On Tyranny: Eugene S. Robinson (Buñuel, Ex-Oxbow) Leaving US for Spain, Says ‘I’ve Had It’
“My attitude used to be like, I built this country, I’m going to fight for the soul of this country.
And then, finally, in the last decade, I was like, ‘Why?’”
-Eugene S. Robinson
During a lengthy conversation I recently had with Eugene S. Robinson, one of the most uncompromising, forthright and no-bullshit rock musicians around, he revealed that he has joined a slew of other American artists exiting the United States to live in other countries.
“I don’t live in America anymore,” he told me in an interview last month. “I’m in Poland at this very moment, on my way to Spain, where I bought a house, and that’s where I’ll be moving and living.”
He added: “My attitude used to be like, ‘I built this country, I’m going to fight for the soul of this country. And then, finally, in the last decade, I was like, ‘Why? Why? Why? [There are] lots of places to live in the world. Why [should I continue to live] here?'”
Anyone familiar with Robinson, formerly of Whipping Boy and Oxbow, and now vocalist for avant-garde noise-rock band Buñuel, knows his reputation as a Mensa-level intelligent and highly provocative artist. He didn’t mince words when I recently caught up with him, either. He didn’t shy away from discussing politics, either, unlike many musicians who lack even a smidgen of the conviction that Robinson does.
When asked about his take on rising Democratic socialist star Zohran Mamdani, who is running for mayor of New York, where Robinson grew up, he replied: “There’s some point where the professional managerial class will have to step aside and stop telling the Democratic Party what they should do and let the Democratic Party figure out that what they should do is what their constituents want them to do. I’m divorced from New York politics, so I have no idea if Zohan’s any good or not. But he seems to be generating excitement, and people need that in New York City.”
Robinson said that leaving the States was a hassle but is turning out to be worth it.
“I’ve been working on it for about four or five years now, so it’s been kind of a pain in the neck, but not for obvious reasons,” he explained. “It’s just that anytime you step into dealing with a bureaucracy, it’s going to be a pain in the neck. So I had to get a golden visa, and I had to fly over there, and then they said, ‘Oh yeah, we need proof that you showed up here.’
“I go, my face in Spain was proof I showed up. They go, ‘No, we need your boarding pass. You could fake the face.’ I was like, ‘OK, man.'”‘ So it’s just been, like … it depends on your capacity for dealing with minutia. But the vibe [here], it’s more than made up for the [hassle]. It’s just much more relaxed. I’m tired of being stressed, man. I’ve had it.”
He recalled meeting four musicians he knew from the New York hardcore scene in France and in Italy.
“I go, ‘What are you doing here?’ And they’re like, ‘I can’t afford to get old in America, man.’ That was [the turning point for me]. I realized I was paying almost $4,000 a month for health care. And then there was home insurance. Living in America is like being caught in the worst casino in the world. It’s disorienting, and it’s designed so that you don’t know how to get out of it. I can appreciate the country a lot more outside of it than I can inside of it.”
Shifting to a more humble tone, Robinson reflected on his decision to relocate.
“I don’t know that I’ve done it the right way, but I know that I sold my house in California, and I know that I have a house in Spain,” he stated. “I sold a house in a low-income neighborhood in California, and for that same amount of money, I got a villa in Spain. Whether it speaks to crazy California real estate, or whether it speaks to the strength of the dollar, I don’t know. The dollar is not doing so well right now against the euro, but that’s what I did.
“It could end up being the wrong decision, but right now, given the fact that the kid I just put to bed no longer has to duck behind parked cars because of gunfire, which she did about three months ago, I’m pretty happy to be out [of the U.S.] I sold a low-income house and bought a villa. I can’t really think of why I would have stayed in California, given my five-year-old doesn’t need to know how to dodge bullets. Forget that.”
He concluded: “And I’m a gun guy too. I used to have a federal firearms license. I’m not opposed to guns at all, but I don’t want [my daughter] to get shot in front of the house, and I don’t want her to get shot at school, both of which are reasonable things to expect any day in America. I’m out.”
Stay tuned for much more of my conversation with Robinson, which will appear on Post-Trash.
Most recent On Tyranny installments:
• Metal Band Malevich ‘Had a String of Shows Canceled for Some of Our [Pro-Palestinian] Activism’
• Weakened Friends’ Secret to Battling MAGA? Community Involvement
• Ex-U.S. Navy Captain-Turned-Psych-Rock Musician Jeremy Moore Warns of Fascism
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