Bad Reception cancels remaining appearances with Carter, Holloway away from band

Bad Reception has canceled all remaining appearances as vocalist Riley Carter receives medical care and bassist Jace Holloway continues his recovery away from the band. The group announced the decision Monday, saying there is no timetable for either member to return. “We ask that fans and media respect their privacy,” the band said in its Jan. 15 statement. The cancellation follows several turbulent weeks for the group, culminating in a Jan. 12 performance that became temporary bassist Trent Harlow’s first and only show with Bad Reception. Harlow had been brought in through Studio B - Hollywood while Holloway was away. He was removed from the lineup following allegations of unwanted behavior toward Carter and a backstage confrontation after Friday’s performance that left him with a broken nose. Carter subsequently disappeared and was reported missing. The band later announced that she had been located and was receiving medical care. Guitarist Evan Parker said Monday that the decision to cancel the remaining dates was no longer being treated as a scheduling problem. “For a while, every conversation was about how we keep going,” Parker said. “Who plays bass, what happens to the next show, what needs to move around. We’re done having that conversation for now.” Parker said Carter and Holloway would be given as much time away from the band as necessary. “They’re entitled to however much time they need to recover,” he said. “If that’s weeks, it’s weeks. If it’s months, it’s months. Nobody is putting a return date on either of them.” Parker said the band had been aware for some time that the demands surrounding it were taking a toll. “Touring was stressful. Jace being gone was stressful. Everything with Trent was stressful,” he said. “We knew all of that. I don’t think we understood what all of it added up to.” Carter continued rehearsing and performing through much of that period, something Parker said the other members took as reassurance that she was managing. “She kept showing up,” he said. “That made it easy to think, ‘OK, she’s having a hard time, but she’s getting through it.’ Those aren’t necessarily the same thing.” Parker said the band does not intend to characterize Carter’s condition or discuss details of her treatment. “We knew she was struggling,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we knew what was happening in her head, and it definitely doesn’t give us the right to explain it for her.” Guitarist Cole Mercer, who found Carter during the search for her, has similarly declined to discuss the circumstances in detail. “There are things that belong to Riley,” Mercer said. “She’s getting care. People know she’s alive. That’s enough information from me.” Parker also spoke with Holloway by phone while Carter was missing. “He wanted to come back immediately,” Parker said. “He wanted to know what he could do. We told him to stay where he was and keep doing what he needed to do.” Parker said that conversation reinforced the decision not to build another temporary solution around the band’s existing commitments. “We already tried solving an absence by finding somebody else and making the schedule keep working,” he said. “I don’t think anybody has much interest in doing that again right now.” Bad Reception has not announced plans to replace Holloway temporarily or reschedule the canceled appearances. Parker said neither Carter nor Holloway will be expected to make decisions about the band while they are recovering. “The band will still be here,” he said. “There’s no reason either of them should have to rush because somebody wants to know when the next show is.” With two members away and no performances currently scheduled, Bad Reception’s immediate future remains undefined. “For a long time everything was about keeping the band moving,” Parker said. “Right now, keeping the band moving is not the important thing.” Mercer agreed. “We’ll figure out whether there’s another show when there needs to be another show,” he said. “Nobody needs that answer today.”