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Altercation leads to arrest of Against Me! singer on charge of battery
By Nic Corbett
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The lead singer of the punk band Against Me! was arrested Tuesday morning following the band's show at the Beta Bar.
Tallahassee police filed a battery charge against Tom Gabel following an altercation before the show at a nearby coffee shop where a customer alleged that Gabel shoved the man's head against the counter.
The four-member band from Gainesville released its first album on a major label in July. It was listed as one of the top 25 greatest live bands last year by Spin magazine.
Onstage, Gabel told fans he was upset about having to go to jail afterward and that the whole thing was about people accusing him of "selling out" now that the band signed to a major label, said Spike Mott, 30, a bouncer at the Beta Bar.
Before the show, Gabel walked into the All Saints Cafe, 903 Railroad Ave., with his girlfriend.
Gabel ordered a lemon-ginger tea and headed to the bathroom, said Cody Cook, a barista at the cafe. On the way, he saw a flier with words denouncing the band with a caricature of him scrawled on it.
Gabel, 26, told police the obscenity made him mad. He grabbed the flier, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.
Michael Hurley, 22, who was at the cafe with friends, said his friend Jared Smith, 22, asked Gabel why he tore down the article.
"(Jared) wasn't trying to provoke him or fight him at all," Hurley said.
Gabel started yelling at Smith.
"Jared said, 'This conversation is over.' Tom said 'I don't think it is,' ” said Cook, 21, a friend of Smith.
Smith told police Gabel knocked a cup out of his hand, grabbed his neck and forced his head into the wooden counter.
Gabel admitted to police he knocked over Smith's cup, but denied hitting him.
"Jared had no idea who this guy was," Cook said. "Tom just assumed everyone knew who he was."
Gabel was released on $500 bail.
By Nic Corbett
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The lead singer of the punk band Against Me! was arrested Tuesday morning following the band's show at the Beta Bar.
Tallahassee police filed a battery charge against Tom Gabel following an altercation before the show at a nearby coffee shop where a customer alleged that Gabel shoved the man's head against the counter.
The four-member band from Gainesville released its first album on a major label in July. It was listed as one of the top 25 greatest live bands last year by Spin magazine.
Onstage, Gabel told fans he was upset about having to go to jail afterward and that the whole thing was about people accusing him of "selling out" now that the band signed to a major label, said Spike Mott, 30, a bouncer at the Beta Bar.
Before the show, Gabel walked into the All Saints Cafe, 903 Railroad Ave., with his girlfriend.
Gabel ordered a lemon-ginger tea and headed to the bathroom, said Cody Cook, a barista at the cafe. On the way, he saw a flier with words denouncing the band with a caricature of him scrawled on it.
Gabel, 26, told police the obscenity made him mad. He grabbed the flier, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.
Michael Hurley, 22, who was at the cafe with friends, said his friend Jared Smith, 22, asked Gabel why he tore down the article.
"(Jared) wasn't trying to provoke him or fight him at all," Hurley said.
Gabel started yelling at Smith.
"Jared said, 'This conversation is over.' Tom said 'I don't think it is,' ” said Cook, 21, a friend of Smith.
Smith told police Gabel knocked a cup out of his hand, grabbed his neck and forced his head into the wooden counter.
Gabel admitted to police he knocked over Smith's cup, but denied hitting him.
"Jared had no idea who this guy was," Cook said. "Tom just assumed everyone knew who he was."
Gabel was released on $500 bail.
