Copyright 2006 The Brownsville Herald
The Brownsville Herald (Texas)
Distributed by Knight/Ridder Tribune News Service
April 27, 2006 Thursday
SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS
ACC-NO: 20060427-BV-0427-Mix ing-punk-and-politic s
LENGTH: 1020 words
HEADLINE: Mixing punk and politics: Former ?Misfit' spreading conservative message on concert circuit
BYLINE: Mike Moody, The Brownsville Herald, Texas
BODY:
Apr. 27--His music is the stuff of smoky bars and screaming lyrics. His politics are more polite. It's a compromise rather than a contradiction for politically conservative punk rocker Michael Graves, who for the first time is working on a cause usually aligned with the political left. The former lead singer for seminal punk band the Misifts -- who paints his thin face black and white to resemble a skull -- has joined the fight to free three young men convicted of murdering three children in West Memphis, Ark., in 1993. Graves brings his "Almost Home 2006" tour to Brownsville's Chapa's Bar The Pit tonight. The tour is part of the nationwide Almost Home Campaign.
Created by a group of private individuals working to free Damien Echols, Jessie Miskelly and Jason Baldwin, the campaign brings music, art shows and other events to cities across the nation. Its goal is to raise awareness on what it says is a justice system that has failed to provide the three men with a fair trial. The group will mark the 13th anniversary of the arrests of the so-called "West Memphis Three" with concerts and film screenings across the globe on June 3. Like many others, including celebrities such as Winona Ryder and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Graves was drawn to the campaign after watching the documentary films "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" and "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations." The films, released by HBO in 1996 and 2000, chronicle the trials of the West Memphis Three and were strongly critical of the case that resulted in their convictions.
Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky argued that the suspects were wrongly convicted of murdering Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, all 8 years old at the time of their deaths. Graves decided to join the cause after reading Echol's autobiography, "Almost Home," last December.
"I saw that Damien had written a book, and then it kind of clicked," Graves said from his home in Dumont, N.J. "I had this tour coming up, and I couldn't find the motivation, but then, there it was. I thought to myself ‘I'll get a copy of the book and go around the country and show people and talk to them and tell them about Damien Echols.'" Before reading "Almost Home," Graves had mostly given up on performing and was at a crossroads. His politically conservative leanings, he said, almost ruined his career. In 2004, Graves started contributing essays touting conservatism and supporting President Bush to the Web site conservativepunk.com , created as a reaction to the popular Web site punkvoter.com, set up by Fat Mike of the band NOFX to encourage the young people to vote against George W. Bush in the 2004 election.
Graves' music also became more political. Visceral songs like "Punk Rock is Dead" are unabashedly pro-conservative and challenge liberal ideology. "I checked out Punk Voter and got a taste of their direction and I got pissed off," Graves said. "Everything that was punk, as defined by Punk Voter, which includes bands from Green Day to NOFX to Bad Religion, every single thing you could identify as punk was aligned with the left in this country." Graves challenged the creators of punkvoter.com to create a dialogue with him and other conservativepunk.com contributors. "I started to challenge them and say let's get together and disagree with each other but together show the kids that are looking up to us that we can disagree in this forum but still carry on as a punk movement or as a scene," Graves said.
"All I got in return was personal attacks and tours cancelled and Web sites saying ‘Die Michael Die' and death threats and literally thousands of e-mails that are just the most horrible things that you could say to a human." The backlash hit Graves hard, but Echol's book inspired him to rebound. Now, he works hand in hand for a common cause with those who might have shunned him in the past for his political views. Graves said he's received support from a number of liberal-minded artists and activists, including punk rock singer/songwriter Henry Rollins, who's well known for his biting criticism of the Bush administration.
"The walls are coming down and it's getting to the point where people are saying ‘Alright, we can completely disagree with some of these things, on our politics but we can work together and do great things regardless.'" Graves still has his share of detractors. One of them is Joe King, frontman for New Hampshire-based punk rock band the Queers.
"His political thing, I think, is just a scthick. I don't know how much he believes in it. Does he really care about it? If he really cared about that stuff he wouldn't look like and dress like a (f-ing) clown," said King, whose band plays Chapa's Bar on Friday. Graves said his show tonight will be more about Echols than waving a red state flag. The show will begin with an audio clip of Judge David Burnett reading the death sentence to Echols. Then, Graves said, he performs with his band and speaks candidly about his views concerning the West Memphis Three.
"With this tour, I want to expose Damien as a man and his soul and who he is. I certainly inject my personal beliefs that I believe that he is completely and totally innocent, but I think that I'm more of an advocate for who he is." Graves has been on the road since early March. His tour will culminate with a performance at an art show featuring work by Echols in San Francisco on May 11. There, Graves will perform "Frost Bite," a song written by Echols. Graves plans to collaborate with Echols, through letters, to write an upcoming album after the tour. Right now, though, he's focused on advocating the innocence of the West Memphis Three.
Tonight's show will also feature Brownsville's the Livends. Doors open at 8 p.m.
mmoody@brownsvil leherald.com
ON THE WEB
www.punkvoter.co m
www.conservative punk.com
www.wm3.org
michaelgraves.ne t
Copyright (c) 2006, The Brownsville Herald, Texas Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com .
LOAD-DATE: April 27, 2006
p.s. I the the michalegrave.com site might be a dead link- Lane
Blog Category: News and Politics
Playing (Music): Dead Kennedys "Saturday Night Holocaust"
Current mood: surprised
Added on: 22/09/2006 12:38:26
|
