Via: Pitchfork
Two Gallants broke their silence today on the violence that errupted at their show in Houston last Friday (Oct. 13) which left numerous people arrested and tasered including a fourteen year-old.
For those of you unaware, Two Gallants were palying a show at Walter's on Washington in Housto on Friday. A police officer eventually showed up due to a noise complaint, and made his way onto the stage to tell the band to stop playing. Details of what happened next depend on who you ask, but what we do know if that officer G.M. Rodriguez threw singer/guitarist Adam Stephens to the ground and a melee ensued. Stepehens offers his version of events:
"I think he was getting on the stage right when I was turning around. Had a flashlight in his hand and it was turned on, he was pointing it at me and walking towards me and yelling at us to stop. And I questioned him--I don't remember my exact words, but I don't think it matters. I asked 'why?', or said 'what's the problem?' just wanting to have some explanation, which I think I'm lawfully due. And I questioned him once and he didn't give me any answer, he just yelled at me to stop again. And I think I questioned him one more time.
"I wasn't rude about it. I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea if there was some huge problem, maybe he needed to evacuate the building for some reason. I didn't immediately think this was an antagonizing situation, but I wasn't about to stop just because he said 'stop.'
"He didn't give me any explanation after me asking twice. This all happened in a matter of seconds. And at that point, he simultaneously put his arm around my guitar and around my neck and threw me down to the ground. And Tyson was there immediately. As far as I remember Tyson was there pretty much when he grabbed me, because Tyson jumped over his drums. And he threw Tyson down immediately as well, and was on top of both of us trying to do something--I don't know what his intention was."
After Rodriguez and the two band members were separated by a group of people trying to diffuse the situation, Rodriguez became very aggressive with the crowd.
"He was really focused on this one kid, who was really young," said drummer Tyson Vogel. "I think he was fourteen years old. He kept Tasing him over and over again. The kid started having convulsions or something. It's so crazy. You can kill somebody with one of those things."
In the end, several people were arrested, including Vogel, who was released on $1400 bail the following morning. The band is currently exploring their legal options, saying "This is about a larger truth. We're not trying to get something else out of it. We just want what's right."