A.C. Newman said the New Pornographers were shocked and frightened when they learned in April 2025 that drummer Joseph Seiders had been arrested. In his first interview about the case, Newman explained why the band cut ties with Seiders, worried about his family’s privacy, and ultimately decided not to change its name.
What A.C. Newman said about the arrest
Newman told Rolling Stone on November 19, 2025, that the band was close to completing an album when it learned of Seiders’ arrest. He recalled the period as “dark, weird, and confusing” and “terrifying,” in part because three band members had children and feared their own children might have been alone with Seiders.
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Continue as a Guest | Buy on Amazon | |
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Mass Romantic | $15.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Newman also stressed that the band’s distress was not comparable to what Seiders’ family faced. “It sucks for us,” he told Rolling Stone, “but [Seiders] was married and had kids. For them, it’s this horrible nightmare. We just got hit by some shrapnel. You just try to have some perspective about it.”
What the band said and when it cut ties
After the arrest became public in April, the band said it had immediately severed ties with Seiders. Its statement called the members “absolutely shocked, horrified and devastated by the news of the charges against Joe Seiders” and said, “Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by his actions.” Contemporary coverage by the Los Angeles Times and Pitchfork reported the statement and the initial case developments.
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- The album, like Continue as a Guest, finds The New Pornographers-bandleader A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, and Todd Fancey-expanding their already rich catalog in surprising fashion. Joined by legendary session drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, Keith Richards, Fiona Apple), the space contained in a New Pornographers song has never been this clearly articulated or generously textured, giving a distinct pulse to the characters whose lives spill out in Newman's tender, evocative lyrics. The Former Site Of adds new depth to the sound Newman shook loose through building and recording in a home studio, fine-tuning the band's creative process far beyond the lockdown-era n...
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Why the New Pornographers kept their name
Newman said the band initially considered changing its name. In the weeks afterward, he concluded that a change could redirect public attention to the case and intensify scrutiny of Seiders’ ex-wife and children. He described the connection people might draw between the band name and the allegations as “too cute,” and told Rolling Stone: “This nightmare that should at least be a private nightmare was a public nightmare.”
He said changing the name could prompt people to ask why it had changed, bringing the family’s painful situation back into public discussion. “The more I thought about it, it just seemed like a bad-faith argument [for changing the name],” he said. The band’s name was inspired by Shōhei Imamura’s 1966 film The Pornographers, as Newman explained in the interview; Exclaim! also summarized his comments on the name and decision in its November 18, 2025 coverage.
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What was reported about Seiders’ case
Seiders’ arrest and the early criminal proceedings should be distinguished from the later reported outcome. According to April 2025 coverage citing Riverside County authorities, police responded on April 7 to a report involving an 11-year-old boy at a Chick-fil-A in Palm Desert. Seiders was arrested on April 9 after a second report at the same restaurant. The charges reported at the time included possession of child pornography or child sexual abuse material, annoying or molesting a child, and invasion-of-privacy offenses; terminology varied among outlets. The Los Angeles Times reported that he pleaded not guilty on April 11. These were allegations and an initial plea posture, not the final disposition.
MyNewsLA reported on June 26, 2025, that Seiders pleaded guilty at a Riverside County Superior Court felony settlement conference, with sentencing then scheduled for August 26. Rolling Stone’s November interview reported that he was sentenced in September 2025 to three years in California state prison. The available reporting establishes that as a reported outcome; a court judgment was not available in the sources cited here.
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What Newman’s interview does—and does not—update
Newman’s interview, published November 19, 2025, is the first interview he gave about the arrest, according to Rolling Stone. It explains the band’s immediate reaction and its reasoning about the name, but it is not a current account of later band plans. The interview’s comments about an album in progress describe the situation at that time, not a confirmed release or present-day lineup update.
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