Sydney band Sticky Fingers appeared on triple j’s current affairs program Hack last night, with host Tom Tilley interviewing the band about their reputation for aggression, violence, drunken behaviour, verbal abuse and physical intimidation.
The twelve-minute segment saw Tilley grill the band further on the statements they’ve made publicly regarding their behaviour, particularly the allegations that frontman Dylan Frost made racist comments at a live show by Indigenous metal band Dispossessed in 2016, and the alleged intimidation of another artist and her partner.
Guitarist Paddy Cornwall did most of the talking, while Frost was audibly uncomfortable and, most crucially, unable to articulate exactly what he was apologising for.
While Tilley tried to get specifics out of the band, the best they could do was that there had been “fights” with “lads”, and there were also several references to “alcoholic behaviour”.
Frost hasn’t publicly referred to himself as an alcoholic, exactly. He did state in 2016 that he was seeking treatment for alcohol addiction. Taking ownership of the label is an important and very difficult step in the recovery process – but using it as a descriptor of his behaviour keeps accountability at arm’s length while invoking the disease.
Frost also referred to being diagnosed with “bipolar schizophrenia”, which is not a recognised medical diagnosis but is often used as an informal term for schizoaffective disorder.
He should seek much, much better advice on how to discuss his health conditions publicly, if he or those around him feel he must do so for the sake of the band’s image.
All that aside, the fact that “boys will be boys” and “s**t happens” – the eternal rhetorical retreats of dudes who don’t want to admit they’ve f**ked up – were brought out of the Museum Of Toxic Masculinity glass case where they’ve rightly been relegated speaks volumes, and this wasn’t lost on listeners.
A few of the responses on the triple j Hack Facebook post about the interview.
Part of the problem is that only those two incidents have been made public, while the rest of their problematic reputation is an iceberg of private confidences, personal interactions, music industry open secrets, and Sydney pub chatter – most of which currently exists below the waterline of responsible reporting, regardless of veracity.
Frost, the band and their supporters (including a now-deleted post by the organisers of Bad Friday festival) have on various occasions referred to “lies” and “misinterpretations” that seem to nod to those rumours. The surface, however, is all that most Sticky Fingers fans will see.
Frost is known by sight and reputation, if not by name, at multiple Newtown venues large and small – and has, according to sources, been removed and banned from at least one establishment in the area for aggressive behaviour in the past two months.
If that was an isolated incident, that would be one thing, but it’s potentially part of a pattern. And if his reported sobriety and mental health treatments aren’t helping him refrain from that kind of behaviour, he’s not ready to dive back into the work of being in a band and playing live, and he certainly hasn’t done the work of rehabilitating himself from the exact behaviours and attitudes he’s currently on an apology tour for.
Even listeners who appeared sympathetic to Frost’s increasingly public struggle with substance issues and his mental health seemed to agree the interview didn’t help things, and the band moved swiftly to try (unsuccessfully) to defuse the instant, negative response to the “boys will be boys” comment – but in fact just doubled down, and even suggested that they feel they’re being bullied.
The interview brought light to nothing but their resentment for the fact that they can’t just promote their new music and leave everything else in the past, and in the shadows.
And the fans wondering whether the “debaucherous rock’n’roll band” they love have a dark side that goes beyond “boys being boys” – whatever that’s supposed to mean in 2018 – they clearly won’t get straight answers any time soon.
If any part of this story brings up issues for you regarding substance abuse, mental health, trauma, or anything else, please contact Lifeline on 131114 or call 1800 RESPECT. Both are free and available 24/7.