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The Hard R

THE HARD R: GOD FORBID’S DALLAS COYLE ON THE ROLE OF POLITICS IN MUSIC

Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 5:21pm by

The Hard R Dallas Coyle God Forbid
Music vs. Politics

The last blog about the writing of IV: Constitution Of Treason received so much feedback and it blew my mind for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons was the hilarity of most of the responses. The blog was more about song writing and how our last record was written but when I was looking at the responses I realized that a LOT of people were taking issue with the events that shaped the record. Most people took a songwriting column and turned it into politics.

I got a lot of, “I can’t believe you call your fans stupid because they voted for George Bush!” First of all, I didn’t call any of our fans stupid. This was a feeling I had about America as a whole, not one person specifically. Secondly, these events SHAPED our record in my eyes so how is there any possible way for me to separate these events from the writing of the record? How is there any possible way that I was able to separate the “politics” from the “music”?

In the nature of that last blog it was impossible to separate the two which got me to thinking (again). God Forbid as a whole endorses Barack Obama for president. I don’t know if we are big enough to actually “endorse” him but as a band we all like him and have voted for him. We send out videos or bulletins from our Myspace that show some things he’s doing or we might send out some Hillary Clinton tomfoolery to turn people off of her. Lately, people have been outraged. Some say we shouldn’t mix music and politics. Some say we should keep them separated. Well, I have to disagree to a point. While I can agree that music and politics shouldn’t be the same thing, I think it’s impossible for our band to separate the two completely. We don’t sing about women breaking up with us.

I was surprised by the e-mails because our last record cover is the statue of liberty with her arm broken off. That’s pretty in your face. Obviously the people who e-mailed us knew that? Wait a minute… Do you think they bought our record? Are they true supporters of the band? I didn’t think so. I got into the idea that if we had an opinion about something whether it be politics, dancing or American Idol, a real fan of our band wouldn’t stop listening to us because of an opinion. Some of these people were literally saying they didn’t know if they should listen to us anymore because they didn’t like being called stupid. One guy actually sent a long e-mail about how our record sales were hurting because of the bulletins I was sending out.

Do you think Roger Waters or Bruce Springsteen’s sales are hurting because they support a politician or two? My answer is, ‘who gives a shit!’ If selling records was the real reason we did music we wouldn’t be playing the music we are playing. Metal doesn’t sell big. I’m not sure if it ever will but that wasn’t the point. Perspective is very important in life. I’ve been learning this a lot lately. Our band has always been about getting people to think for themselves. We want people to tell us to fuck off if they don’t like what we say. Our music is made for that purpose.

Last week’s blog turned into a political debate. It made me happy because amongst the predictable “Fuck off, God Forbid sucks” comments, I saw a real debate going on between a lot of smart people. People are starting to see the BS that is fucking our society. It’s not one thing. It’s a wide array of problems that are out there. The only thing that I can do is use the voice that I have. I wish I could do more. I think Constitution is a good record because it’s a statement. That’s all we know how to do. That’s our unique talent. Every one out there has their own unique talent to help change things. Not everything. Just something.

For the record, I say a lot of stupid shit. I’m trying my best to think more about what I say. But I do know this: you can’t be everyone’s friend. The world hasn’t worked that way for me. I want more people to speak up about what’s bothering them because a voice of dissent can turn into a crowd.

Right now Obama is getting a LOT of shit. He’s not the cool kid on the block anymore. Before he was being excoriated I would send out bulletins and I didn’t get any wild e-mails. But now that he’s not cool to like in some circles, the e-mails keep coming. Your true values become apparent when what you represent isn’t cool. Most people jump ship when that happens. I don’t.

That’s why GF fans are the best in the world. We’ve never been the ‘cool’ band but we’ve always done well. People who listen to us are going against the grain. We’re all about that. We’ve never really fit in and we’ve kind of forced our way into every scene we’ve been a part of. Once we’re there we’re pretty welcome and I’m grateful for that. I hope we can keep pushing for a long time!

HORNS!

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  • Fink

    I think it’s the fans that need to separate politics and music, not the artists. Musicians are born out of their expression; I don’t really see how we could ask that they stifle or suppress that in any way.

    Plus, I think everyone should be talking about these kinds of things. There’s nothing better for progress and the dissemination of ideas than honest, open debate.

  • http://www.myspace.com/evilsammy Sammy

    Dude, you need to go all controversial again to go for 70 comments!

  • Cisco

    I agree. I don’t recall you calling anybody stupid in your last blog. But the posts did get pretty interesting. Best part is I got told! That dingdong guy sure does know what he’s talking about. It’s always good to know where folks stand or don’t stand on certain issues. Anyways, regardless of where God Forbid stands, just don’t stop making killer records!

  • http://www.myspace.com/evilsammy Sammy

    Dallas, if your posts on the politics or societal events that shape your music can spark this much debate – mostly thoughtful and reasoned – then you’re contributing far more than just power chord riffs and scorching solos.

    And that is a good thing.

    (Surprised that your audience is more than just a bunch of head-banging thugs? Pretty cool, eh?)

  • http://lordsofmetal.nl Fleischberg

    I don’t think that politics and music should be held separated, because I think problems, situations and evnts around you shapes your music, your inspiration, your emotions.
    If you would take that away then it would be much more complicated to express yourself and say what you want to say.

  • mo biscuits

    Hey Dallas I feel like I should reply here since it was me who kinda got the ball rollin’ in the last blogs comments. The following quote is what got my attention… “The presidential election just happened and we all saw how fucking stupid Americans were on a general level when they re-elected the best comedian our soil has ever seen.”. It is a pretty cut and dry comment and I want to stress again that it was more hurtful than offensive to me. It never bothers me when an artist I like and support shills for a political candidate or certain policy I may find unappealing or even when they outright bash ones I support. But I just felt like a line was crossed and I (along with millions of other americans) was being called stupid for my political beliefs. I still love God Forbid and as long as you guys keep pumpin out some of the best metal on earth i always will.

  • http://DarkTwinCities.com devil

    Socially conscious lyrics BELONG in music, more so than, “Oh baby I love you” or “Babe, you done me wrong.” And creative types by-and-large will always support anti-establishment candidates. Musicians, particularly Rock musicians, are the voice of the working class, which explains why they don’t vote Republican. Conservative policies only reward the rich, affluent, corporations, and the elite. I am none of those so I could never be a conservative.

    God Forbid seems to be getting clearer in their message and better with their music on every release. That’s why I’m a fan.

    And as far as the stupidity of people voting for Bush, hey…he’s turned out to be one of, if no THE, worst Presidents in American History. Over half of the voters saw that coming in 2000 and in spite of the anemic John Kerry in ’04 almost half the voters recognized it again. Now we all KNOW it. So I think the comment was perfectly justified. How could anyone NOT feel shame for pulling the lever in favor of Bush?! Ridiculous.

  • rob

    good to hear what’s on your mind brother! keep spreading good knowledge; if we don’t tell people what’s up, it’s going to be the rich ones trying to buy votes on election day.

    tonight i was at an obama rally… at the fucking hip-hop bar! “Beatz for Obama”! Haha

  • Muttweiler

    @ Sammy: From your posts and alot of the others it’s obnvious most of us have transcended past the headbanging thug thing as they all jumped off the metal bandwagon a long time ago for something else more popular. This is so they always have a big gang of malcontents to rally around as fans of the 3 bands that still sell 10 million records. (I think it’s been a couple of years since I even bought something that went platinum!)

  • http://www.consequenceofsound.net Jay

    Not mixing music and politics is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. That’s like saying The Clash should never have existed.

    Great post!

  • http://lennui-melodieux.blogspot.com Randal Graves

    Each artist adds whatever he or she wants to their creative endeavor. If it’s politics, that’s great. If not, that’s great, too. I’ve never understood the whole ‘politics shouldn’t be in music’ angle. Should it not be in film as well, or literature?

    As for Obama, he’s getting a lot of shit because a good chunk of what Wright said is true and the average American doesn’t want to think of their country as having a past – and a present – that isn’t remotely akin to their cultivated ideal of USA, SUPERCOUNTRY!

    As for God Forbid, keep pushing. Some will dig it, some won’t. At the end of the day, you’ve got to pursue what YOU guys want, and you are.

  • Jason

    The bottom line is think for your self. No matter what Dallas or anyone on this site or any site says. I like to hear what people say even when I don’t agree with it. Different perspectives keep your mind fresh and open to the possibility of accepting new ideas. New ideas create change, and change is what we all need.

    Dallas, keep posting whatever you want. Getting a discussion started is the first step. Horns up to you bro!

  • http://www.myspace.com/evilsammy Sammy

    Devil, your generalizations are way off base. There is a huge undercurrent of working class, religious conservatives as well as affluent liberals.

    I’m neither. I guess I’m somewhere in the upper quartile of the middle class. Not sure exactly where, but I’m not upper class. Probably the lower part of the upper middle class. Yeah, that’s it. But I’m nobody’s conservative. Just on the fiscal side, because I help run a small business and I see what over-regulation and over-taxation does to small business, which in turn affects how many people we can give jobs to.

    I spend way too much time doing bullshit for government agencies that it’s truly a hidden tax (my time).

  • http://www.myspace.com/evilsammy Sammy

    @ Mutt,

    Three rock bands sold 10 million albums? Who? Nickel? Back? There’s two. Who else? ;)

  • http://www.myspace.com/deadspout deadspout

    well said sir

  • The Mighty Fucking Quinn

    I’ll post my thoughts here since you didn’t post this on Coyle Media yet.

    Like you said, Springstein, Roger Waters, Bob Dylan.Music is great cause there is a place for everyone and everything in it.Mindless shit you dance to, check.Politically motivated themes that cause you to enjoy te sounds, but think about what is being presented to you, check.Hell, there is even a nitch for people who like to smoke lots of weed and talk about fucking the dead (how retarded is Chris Barnes in person anyway?)Point is this – do politics belong in music?Fuck yes.Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Woodstock linked to politics as being a musical extravaganza to promote peace and protest war?

    I’ve always thought it was funny how Gone Forever was such a great record and with LOG blowing up, you guys didn’t fall into political metal “guilty by association” status and follow suit with a booming fan base.Don’t get me wrong, you guys have your fans, in fact because of that mind frame, it may be why I old you guys as such a high standard, but you’re far from shifting as many units as Lamb of God.

    As for calling people stupid, you’ve explained to everyone time and again, you are an asshole.People are entitled to their political opinions, as are you.But as a person, you decided to express your opinions in a much more matter of fact way.Those people should heed the advice you mentioned above and tell you to fuck off.Even though they speak to you with an open forum approach which has been provided here, they still show signs of putting you on a pedestal.The folks who got offended should have told you to fuck off and go into why Bush was a better choice than bumble fuck John Kerry.Personally, being from NY and watching the reaction to 9/11 and never being adequately informed why we attacked Iraq while we still had Intel saying Bin Laden was elsewhere(and if anyone knows, I’m still curious), although both seemed to be a couple of jerk offs, the 2004 Election is one of the few times where I felt we’d be better off with the devil we didn’t know over the devil we did.In 10 years, Bush-isms and things containing stupid things mumbled by our dumbass leader will still sell moderately well.Y’know why?Because it’s 15 years later and Jeff Foxworthy still matters, and the shit Bush says is waaaaaaay funnier.

    And even there, if someone doesn’t like that little shit I just took on George Walker Bush’s America, they have the right to tell me to fuck off.And the blessing and curse alike of America is that freedom of speech.That everyone who reads and comments here has the right to say these things and not get shot in the head point blank because of it.

    As for “The Cool,” staying just on music and avoiding scene shit and film and other mediums, just because I need to wrap this up and take my woman to the doctor’s, the problem with 95% of bands that are “cool” is that they have limited draw.You said weeks ago that the best artists steal.A band like God Forbid is good because it can steal, but Century Media is putting out God Forbid.They didn’t re-release Master of Puppets or any of the Hatebreed albums.Last week you talked about Arch Enemy with big riffs and Killswitch with singing parts.You guys were able to capture those components and make a God Forbid record, rather than be a bunch of dudes from Jersey playing Swede riffs verbatim.But back to the point, most bands can’t manufacture those influences and come up with quality product.And the reason you guys have always been welcomed is because in every scene you guys have presented yourself, there are always going to be the listeners who are going to want to hear a band who is going to matter still when their next record comes out.There are so many bands who are hip for 6 months and then 14 months later when the new album comes out, no one gives two shits.Personally, in 15 years, I wanna pay $150 for Orchestra seats at PNC or Jones Beach and see you guys playing support to Lamb of God or Shadows Fall.And if in 15 years you guys are playing shit bars on Long Island to 2000 people, I’ll still pay $20 to come see you guys.It’s not about how cool your band is now or in the future, it’s about how good you guys are.You’ve been writing good songs for years now, and I’m certain that is what you will continue to do for the years to come.

    Wow that was long….and you made me actually think…fuck man!I need to dumb it down a bit now….where’s that Six Feet Under cd????

  • The Mighty Fucking Quinn

    “And if in 15 years you guys are playing shit bars on Long Island to 2000 people, I’ll still pay $20 to come see you guys.”

    That’s actually supposed to say 200 people.Keyboard gets stuck sometimes.Damn internet porn.

  • http://stixnstond@yahoo.com Stixnstond in L.A.

    I’ll speak my opinion in song…
    “I hate everyone equally..”-Slayer
    “People=Shit”-’Knot
    “Mother Do you think they’ll drop the bomb…”-Floyd
    “MultiNational Corporations, Genocide of the Starving Nations”-NapalmDeath
    “tell me something i don’t know
    sell me something i can’t use
    push the button
    connect the goddamned dots”-Ministry
    “Soldier boy, made of clay
    now an empty shell…Bred to kill, not to care
    do juat as we say”-Metallica
    “A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time
    He got out three years from now just to commit more crime
    A businessman is caught with 24 kilos
    He’s out on bail and out of jail
    And that’s the way it goes…”MelleMel

  • Pingback: Way Too Loud! > God Forbid Guitarist Talks About Politics

  • Muttweiler

    About the stealing shit and incorporating it: it is just another piece in a band’s evolution. You have your influences you start out with and shit you add when you kinda figure out what you’re capable of and what you want to sound like. It’s obvious that Mercenary’s current sound dynamic owes itself to touring with Nevermore. If you watch the DVD that comes with The Hours That Remain they call the song Simplicity Demand “Nevermore in Japan” as a demo when working on the album. Mercenary comes out of all this with a bigger, more polished and dynamic sound… 11 Dreams was awesome Remains is a near masterpiece

  • BrineB

    Dallas……CHANGE THAT DAMN PICTURE YOU’VE GOT OF YOURSELF UP THERE.

    Shit.

  • dalenkwint

    God Forbid @ the Crazy Donkey tomorrow night!!! God Forbid, for like the 15th time! I got work early monday so i’ll try not to be limping out the door. [like devildriver a month ago]

    Like hell I won’t. I’ll probably end up missing work! I want free shit, more autographs, another drum stick or two and some more GF guitar picks.(thanks Dallas)

  • dalenkwint

    lol, it wasn’t quite like that, but it was a sick show none-the-less. I didn’t expect GF to headline, and I didn’t expect the show to end at 12:30, I was damn near falling asleep by the end of the set and I was on the barricade! My back and neck still hurt which lasts days after a good night of headbanging, and I’m still pretty fucking deaf. I probably have tinnitus. Look for me at the show in 15 years, I’ll be the one with the hearing aide.