Friday, May 18th, 10:30 am ET Update: According to Consequence of Sound, Dave Matthews Band released a statement on Thursday night officially distancing themselves from Tinsley, who they say is “no longer a member of the band.” DMB adds that they’re “shocked by these disturbing allegations and we were not previously aware of them.”
Today, Consequence of Sound released a chilling article detailing sexual misconduct allegations against Boyd Tinsley, the longtime violinist for Dave Matthews Band who announced his hiatus from the group earlier this year. In the extensive article, writer Jessica Lipsky details Tinsley’s relationship with James Frost-Winn, a 28-year-old Seattle-based trumpet player who formerly worked with Tinsley in the band Crystal Garden in 2015 and 2016. Frost-Winn filed a lawsuit against Tinsley in Washington State on May 17th seeking $9 million in damages and alleging that Tinsley created a “hostile work environment” in which sex-based demands were intertwined with the band’s success.
In the article, Frost-Winn details his relationship with the 54-year-old violinist, noting that they met in fall of 2007 when Frost-Winn was 18-years-old and homeless. Flattered by the mutual love of music and generosity Tinsley extended, Frost-Winn developed a friendship with Tinsley, who bought him and his friends dinners, car rides homes, and passes to Outside Lands Music Festival in 2009. After the Outside Lands Music Festival, Tinsley sent Frost-Winn a text calling him “sweet, tender, and innocent”—Frost-Winn claims that he rebutted the comments immediately and Tinsley apologized and said that “sometimes people do good things without expecting things in return” and “he wasn’t trying to hit on [Frost-Winn].”
The two remained in contact over the years, with Frost-Winn performing around the Bay Area. In 2014, Tinsley approached the trumpeter about creating a band of his own that would be the subject of a documentary, and the two men formed Crystal Garden in 2015. At Tinsley’s suggestion, Frost-Winn moved from San Francisco to Seattle to pursue the endeavor, and the band embarked on a tour. However, as reported by Consequence of Sound, Frost-Winn notes that the two men’s relationship changed, with Tinsley making increasingly inappropriate comments and requests, from joking about Frost-Winn performing oral sex on Tinsley in exchange for his gift of football tickets to requesting that Frost-Winn give Tinsley the pair of socks he was wearing.
After an explosive recording session where Tinsley “freaked out in seconds, grabbed this beautiful vintage guitar from the ’50s or ‘60s and smashed it to pieces” because bassist Charlie Csontos wasn’t following Tinsley’s directions, Frost-Winn took it upon himself to calm the Dave Matthews Band violinist down. As Consequence of Sound explains, “As Frost-Winn fell asleep on the couch in the studio, Tinsley allegedly touched his legs, rubbed his back, and put his feet on his buttocks.” Though annoyed, the trumpeter eventually fell asleep, though woke up to Tinsley masturbating next to him while touching his ass. While Frost-Winn was “freaked out” and “felt assualted,” Tinsley explained away his actions on a “pill mix-up,” and Frost-Winn forgave him but still remained wary.
Over time, Frost-Winn and Tinsley’s relationship mended, though the inappropriate requests continued, and “Frost-Winn felt powerless, like he had to shrug it off” because Tinsley was his boss. In text messages included in the Consequence of Sound article, Tinsley asks Frost-Winn to “take some pics and vids of yourself and send me? It’s really hot when you wear dirty socks, btw.”
More graphic, on March 18th, 2016, Tinsley sent the following text message to Frost-Winn:
Gonna take more pics of you. Let me know when the swelling is gone and your neck is better. Would like to do it next week. You’re such boner material and I want you at your best. I’m actually masterbating to the thought of your shots. Prob will have you shave your pubes, at least above the cock base. I want you sagging some, with it being obvious that you aren’t wearing underwear. Jeans are dirty, shirt is dirty, but your face and hair are immaculate. Angelic. You get the vibe We’re going for huge throbbing boner shit (wet pussy included). You are the dirty pretty boy of the band. I have to sexually exploit you as much as I can without looking like I’m sexually exploiting you. I’m in full jerk right now, catch you later.
Following these messages, the young trumpeter reevaluated the moment he caught Tinsley masturbating while touching him, leading him to quit Crystal Gardens and move back to the Bay Area.
On February 2nd, 2018, Tinsley announced that he would be leaving Dave Matthews Band. The date of Tinsley’s announcement coincided with the date that Frost-Winn’s first demand letter to settle his case against Tinsley for assault and harassment was issued. However, in his statement on Twitter, Tinsley offered the following explanation to blindsided fans, noting that he needed “to take a break from the band & touring 2 focus on my family & my health 4 a while. I will miss you guys & my brothers in the band but I’m somewhat worn out & need 2 spend more time with my family & 2 bring more balance to my life.”
Earlier in the week, Dave Matthews addressed Tinsley’s departure in an interview with Vulture. While Matthews expressed his “deep love for Boyd,” he was vague about the prospect of Tinsley returning and hinted that the violinist’s departure might not be as simple as Tinsley’s previous statements on focusing on health and family. Matthews elaborated,
He has to deal with his stuff. In many ways, I’m sure it would’ve been a lot easier for him to just say, “I’m good. Let’s go play.” But you can’t just throw yourself away, your wellness away, because you play violin in a band. It doesn’t make any sense to do that. … I can’t say, ‘I can’t wait till he comes back,’ because I don’t know what’s going to happen. … But right now being away is better for him. Nobody is happy about this situation. Except that we’re happy he can figure some stuff out. I hope he does. But I’m going to miss having that whirling-dervish Adonis-Muppet over there on my right. I know the audience is, too. But we can’t serve that desire.
This story will continue to unfold. You can read Consequence Of Sound’s extensive detailing of James Frost-Winn’s allegations against Boyd Tinsley here.