Issue 1: Social Issues

SOCIAL ISSUES

For the sake of society.

Indie Band, “Summer Salt”, Accused of Sexual Assault

By: Anonymous Submission

One of the best concert experiences for many people who listen to indie music stems from the band Summer Salt, who is open to meeting fans after concerts, taking endless photos, signing shirts, and following them back on Instagram. This friendliness and interaction with fans allows a gateway for the members to abuse and hurt the ones who support them the most - one in particular, Phil Baier. Former member Phil Baier has been accused of toxic behavior and sexual misconduct a multitude of times. This mindset is solely caused by the fact that his small amount of fame that he receives is sent straight to his

head, and he feels as if he can merely get away with such actions unscathed. An entitlement that he will continue to get if he resumed making music. In the abuse of his very own fans, he assumes consent and the ability to take advantage of vulnerable girls who were only trying to get to know a musician that they admired so much. This admiration would grow into hate, as fans nationwide would discover that one of their favorite music groups contained a abuser. This hate began on Twitter, as women would begin to tell their story of how they were sexually assaulted, which would later be compiled into a shareable GoogleDoc. Two of these women included in the document were concert attendees Abby Jones and Vanessa Herb.

Abby Jones was seeing Summer Salt in Brooklyn, her fifth time seeing the band, and has met Phil Baier before. They had followed each other on Instagram and occasionally messaged each other. At this particular show, Abby states that she felt “a bit more unsafe” from Phil’s continuous physical contact and compliments. She kept her distance, and would refuse Phil’s offers to pay for drinks and food, as a caution to not “owe” him anything later in the night. Phil continues to compliment Abby, and tells her that he wants to kiss her. She tells him, more than once, that “it wasn’t a good idea and [she] didn’t want to kiss him”. After this rejection, he then interrogates her of the last boy she dated, and making her feel more and more uncomfortable by the minute. “Was the sex really good?” “He’s not gonna find me and kick my ass, is he?” At this point, Abby feels uneasy and anxious. Phil Baier ultimately resorted to her last partner as a way of conceiving her, making her feel as if there was a reason the last boy she dated had a need to “kick [his] ass”. In reality, Abby consented to nothing. Abby allowed nothing. But allowing nothing did not stop Phil Baier. As Abby was leaving, Phil “forcefully kissed [her] cheek and then [her] lips” leaving Abby “violated and upset”. She made it very clear to him that she did not want to be kissed by him that night. He had to force her - for a kiss she never wanted. Phil was told multiple times that kissing Abby was not a good idea, obviously indicating that what he did was nonconsensual. But, Phil

still found it within himself to kiss a girl that was nervous, and disturbed of what was to come - and whatwas to come was something she had been avoiding all night long.

“I never thought [telling my story] was something I would ever have to do”, a statement made by Vanessa Herb, another victim of sexual assault by Phil Baier. Vanessa was attending Summer Salt’s concert in Phoenix, in which prior to the show, she was messaging Phil through Instagram about how excited she was to see them live. In Summer Salt’s usual tradition of meeting fans after the show, Phil asked Vanessa for her phone number to invite her and her friends for a party afterwards. After picking up the band from their Airbnb and arriving at the party, Vanessa steps to the side to get some fresh air, where Phil follows her. With very little sitting room in the area she migrates to, Phil forcibly lays her on his lap to sit on him. To her surprise, and with other people around, she had no other choice but to accept her situation and does not try to “cause a scene” but nonetheless feels extremely tense. “I laughed and acted happy as can be, all [the] while hoping I could just disappear.” Vanessa had to hide her intolerable situation, and was stuck where she was. With the noise of the party bubbling, Phil takes advantage of Vanessa’s vulnerable environment and kisses her. After the party, she feels obligated to take the band back to their Airbnb; after dropping the rest of the band off , Phil and Vanessa pick up snacks, in which he comes at her and kisses her while they are alone - again, taking advantage of her vulnerable state. Whilst at the Airbnb, Phil, for the third time,”throws himself at [her]” and pressures her to cuddle, and kisses her aggressively in which she immediately squirms her way out of his grasp. After Phil gets into a fist fight with Eugene Chang, another Summer Salt member, in an attempt to get a bedroom, Vanessa finally has had enough and feels out of place, and decides to leave “feeling totally violated and disgusted”. Not once, but three times Phil Baier took advantage of Vanessa Herb. Three times she was not even allowed to give consent. Three times she was assaulted.

Vanessa and Abby are two of many victims by not only Phil Baier, but the entire band. The document contains a plethora of stories of brave women telling their side, allowing more victims to feel courageous enough to speak up about their experience, as the document creates a feeling of not being the only one who was taken advantage of by the band. This attitude towards women - towards women who supported a music group enough to buy tickets and drive to see them perform - portrays the unending acts by men who see women as commodities, mere “things” that they have at the palm of their hand. This attitude needs to end. Phil Baier has been removed from Summer Salt, and hopefully, this is a wakeup call for not only Summer Salt, but for men everywhere. We are not your commodity.

Editor’s note: Quotes are directly from the document given to victims to write about their experience on.Both Abby Jones and Vanessa Herb have allowed to be mentioned in this article.