Indie rock band the New Pornographers has said it won’t change its name, despite its drummer’s arrest on child pornography charges.
Percussionist Joseph Seiders (pic) was booked on child porn and related charges in April and sentenced to three years behind bars. He was charged with filming an 11-year-old boy and other minors in the bathroom of a California Chick-fil-A, according to Los Angeles station KTLA. The band immediately cut ties with the 45-year-old musician.
Frontman A.C. Newman told Rolling Stone the New Pornographers also considered dropping the name it has used since 1997, but opted to keep it.
“We were all like, ‘Obviously we can’t call ourselves the New Pornographers anymore,” he confessed in an article published Tuesday. “And then time passed.”
The Canadian band’s name, which came from the 1966 Japanese film The Pornographers, will likely be spelled out on Webster’s Hall’s marquee when they perform in Lower Manhattan on April 23.
Newman also told Rolling Stone he’s no longer in contact with Seiders, who “dragged us down with him as much as he could.”
The New Pornographers released a statement in April stating its disapproval of the disgraced drummer.
“Everyone in the band is absolutely shocked, horrified and devastated by the news of the charges against Joe Seiders,” the band mates wrote on Instagram at the time.
The New Pornographers enjoyed moderate success with the 2003 single The Laws Have Changed and the 2000 tune Letter From An Occupant. Its 2006 album Brill Bruisers reached the 13th spot on the Billboard 200. - New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
