Members of Fire When Ready were attacked by a group of around 15 people after their show in North Carolina on January 6th. The band members are now recovering at a friend's house in South Carolina and have opted out of playing the next three shows (Myrtle Beach, Summerville and Orlando) on their tour with Anterrabae. They plan on continuing the tour as soon as they're back up to speed.
We want to tell you guys what happened last night before you hear too many rumors. We played a show in Greensboro, NC last night. During the show we were assaulted by a group of about 15 guys. We have a variety of injuries that we are trying to let heal right now. Brandon has a large gash on the back of his head, a busted nose, some of his front teeth were kicked in, glass in his head and back, a large gash on his back, two busted lips, and a variety of other bruises and cuts. Justin has glass in his head and back, a large gash on the side of his head, some bruised ribs, and a large cut on his back. Steve, Travis, and Jesse (our new merch guy) have some bruised ribs, cut lips, and a few other cuts and bruises. We want to assure you guys that we are going to be ok. Some of these injuries have been treated already. Brandon may need to see a doctor in the next day or so for his teeth and head.
A friend of ours started a PayPal account to help us pay medical expenses. I am told it has circulated around the internet quite a bit. We want to let you guys know that we are not going to plea with you to donate to us. We know there are a lot of other more important causes to give your money to. Your emails and phone calls have done much more then money can do. If you have given money already we appreciate it. We love you guys!
We are going to do our best to try and explain why this happened. It is hard to make sense of something this ignorant and stupid. Earlier in the show, there were things done that upset us. Without going into much detail we had to sit through all kinds of prejudicial language and other ridiculous actions most of the night. During the set Brandon spoke out against specific negative things that had happened to kids that night. About mid-set Brandon jokingly spoke out about a large group of people who had left as soon as we started playing. I am sure he will tell you more about this at a later time. During the last song, about 15 people came in from outside. They attacked Brandon and knocked him to the floor. Justin stepped in to defend him and after a little while they were able to knock him to the floor as well. For about a minute Brandon and Justin were punched, kicked, and basically stomped. Travis, Jesse, Steve, and some members of the other bands on tour with us were able to finally stop the assault. We left the club soon after.
Our band will never support violence of ANY kind at ANY show. We do not care whether it is directed at us or someone else. We will not remain quiet when we see or hear things that are blatantly wrong and hateful. We do not support homophobia, degradation of women, racism, or any other predatory behavior that is becoming more and more prevalent in the scene. We won't back down from our beliefs and we won't ever stop speaking against any injustice. We don't ask for your pity or money, we just ask for awareness and progress. We also don't wish any harm physically or verbally to the guys who hurt us. We just want you guys to think before you act, we promise we'll do the same.
Love,
Your wound-licking friends,
fire when ready