East Bay rocker Joey Armstrong faces allegations of sexual misconduct imposed by a punk rock musician who says she was forced to have a relationship with him when he was a minor.
Lydia Night, a member of the well-known SoCal band The Regrettes, raised her allegations against Armstrong, the SWMRS drummer who is also the son of Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct against Burger were imposed Southern California. Records, which released music by the Armstrong band in 2016.
“I was in a relationship with Joey that started when I was 16 and ended just before my 18th birthday,” Night wrote on Instagram on July 20. “For a long time I saw it as toxic and it was not valid enough to share it, but now I know that what I really experienced was emotional abuse and sexual coercion by someone in a position of power over me.
“It is important to me that Joey and his entire gang are responsible for fully understanding that while they may see themselves as ‘good’, they continue to perpetuate the exact toxic culture they are trying to call.”
Night, whose band performed at the 2019 BottleRock Napa Valley festival, decided to go public with what allegedly happened to Armstrong after reading a SWMRS social media post that showed support for those who have suffered sexual abuse.
“First of all, we want to recognize how brave it is for these survivors to show up and repeat their trauma,” the band posted on Instagram. “Putting yourself and your trauma in the spotlight is a terrifying and selfless act. It is exciting that we are in a place in society where we can have these conversations and take the stories of survivors seriously. These stories are sparking a long conversation about abuse in our community. “
The band rushed to try to distance itself from the accusations against Burger Records, which have prompted organizers of the Oakland Burger Boogaloo festival to change its name.
“We were fortunate to learn early in our careers about the power dynamics that exist between a band and their audience,” the publication continues. “The DIY community that kept us in the Bay Area exposed us to feminism and community safety at a very young age.
“It is antithetical to our core values as musicians to use power for something other than music. It is antithetical to our core values as humans to use this power for sexual exploits. ”
But Night tells a very different story.
“In the past few weeks, I have read many heartbreaking, disturbing, and inspiring stories of abuse in the music industry that were revealed by some very brave women,” Night writes. Yesterday, my abuser Joey Armstrong and his gang SWMRS released an incredibly hypocritical statement on social media that has pushed me to publicly share my story. The band’s illusory positioning of themselves as awakened feminists is not only triggering me as a victim, but it is complete (expletive) and needs to be called. ”
The night continues to provide more details, saying the relationship started when she was 16 and Armstrong was 22. She says it started with a “secret hand” but quickly escalated.
“He was moving much faster sexually than I was used to, but I didn’t question him because he was older and I like him. Everyone in his band, team, family and his manager knew that we were seeing each other. Due to our age difference, Joey continually asked me to keep our relationship as hidden as possible and I did. “
Armstrong responded to Night’s post:
“I want to address Lydia’s Instagram post about our relationship,” she posted on the SWMRS page on Instagram. “While I disagree with some of the things she said about me, it is important that she be allowed to say them and supported to speak. I respect her immensely and accept that I failed her as a partner. I was selfish and didn’t treat her the way she deserves to be treated, both during our relationship and in the two years since we broke up.
“I apologized to her privately and I hope she can forgive me as long as I’m ready to do it. I own my mistakes and will work hard to regain the confidence I lost. “
Organizers of Oakland’s @BurgerBoogaloo are changing the name of the festival, after allegations of sexual misconduct are made against the namesake Burger Records. https://t.co/TxN3y9kYwT
– Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) July 21, 2020
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