Decoder and vocalist Spencer Pearson and bassist Bryce Sipes have parted ways.
The band initially released a statement saying they fired Pearson due to issues with drug and alcohol abuse.
The group stated, “We recently decided to part ways with our vocalist, Spencer Pearson, due to recurring issues with drugs and alcohol that reinforced a lack of effort and poor performance on his behalf. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. After many long talks to try and get him to clean up his act on and off stage it began to get too out of hand. As a band friendship is first and foremost, but you can only be a friend to someone with those problems for so long until you become apart of the problem by allowing it to continue.”
Pearson responded to the band’s statement, “Despite the responses floating around in music news, I was never kicked out for violence and substance abuse; I am setting that record straight right now. I, Spencer Pearson, left the band Decoder on the 25th of January, 2012 by my own decision and purpose generating from bandmate disputes, as well having come to the knowledge that there were different motivations for writing new music. I am not exactly sure where these allegations of substance abuse came from or why…”
On Sunday bassist Bryce Sipes announced his departure.
Sipes commented, “FUCK THE MUSIC INDUSTRY! FUCK RECORD LABELS! FUCK MANAGERS! FUCK BOOKING AGENTS! FUCK ALL THE DIPSHITS WHO WILL SUCK THE COCK OF ANYONE IN A MORE NOTABLE BAND TO TRY AND GET THEIR BAND BIGGER! FUCK ALL YOU FAKE FUCKERS! All you bands who claim to ‘love your fans’ and say you do it for them and then talk shit on them the second they turn around and say things like ‘oh, we had a talker’. Fuck you. A million times fuck you. You’re all so full of shit and it’s a game that has nothing to do with music.”