Brass Against Banned From NASCAR Venues for Pee Incident, Frontwoman Issues Her Own Apology

Brass Against, the brass collective best known until recently for their amusing brass band covers of popular rock and metal songs, continue to be caught up in the fallout over frontwoman Sophia Urista’s on-stage golden shower last week.

In case you missed it, frontwoman Sophia Urista peed on a fan’s face during the band’s Welcome to Rockville performance on Thursday, November 11. After saying during the show that she badly had to go to the bathroom but couldn’t because she had to be on stage, one fan accepted her invitation to bask in her golden shower during their cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Wake Up.” You can watch incident of the video below (NSFW).

The band quickly issued a public apology, saying, “Sophia got carried away. That’s not something the rest of us expected, and it’s not something you’ll see again at our shows.” A concerned citizen later filed a police report in Daytona Beach, and a department spokesperson said that they are currently looking into the matter. Florida statute 800.03 makes it unlawful for someone to “expose his or her sexual organs in public or on the private premises of another, or so near thereto as to be seen from such private premises, in a vulgar or indecent manner.” The crime is punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.

I haven’t read any examples of Brass Against’s own fans — or potential new ones — outraged over the incident, although I obviously do not read every comment on every website in existence. If anything, I’d say the incident has garnered the band WAAAAAY more fans than they ever had before.

But Urista has now issued her own personal apology, perhaps as a public display of contrition in an attempt to lessen any potential charges that are coming her way. She said:

“Hey everyone. I want to speak to my performance at Rockville metal festival in Daytona.

I have always pushed the limits in music and onstage. That night, I pushed the limits too far.

I love my family, the band, and the fans more than anything and I know some were hurt or offended by what I did. I apologize to them and want them to know that I didn’t mean to hurt them.

I am not a shock artist. I always want to put the music first. I’m grateful for all of your continued love and support.”

What’s more, NASCAR, the racing league whose venue, Daytona Internal Speedway, played host to the now infamous incident, has banned Brass Against from future performances at any of their spaces. That’s not at all surprising given the generally conservative demographic of NASCAR fans — they had to save face in the eyes of their Christian followers — but it’s also not especially impactful: how many other NASCAR venues would Brass Against have been likely to perform at in their entire lives? I’d wager zero, save a repeat invite to Rockville.

NASCAR spokesperson Ruyssell Branham stated:

“Daytona International Speedway doesn’t condone the inappropriate actions that took place during Thursday’s Welcome to Rockville event. We are working with promoter Danny Wimmer Presents to address the issue. The band will not be included in future programming at NASCAR venues.”

This is silly. The whole thing is silly. It’s time for everyone to move on.

Brass Against, meanwhile, are slated as the openers for Tool’s massive European tour next year.

[via The PRP]