Fly Life
by Tricia Romano
The Sheeet Hits the Fan
September 18 - 24, 2002
The Village Voice

Eugene Hutz, best known as Gogol Bordello's wild and crazy frontman, has
left his Saturday DJ gig at the Bulgarian bar Mehanata 416 B.C. after a three-
year stint. Apparently there was a bust-up between Hutz and the club's
owners two weeks ago, fueled by alcohol and airborne furniture. Says Mr.
Hutz in his thick accent: "Yeah, sheeeeet was flying." He pauses. "Maybe the
bar is too close to the DJ'ing booth." Of the incident, which he describes as a
"spontaneous provocative situation," Hutz says, "I went Bruce Lee on the
whole equipment."
Hopefully, Mr. Hutz doesn't have a bust-up with the peeps from the Knitting
Factory before the band's shows this Saturday and Sunday.
Apparently this penchant for self-destruction is a frequent occurrence with Mr.
Hutz. "I get so trashed I ruin all my stuff. The next day I'll be sitting in the
tub
with all my CDs 'cause they need to be washed," he says. "That was my usual
Sunday morning."
He bears no ill will toward the owners of 416 B.C.: "The place had enough of
me and I had enough of that place. We had enough of each other. I think the
place was great. I have great memories of it. It was an alcoholic hedonistic
jam. It was a really great hang for immigrant punks of all kinds," he says. "The
most important part is that we're still friends, even though I do have a black
eye."
Never fear, fans can still catch Mr. Hutz doing drunken DJ duty every Friday
night at his new spot at the Dibrova Social Club at 136 Second Avenue. Says
Mr. Hutz: "Hopefully the bar will be close to the DJ booth, too!"