Gel Break Up Over Guitarist’s Alleged “Heinous Acts”
File this story under “what the actual fuck?!” because New Jersey hardcore act Gel are calling it quits and it’s got to be based on some of the more outrageous allegations I’ve heard in this gig.
As you may recall, Gel has been tearing it up lately, putting out a new EP Persona last August and landing on some pretty big tours like their upcoming one with Spiritbox and Volbeat throughout the rest of the year. Things were looking up for the band until suddenly over the weekend, they were playing their final show ever in Japan and fans were left wondering what could have killed a band with so much promise so quickly.
It turns out, some pretty fucked up shit allegedly happened involving their former guitarist Anthony Webster. And we’re talking shit like allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the band’s own coffers to pay for personal expenses (and OnlyFans purchases…), driving recklessly and putting the band into “physically dangerous situations numerous times,” and — here’s the kicker — posting nude photos of the band on the internet without their consent. If any of this shit is true, it’s real bad.
It’s all explained in a lengthy statement posted by the band itself on social media, that you can read in full below:
“Hey everyone, friends and fans – Gel is no longer a band, and therefore will not be playing any of our currently scheduled upcoming shows. The reason is pretty simple at its core; the former guitar player, Anthony Webster, has committed such heinous acts in trying to forward himself in his musical career that he’s done irreparable damage to the band in the process, and it’s affected us as human beings more than we can even attempt to explain, to the point of being completely unable to do the band anymore. Here are some examples of what he’s done:
“He’s stolen tens of thousands of dollars from us, and the best part is that he left it all on record for us to eventually find. He spent it on his own rent, personal food orders, and really whatever else he wanted to, because for a long period of time, no one had access to the bank account (or any accounts for that matter) but him, despite numerous attempts to gain access, because you know, we’re a band, and we should have all had access to those things. Oh yeah, he also spent it on a truly unbelievable number of OnlyFans purchases and mysterious CashApp transactions, likely in the same lane.
“He posted nude images of band members on Reddit for the world to see. Yup, just casually, for who knows what purpose. Let that one really sink in. He did that all while still in a band with us too, by the way. Luckily, he’s truly terrible at covering up his tracks, so we have the receipts to prove that one too.
“He put us in physically dangerous situations numerous times. From talking shit on the band Twitter and getting our van window smashed in with a baseball bat, to regularly driving erratically like a psychopath because he was “upset” for again, who knows what reason (oh yeah…. he wouldn’t let anyone else drive either by the way, so we just had to deal with it), and throwing things at us because he’s a little fucking baby and can’t handle himself like an adult, it was always the same with him. Absolute misery and inconsideration for anyone and everyone around him (well, except for the people who he wanted to impress and would feign being a nice guy to…LOL).
“Now, I’m sure a lot of people are thinking, well why didn’t you just stop dealing with it? Why didn’t you just leave? If you’ve ever been in abusive relationship, emotionally and / or physically, you’ll probably understand this better. It’s like that, but with your life’s work and passion at the forefront as well. It’s not so easy to just give something up that you care so much about, especially with pressures from outside organizations, people, etc that are all counting on you in some way. We wish that this could have all been easier, and we wish that it didn’t have to end this way – we’re fighters though, and we saw it through to the very end, until it simply couldn’t go on anymore. And we’re proud of that.
“On that note, we’d like to send our most sincere and deepest apologies to anyone who this is affecting on a personal level and beyond. We know so many people were counting on us, including Spiritbox, Volbeat, our good friends in Anxious – we are so sorry that we have to end it this way and we truly hope for the best for all of you. Thank you so much to the friends we’ve made over the years, and thank you so much to our fans for always being there for us and showing us how much you care. Take care of each other, and love your friends.”
