Capsule at SXSW / Interview with Eugene

Fight Songs: An Interview With Oxbow Vocalist Eugne Robinson

What do you remember about the "Oxbow Incident"?
I see the bouncers moving closer to us and having been a bouncer once I figure it's to a) tell us we have one more song to play and they're anticipating us not being that into this or b) there's a curfew. Imagine my surprise when it had to do with the fact that I was pantsless. Not underwear-less. Just without pants. The police had purportedly told them to tell me to put my pants on. I thanked him for telling me but indicated that I would, of course, not be putting my pants on until I finished. Just like fucking. They cut the power. Greg and I, per our standard operating procedure, keep playing. They attack Greg. I stop them. The crowd flips out. Spit is thrown and then subsequently punches. Show's over in the middle of our last song. People outside the club screaming, "Spiro's sucks! Spiro's sucks!" I walk out of the club, still without pants, and have someone take a picture of me with a local cop. The local cop was more than happy to oblige.

Has this ever happened before at your shows?
Of course... A similar thing had happened before when we played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers... The problem there was because some people came out onstage and got married during our set. And they took the time out of our set. I went insane and then we had a roadie and he was insane and so we beat all the bouncers and only stopped when police came onstage with their guns drawn. I tried to apologize to the Chili Peppers but they were not so prone to being that understanding. My point is this though: do not attempt to stop the fuck. Unless your building is on fire.

 

What did you say to the Spiro's people after all was said and done?
Well the biggest bouncer came over and apologized. He said he was a performer as well and he hated to do it but the cops had told him to. I told him I was unlikely to listen to anybody but a cop but I complained about how he had treated our friends in Pelican even if the guys had spit on him. But then I said that when I was a bouncer if someone had ever spit on me I'd have broken his jaw in two places and then have rubbed mucus in his eyes. So in the scheme of things I was accepting his apology. The club owner, despite having given me free booze earlier, was a cock with his mewling about calling the police back to arrest someone for hurting/threatening his bouncers.

 

Why do you think they were so adamant about you putting your pants back on?
At a certain point it really isn't about the pants at all, right? At a certain point it's "just because I told you so."

 

Was anyone seriously hurt?
My sense of decorum took a beating. Outside of that? And the bumps and bruises suffered by the valiant men of Pelican, no.