Monday night outside of the Smiling Moose in Pittsburgh, Punchline drummer Cory Muro got into in a altercation with members of Brokencyde following their performance there. In a interview with Altpress he tells his side of the story. Brokencyde’s version will comes on Wednesday.
Are you the sort of guy who gets into fights like this a lot or was this a rare event?
I am not the type to be in fights at all. You can tell from what all the Punchline fans are saying online. That isn’t me. The only fights I’ve ever been in were to break them up.
Why were you at the Smiling Moose?
Me and a friend Johnny Grushecky were drinking at our favorite bar next-door and it happened when we were leaving.
How did it begin?
Me and both of my bands have been playing music our whole lives. It is our lives. We don’t have jobs, we do nothing but play music and play shows. We do not agree with the so-called music Brokencyde make. When we saw the singer outside their bus, I told him I do not like his band’s music or the messages in it. He ran onto the bus and 10 seconds later, the whole band and crew came sprinting out of the bus and straight for my friend.
Then what happened?
The singer–I think his name is Dave [Gallegos]–sucker-punched Johnny and broke his nose. At that point, I grabbed [Gallegos] around the neck and brought him to the ground in a chokehold. Next thing I know, I was getting kicked in the head and blacked out for a couple seconds. When I came to, I was covered in blood and still getting kicked. I managed to get up and realized they had Johnny up against a door. It was about six-on-one and they weren’t stopping. As people saw what was happening—including everyone who works at the Smiling Moose—they started to come split it up. [Brokencyde] even hit Johnny’s sister, Desiree, in the chest when she tried splitting it up. Once Brokencyde realized they were the ones everyone was against at this point, they jumped back on their bus, hit a parked car and fled the scene.
Were the cops involved?
The cops showed up, took a report and talked to the witnesses. The [employees of] the Smiling Moose told the cops that they saw everything and we were telling the truth—also that Brokencyde had been giving them problems all night. There was also a girl flipping out about her underage friends being stuck on the bus.
Did anyone go to the hospital?
Yeah, I received three staples in my head and Johnny has a broken nose.
How do you feel about fans who threaten to lash out at Brokencyde?
I do not support Punchline fans taking action in any illegal fashion, but I urge them to speak freely about what happened and [to spread the word] that Brokencyde are not a real band or good people. I hope this opens people’s eyes up to what is happening in music, and that it’s okay to stand up against it. But it’s not okay for ten guys to jump two just because we don’t stand for singing about “getting our penis sucked” or girls “being our whores.” [Brokencyde] are a disgusting group of intruders who call themselves a band. It’s time they make their way out and let real music have a chance.
