Louisiana Band Faces Serious Allegations

In the late 1980s, Ruston became the birthplace of the Elephant 6 Recording Company, a musical collective that would eventually lead to the formation of renowned bands like The Apples in Stereo, Of Montreal, The Olivia Tremor Control, and most notably Neutral Milk Hotel. Julian Koster joined Neutral Milk Hotel in the late 90s and contributed to their cult classic album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by playing the banjo and singing saw. He later became the band’s touring bassist after the album’s release. Earlier this week, Koster faced serious allegations against him.

Anna “Nesey” Gallons, a fan of Elephant 6, came into contact with Julian Koster through email in the year 2000 when she was 15 years old. She alleges that their exchanges grew increasingly intimate, leading to a relationship in April 2001 when she was 16. Nesey made her allegations public via an Instagram post, claiming Koster assaulted her twice in 2005. She also claimed that in 2020, attempts to reconcile with Koster were met with resistance from his PR team.

Following these allegations, Koster addressed the situation on the Instagram page of his current project. He acknowledged that the relationship began when Nesey was 16 and he was 28, expressing regret and stating, “…it was wrong to allow the relationship to happen at all and I’ve apologized to Nesey many times for that.” However, Koster denied all other claims made by Nesey and mentioned that the relationship ended in 2008 when he realized he “…was trapped in an abusive relationship with her.”

Koster continued by stating that he has spent recent years, presumably since 2020 as mentioned by Nesey, trying to build a friendship with her and acknowledge her pain. He claimed that these efforts were unsuccessful and that both Nesey and her current husband have harassed him for years. Koster alleged that the harassment included demands for a romantic relationship between the couple and him, for him to move in with them, to finance Nesey’s family, and to allow them control over his life. Koster is currently seeking an order of protection against the couple due to their continued harassment.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Robert Schnieder, a founding member of Elephant 6 and Ruston native, commented, “I am shocked by Nesey’s account. I don’t have personal knowledge of the details since we met later and Elephant 6 had dissolved by the time of the events. There is no place in the Elephant 6 community for abuse.” Nesey claimed in an Instagram comment that Elephant 6 founding member and Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum was aware of the relationship from its inception.

Source: Instagram @neseygallons