Up until last night, we had known that Will has a history of being promiscuous, but we had no reason to believe that any of his experiences were anything but consensual. We did not feel it was unsafe bringing Will into show spaces. We did not see him as a threat to our friends and fans. We trusted him and brought him with us as a part of our team, all over the world.

All of that has changed very quickly. As soon as we learned the details of Will's abusive behavior, we bought him a plane ticket home to Chicago. He is flying from Dublin in the morning. He is leaving our current tour, and we will no longer bring him into show spaces, including our gig tonight in Dublin.

Will is no longer a member of Dowsing. We find his behavior completely unacceptable and we refuse to endorse him or to work with him any longer.

Dowsing is a big part of our lives and will continue to be. Over the past two and a half years, the band has been the most involved and active it's ever been. We take the band's second life with much gratitude. Having said that, Will does not define our music or this band, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that the memory of Will does not define our band going forward. We want people to feel safe at our shows and to have fun and to share an experience with us free from any anxiety or discomfort. We hope that we've taken the steps necessary to ensure that this can happen.

As for the future, we are going to press on and finish the remaining 2.5 weeks of this European tour. We will then return to the USA and play the run we booked down to Fest. We'll be borrowing a member from Ratboys for the rest of the shows on these tours.

Beyond everything, we want to extend our support to any and all victims of sexual, psychological and physical abuse. Every human being on this earth deserves to be treated with respect and kindness and empathy, and we seek to live that truth every day. The victim we referenced earlier in this post has asked us to withhold the details of their experience - we have done our best to ensure their wellbeing, and at this point they just want to move on.

One last thing: we would like to humbly ask that you consider everyone's humanity in this situation, including Will's. We do not ask that you excuse his actions - we do not ask that you forgive him. He deserves to suffer the consequences of his actions and to be forced to fully reckon with what he has done. With that being said, we are all human beings. Will has made attempts to commit suicide throughout his life. He suffers from severe manic depression and bipolar disorder. He does not deserve to lose his life over this. His mental illness is not an excuse for what he has done - it is a part of the story. We have taken steps to ensure that he is entering a treatment facility as soon as he touches down in Chicago. We want to make sure that he has a chance to reckon with his mistakes in a restorative way, so that he can work on himself one day at a time and eventually contribute positivity to the world.

We know that it's possible that some might dismiss this final point as apologist or victim-blaming, but we consider it differently: no human being deserves to lose their life over a poor decision. Over a disgusting, fucked up choice. We absolutely decry what Will has done, and we also insist that, as a human being, he has a basic right to live through the suffering he has caused. The victim's liaison we've spoken with fully agrees with us on this point. We ask you to reflect on this complexity with us.

We hope that you know that we have done our best to make things right. We want to act with sensitivity and to honor the victim, our fans and the DIY music community as a whole. If you have any concerns regarding our handling of this situation, please email us at [email protected] Otherwise, we're excited to journey on and explore some new territory together during these final 4 weeks of tour. We hope to see you and to enjoy the music together with you.

all the best,
-Erik, Mike P and Mikey