Camp Cope Say Enough Is Enough With #ItTakesOne

It's no secret that sexual and physical assault is an ever-present problem in the live music scenes, heavy or otherwise. We've all seen and read countless articles about this issue, and I'm doubly sure that most punters have sadly seen this happen at live shows firsthand. Melbourne's Camp Cope, along with many other bands and figures in the Aussie music scene, can attest to this shitty behaviour.

Inspired by conversations with their peers about this issue, about how live music can create such safe, welcoming space for fans and artists alike and how an artist can feel so personally responsible if someone is assaulted at one of their shows, Camp Cope were feeling pretty fucking defeated by it all. But with having such a positive musical outlet in their lives, they decided to do something special and to channel all of this negative bullshit into something positive.

The result? #ItTakesOne.

The idea behind the collaborative video and it's accompanying hashtag is all in the name; it only takes one person (man OR woman) to ruin a gig or a night out for others, but it also takes one legend to speak out and stop harassment and violence when they see it. As someone who has had many female friends tell me of their own horrendous gig experiences at the hands of creeps, and as someone who has been sexually assaulted by dickhead punters at shows in the past, I can fully back that sentiment.

Camp Cope, alongside label Poison City Records, Chris Farren, Courtney Barnett & Jen Cloher, Dom Alessio, Totally Unicorn, Frenzal Rhomb, The Hard Aches, Redgum, The Sugarcanes - *sharp breath* - Jeff Rosenstock, Cable Ties, The Old Bar, The Bennies, The Jezebels, Immigrant Union, Harmony, King Parrot, Clowns and Luca Brasi all unite to speak out in this clip, to say no more to physical violence & sexual assault at live shows. (I think it goes without saying that that applies to anywhere outside of a gig, too).

Now, that's a lot of dudes that I just mentioned above, but that was intentional according to the band.

"We purposefully wanted a strong male presence in the video. Including all-male bands who tend to have a predominantly male audience. This was done because we believe that women are usually the victims in these incidents so it shouldn’t solely be the responsibility of women to fix the problem. We feel it's important for men to speak to, and speak out against other men's behaviour and be positive role models to other men. Lastly, we wanted to show people that they have the artists support always! We are always there for them. Without them we wouldn't be here, so we want them to feel safe, secure, supported and to have a great time."

You can watch the It Takes One video (edited by Chris "Flagz" Matthews) just below. You can also listen to the band's previous single, 'Done', right here, and the band's self-titled album is out now via Poison City Records.

If you or anyone that you know needs to reach out about sexual assault or domestic & family abuse, please contact 1800 Respect. 

Camp Cope tour dates:

Sat Sep 10th – Corner Hotel, Melbourne (Weekender Festival)

Tue Sep 13th – Rad Bar, Wollongong

Wed Sep 14th – Transit, Canberra

Thu Sep 15th – Newtown Social Club, Sydney (with Pity Sex)

Sat Sep 17th – Manning Bar, Sydney (I Love Life Festival)

Sun Sep 18th – The Triffid, Brisbane (I Love Life Festival)