Dave Matthews appears on Chicago radio, talks about dumping incident for first time

Dave Matthews was interviewed on legendary Chicago radio rocker WXRT this afternoon, and the DMB leader talked about the dumping incident last August, when a Dave Matthews Band bus driver dumped 800 pounds of liquid human waste on 100 unlucky tourists on a sightseeing cruise. The driver was apparently aiming for the Chicago River while driving across the Kinzie Street bridge--the bridge is grated--and the boat passengers were clearly in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

ABC 7 Chicago's web site (video link available) has a story on the Matthews WXRT interview.

An excerpt:

"We're just so embarrassed, and we're truly, truly, truly sorry about what happened in Chicago, and we will keep doing things to help keep that river clean. We will keep doing things to help out Chicago," said Dave Matthews.

WXRT DJ Bobby Skafish interviewed the band members and says he was surprised at their willingness to talk about it.

"I've never heard him speak more passionately than he did on the subject of the Chicago River. He was relieved to get it out there, I thought, for his fans," said Bobby Skafish, WXRT.
The band has paid a $200,000 fine to the state and made a $50,000 dollar donation to the Friends of the Chicago River, even though none of them were even on the bus at the time of the incident.

"The thing that kind of kills me about it is that if someone else had done it I'd be furious, and if I was in Chicago, I'd be furious about it," Matthews said.

Matthews says the band takes full responsibility for what happened. They fired the bus driver, Stefan Wohl. He was sentenced to 18 months probation and 150 hours of community service. There are however still several civil suits pending.

Matthews seems sincere. Apology accepted.