protest

**le pire** · Mar-26-2003, 01:11 AM

I know what you mean, Evan, being French and doing a show that hinges on that. Oddly enough, it has not affected my bookings or my act-- in fact it's just the opposite. I've been adding some political jokes to my show and getting good responses. People have been very anxious to talk to me after the performance. The trick with political humour, I have found, is you have to be CLEVER. Otherwise you are just ranting/forcing your beliefs on other people.

And nobody wants that.

Personally, I don't support the troops. When the world court put Milosovec's Lieutenants on trial and they would say "I was just following orders" the courts unanimously responded with "you could have said 'no'" and sentenced them accordingly. I think this of our troops as well.

They have free will. Unlike Vietnam they were not drafted, but CHOSE to train to commit murder for the interests of corrupt politicians.

I don't say this in my show, of course, because it is far too left wing for most people's sensabilities.

�tienne

**nick nickolas** · Mar-26-2003, 02:14 AM

Fact-- 100 newspapers in England have been banned from reporting on any anti war marches.
Don't let them crush the pen!

[ 03-26-2003: Message edited by: nick nickolas ]

**Peter Voice** · Mar-26-2003, 06:45 AM

I am totally horrified, disgusted and depressed by the actions of our elected leaders (speaking as a Australian of christian/european descent, although I do prefer to think of myself as a citizen of the planet Earth).

These emotions only hurt me so I've been working on positive things that I can do.

The people who are deceiving us use(are?) the media and rely on a gullible, illeducated audience. We are a travelled, tolerant and educated community with internet access. So we should use the same tools to protest.
Newspapers have become a news entity of their own and have staggering corporate egos. Even the smallest likes to think it is international and they delight in the "Letter to the Editor" from a "foreign correspondant".
You will find "Pravda", "Das Bild", The Melbourne Age, Washington Post, New York or London Times and heaps others easily on this medium and they will publish your letter to the editor if you write well.

It's a bit like the difference between doing your show in your home town or doing it a thousand miles away somewhere new. If you write to your local paper you'll be just one of many but if you write to the paper in Europe or Asia that ran a story about you sometime, they will revel in their international relevence and publish your letter.

Pls, Pls, Pls every-one, start to play this game and civilisation may yet occur. Congratulate the Canadians and FRench for their resolve, write to British papers if you are American and vise versa. We need to use the internet and our universitality to its fullest.

We are a powerful community.

**Guest** · Mar-26-2003, 08:23 AM

Originally posted by le pire: "I know what you mean, Evan, being French and doing a show that hinges on that. Oddly enough, it has not affected my bookings or my act-- in fact it's just the opposite."

Glad to hear that! Ok, here's the flip side. I have to alter my act so's not to buy into the current mentality abroad here in what Bill Hicks refered to as the United States of Advertising.

I play a stereotypically xenophobic Englishman, and have (in the past) made use of the French as a source of comedy. T'other day, I cracked a Frog joke, and and it got a far bigger reaction than usual...then I figured out why. So I was forced to correct the crowd's misinterpretation that the aforementioned jape had anything to do with France's very wise approach to the current international idiocy perpetrated by Bush: the appointee-in-chief.

Am performing way below the Manson-Nixon Line this weekend, in North Carolina; and will be wearing a costume with fleur de lis all over't as a form of silent agreement with our wine drinking cousins:
Gaul-ing as it it to agree with them, after all, who won at Agincourt!?

Chris

[ 03-26-2003: Message edited by: The Renaissance Man ]

[ 03-26-2003: Message edited by: The Renaissance Man ]

**Busteroo** · Mar-26-2003, 10:56 AM

I think that one has to be able to express what he or she is feeling and put it out for the people. Isn't that what we all do with our acts anyway?!? We do what we do to connect with the people and have them connect with us. It is that connection that keeps us going. Evan, it sounds as if you are feeling what a lot of people (probably the majority) are feeling. To express it through your craft will allow those feeling the same to connect in a deeper and more meaningful way. This might also serve you in moving to a new level in your performances. Let me know what you think. [img]eek.gif[/img]

**Peter** · Mar-26-2003, 01:50 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Evan Young:
[QB]
Many artists are speaking out and getting heard. Michael Moore was brave enough to speak his mind at the academy awards but many of his peers who feel the same way were very timid in their own protests.

I have not done a show in months, ...I go back to the streets in mid April and I don't think I can be silent. The problem is that I cant afford to be too radical. I am living by the skin of my teeth and trying to build my career at the same time. I simply can't afford to alianate any potential audience members.What are your thoughts on this?

QB]<hr></blockquote>

Evan, I am not in any way expressing how I feel on any political subject. This is just some facts to consider before adding political comments to your act.

Mr Moore was booed out of the building because of his statements. The Dixie Chicks made comments in London on political subjects and are now boycotted on almost a thousand radio stations in the U.S.

I can and will gaurantee that in most of the U.S. to add any anti President Bush or anti war comments will cost you money! People will walk out and worse some people could actually attack you physically. San Francisco being an exception.

It is all good and proper to be couragous and speak your mind, however, remember that doing so will have repercussions. Look at Charlton Heston's career after he supported an unpopular Viet Nam war and the NRA. His movie career ended. Same for John Wayne and others during the 70's. So it is not just the Left Wing, but also the Right that can and will make your life miserable.

That is one reason why I don't get political. I get paid to entertain not to politic and I want the money to keep coming to me.

Peter

**le pire** · Mar-26-2003, 02:10 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Peter:


Same for John Wayne and others during the 70's. <hr></blockquote>

He got his career by naming names in the '50s so the bastard got what was coming with him.

I think the Dixie Chicks are being boycotted because people are finally realizing that they suck...

It really depends HOW you deliver you message that counts... No offense Peter, but a birthday clown doing a political act for 7 year olds isn't exactly going to go down well.

�tienne

**Peter** · Mar-26-2003, 07:26 PM

[quote]Originally posted by le pire:


It really depends HOW you deliver you message that counts... No offense Peter, but a birthday clown doing a political act for 7 year olds isn't exactly going to go down well.

�tienne<hr></blockquote>

I am glad you think I am a birthday Clown. I am a magician, stage and close up, and a Clown College graduate that has been performing full time for several years. I am not a recent newcomer but have been pleasing adults and families for many years. I have performed at home (Ireland), England, Germany, Switzerland, and of course, here in the U.S. BTW IF I do a birthday party I get WELL paid for it.

The names I mentioned were blackballed not for what they did nor for how good they sing. (One hell of a lot of people say you are wrong about the singing ability of the Dixie Chicks. Haven't seen you sell too many platinum C.D.s.) They were ignored by the public for shooting off their mouths with an unpopular political viewpoint.

Again, Evan be very careful about expressing any politics during this time in our history. I will bite you in the ass.

Peter

**Evan Young** · Mar-26-2003, 10:01 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Peter:


Again, Evan be very careful about expressing any politics during this time in our history. I will bite you in the ass.

Peter<hr></blockquote>

you promise?

**le pire** · Mar-26-2003, 10:09 PM

My mistake your not a birthday clown.

But the dixie chicks do suck. Just because a lot of people buy something doesn't validate it.

If that were the case then the USA wouldn't be in Iraq right now 'cause THE WHOLE FRIGGIN WORLD is against it!

If an "artists" work is boycotted because of their political views then their work must not be albe to stand on it's own. In the case of the 'chicks' it is poppy mass produced garbage for the mainstream lemmings and the 'chicks' would have eventually faded into obscurity for reasons other than their opinions. The fact that they're all getting older, fatter and uglier pretty much eliminates their initial appeal to the dumb masses.

Artists like Eminem, Springsteen, and the Beastie Boys have all come out against the war and even recorded songs to that effect. Radio stations are still playing their music - maybe not the anti war song, but their music none the less. People still buy their albums. Why? 'cause it's good music no matter what political views of the artist holds. The work stands on its own and is not just something sold because of 'personality' or 'pop appeal.' Substance.

The Spice Girls have sold more albums than the dixie chicks... and they suck to.

�tienne

[ 03-27-2003: Message edited by: le pire ]

**Evan Young** · Mar-27-2003, 01:35 AM

The Dixie chicks do suck, but radio stations are blacklisting them because they are country redneck stations. They want to hear modern country musicians sing songs about how the Christian USA is gonna kick some Islamic butt. That is what's expected of them. Rednecks are nationalistic. Rock bands are expected to be rebelious, fight the powers, etc. The free Tibet concerts are filled with rock bands and their listeners because they like change and progressive thinking. The country music audience thinks that buddists are sinners and don't matter, not to mention the fact that they arn't white Americans and therefore do not exist.
I am making blanket generalizations here and I am sorry.

There is a difference between patriotism and nationalism, but I prolly don't have to try and explain it here.

Micheal Moore got boose and applause at the same time. I believe that some of the boose where added or at least enhanced by the network, but I have no evidence to back that up, it's just a conspiracy theory. Moore has built his career off of exploiting the irony and injustices of people like George Bush, and his words at the acadamy awards will not hurt him at all.

Charlton Heston has right wing conservative views, as did John Wayne. Hollywood is not a conservative town, believe me, I'm there right now, of course those two got blacklisted. Many people here are scared of public backlash if they speak out, but the truth is that they are very left wing.

I agree with you Peter, speaking out will not help me make money. But on the street it won't hurt me in a long term sence, I just won't make as big a hat. If I get attacked physicly, well... fine. I've never been in a fight and it would probably be good for me to get my ass kicked around for a while.

So the real problem now is how to make my point in a way that counts and is consistant with my show. How do I say things in a way that doesn't alienate people. It's very easy to dismiss a protester wearing some crazy outfit on the street with a "bush is a nazi" sighn. The real challenge is saying somthing that is hard to dismiss.

I am 21 years old. I am supposed to be taking risks. A friend told me today about how old performers often stop taking risks, instead they use old material that feels safe. When this happens they feel like they arn't creative. Pollitical views arn't had nothing to do with what he was refering to, but.... (BTW, i would like to thank that friend for all the help and inspiration he has given me since I have known him; he knows who he is.)

I want to be a rock star.

I like the way this thread is going. Thank you all.

[ 03-27-2003: Message edited by: Evan Young ]

**martin ewen** · Mar-27-2003, 07:46 AM

Firstly
If you want to research anything on the net try

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http://labs.google.com/cgi-bin/webquotes

Its a google media search engine.
Some additional facts about Clear channel communications.
1175 Domestic radio stations
240 international radio stations
28 TV stations in US
also owns SFX Entertainment, the dominant concert venue owner and touring promoter.
Owned by right wing ex shock-jock Randy micheals

Channels of Influence (NY Times-Comments section, a few weeks back)
By PAUL KRUGMAN

By and large, recent pro-war rallies haven't drawn nearly as many people as antiwar rallies, but they have certainly been vehement. One of the most striking took place after Natalie Maines, lead singer for the Dixie Chicks, criticized President Bush: a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and other paraphernalia. To those familiar with 20th-century European history it seemed eerily reminiscent of. . . . But as Sinclair Lewis said, it can't happen here.

Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry - with close links to the Bush administration.

The CD-smashing rally was organized by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, a radio chain that has banned the Dixie Chicks from its playlists. Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.

The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious and widely hated for its iron-fisted centralized control.

Until now, complaints about Clear Channel have focused on its business practices. Critics say it uses its power to squeeze recording companies and artists and contributes to the growing blandness of broadcast music. But now the company appears to be using its clout to help one side in a political dispute that deeply divides the nation.

Why would a media company insert itself into politics this way? It could, of course, simply be a matter of personal conviction on the part of management. But there are also good reasons for Clear Channel , which became a giant only in the last few years, after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removed many restrictions on media ownership , to curry favor with the ruling party. On one side, Clear Channel is feeling some heat: it is being sued over allegations that it threatens to curtail the airplay of artists who don't tour with its concert division, and there are even some politicians who want to roll back the deregulation that made the company's growth possible. On the other side, the Federal Communications Commission is considering further deregulation that would allow Clear Channel to expand even further, particularly into television.

Or perhaps the quid pro quo is more narrowly focused. Experienced Bushologists let out a collective "Aha!" when Clear Channel was revealed to be behind the pro-war rallies, because the company's top management has a history with George W. Bush. The vice chairman of Clear Channel is Tom Hicks, whose name may be familiar to readers of this column. When Mr. Bush was governor of Texas, Mr. Hicks was chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, called Utimco, and Clear Channel's chairman, Lowry Mays, was on its board. Under Mr. Hicks, Utimco placed much of the university's endowment under the management of companies with strong Republican Party or Bush family ties. In 1998 Mr. Hicks purchased the Texas Rangers in a deal that made Mr. Bush a multimillionaire.

There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear, but a good guess is that we're now seeing the next stage in the evolution of a new American oligarchy. As Jonathan Chait has written in The New Republic, in the Bush administration "government and business have melded into one big `us.' " On almost every aspect of domestic policy, business interests rule: "Scores of midlevel appointees . . . now oversee industries for which they once worked." We should have realized that this is a two-way street: if politicians are busy doing favors for businesses that support them, why shouldn't we expect businesses to reciprocate by doing favors for those politicians ? by, for example, organizing "grass roots" rallies on their behalf?

What makes it all possible, of course, is the absence of effective watchdogs. In the Clinton years the merest hint of impropriety quickly blew up into a huge scandal; these days, the scandalmongers are more likely to go after journalists who raise questions. Anyway, don't you know there's a war on?

..............................
I think whether you like the dixi chicks music or not is perhaps beside the point, however I may be wrong and your dislike of premasticated pap may in fact be a global concern. (I'm just mean by nature, nothing personal)

[ 03-27-2003: Message edited by: martin ewen ]

**Rumpelstiltskin** · Mar-27-2003, 07:59 AM

People round the world should boycott Coke,Pepsi,Fanta,Dunkin' Donuts.....Marlboro...McDonalds & all that other pure utter American crap shit!
I haven't had a can of Coke for over 15 years!I will never have one ever again...as it's kind of like drinking rocket fuel juice!

Here are some interesting web-sites:
www.adbusters.org
www.consumers-against-war.de

**le pire** · Mar-27-2003, 11:30 AM

Anti-war protesters in Paris trashed a McDonalds... heh heh heh

�tienne

p.s. I haven't had a pepsi, coke, any of that crap in 11 years. I can't stand the taste. Too acidic and syrupy for my refined pallette. (I type this as I puff on a cigarette)