Israeli bassist leaves indie band Big Thief for ‘interpersonal reasons’
Brooklyn-based band announces departure of Max Oleartchik without giving further details; group cancelled Tel Aviv gig in 2022 amid pressure from BDS activists
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Israeli bassist Max Oleartchik from Brooklyn-based indie folk group Big Thief is leaving the outfit for “interpersonal reasons,” wrote the four band members in a joint message on their Instagram account.
“Our love for each other is infinite, and we are so grateful for all we have shared these many years together since the beginning of our journey as a band,” the group wrote. “We wouldn’t be who we are without Max.”
The other band members are vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker, guitarist and backing vocalist Buck Meek and drummer James Krivchenia.
“This is a big change for us and the four of us ask for your trust, respect and care as we grow into the next chapter of our lives,” wrote the band on Instagram, without further explanations as to why Oleartchik, who played on all five of the band’s studio albums since 2015, is leaving.
Oleartchik first met Meek as a teenager at a summer program at the Berklee College of Music and then the two reconnected as adults in Brooklyn, according to reporting from Pitchfork Magazine.
Bandmate Lenker earlier this year called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. She also released a solo album a few months ago, with proceeds directed toward Palestinian children.
In an interview with The New York Times to promote the album, Lenker said that “it was naive to think that we could perform in Israel without criticism.”
Lenker was referring to the band’s decision two years ago to cancel two planned performances at Tel Aviv’s Barby club, after heavy social media pressure from BDS activists.
At the time, the band received a wave of angry responses demanding to know why they support apartheid and that they stop “normalizing Israel.”
The band later tried to explain on social media that they were scheduling shows in the country where Oleartchik was born and raised.
The bassist’s father, singer-songwriter Alon Oleartchik, one of the members of beloved Israeli 1970s band Kaveret, responded at the time, explaining that Big Thief wasn’t a political band, and simply wanted to perform in Max’s home country.
“As soon as they announced the performances, they received a flood of hate, something like 5,000 reactions,” said Oleartchik then, during an interview with Channel 12. “They were scared, they didn’t know what to do with themselves and decided to cancel.”
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