Carrie Brownstein has offered an in-depth insight into the departure of Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss, opening up about the situation on Instagram recently.
Earlier this month, the world of alt-rock was devastated to learn that after 20 years in the band, Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss had announced her decision to leave the group.
While Weiss noted that “the band is heading in a new direction and it is time for me to move on,” the group themselves issues a statement explaining that while they are “saddened” be Weiss’ departure, they described it as an “incredible privilege to work with such a talented musician and drummer over the course of so many albums.”
Since then, no further information has been shared, and with a new album and tour set to arrive in the coming months, fans were left wondering just how the band would be heading into the future.
Sharing a brief video with the hashtag #SleaterKinney on Instagram recently, one commenter asked Carrie Brownstein why they hadn’t issued a statement outlining how they planned to move forward, urging the rocker to issue a response.
“What am I supposed to say?” Brownstein asked. “She left. We asked her to stay. We tried. It’s hard and sad. Most people would ask me, ‘hey are you ok?’ That’s the human response.
“She’s left us with a job to do, a job we also expected and wanted her to be a part of. Her playing on this record is amazing and she’s raved about this album to us and to Annie [Clark, aka St Vincent, producer].
“But we have to keep looking to the future. Things change, even when those changes are hard and unexpected. Four amazing women worked on this record and we are going to honor that work. So, what’s up? The usual….Women picking up the pieces when someone quits, because we have to and want to.
“We’re going to keep going because we believe in ourselves and it’s a privilege to get to play music for people. It’s a new chapter. And all artistic entities have many chapters, if they’re lucky. Either the music will resonate or it won’t.”
While the original commenter noted that their initial comments sounded more harsh than they had planned, Brownstein didn’t reveal just who the drummer for Sleater-Kinney’s upcoming tour might be, but at this stage, it appears as though fans will have to wait and see what develops.
Check out ‘Hurry On Home’ by Sleater-Kinney:
