SUNVIEW, Ariz. — A local punk scene is committing to their decision to keep well-known abuser and the only keyboardist anyone knows, Matt Hulls, in their graces, according to sources.
“We’ve heard the accusations and are definitely holding him accountable. In fact, just yesterday I shook my finger very vigorously at him. All this manipulation, aggression, gaslighting, and violence are really going to get in the way of his music. Without his music career, how will he uphold unfair power dynamics within the scene?” commented Richards. “We know hundreds of guitar players, worse guitar players who stick to bass, and drummers, but Matt is the only keyboardist. As you can see, our hands are tied. It’d be one thing if we were some big city scene with two keyboard players, but it is what it is.”
Recent collaborators with Hulls, noir-punk band Bathwater, have weighed their options.
“Ok so, Matt isn’t like a ‘bad,’ bad guy. He’s a staple of this community. It’s all about separating the abuser from the art,” reports Bathwater’s vocalist Eric ‘Phlegm’ Cordova. “Honestly, those 17 women that came out against him are playing into this cancel culture trend. Bathwater’s female bassist, Ashley Holland, is willing to not make a fuss about it. Girls like her actually want to protect the scene. Also, no one else cool responded to my Instagram story when we were looking for someone to hop on the synth for the new album, No Boundaries, dropping on Spotify on January 31st.”
Despite frequent overlooking of Hulls’ predatory behavior, many in the scene stand against his inclusion.
“Scott made a lot of money selling ‘Punch a Rapist,’ ‘No Space For Abusers,’ and ‘Punk’ Support Women’ patches and stickers. The zine alone about consent cost 20 bucks,” said local punk Lisa Escarra. “Matt Hulls worked the merch table, and now I am the one canceled for flipping the plastic folded table onto him just like the zine told me to do. I don’t get it, I listen to like, two bands ever that feature a keyboard player, I’m not sure why every single band in our town needs an organ solo all of a sudden.”
At press time, several women within the scene were told to “go learn a real instrument” after stating that they also play keyboard.