Dead Kennedys were coming back for a small, little tour with a bunch of punk acts that helped make the genre semi-mainstream, and they’re already backing out of shows. I’m not surprised, considering this wasn’t even the full, original lineup of the DKs (sans Jello Biafra) and it just seems that “reunion” shows never really work at all unless it is the full lineup. I guess it depends on how much of a purist you are, but you get my gist…
At any rate, they’re lashing out at Coors for deciding to provide money to help the concert/tour run. Those bastards!
“Dead Kennedys have always been wary of corporate sponsorship and steer clear of lending our name to promote a product,” says guitarist East Bay Ray. “Because we were not alerted to the ultra-conservative, right-wing sponsor for this event, we could not see a reason to go ahead and perform at this show in good conscience.”
I know that there’s A LOT OF TRUTH to the idea that corporations are evil, greedy, and all-around money-grubbers, and Google can usually help to settle the bet.
A Google search of Coors will turn up information on a company that for years has funded right-wing groups such as the Nicaraguan Contras, the anti-gay Moral Majority, and the notoriously anti-punk Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). Coors has also broken numerous unions, is anti-environment, and has funded lawsuits against affirmative action. More disturbing facts about the company can be found at www.corporations.org/coors. [MORE]
As slightly expected, Dead Kennedys have earned more punk points in my book. Keep up the good work.