In case you haven’t read the latest issue of People, The Disco Biscuits have a new drummer. But before the band installed Marlon Lewis (Star Kitchen) behind the kit, Disco Biscuits guitarist/vocalist Jon “Barber” Gutwillig gave the band’s drummer of 20 years, Allen Aucoin, his walking papers in an extremely public way, issuing the since-deleted diss track, “I don’t talk”, on SoundCloud. Barber has since issued an apology for the track, only for progtronic sh*t-starters lespecial to “cover” the apology at a concert that same evening.
Barber shared an apology on Instagram Friday, writing, “I’ll cut right to the chase: I want to apologize to Allen, to the fans, and to my band for releasing ‘I don’t talk.’ It doesn’t matter what led up to my emotional reaction and choice to share this song publicly, all that matters is that it was hurtful to both Allen and everyone else involved. Emotions were running high, rumors were flying and I felt the need to defend the Biscuits and to set the record straight that our decision to part with Allen was personal and creative more than anything else. That information could have been delivered in a much more professional and compassionate way.
“Our intention was for an amicable split,” he continued. “That didn’t happen for many reasons, many of which were out of our control. I can only stand up and be accountable for the part of that which I was responsible for, and that’s why I’m writing this note to everyone now. I hope that you can accept my apology, and that we can get back to the mission of making the craziest music of all time. Love, Jon”
Hours later, lespecial took the stage at the Warehouse on Watts on The Disco Biscuits’ home turf of Philadelphia. The show was just the second night of the band’s ongoing tour with Yheti, celebrating their cross-genre collaboration, LIMINOID. While the show featured plenty of selections from their new joint album with the experimental bass DJ, The Outernet, bassist and semi-professional troll Luke Bemand got on the mic for something new.
In an autotuned voice, Bemand began reading off his phone, “I’ll cut right to the chase…” He then proceeded to read Barber’s apology in its entirety, amid distant, brooding, minor synth notes. The bassist kept a straight face through it all, as serious as if he were reciting his own lyrics, all the way through “Love, Jon.”
Watch lespecial “cover” Jon Barber’s apology to former drummer Allen Aucoin, The Disco Biscuits, and fans for the release of his diss track “I don’t talk”. The Biscuits have since made their live debut with Lewis at Hulaween, with headlining dates following throughout the Southeast. The band is due to perform tonight, November 8th, at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Only time will tell if the show—or LIMINOID’s concert tonight at the Baltimore Soundstage, some 43 miles away—will bring about another development in the Northeast vs. further Northeast jam band beef.
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