If you’re in a band these days it’s a bad idea to write, “Michael Brown died… And probably deserved it.” Also, don’t call people involved in the Baltimore, MD uprising, “dumb ass monkeys.” Even if you’re not in a band, it’s still a bad idea to write anything like that on that internet. Well, Lionfight bassist Bryan Patrick Cole did exactly that yesterday.
The remarks got the band a lot of coverage yesterday, but it’s not the sort of press any band wants. And that’s why Cole is no longer playing bass for Lionfight.
In a statement from the band:
“Today an ex band member of lionfight decided on his own to say some really shocking and racist remarks on his personal page. Not only did he offend many, including the other band members, he set back the social clock greatly by his ignorant remarks. We say ex because we cannot have that mindset and mouthpiece be a representative of us personally or what we’ve worked so damn hard for. Bryan will no longer be playing music with us. We love him like a brother and we will always be there to pick him up when he falls but we cannot move forward with him being a part of this. He made a really bad decision today and hopefully one day he will earn the forgiveness of each and every one of you, including ourselves.
As for lionfight, even though it was one band member with these opinions, the entire band took a major blow today. He was a part of lionfight and therefore the band was guilty by association. The lionfight name was all over the press today in a very disgusting light that DOES NOT accurately represent us personally or professionally. Regardless, something like this isn’t easily repaired. It may not even be repairable at all. It’s crazy to think how one moment can literally flip your world upside down. We apologize that this formal statement took us a while to post but it has taken us this long to even begin to gather our thoughts on what has happened today.”
The band is currently in Virginia right now finishing up recording an EP, and Cole just recently finished his bass tracks on their new album.
