This editorial will be presented in two parts. The first will be objective overviews and decisions for TGEFM moving forward, the second will be the subjective commentary of myself, founder and head editor Jeff Sorley, which does not reflect the viewpoints and opinions of other TGEFM staff and contributors.
(edit- after conversations with people I know and, furthermore, trust, certain language in the subjective commentary has been changed to avoid potential negative stereotyping. Thank you BD and BGF)
Objective overview and decisions.
Here’s the story: On Friday, 05 Jun 2026, Baltimore hardcore band End It were into their set at a show in Toronto when vocalist Akil Godsey offered a copy of their set list to anyone who can “strip the banana,” in this case referring to Banana Man, a punk rock and hardcore fan (or fans) known for showing up at shows across North America, in a banana costume.
Apparently members of the band took affront to Banana Man’s presence, with Akil claiming that “he wanted the attention, and now he has it.” Following with “Now, if you strip the banana, you get this lovely set list.”
What happened next is surprising, but not unexpected in this era of othering. Before the band started their next song a subset of fans already began accosting Banana Man and, once the music started, things only went from bad to worse.
TGEFM is all about the inclusivity that music can provide, and that all bands, with good heart and good intentions, deserve a space in our coverage. However we find that End It’s othering of a fan, who paid to be there, supporting End It, and was expressing themselves as is their way, does not coalesce with our values. As such, for the foreseeable future, TGEFM will not be providing any coverage for End It.
While we understand that End It most assuredly has a larger following than us, and that this decision will likely have little, if any, effect on their exposure; TGEFM can rest assured that we have made a decision that befits our moral compass, and the moral compass that we strive for our community to achieve.
Subjective commentary from founder / headitor Jeff “the white drew carey” Sorley
Seriously End It? You guys suck as people, and are boring as a hardcore band.
I get hardcore is brutal. I’ve likely been going to hardcore shows since before you all were born. That’s not clout-chasing or old-personing (although it is that, too… I’m honest and modest), it’s just fact. But there’s a thing in hardcore, and it’s whether you’re an asshole who is there for the violence and being an asshole (in which case you suck, looking at YOU End It), or you’re there for the cathartic experience of exorcising your anger and frustrations with a band who feels you and knows your pain, if not your exact troubles, and you always, always help everyone in the pit. Always be the latter. Always
Meanwhile, Akil (seen here in “I am hardcore, but dressed like I am about to golf” attire, which is the lamest trend in hardcore) is standing there sweating his ass off, out of breath, after handing the crowd a show they wanted… he’s got them in the palm of his hand. End It is delivering the release they need and crave. Akil had the choice to be awesome, or an asshole.
Yet Banana Man is sitting there rent-free in his head, and he’s so disturbed seeing someone he doesn’t expect at his show, that he has to go and pull this shit? What is it about someone in a banana suit that makes Akil and random white bassist guy so antagonistic towards a person in a banana suit?
We already know that Akil chose to be an asshole instead of awesome.
Offering a set-list on neon green poster board so large that is readable from from ISS (itself an indication about what this band needs to operate somewhat coherently), for the sole purpose to pick out the “weird guy” in the crowd to be assaulted while your band plays some of the most mediocre and uninspiring hardcore music of the 2020s? And you’re from Baltimore of all places, I thought you’d have better tunes than that to encourage the assault of someone in the crowd. But, c’est la vie, we got this boring hardcore song that will be forgetten soon enough, while the memory of what End It did here will last longer… Meanwhile central casting “white guy on bass” is encouraging this shit? Seriously, you’re not the one to be opening your mouth in this whole situation. Sit down and shut up, loser.
Rarely has there been a band that appears, on the face of it, to espouse the ideals and aspirations of the downtrodden, only to have done a bang-up job of exposing themselves as a bunch of hacks… in it for the beating down on others and faux solidarity. I mean, seriously, outing themselves should be End It’s new gig, because they’re sooo much better at it than hardcore music.
End It may not give a damn about our coverage, because we’ve got, like, twelve readers. But I’ve got deeper pockets than they’ve got talent (and I don’t have very deep pockets), so I’m not too worried about who’ll be around longer.
Flatspot Records, this is also on you, too. Pick better bands.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, the SF/Bay Area, and now the Twin Cities. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.