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Finishing up events already booked for this summer, then moving on from promoting live music. We’ll still be able to forward booking requests to other promoters/ venues in the area. Thanks very much for twenty inconceivable years! General Qs: ericfanali at gmail dot com Rockage Qs: South Bay Button Mashers = contact for all things rockage, rockageSJ at gmail dot com
This is in response to a testimonial by my bud Ferin. I’m very proud of them for being a brave little toaster and adding their voice to the others who, after over a decade of Eric Fanli traumatizing folx, have got a precise and aggressive community who has their backs. This is coming from someone who did not grow up in the San Jose music scene and my personal interactions with Eric are mostly performer/promoter based after I joined The Phenomenauts, being schmoozed on is mostly how i have interacted with him and it was only when I heard a band mate casually warn the father of 2 under aged lady friends of mine that he should keep an eye on them when Eric is around did his personality of someone who has obviously used cheap charm and people playing to get things he wanted begin to make its full nature plain. This is also a direct message to artists and people who have an opportunity to work with Eric Fanali or any known predator and in any capacity. Hopefully a larger conversation where we can consider the power dynamic (like it or not) that comes with being a performer or someone in any dimness of spotlight. How passive or deliberate, actions that don’t put support for victims before artistic opportunity are complicit with the abuse.
Ferin is my best bud and someone preying on them the way I know Eric Fanali did makes my blood boil. Now that the word is out that Fanali is a scum-bag and this is out of the control of Eric’s supporters as they are finally forced to listen I am filled with so much love and respect for the folx who gave this movement legs and the people who have been brave enough so far to come forward about this. Hopefully there will never be another new story like the ones people have been sharing on this blog thanks to it.
I want to make it known I refuse to play any show with Fanali involved in any way and I hope a lot of other people join that growing list. (I have not been involved in the last few Grand Fanali presents Phenomenauts shows. I have talked to the band about this and I am almost sure they will not work with Eric in the future as well at this point.) I know it is hard, esp for newer bands to get shows but I hope the decision between not validating a known sexual predator or a small bit of exposure and a shitty payout is an easy one.
I did play a show with Fanali after I have heard what a creep he was. Not to the level we all know now but regardless, that was a mistake. I truly felt I would be letting the band down if I backed out since we were playing a lot of high paying gigs to save for plane tickets to Europe so I compensated by being rude to Eric all night to let him know I am not on his team and his peter pan act did not fool me. But I should have just not played the show. I fucked up and I am embarrassed by that decision so I want to make my feelings very public on this. If you are digging your heels on this to save face I don’t understand your logic. Be critical of yourself and what you may have done that supports rape culture and try to appreciate the call out if it arrives. People are pretty forgiving once you are serious about doing the right thing. I have no doubt people would work together to right some wrongs but if you have expectations to be a key player in what happens next after years of dismissing victims than you oughta check yourself.
If you are a performer and you are not conscious of the power that gives you than please give it some thought. Working with known sexual predators is an endorsement no matter how you feel privately. Calling something as serious as an older man manipulating young people into sex “just rumors” when you are a respected semi-celebrity puts more people at risk. When you are confused as to what counts as abuse listen to people it has affected before you decide for yourself. Treating the menace young FAB people are under at all times in public including and sometimes especially in “scenes” as a non-issue when you are someone people look upto is the kind of shit that gives predators the cover they need to traumatize more folx and have those people suffer silently. If your scene is a safe house for abusers than it deserves to be burnt down.
-Ion O’Clast
Hey Jason! I'm EMi, the author / victim of the long story on the Boycott blog.
I just wanted to address a couple of your questions real quick: I live in New York so an in-person confrontation is only possible under very special circumstances; Quite frankly I am terrified of being alone with Fanali again, the first time was bad enough and I didn't want to create a situation where I would be vulnerable to him again by facilitating a calling-out conversation; It is incredibly dangerous to ask victims to re-enter into inperson situations with their abusers. It leaves them open to re-experience traumas they haven't fully recovered from, vulnerable to fresh and undocumented abuse that is often twisted around by the abuser to try to delegitimize the victims story, and quite frankly these kinds of confrontations are rarely effective. I understand that your criticism comes from a place of trying to make productive change in a community you care about and your concern that social media isn't a place for discourse is super valid. But I think you fundamentally misunderstood my intention by publicly broadcasting what happened to me- I wasn't trying to make discourse, I was trying to tell people what happened. I don't want to have a conversation, I want to tell the women attending Rockage as audience and as performers that Fanali is an unsafe person to be around and to be careful.
For emphasis, I will put this statement in bold: I never want to see, be around, or speak to Fanali ever again. I have wanted to avoid him since our interaction in March of 2013. He shows up places that I will be, and at times has implied the reason he is there is because he knows I'm going to be there. I have no idea if that's actually true or not but that's what he said. I live on the opposite side of the country and I can't even avoid him! Please try to imagine how that feels. I just spent a whole week avoiding him while I tried to do my work. I went from DC to LA, and there he was each time. I was so afraid he'd try to get me alone again and asked my friends to please help keep me safe. Now try to imagine you should talk to someone telling you to have a discourse with a person who violates your boundaries and personal space. That concept rattles me to my core.
I have been telling people what happened between Fanali and I for years. It has never been a secret, it was just a story that didn't make it out very far into the world because I was telling it as it in-person as it came up in conversation. In fact, the reach was so small that in the 48 hours since my post went up tons of people who I've known for years have PMed me to ask questions and talk about how they had no idea about any of this. Again, I have never been quiet about what happened to me. I started talking about it as soon as it happened. The blog post was the easiest way to spread information and make others aware of how I was treated. I don't want other people to be trapped with him the way I was. It is not my responsibility to solve the problems of an adult man who infiltrates fresh communities then refuses to treat the people in them with the respect they deserve. It is somewhat cruel to expect that is his victims responsibilities to fix him. It feels like being punished for having something bad happen to you, like being told "Hey this made you feel bad? Well it's your fault somehow and now you have to solve it." I'm not trying to tell you that's what you said, but that's what it can feel like to someone who is still trying to overcome their traumatic experience.
You're right, the internet is not the place to settle this. However it is a place to spread awareness about all kinds of things, including and especially the abuse folks have suffered at the ends of a person in a position of power. After posting my story a friend of mine told me a story from 15 YEARS AGO where Fanali exhibited the exact behavior being called out by the team at the Boycott Fanali blog. I never would have found out about that if I hadn't been actively sharing a text essay documenting my experience. I have said this a couple of times, but Fanali counts on his victims remaining silent so that he can continue to take advantage of new people.Speaking (or writing) out about this isn't a solution, it is the first step to finally making real progress and maybe finally ending this. I am so relieved to have my story out in the open so I no longer have to repeat it anytime anyone asks me, "Hey EMi, why don't you go to Rockage?"
The only person responsible Fanali's behavior is Fanali. Please don't put the onus on anyone but him, especially not me. I have already been through enough.
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This is in reference to this post.
While we felt it was pertinent to respond to the message as a campaign, we received this message from EMi early this morning with a request to share it publicly. We appreciate the opportunity to magnify the response of an individual who has been harmed as we feel it addresses the concerns in a more effective way than we could as a collective. We hope to emphasize that we are not here to speak for victims, we are here to amplify their voices and make what they have to say easily accessible.
EMi's original testimony can be found here.
So, for the second year in a row, I’m canceling my Rockage appearance. Last year’s cancellation was because of GRE scheduling issues and my grad school application deadline. This year, it’s a little different. First off, I’d like to apologize to the other organizers for canceling with such short notice. I had honestly not known of these issues beforehand, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience that this last minute cancellation causes. Today, I read a tweet from someone I thought Rockage would be a perfect fit for. Many bands and artists that both of us are associated with from our respective scenes would be playing, and it would be a good chance to catch up with friends from across the country, which is why it surprised me when I read that she wouldn’t be attending for reasons related to the organizer, Eric Fanali. Linked to the tweet was a post about her experiences with him, in which she describes a situation that made her uncomfortable enough to avoid contact with the organizer ever since. The post that she wrote was published on a Tumblr that contained stories from other people who have had uncomfortable experiences with this person. It very much disturbed me to realize that the incident with my friend was not isolated, but I don’t think it would have changed my opinion either way. I thought this decision was going to be harder to make than it was, but it really boiled down to whether I was going to support an event put on by someone who has made other people uncomfortable enough to cut off ties with him. It’s almost a cliche to talk about how inclusive music scenes or even scenes in general are, but incidents like this demonstrate that, despite what we’d like to believe, we still have a lot of work to do. I very much doubt that I’ll be able to book shows with this organizer in the future, and that’s upsetting because he’s doing something that is respectable and commendable in supporting local artists and communities, which is what me and others really need to continue our respective crafts. I would like to think that he could change his behavior and this situation would be resolved. However, I would sooner take myself out of the picture than become a silent witness, for my own benefit, to sexual harassment. I don’t want to end this on a bad note though, so I’m going to say this: consider this an invitation to work with artists who are just as into video games and music and fun things in general as you. I’m sure there are a number of us who would love to be a part of this community without the fear of feeling unwelcome or uncomfortable because of their gender or any other trait. Let’s take some time to figure this out, and hopefully we’ll be able to work together again toward events that are great for everyone. -Patrick//Space Town
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Thank you for your support, Patrick. You bring up a great point that all of the folks working on this campaign fully support - is it really worth it to book shows if a large number of people will not feel comfortable attending?
You can view the original posts as well as other updates from Space Town here.
I met Eric Fanali at MAGFest 11 (January of 2013.) He didn't give me the greatest impression—he was quiet, stared at me a little too intently, and spent a lot of time looming while I interacted with people I already knew. But my friends introduced him warmly and seemed comfortable around him, so I let my guard down a little. If my friends were enthusiastic about him he couldn't be all that bad, right? At some point over the course of conversation, it came to light I had been Facebook friends with him for quite some time. I had added him due to several mutual friends based out of San Francisco. After MAGFest ended I found out I would be returning to San Francisco for that year's GDC (March of 2013.) Fanali expressed an interest in meeting up while I was in town and I accepted. He told me he wanted to keep our plans a surprise because I seemed like "a mutual adventurer" and "that I would be into something like that." Honestly that was a pretty spot on assessment and I became excited about getting to have a unique experience while I was in a city I don't visit very often. I thought I didn't have anything to be concerned about and that I was simply going to have a fun time with a like-minded individual. In the weeks leading up to my trip, it started to become apparent that Fanali might have thought our meet-up was actually a date. I have been in a long-term monogamous relationship that spanned this time period, and when I expressed my worries my boyfriend echoed my concern. I had clearly communicated my relationship status to Fanali already, but I started to make plans to reenforce to Fanali that this was to be a platonic interaction upon seeing him in person in case our online interactions were somehow unclear. When Fanali and I met up in San Francisco I made excessive mention of my boyfriend immediately. I brought up my boyfriend's existence three times within fifteen minutes to drive the message home, including the fact that we were presently living together. Unfortunately Fanali was completely undeterred and it became clear very quickly this interaction was intended as a romantic date. Fanali took me to a nice restaurant where he began posturing his connections in an attempt to impress me. He said he had a friend on waitstaff there, and at the end of the meal the friend supposedly comped dessert. This was the beginning of a strange, reoccurring theme that came up several times over the course of my time with Fanali. He would oscillate wildly between the idea that he was incredibly lonely and that he was best friends with everyone. He'd lament that he felt isolated, that he had no one he felt close with, and that most people were just trying to use him for his connections established through booking shows. Then if I brought up folks in local communities that I knew he'd excitedly tell me about how well he knew that person and that they had been friends for years. I guess he couldn't make up his mind as to whether or not he wanted to draw me in with a sad sob story or impress me with all the cool interesting people he was close with. Either way it was clear he was trying to use manipulative tactics to both impress me and make himself seem available to me. The "surprise adventure" ended up being tickets to see The Specials. This would have been a really cool gesture if Fanali hadn't spent the entire show trying to touch my lower back. I was very uncomfortable and spent a lot of time trying to get out of arm's reach, but he would just follow me and continue trying to touch me. I was stuck near him, trying to enjoy one of my favourite bands while also hoping desperately for the show to end so I could get away from him. When the show finally ended he continued trying to touch my lower back and I began speed-walking away to prevent him from doing so, so he literally chased me with his arm outstretched in front of him as he tried to touch me. His desperation to make physical contact with me was both hilarious and horrifying. Once we were out of the venue I was stuck in a very unfortunate position. I wanted to get away from Fanali as soon as possible, but it was very late in a city I was unfamiliar with. I felt even less safe walking back to where I was staying alone, I could not afford a cab, and I was unable to reach out to anyone with a car who could come pick me up. So I very firmly told Fanali that my feet hurt, I was tired, and I wanted to go straight back to where he had picked me up. Fanali agreed, but then took me on a route back that took twice as long as it should have. He showed me a couple of things, including a pretty local landmark, then took me up a hill in a park after dark to show me the Full House house. I was terrified. I was trying not to stand close enough that he could touch me, but knew I couldn't walk back alone. I'm confident he was trying to get me into a private, vaguely romantic setting so that he could make a serious move on me. Fortunately I remained guarded enough that it was impossible. When I finally made it back to safety, Fanali suggested that maybe we could meet up again later in the week. I made an excuse and left him, deciding that I would never allow myself to be alone with him ever again. After that I started taking active steps to avoid Fanali on the various social media networks I had been interacting with him on. This did not stop him from being aggressive with his communications any time he thought I would be in the area. In the following year I announced I'd be going to LA for an event (January of 2014) and Fanali reached out to me to let me know that he hadn't been planning on attending, but now that he knew I'd be there he was definitely going to go. He also began aggressively inviting me to Rockage in a way that was beyond reasonable. I straight away told him that I was unable to attend due to financial constraints, but he continued to bother me about finding a way to San Jose as well as constantly tagging me in social media posts related to the event. I started freaking out and began telling all of our mutual friends to interrupt if they noticed I was stuck speaking to him alone during my time in L.A. To my relief I was able to avoid Fanali pretty easily by keeping busy with my work and staying close to my friends, but unfortunately I have still found myself in unavoidable interactions with Fanali as recently as last week. He even continues to monitor my social media presence, and messaged me a few days ago about my upcoming plans to return to GDC. As I began telling my story to more of my West Coast friends I started finding out that this was pretty standard behavior for Fanali and began to uncover the bigger story. With Rockage upon us, I'm particularly worried for those who might not be aware of his pattern behaviors. People like Fanali thrive in environments where folks are too confused to share their stories. Information is an incredibly powerful weapon against someone like him, which is why I want my experiences out in the open so that others can know how to avoid ending up in a similar position. It is worth noting that now that Rockage is under the MAGFest umbrella there is a new resource available for those who may feel uncomfortable. Official policy states "MAGFest takes a very strong stance against harassment, and the safety and security of all attendees is one of our top priorities." If anyone makes a Rockage attendee feel uncomfortable, even if it's Fanali, there are people available who will take action on your behalf. Boycotting is only part of the solution, protecting people is also super important. My goal is not only to share what happened to me but to let people know that, should they choose to attend Rockage, there will be people they can reach out to if anything happens to them. Please be safe this weekend. -EMi
FAQs
Why should I care?
The abuse of women, girls, and people assigned female at birth is an ongoing, universal problem. There are numerous victims of Eric Fanali's abusive behavior who have come forward within the various musical communities in the San José area over the span of nearly two decades. Those victims who have expressed their concerns and shared their experiences have consistently been ignored, silenced, ostracized and shut down by Fanali’s supporters. Even if this issue has not affected you directly, we implore you to take yourself out of your own experience and empathize with those whose community involvement has been marred by Fanali's inappropriate actions.
Why did you start this campaign?
As members of the community and supporters of the San Jose music scene, we find it incredibly important to create a space that is as safe as possible for people of all ages and genders. Fanali has a great deal of influence and power in San Jose, and as long as he is able to maintain that control, we feel that it is an absolute necessity for folks to have knowledge of his actions and be able to share this knowledge with others who are or are looking to become a part of this community. Moreover, this is a space for those who have been affected by his actions to share their experiences with the confidence that their voices will be both heard and respected. Our hope is that by bringing this issue to light we can prevent other members of the community from being subjected to his growing reach by warning them of his actions and providing alternative safe space events.
How do you know that he is an abuser?
It is not hard to find a female assigned person in the scenes Fanali is involved with who has either been victimized by him to some degree, who has been made uncomfortable by him, who has felt that his day to day interactions with young female assigned people are inappropriate, or who knows a close friend that has experienced some or all of the above. It is also not uncommon to find people close to these events feeling silenced. His inappropriate behavior has been going on so long and is so widespread that it is already common knowledge among many pockets of the San Jose community. There are already people that have been boycotting Fanali shows for years. As a group, we have heard accounts detailing many levels of harassment from an extremely widespread group of people. The ages at the time of the experiences is varied. The timeframe of Fanali’s inappropriate behavior is disturbingly wide, coming in at nearly two decades. And due to the reach of his organizing experience, this problem persists and has been brought up across communities otherwise contained. Though each incident is an affront to the safe space we aim to perpetuate, we would like to emphasize that this mobilization is not a reaction to an isolated occurrence, or even a handful. After years of his actions being repeated, enough is enough.
Have you tried talking to him directly?
YES. We are aware of several instances where supporters of Fanali have confronted him directly and he has denied any wrongdoing. Some of the same supporters and others have also tried to force known victims into telling their experiences and suggesting that victims talk to Fanali directly as a resolution to the problems. We are also aware that some victims have tried this exact tactic and talked to him directly. Nothing productive has ever come of those interactions and he continues to plead unaware of his own actions. This simply is not true. We feel strongly that because he refuses to address the problem it is on us as a community to act accordingly.
But he does so much good for the community/music scene! Doesn’t the good he provides outweigh the bad?
NO. There’s no point in having fun and exciting events in our community if a overwhelming number of people feel completely uncomfortable attending. If you feel that you stand to benefit from your involvement at the shows he promotes, with or without having experienced abuse, we implore you to consider the the alienation faced by others and the effects of your support on Fanali’s growing network.
I’ve known Fanali for a long time and have never noticed any inappropriate behavior. Why should I believe these accusations?
Ask yourself if you are the type of person that Fanali has been known to target (young female assigned people in the same scenes he’s involved in). If not then try to entertain the possibility that you wouldn’t pick up on the inappropriate behavior as well as the type of person he usually targets. Respect the female assigned people that are living these experiences and listen to what they have to say. You may both be attending the same shows but have completely different experiences. There are others that have also known him for a long time AND noticed his pattern of abusive behavior. Some of the testimonials include people who have also known him for a long time and been close to him.
I haven’t experienced abuse from Fanali firsthand but I know many people who have. Can I submit their names and stories?
Above all else we want to respect the privacy of victims that are not willing to share their stories or want to remain anonymous. You may submit things that you have witnessed him doing to others but be respectful of victim privacy and anonymity. You are welcome to share the information and resources here with people you know to be victims but be careful not to pressure them into submitting their stories. Be respectful if they decline to add their testimonial.
How can I help?
If you are a victim of Fanali’s abusive patterns, submitting and helping us gather testimonials displaying Fanali’s behavior is essential to successfully spreading the word and gaining support of our campaign. For more information on submitting testimonials, please click here. If you do not consider yourself a victim but still wish to show your support, please just help us spread the word. Reblog these posts. If your friends have questions, answer them to the best of you ability. If someone is unaware of the claims made against Fanali, politely let them know. The more people we have educating folks about this campaign, the more widespread our network will become, and the harder it will be for Fanali to continue abusing young people in the music scene.
“I started going to Fanali shows at the Outhouse when I was 16. He was a little weird, but it was mostly small stuff, so I didn’t really think anything of it. My problems with Fanali started when I was 22. I had recently broken up with a boyfriend and as soon as my facebook relationship status changed to “single” the messages from Fanali started. I had never interacted with him outside of shows, but he started putting a lot of pressure on me to hang out with him. He kept inviting me to shows he was putting on and when I told him I wasn’t going he would offer to let me in for free. He would invite me to shows he was going to in other cities and when I said it was too far for a band I wasn’t really into he would offer to drive me in his car. If I “Liked” something on facebook he would send me messages or texts inviting me out to do that thing. All of it made me pretty uncomfortable, so I never took him up on any of his invites and if I went to a Fanali show I made sure to take someone with me so I wouldn’t get stuck alone with him. After declining a bunch of his invitations to hang out with him he sent me an email about how he had some band shirts that didn’t fit him anymore and “since we are both skinny minis” he thought that I would want them. I didn’t take him up on the offer, so he kept pressuring me to take them and suggested that I meet him at his (parents) house to pick them up. Things like that kept up for a while, and I avoided him until I ran into him at a show at Bottom of the Hill on my 23rd birthday. He came up to me while the friend I was with was in the bathroom and put his hand out for a high-five, but when I high-fived him he grabbed my hand and held onto it so that I couldn’t walk away. He didn’t let go until my friend came out of the bathroom, noticed that I was uncomfortable and walked up to introduce herself and put out her hand for a handshake so that he had to let go. I’ve been mostly avoiding him for the 5 years since.” –Rachel
