WASP’s recent presentation in New York was marked by a speech in which leader Blackie Lawless classifies the politician as a “patriot”
Fans who attended the show held by WASPa cult American hard rock/heavy metal band, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, United States, on November 16th, were surprised by a political demonstration by the band. Vocalist and guitarist Blackie Lawless gave a laudatory speech to donald trump and, afterwards, the group started to print banners in support of the businessman and politician, recently elected president of the country.
The situation occurred before the performance of the last song in the repertoire, “Blind in Texas”. As per website transcript BlabbermouthLawless initially commented that he was “in the appropriate city to make” his statement. He then recalled the creation of the American committee Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), who in 1985 tried to censor songs with content considered “controversial”, discussing sex, violence or drug use.
Blackie stated:
“Growing up, I never imagined I would be thrown into a situation I had no control over. Next year, it will be 40 years of a situation called PMRC. And there were hearings in Washington, D.C. Frank Zappa [músico] and I talked about the evils related to this. Censorship is an ugly thing, not just in music.”
The musician reinforced that freedom of expression is guaranteed in the first amendment of the American constitution. However, he believes that censorship is showing itself again in society, “this time on the internet and affecting each one of us”even if it does not specify the restriction in question. Citing Trump’s presence at an event at Madison Square Garden, in New York, on the same day that WASP’s concert took place in the city, he added:
“You may not be aware, but right next to us here at Madison Square Garden, there is a man who has suffered assassination attempt after assassination attempt. This man defended this country. I’m passionate about two things: freedom of speech and being a patriot. I don’t care about your party; you need to be a patriot. I’m willing to die for this country. I believe in this a lot. And that man next door [Trump] believe that too.”
In addition to the flags with the words “Trump 2024” placed on the sides of the stage, WASP displayed on the screen a photo of the future American president on July 13, 2024, when he was attacked during a rally in Pennsylvania. Check out videos below.
What Blackie Lawless says about his speech
Blackie Lawless was asked to address his speech during a Q&A session with fans days later. The musician, who features the Brazilian Aquiles Priester as drummer for WASP and will be in the country in May to perform at the São Paulo festival Bangers Open Air, declared that the speech “it wasn’t just about Donald Trump”but yes “about the United States”.
“We thought about it for a week, whether we would do that or not. What would we do if there were consequences? I thought: it doesn’t matter if there are consequences, because when you see the censorship of technology giants, it’s the same thing as 40 years ago with the PMRC. It just has a different name now. The first thing any government does when it takes power is to take over the airwaves. If you censor speech, you can control thinking or cow people so that they are afraid to speak.”
In Lawless’ opinion, Trump has “great wings of bronze” for “going through what he went through.” Again defining the politician as a patriot, the musician said:
“Thomas Jefferson [terceiro presidente da história dos EUA] said: the tree of liberty must be replaced from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants. And I see him as a patriot. My speech was interested in addressing two things: censorship and patriotism. If someone is willing to die for what they believe in, I need to be on their side.”
The hard rock vocalist who left his dream band to take care of his health
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
