Members of Ozomatli Arrested After Show

Members of Ozomatli Arrested After Show




By Associated Press

March 19, 2004, 2:23 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas -- Two members of the Grammy-winning Ozomatli and their manager were arrested after the band's South by Southwest music festival performance spilled out onto 6th Street.

Near the end of its performance at the Exodus nightclub early Thursday, the Los Angeles band left the stage and marched through the crowd while beating drums and playing horns. Audience members followed behind the musicians, as is common practice at the band's shows, and the group moved out onto the street.

Once outside, police directed the group to return to the club. A scuffle followed, witnesses told the Austin American-Statesman, which reported the incident in its online edition. Percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi, bassist Willy Abers and band manager Amy Sue Blackman-Romero were arrested.

Witnesses said police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Blackman-Romero was charged with a city ordinance violation and interference with the duties of a public servant, jail records show. Abers, 30, was charged with failure to obey the order of a police officer. Yamaguchi, 36, was charged with assault on a public servant.

The three were taken to the Travis County Jail. A jail spokesman said Blackman-Romero and Abers weren't in custody Thursday evening, but that Yamaguchi remained jailed on $5,000 bond.

Calls by The Associated Press to the Austin Police Department weren't immediately returned.

Ozomatli won the 2001 Grammy for best Latin rock/alternative album for "Embrace the Chaos."
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press