Hanging Shit

It seems appropriate that The Music converses with Ezekiel Ox during a news day headlined by Gough Whitlam’s death and 360’s appearance on Q&A the previous evening. “To say that flag in fact is racist is not controversial,” the vocalist begins. “The Union Jack means nothing but attempted genocide, land theft, Stolen Generation to Aboriginal people… I think it’s interesting just how far right we’ve gone when 360 cops flak for those comments, when it’s just an accurate comment. If you want to be racist and say that it’s not okay to slag off the flag, well then you can go and join the fucking Nazi socialist party and we can all have fascism. But in the meantime, if I want to burn that fucking flag, I’ll burn it.”

Ox’s conviction has certainly polarised audiences. However, those who have been enamoured by his social justice-fuelled excursions into heavy rock, funk, hip hop and more are rabid in their dedication. Said devotees pledged to the Melburnian’s anti-budget Pozible campaign, funding advertisements which simultaneously propagate his message in typically antagonistic fashion and emphasise his ensuing national headlining tour. 

“We reached our Pozible target at the halfway mark, and the point of the Pozible target was to raise money to hang shit on the government. So clearly there’s plenty of support from my fans for hanging shit on the government. Look at how unpopular this fucking budget is; what I’m saying’s not controversial… I don’t expect that everybody would agree with me on everything, but you’ve gotta keep that radical perspective out there. What I wanted to do is give people an opportunity to join in on letting people know just how negative a force the Union Jack has been on this country. Then looking how far backwards we’re going with the current attacks from this government. So the Pozible campaign was popular, not because I wanted to tour, but because people wanted to see me tour and hang shit on the government,” he laughs.  

“There’s obviously poetry, there’s dance; it’s really a cabaret thing. It’s not like cabaret you’ve seen before. It’s a storyteller, a singer, an activist; it’s a guaranteed hour of shit-hot entertainment, I would argue. Depending on curfew and audience participation, really anything can happen and probably will.”   

If you oppose his views, you’re welcome to attend too. “Some people may find it confronting – racists, homophobes, misogynists, people that don’t like refugees – I think they would probably find it most confronting. There’s a few of them littered around this genocidal shithole we call Australia… Some people come because they want to have the arguments, and I fully respect that. I’d encourage anyone who wants to find out more about what the ideology that I’m spruiking is to just come down, and if you don’t like it, argue with me. Don’t punch people in the face; argue with them.”