hunt clarification from her on the standing of our relationship, was too centered on my notion of her wants and issues, as an alternative of the stress she was underneath, spoke along with her in ways in which could have made her really feel uncomfortable at occasions and put her able the place she felt she needed to play together with me so as to get the result she wanted to remain protected.
I’m deeply regretful for all of this, and don’t intend to contact Future ever once more, however will surely be receptive ought to she attain out to carry me accountable. Regardless of the accusations made in opposition to me, Esculea will proceed to function, which underscores the insular nature of the group surrounding the band, and the those who assist them make it occur.
Clearly, I’m now not related to Escuela by my very own selecting, and want nothing greater than to not be related to them in any method. I’m chargeable for my very own actions, however the toxicity of the setting round them is solely their doing.
Sincerely, Chris Cotter
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