Credit: Rabid Child Images

At 3:00 a.m. on January 11, three members of local “hipster-hop”
crew Mad Rad were arrested outside of Neumos following an
alleged drunken brawl with security. The police report states that when
officers arrived, Ty Finnan (DJ Darwin) and Nathan Quiroga (Buffalo
Madonna) were pinned to the ground by security after being ejected from
the club and repeatedly attempting to reenter. Finnan and Quiroga
allegedly attacked a security guard, drawing blood with a blow to the
face. Peter Robinson (P Smoov) allegedly refused to leave, was
“extremely intoxicated,” and was arrested for trespassing. Finnan
and Quiroga were charged with assault; Robinson apparently entered
a pretrial diversion program to avoid charges. All three spent a night
in jail.

Hearing about the incident afterward, it sounded kind of like a
bad parody, a pale imitation of the previous weekend’s fatally real
violence at Chop Suey. Love them or hate them—and I tend to lean
just slightly toward the former—Mad Rad are a sharp, ambitious
crew. But what kind of sharp, ambitious rap crew picks a fight at a
club at this particular moment in Seattle? And with club security,
no less—security who must be at their most heightened levels of
no-bullshit vigilance in the wake of the Chop Suey shooting.

Following the incident, Mad Rad have been banned from Neumos,
Chop Suey, the War Room, King Cobra, Havana, and the Saint, and sources
say they may be banned from the Showbox as well.

The question now is this: Just how tight is this crew? Quiroga and Finnan will be unwelcome at some of Seattle’s most
reputable venues, but Terry Radjaw, who apparently wasn’t involved in
the Neumos incident, and P Smoov, who at least isn’t alleged to have
assaulted any security and has avoided charges thus far, could
conceivably go on without them in some form or another (and P Smoov has
his other production work to fall back on). Might this incident lead
to some new, leaner-and-meaner Mad Rad?

Mad Rad wouldn’t comment, due to “pending legal issues and the
privacy of the individuals involved.” But they said they “look
forward to getting past this in a timely, sophisticated manner. We
also look forward to staying progressive in the music that we make, the
art that we create, and the shows that we perform at.”

This past Friday night at Lo_Fi—one of the few clubs that will
still have them—the crew seemed tight enough in their commitment
to get past the incident. The place was packed, the energy was high,
and Mad Rad just briefly announced that they had no further comments
before commencing to own the place, performing with more fire than I’ve
ever seen from them. Buffalo Madonna was soaked in sweat and
literally climbing the walls. P Smoov kept smoking imaginary
joints. Darwin screamed along over the turntables to every chorus.

This incident may not hurt the band’s already considerable hype (any
publicity being good publicity and all), but it’s cost them access to
some of the city’s best midsize venues. And without those stages to
play, Mad Rad are going to have a hell of a time trying to further
build their buzz. Looks like that “third wave of Seattle hiphop” might
be over before it even began. recommended

34 replies on “Fucking in the Streets”

  1. how come everything written about them is in an alleged form? or its all in a rumor sense? of course the police are going to take the side of the security guard, especially at this time. but these kids are good kids and i bet it was evoked and provoked. you know how shitty moe bar and nuemo’s security is.

  2. I think it’s a shame that this paper and the venues involved in the banning did nothing but believe rumors from an asshole security guard. I’ve seen Mad Rad play at the King Cobra & Chop Suey and it was nothing but fun loving peace. It’d be great to see venues in this city that know the guys actually support them and not jump on the bullshit bandwagon!

  3. @1 & @2 I think you guys are right. Instead of making a fun party band like Mad Rad the bad guy, why not double check the security that is in this city? My boyfriend and I have been yelled at numerous times just for having a California state ID. Its ridiculous.

  7. Why are the venues and ”important people” trying to control the music that comes out of this city? There was a shooting at Chop Suey, are any of those acts/promoters/djs banned from anywhere else? These guys look like they are working hard, so let them be!

  8. Why are the venues and ”important people” trying to control the music that comes out of this city? There was a shooting at Chop Suey, are any of those acts/promoters/djs banned from anywhere else? These guys look like they are working hard, so let them be!

  10. Either Mad Rad is Super Genius at getting press or they just don’t give a fuck. I don’t really give a fuck so I guess that makes me Super Genius and that my friend(s) is Mad Rad.

  14. since when is a bouncer working at moe bar at 3am? or anywhere for that matter. i was there, these guys didn’t start anything and they were the backlash of a security guard and cops being dicks. and it was more like 1230/1

  15. Mad Rad is Superdope!!! They put on a great show and have great stage presence. At first you could thank the No-Fun Nickels regime for trying to ruin the Seattle music scene, and now the clubs are doing it to themselves. Security at Neumos is terrible, give a douchebag a little bit of power and this is what you get. Mad Rad has taken the smaller venue scene of Seattle by storm, and its always a good time with smiles and dancing. The big clubs will be begging to have them back. I had tickets to the Common Market, Blue Scholars, Mad Rad show but thankfully it was rescheduled so I have the option to get a refund. I love the other two groups and give them big respect but hate the venue and won’t be back after this. Just one more reason I got in the last month to stay off the hill.

  16. I think the most concerning thing here is the apparently monopoly on music performance — a RUMOR at ONE club results in BANNING from all major venues in the heart of cap hill? That’s bullshit. Cheers to Mad Rad for being awesome and also cheers to Lo-Fi for being a fucking awesome venue.

  18. The funny thing about this ban, is that I just read a flyer that said that guy Darwin who got arrested is DJing the King Cobra on next Thursday. I guess they realized that a joint band is stupid. It makes sense to me. Maybe they just had an issue with that one bouncer dude, they should just leave it at that.

  21. i’m willing to bet they were intoxicated, but knowing those guys its hard to believe they would start a fight. i hope they sue those shitty security guards.

  22. “Maybe” Buffalo Maddona deserves to be kicked out of Neumos, and “maybe” I’m a three-foot-tall purple Gorilla.

    Even if it IS true, I have no doubt that the security guard involved is either a douche or did something unusually stupid.

    Hypothesis: The Chop Suey shooting have left a steaming brick in the pants of every Seattle club security guard, and now they’re flipping right the fuck out all over the place and overcompensating for the shooting.

    Experiment: Have a prominent Seattle hip hop group or a member of said group do something a little, shall we say, stupid while intoxicated maybe perhaps, and then see how the guards react. If they handle it in a calm manner and aren’t idiots, they’re alright and can continue being rational about behavior even after a senseless and awful event such as the Chop Suey shooting. If they go apeshit on the guy, they need to take a chill pill.

    Results: After going apeshit on the guy, they ban him permanently, as do a number of other major clubs, confirming the hypothesis.

    Conclusion: The clubs should ease up on the guy, and the security guard responsible, even if he was in the right, needs to calm down. Give him a slap on the wrists and go on your way. For God’s sake, get on with it.

  24. Sure maybe their timing was off, but tell me when a good would be for an allegedly drunken brawl with security outside any venue for a local group? Banning Mad Rad from Capitol Hill is certainly not reasonable; it’s a response that’s waaaay out of proportion in the wake of the tragic event of the previous week. And like the comments above bring out, when security does their job right these are not the results you get.

  26. I have had two incidents happen with the security guards at moe bar. One particular incident involved a huge dude that was a security guard but was not working. He insisted that I give up my seat because it was his. When I refused, he asked if I wanted to have my drink glass jammed down my throat.

    Then he said, “do you know who I am.” To which I replied, “I don’t give a fuck.” Then his security guard friend who was working said, “what did you just say to him?” and proceeded to show me to the door.

    At which time, things got out of hand. I didn’t back down but I also didn’t touch anyone. I even asked the bartender for support and all she did was shake her head in support of no one.

    On my way out the door with my co-horts, the big security guard elbowed me square in the chest. And I thought that he had broken a rib. I asked the doorman about the guy and he said, “yeah, he gets like that sometimes.”

    So that’s Moe bar for ya.

  27. I think it is funny how so many people are trying to say that somehow being banned from some venues is going to “end” Mad Rad. Get off your high horse and realize that there is music outside of these specific clubs in not only Seattle but all around the northwest. I dont see what the big deal is anyway. I seem to remember Kurt Cobain Hitting a security guard with a guitar in the face on purpose while crowd surfing and the only retaliation for that was the security guard punching him back. The venues are burning down the very same thing they seek to build.

  28. I saw them awhile back and they took forEVER to start playing. The previous band cleared the stage, they set up, then they played some other rapper’s stuff (presumably to hype the crowd) for fifteen frigging minutes before coming on. Keep in mind this was in the middle of a bill they weren’t headlining. I wouldn’t have been so annoyed if they came on and tore it up but they were mediocre at best. Boring. At least this list of clubs will be spared their unprofessionalism in the future.

  30. to see how many times the word “douchebag” can be used in each article’s comments. i believe the winning author receives a weekend in cape cod, so good work guys. keep ’em coming. forget the rest of the english language

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