BLACK LIVES MATTER
As a band of all white dudes, we do not truly and fully know, have known, or will know the experiences, traumas, and systemic injustices that face POC everyday. We have not had to fear for our lives when we’ve encountered the police. We live lives of privilege, and we know it.
Several years ago, we ended a southern tour playing a show at the Rock N Roll Hotel in DC. We were heading home for the first time in almost two weeks in our old school bus, and we were excited. That tour was hard, and it was over, and we couldn’t wait to get home. We were trying to navigate ourselves out of the alleyways of the H Street corridor singing the Family Matters theme song loudly when we saw the lights of a police car behind us. The officer walked up and asked what we were doing, and we explained where we had just left from, and what direction we were trying go to get home. Apparently, we were going the wrong way down a one way alley. The officer gave us directions on how to get to the highway, and we were off - no ticket, no questions about drinking, just a few “turn there and turn there’s.” We live lives of privilege, and we know it.
It is an absolute injustice to think that someone else could be in that same situation, and walk away with such a different experience, or not walk away at all.
We are artists, and despite thinking our platform is small potatoes, it’s still a platform. We have a responsibility to speak out in solidarity with our black sisters and brothers. We have a responsibility to speak out against racism. We have a responsibility to seek to become better advocates for change and justice. We see you. We hear you. We are with you.
As a band, we are donating all money that we currently have from the distribution of our music on streaming platforms to Black Lives Matter DC. Any money from purchases of our music from Bandcamp will be donated to Black Lives Matter DC. Any money from purchases of t-shirts, vinyl, or CDs from our website will be donated to Black Lives Matter DC.
If you have already purchased our music, t-shirts, or whatever, and have the means, please consider donating to an organization(s)/memorial fund(s)/bail fund(s) that seek to end racism and police brutality. We love you all.
BLACK LIVES MATTER