Dave Matthews Band ‘covered people in shit’ - NME

[Screaming Lord Byron]

http://www.nme.com/news/109628.htm

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND have been accused of dumping 800lb (360 kg) of human waste from their tourbus onto a boat filled with passengers on an architecture trip.

It’s claimed that more than 100 people were drenched in sewage in the incident (August 8), when the driver of the bus emptied the septic tank through a grate in the Kinzie Street bridge and into the Chicago river below.

The state of Illinois is now suing the band for violating state laws.

The band and one of its drivers are facing civil penalties of $70,000 (£39,000) from the state for allegedly violating water pollution and public nuisance legislation.

According to BBC News, a spokesperson for The Dave Matthews Band said: "Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident."

He added that the band "will continue to be co-operative in this investigation".

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

1. Thats all they've ever done!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

4. True...they aren't this great band everyone thinks they are

but still better than that rap crap you seem to like...brwaaaahahaha

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Perfectly Stated

Overrated frat party band.
The Professor

[BigMcLargehuge]

13. I'm with you

when I first read the story I assumed they just affixed external speakers to the tour bus.

[Magrittes Pipe]

2. Usually, they just do that figuratively.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

3. We agree!

Mazel Tov!

[Magrittes Pipe]

6. Grateful Dead suck.

I'm tired of agreeing with you. Go listen to Ani and Tori and other overwrought singers whose names end in "i."

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. I didn't need to cast any aspersions.

It's the best news story ever.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

8. BEST.NEWS.STORY.EVER.

agreed

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. And he beat MATCOM too!

Gold medal to Byron, Screaming Lord, representing Canada!

[Screaming Lord Byron]

31. O Canada!

Our home of foolish news!
True patriot love something something something
(this bit's in French)
O Canada! We stand on cars for cheese.

[AngryAmish]

7. Two word review:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. Shit Sandwich?

maybe

[tigereye]

14. well I do like some of his songs

There. I said it. I'm waiting. ;)

But that is pretty uncool and quite a straight line for those who do not care for him.

[Kolesar]

33. is that a Spinal Tap line?

[AngryAmish]

35. Yep

Two word review of "Shark Sandwich" - Shit sandwich.

[Kolesar]

38. I can see the band's fallen faces

That movie excelled at such scenes.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

41. YES - MTV Shows some guts. I posted on this a while ago

yes it is

[Kolesar]

11. It was the driver, not the Dave Matthews Band

"the driver of the bus emptied the septic tank through a grate in the Kinzie Street bridge and into the Chicago river below."

That article reads like something in a Monty Python sketch.

"Look, there goes the King"
"How do you know?"
"He doesn't have shit all over him"

[LynneSin]

25. Dave Matthews Band is playing Vote For Change - they must be discredited

But seriously, I would suspect that the actual band had nothing to do with this, um, dump, so to speak.

[DS1]

12. Like I said in the other thread, it wasn't actually human waste, it was

pre-digitized DMB music :puke:

[XNASA]

15. I'm able to see the scene of the crime through my office window.

The bridge I mean, not the location of the DMB gig.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

16. Man, imagine being privy to that scene?

That would have been extraordinary.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

17. privy - how appropo

:)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

19. Ah. I wondered if I was being a little too obscure there.

[JVS]

18. That's a lot of shit! But if anyone can churn out that much it is them

[MallRat]

20. I've been on that architectural boat tour.

And I must admit, I've never considered the possibility of getting hit with 800 pounds of feces and urine while cruising up the Chicago River.

I'd better bring an umbrella next time.

-MR

[Susang]

21. Oh, if only it were true

I hate to rain on your parade,so to speak, but unfortunately they are innocent (this time). I wish they had done it, as it would have been the funniest. shit. story. ever.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Witnesses on the architectural sightseeing cruise told police they saw a long black tour bus dump liquid waste Sunday afternoon as their boat crossed under the Kinzie Street bridge.

About two-thirds of the passengers seated on the upper deck of Chicago's Little Lady were soaked with the "brownish-yellow" substance.

One witness gave Chicago police an Oregon license plate number that belongs to the 2003 Monaco Royale Coach driven by Jerry Fitzpatrick, who has been Matthews' tour bus driver for three years.

Fitzpatrick confirmed he was in Chicago with Matthews, whose band played the second of two shows at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin later that night. But the driver said he was parked in front of the Peninsula Hotel, 108 E. Superior St., when the waste rained down from the bridge several blocks away.

"There is no way I could be responsible for that," Fitzpatrick said from downstate Effingham. "I haven't emptied the tank for days. Besides, we are very cautious about how we do that sort of thing."

To bolster his case, Fitzpatrick coaxed Sgt. Paul Gardner of the Effingham Police Department to inspect the bus. He then gave Gardner his cell phone to tell a reporter that the tank was nearly full.

"One of the strangest requests I've ever had, that's for sure," Gardner said.

A publicist for the Dave Matthews Band issued a statement Monday night saying the group's management had "determined that all of the buses on our tour were parked at the time of this incident."

Chicago police are continuing to investigate, but for now the episode is not considered a crime, a spokesman said.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago also are investigating. The culprit could face charges for illegally dumping waste into the river.

Rob Sulski, an EPA engineer who has worked on Chicago River issues for most of the last two decades, said he has never heard of a bus emptying liquid waste into the river from a bridge. Most charter buses get rid of waste at licensed disposal sites, he said.

Asked why a witness identified his license plate, Fitzgerald speculated that boat passengers combed the area for tour buses and came across his waiting for Dave Matthews in front of the Peninsula Hotel.

After dropping off Matthews at Midway Airport on Monday, Fitzgerald headed to Arkansas for a break. He said he planned to empty the waste tank when he got home.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0408100046aug10,0,5256338.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[chiburb]

22. Spoilsport.

;(

[Susang]

23. I'm a poopy-head

hee-hee }(

[LynneSin]

28. Makes you wonder who will be slandered next from the "Vote for Change"....

tour???


Think about it: DMB dumping human waste on a boat full of tourists on the Chicago River. Here's this band that not only is environmentally pro-active BUT headlining a major concert tour AGAINST George W. Bush.

Let's try to make them look like a bunch of assinine primadonna "do as we say, not as we do" rock stars.

I'm having issues with how this story came out!

[redqueen]

39. It sure does seem suspicious. n/t

[AngryAmish]

36. Nope - they are still on the hook

DMB has more than 1 bus.

[Susang]

44. Did you read the article?

The one implicated by the license plate was cleared, and all of the buses were found to have been parked in front of the hotel at the time the incident occurred.

Hey, I'd like nothing more than the irony of finding that Dave Matthew's tour buses had dumped shit all over folks sightseeing on the river, but it just isn't true. I'm not going to slander someone for the sake of a good story, even if it is funny. Particularly not someone who's headlining a tour to help evict Bush from office.

When this shit storm happened (here in Chicago, where I happen to live, BTW), the local news was all over it and many people came forward and said that the tour buses were all in front of the hotel during the incident. The one that was supposedly identified by the license plate number had a full tank of poo, and was inspected by the police at the insistence of the driver. Do you know how long it takes to get a full tank of poo in one of those things?

on edit: Apparently there is a story in today's Trib accusing another driver of dumping the poop based on video surveillance camera evidence. I guess we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves who shat upon the good folks aboard the architectural tour boat

[ProfessorGAC]

42. Sorry, Susang, but Today's Trib Says Something Different

A different driver has been charged with this crime. The one in this story was indeed parked somewhere else at the time. This was one of the other busses.

The story was front page in the Trib today.
The Professor

[Susang]

45. I just read the article

I'm still reserving judgement. It took them this long to use the video surveillance camera evidence to find the perp? I find that highly unlikely. I think they're desperate for a scapegoat.

Not that I couldn't be wrong. :-) Lord knows I've been before. ;-)

[Susang]

46. Stupid DU posting bug!

I hate when it makes me double post! I end up looking stoopid! :dunce:

[chimpy the poopthrower]

24. Hey, I LIKE Dave Matthews Band!

I don't understand what people have against them. I think they have a unique sound. I mean, is there any other band that really sounds like them? What is it about them that people don't like?

[skypilot]

26. I can't figure this out either.

I'm not a big fan or anything (I don't even own any of their CDs because I so rarely buy music anymore) but I don't understand the antipathy towards them. I've liked what I've heard of the band but others seem to just despise them. Is Dave Matthew an asshole or something. Is he a Republican?

[Screaming Lord Byron]

27. There's an air of smugness around Dave Matthews.

That's what I notice whenever I watch him.

[skypilot]

30. Hmmm. I've never seen him perform...

...and probably wouldn't know him if I passed him on the street. I just heard a few of his songs and liked them. But I understand what you mean. I feel the same way about Laurie Anderson. I know she's supposed to be brilliant and all but I have NEVER liked her. I first saw her on TV a couple times about 20 years ago and she just OOZED smugness. She was unwatchable.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

32. I don't hate them, I just don't care for them much.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

43. I think some people think he's not "hard rockin'" enough.

Some call it Muzak. Perhaps in the sense that he's "lighter" than some other bands out there, but I certainly don't find him uncreative. I think his music is interesting. It doesn't follow a standard formula, and I can listen to it without getting tired of it. Some other music is so simplistic - that's what I can't stand. Dave Matthews' music seems "smart" and fresh to me.

[LastKnight]

34. no fair, they got a free show! oh wait... never mind. nt

[miss_kitty]

37. i don't really know any DMB stuff i think they're boring

but this accusation smelled bad from the very beginning.
i am glad susang posted the rebuttal story. while i don't listen to the guy's muzak, i have seen him interviewed and this sort of shit seemed out of character with what he says.

[Southsideirish]

40. I think they owe Chicago a free concert, at least. n/t

[XNASA]

47. A dubious favor if ever there was......

First we crapped on your heads, now we're gonna pee in your ears.

[Susang]

48. Then for an encore, we'll bore you to death

zzzzzzzzzzzzz..........