Part of what made the Dave Matthews Band so successful was its singular instrumentation — not too many bands in the grunge-oriented ’90s had a violinist in its ranks. Boyd Tinsley officially joined the group in that capacity in 1992, according to Consequence of Sound.
According to CoS, Tinsley formed a side project called Crystal Garden with trumpet player James Frost-Winn. The two met in 2007, when Tinsley befriended the then-18-year-old musician, buying him dinner, gifts, and trips, per NPR. The band imploded in the wake of what Frost-Winn characterized as harassment and assault. In 2015, Frost-Winn fell asleep in Tinsley’s home and awoke to the violinist touching his buttocks with his feet and also performing a sexual act on himself. Attributing the act to being “messed up” on prescription medication, the working relationship continued, as did Tinsley’s gifts, but by mid-2016, Tinsley had resumed an old habit of sending flirtatious texts to Frost-Winn, asking for the younger musician to send him “pics and vids” of himself wearing “dirty socks.” He claimed to have reiterated with Tinsley that he didn’t want that kind of relationship, which the latter respected for two months until bringing up the touching incident from the previous year, claiming that he “couldn’t control” himself.
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In May 2018, Frost-Winn sued Tinsley for $9 million, for creating a “hostile work environment.” A few months earlier, Tinsley announced a sabbatical from the Dave Matthews Band, which, in the wake of the allegations and suit, dismissed the violinist.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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