Slow Mass Dropped From Label Following Sexual Assault Allegations Against Frontman Dave Collis, Who Calls Allegations “False”

Chicago band Slow Mass have been dropped from their label Dangerbird Records after sexual assault allegations were made against frontman Dave Collis. “Dangerbird takes these allegations very seriously and all release planning activities with the band have ceased,” the Los Angeles independent label wrote. Collis has said the “allegations are false.”

Slow Mass released their debut On Watch in 2018 via Landland Colportage. They announced their Dangerbird signing in April 2021, saying at the time they were about to start recording a new album.

According to a redacted police report obtained by Pitchfork, the alleged incident occurred in January 2020. The police report—for an incident of alleged non-aggravated criminal sexual assault—was filed in April 2021. According to the police report, the case was presented to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Felony Review Unit, and that an assistant state attorney rejected the charges. The woman indicated that she may take civil action against Collis, according to the report.

The police report includes the woman and Collis’ respective versions of the alleged incident, as told to detectives from the Chicago Police Department. According to the woman, she agreed to hang out with Dave Collis in January 2020 “because she felt it was good networking.” She says that she agreed to kiss Collis and also agreed to go to her bedroom with him, but she says he yelled and was aggressive during sexual intercourse and that “she was very scared and stopped fighting him,” as “she was worried about her safety,” the police report states. Collis “apologized for being rude,” the woman told the CPD detective.

In August 2021, the police report states, Collis told a CPD detective that he and the woman “had consensual sex” back in January 2020.

Dave Collis and Dangerbird Records did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Pitchfork.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741