page_title: Foss (band)
section_title: Impact on Beto O'Rourke's political career
hierarchical_section_title: Foss (band) / After Foss / Impact on Beto O'Rourke's political career
caption_attribution_description: Beto Rally at the Pan American Neighborhood Park, Austin, TX
context_page_description: Foss was an American rock band formed in El Paso, Texas in the early 1990s. Though short-lived and obscure in its own time, the band garnered renewed attention when one of its former members, Beto O'Rourke, campaigned in the 2018 US Senate election in Texas as the Democratic candidate against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz. Another member, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, found success in the music industry as the singer for the rock bands At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta, as well as a member of numerous other musical projects.
  Typically described as a post-hardcore band, Foss's sound incorporated elements of punk rock, emo, and indie rock styles of the period. The members of Foss espoused the DIY ethic and were influenced by the independent label Dischord Records and punk zines like Maximumrocknroll. The band released a handful of recordings and embarked on two tours spanning parts of the United States and Canada. Foss appeared on Let's Get Real With Bill Lowrey, an evangelical show on El Paso public-access television, after tricking the show's producers into believing they were a Christian rock band. Video of the chaotic performance later resurfaced on YouTube.
context_section_description: In March 2017, when O'Rourke—then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives—announced that he was running in the 2018 US Senate election in Texas, numerous publications commented on O'Rourke's musical past. Music news outlets like Spin, Pitchfork, Alternative Press, and Consequence of Sound reported on O'Rourke's campaign by noting his connection with Bixler-Zavala, who had by then become a notable figure in rock music. The news service Reuters described O'Rourke as an "ex-punk rocker" in a headline and detailed his time with Foss. By March 2018, Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly remarked that O'Rourke "seemingly can't escape a single profile without the words 'punk rock Democrat' appearing in the headline".
  O'Rourke often highlighted his days with Foss in interviews. Political observers and journalists felt that O'Rourke's punk past became an important element of his image and political outlook. In an op-ed for The New York Times, Mimi Swartz expressed her belief that O'Rourke's former membership in a punk band had likely boosted his appeal with millennials. Foss's records were cited as evidence that O'Rourke had adopted his nickname prior to his political career.
  O'Rourke's former Foss bandmates supported his Senate campaign. Stevens played with his band 83 Skiddoo for an O'Rourke fundraiser in Springfield, Missouri. Bixler-Zavala expressed his support for O'Rourke several times and, after O'Rourke lost the election, tweeted "I can only hope you run for president".
  On August 28, 2018, after O'Rourke had declined a debate against the incumbent Ted Cruz, the Republican Party of Texas's Twitter account tweeted "Maybe Beto can't debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans", attaching the cover of Foss's record The El Paso Pussycats with the caption "Sorry, can't debate. We have a gig." Though the tweet mocked O'Rourke, it was widely reported as inadvertently making him look appealing. Others interpreted the tweet as intended, and the Texas GOP briefly responded to the backlash.
  On March 3, 2020, Cedric Bixler-Zavala denounced O'Rourke for his endorsement of 2020 Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. Bixler-Zavala, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, responded to a follower on Instagram who said O'Rourke's support of Biden “bummed me out bad” to which Bixler-Zavala responded, “me too.”
caption: Foss became the subject of renewed attention when Beto O'Rourke campaigned in the 2018 US Senate election in Texas.
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D3400", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver.1.12", "Image DateTime": "2018:11:04 13:21:59", "Image ExifOffset": "186", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "63/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "560", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "560", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:11:04 13:21:59", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:11:04 13:21:59", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "53/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "300", "EXIF SubSecTime": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "20", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "765", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1147", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "450", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}