Gym Class Heroes Discuss Racial Slur at Missouri Warped Tour: ‘I Wasn’t Necessarily Surprised’
Earlier this month, Gym Class Heroes singer Travis McCoy was arrested at the Warped Tour in St. Louis for striking an audience member (who had called him an “ignorant n*****”) with a microphone. Almost a month after the incident, guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts have decided to share their thoughts on the incident.
“I don’t think, for me
personally, I wasn’t necessarily surprised that that happened because I
think things have gotten better, but it’s still not perfect in terms of
racism and other kinds of hate … but I was definitely surprised that it
happened right then and there. In all these shows that we’re playing,
something like that is the exception and not the rule. All these people
come together, hundreds of thousands of kids every day and sh– … stuff
like that never goes down … so it definitely caught me and everyone else
in our band off guard,” Kasonogo told Ultimate-Guitar. “You know for that guy to
come here and just… He didn’t just disrespect us he disrespected the
whole entire friggin’ Warped Tour and everybody there, so that was a
pretty big surprise,” added Roberts.
Gym Class Heroes will release their fourth full-length, The Quilt, on September 9. Check out the music video for “Peace Sign/Index Down” from the upcoming record and catch the band on the rest of the Warped Tour this summer and in the U.K. this September.
Gym Class Heroes tour dates:
8.1: Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.2: Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.3: Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park (with Warped Tour)
8.5: Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre (with Warped Tour)
8.6: Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway (with Warped Tour)
8.7: Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater (with The Academy Is …, Cobra Starship, Four Year Strong, Tyga)
8.8: Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.9: Seattle, WA @ George Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.10: Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows (with Warped Tour)
8.11: Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater (with The Academy Is …, Cobra Starship, Four Year Strong, Tyga)
8.13: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center (with Warped Tour)
8.14: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.15: San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre (with Warped Tour)
8.16: Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot (with Warped Tour)
8.17: Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center (with Warped Tour)
9.13: Glasgow, UK @ Garage
9.14: Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
9.15: Dublin, UK @ Academy
9.16: Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
9.17: Leeds, UK @ Cockpit
9.18: London, UK @ Astoria 2
9.19: Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2
9.20: Oxford, UK @ Academy
9.21: Bristol, UK @ Academy 2
9.22: Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
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