{"id":62435,"date":"2025-09-19T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=62435"},"modified":"2025-10-01T16:56:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T21:56:58","slug":"interview-unconventional-questions-with-jason-ginchy-kottwitz-of-the-oxys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=62435","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Unconventional Questions with Jason \u201cGinchy\u201d Kottwitz of the Oxys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kyle Decker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had the opportunity back in March to see Austin punks the Oxys play Liar\u2019s Club. They\u2019re<\/em> setting out on tour to promote their new album, Casting Pearls Before Swine (out September<\/em> 19th). So when I found out they were returning to Chicago on October 3rd to play Reggie\u2019s<\/em> Music Joint with punk legends Fear, I got back in touch. This time for an interview with Jason<\/em> \u201cGinchy\u201d Kottwitz, the lead guitar player and co-songwriter for the Oxys. I\u2019ve interviewed<\/em> musicians before, and he\u2019d just finished another interview before speaking with me and we both<\/em> agreed that the same ten questions get tiresome, so we opted for something a little different.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kyle Decker: Good to see you again. I had a great time seeing you all at Liar\u2019s Club back<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

in March.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Kottwitz: Good to see you too. Yeah that was a good show. Great venue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Yeah, my new band (The Head Caution) just did our first show at Liar\u2019s last week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reggie\u2019s is fun too. It\u2019s been awhile since I\u2019ve been there. There are multiple venues and<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a rooftop bar, and a record shop. I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s still there, though.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah, there are three shows that night. We\u2019re in the Music Joint.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: That should be fun. It\u2019s a more intimate space.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: That\u2019ll be crazy for a Fear show.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Cool. I\u2019m looking forward to it. So, let\u2019s get into it. I wanted to come up with some<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

more off the wall interview questions. I\u2019m sure if someone wants to read about your<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

musical influences or how the Oxys got together, there are a dozen places they can go.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I want to break convention.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Good.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: First question. If you were a supervillain, what would your motivation be?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Conquer everything. If I\u2019m being forced into that scenario, that\u2019s the only possible outcome I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

can see for being a supervillain.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Which historical period would you want to live in and why?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Oh, boy. We got it so easy right now. It would be hard to go back. But I would probably<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

say\u2026 the late 1920s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Before the crash or\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Right during the crash. I know what happens after the crash. It\u2019s the biggest time to<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

prosper.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: What is your earliest memory?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: I fell down some stairs. I fell down the staircase in our house and that\u2019s probably my earliest<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

memory. And I was, boy, probably three, three-and-a-half. But I remember my dad bringing me<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a bowl of Froot Loops while I was sitting there crying at the bottom of the stairs. It was his way<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

of trying to cheer me up.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Well, I can think of a number of reasons that would stick out in your head.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Well, yeah.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KD: Which piece of media (show, movie, album, book) had the biggest impact on you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Oh, I would say Elvis Presley Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite had the biggest influence on<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

me. My dad used to sit there and play that album to me as a child, and he would dance around<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and sing all the songs to me and that was really my introduction to music. So, yeah, that really<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

set my life on a course.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: I\u2019m told you\u2019re into true crime.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah. Yeah, I love watching true crime documentaries and things of that sort.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Do you follow any cold cases\/unsolved mysteries?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: You know, there\u2019s a lot of them that I follow. Not that I\u2019m out there searching on them daily<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

or anything like that. But I would say I\u2019m into some of the conspiratorial stuff to a degree as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the Kennedy assassination would be one that I\u2019m very much into. And being the proximity<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m in to Dallas. I mean, I\u2019ve been to the Book Depository 30 or 40 times. And a lot of that stems<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

around, you know, when I have friends come to visit and they want to go somewhere, I\u2019ll take<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

them there. Yeah, I keep up with that one. I love going to the Book Depository. What I\u2019ve found<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

is they have all these tours for the Book Depository, but I actually learn more from the homeless<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

people when I go there. Because they just follow these tour guides and researchers around all<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

day and they just have this insane knowledge of everything there. Oh and, um, who was the guy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

who robbed the plane during that flight between Seattle and Portland? D.B\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: D.B. Cooper.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah. That\u2019s a real fascinating one to me. Just the fact that they never caught the guy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Yeah. Or found his body.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Or anything. Like, where did the money go? That\u2019s quite the mystery right there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Yeah, that\u2019s a good one. The ones that don\u2019t have closure are always interesting. But<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are there any true crime stories where the conclusion rubbed you the wrong way? Like,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

you don\u2019t think they got it right?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: I mean, the Zodiac Killer is frustrating because there\u2019s so much fingerpointing going on out<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

there; and it drives me insane because even after they rule people out, there are other people<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

who try to rule them back in. So, yeah, that would be one that comes to mind. I can\u2019t really think<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

of others off the top of my head that rub me the wrong way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: When it comes to true crime stuff with controversial outcomes, I think of, like, the<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central Park Five or the West Memphis Three.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yes. Yes! I guess all of those. But it\u2019s the West Memphis Three particularly that disturbed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

me for years. I\u2019m like, \u201cWhy are they crucifying these three kids here?\u201d There\u2019s somebody<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

running around that\u2019s not being looked at who perpetrated this crime.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Yeah. It was in the midst of all that Satanic Panic. But, like, so what if these kids play<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dungeons and Dragons and listen to Blue Oyster Cult?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: I\u2019ve always avoided driving through West Memphis because of that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Don\u2019t even stop to pee. Just go around.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah, It\u2019s terrifying.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

KD: But, speaking of the Zodiac Killer, my dad was actually growing up in that area of<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

California when all that was going down. So he remembers seeing the letters in the paper<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and the fear that was gripping the neighborhood at the time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Wow. Right. I think it\u2019s fascinating now how they are solving a lot of the old cold cases<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

through DNA. It\u2019s pretty amazing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Oh, for sure. So my next question is music related. Which bands do you regret never<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

having the chance to see?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: You know, it would probably be bands that I was too young to see, and by the time I did see<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

them it wasn\u2019t the original members anymore. So, there\u2019s a handful of those. But, y\u2019know, I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

started going to concerts when I was twelve or thirteen pretty steadily and heavily. So, I struggle<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

to think of bands that I didn\u2019t get to see since, in that time, I saw pretty much everyone I wanted<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

to see. It\u2019s just bands before that I was too young to go see because I wasn\u2019t into music at the<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

time. If I could travel in time, I mean, I could give you a list of bands I would have loved to have<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

seen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: A big one for me was Bear vs. Shark. I was really into post-hardcore in college. I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

lived in Des Moines and Bear vs Shark was playing Iowa City. It\u2019s like a four-hour round<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

trip and I didn\u2019t want to go alone. So I figured I\u2019d catch \u2018em next time. But then they broke<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

up on that tour.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Oh wow.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Yeah. Like a week later. I heard they got back together a couple years ago. But the<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

music video for my favorite song (\u201cCatamaran\u201d) includes live footage of the show I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

should have gone to. So that rubs some salt in the wound.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Okay. So, if you had five-minutes alone with a famous person or historical figure,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

who would it be and what would you do?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: If I had five minutes alone with a historical figure\u2026Boy, I\u2019ve never even thought about this.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many people I\u2019d like to corner and just ask them why they did what they did. I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

guess I would say, probably Abraham Lincoln. Sometimes you hear so many different historical<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

accounts about a time frame… I mean, \u201csomewhere out there the truth lies.\u201d But over long<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

periods of time you start getting distorted details. And given what was happening at that time<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lincoln was in office There\u2019s a bunch of questions I\u2019d like to ask pertaining to the North and<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

South.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: There\u2019s this exhibit at the Lincoln Presidential Library and museum in Springfield<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

that has Lincoln\u2019s portrait from the beginning of his term and then one from towards the<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

end. And they have these for several presidents and it just drives home how rough that<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

job is. Like, wow, this guy physically aged twenty years in eight.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah. I grew up in central Illinois, so I\u2019ve been to Springfield many times. It was probably<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

forty-five minutes away from where I grew up. It\u2019s been years since I\u2019ve been there. But I would<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

like to check that out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KD: Okay, last question. Which fictional character have you connected with the most?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Wow. These are tough questions. Yeah, that\u2019s a tough one. I spend most of my time in the<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

musical world, so I don\u2019t venture out into the musical world. I don\u2019t even know if I have an<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

answer. Maybe\u2026 Snidely Whiplash?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Did you have a habit of tying people to railroad tracks that you fought to overcome?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah, something like that. I don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve had this obsession with Snidely Whiplash<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

recently and have been watching lots of Dudley Do-Right.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: I have an uncle through marriage that looks a lot like Dudley Do-Right. He\u2019s got that<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

chin and I guess that\u2019s what everyone called him in college.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Hahaha. So who\u2019s your fictional character?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Other than ones I\u2019ve created? I dunno. It\u2019s one of those \u201cdifferent day different<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

answer\u201d questions. But, I would say Paul (Kemp), the main character from The Rum Diary<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Hunter S. Thompson. It\u2019s about a guy who expatriates to Puerto Rico in his early 30s. I<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

lived abroad in South Korea when I was that age. So that late stage coming-of-age in a<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

foreign environment story speaks to a crucial time in my life. Those are all the questions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have. Anything else you want to add before we finish up?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything to add, other than the new record (Casting Pearls Before<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swine) is available. Cleopatra (Records) just got the records, and I got a box the other day. So,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

those are shipping now. You can pick those up at Cleopatra\u2019s website (<\/em>www.cleorecs.com<\/em>) or<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Oxy\u2019s bandcamp (<\/em>theoxysatx.bancamp.com<\/em>) or website (<\/em>www.theoxys.com<\/em>). All the usual<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

places.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Will they be available for sale at the show?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah. We will have copies available at the show.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KD: Great. Good to know. I\u2019ll see you at Reggies on October 3rd.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JK: Yeah, see you then. Cheers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FEAR<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oxys<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Evictions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reggies Music Joint<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doors: 7:30 Music: 8:30<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\/03\/2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

21+<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets here<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kyle Decker I had the opportunity back in March to see Austin punks the Oxys play Liar\u2019s Club. They\u2019re setting out on tour to promote their new album, Casting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,19,39,20],"tags":[1712,343,1711,983,1095],"class_list":["post-62435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-interviews","category-music-news","category-reviews","tag-casting-pearls-before-swine","tag-guitarist","tag-jason-kottwitz","tag-reggies","tag-the-oxys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62441,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62435\/revisions\/62441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}