Brian Cook (Botch/Russian Circles) Responds To Allegations Against Sargent House Founder

Brian Cook, bassist of Botch, Russian Circles and more, has responded to the allegations made against Sargent House founder Cathy Pellow. Earlier this week Henry Kohen of Mylets came forward against Pellow with allegations of abusive behavior and misconduct. Kohen further alleged that he was molested by an associate of Pellow‘s at the time in 2015 at a communal residence shared by Sargent House bands/employees, but Pellow brushed the allegation off.

Yesterday (March 24th), Pellow announced that she was stepping back from the label and management company in light of the allegations made by Kohen and more. Following in Kohen‘s wake, various other individuals identifying themselves as former employees of the label, as well as past artists such as Chelsea Wolfe, Lingua Ignota, etc., spoke out about their own mentally allegedly abusive experiences at the label.

Cook himself has long been involved with Sargent House, with the aforementioned label having been overseeing the curation of the back catalog and new material from his returning mathcore outfit, Botch. His other band Russian Circles have also been longtime members of the label, having been signed to Sargent House for over fifteen years.

Speaking to the controversy earlier today, March 25th, Cook stated via his Twitter:

“Hi.

I’ve been a Sargent House artist for 17 years. I’m friends with a bunch of the artists & employees past and present. I know who’s slept with who, who’s mad at who, who lied to who, who has been privately talking to who… I know so much petty drama and dirt that you don’t.

Cathy can be blunt and uncouth, but I’ve never witnessed anything warranting public outrage. Maybe I’m just lucky. Conversely, I’ve seen her routinely bail people out of bad situations. She’s housed people, paid medical bills, co-signed mortgages, talked people off of ledges.

In many instances, I know why certain people were let go and why other people have chosen to leave over the years. Sometimes the private grievances don’t line up with the public explanations. But I’m not privy to any scandals.

I know which shit adds up and which shit doesn’t. And I still don’t know what the hell is actually going on, but I know people fear internet mobs more than anything right now. So if you want a public statement, here it is:

I applaud people for being angry given the information they have at hand. But if I don’t know what’s actually going on, then consider that maybe you don’t have the full picture either. And I’m not casting stones until I know who I can actually trust in this mess.

Sorry for the cryptic thread. Been living in the most convoluted and crappy soap opera this last week and I’m just trying to assume the best about all my friends in this situation, but a bunch of shit isn’t lining up.”