Howie Klein and I have been working the phones to try and persuade acts from performing in Arizona since they have contempt for a certain segment of their population. Kris Kobach, the notorious cage f*&ker, has paved the way to damnation for Brewer's state. And no matter what you hear, they are feeling it. Some of the musicians are locked at this point so they couldn't pull out, but others are stepping up to the plate.
Mad props to Los Lobos for their principled stand against SB 1070.
This just in from Los Lobos' camp: The band is canceling its performance at the Talking Stick Resort in Arizona's Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on June 10 as a protest against the passing of the state's controversial new immigration bill, SB1070. The band issued the following statement via its management:
“We support the boycott of Arizona. The new law will inevitably lead to unfair racial profiling and possible abuse of people who just happen to look Latino. As a result, in good conscience, we could not see ourselves performing in Arizona. We regret the inconvenience this may have caused the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Casino Arizona, Talking Stick Resort and our fans, but we feel strongly that it is the right thing to do.”
Cypress Hill has already canceled their shows too.
And as Howie notes in his May 2nd post:
Meanwhile two industries that could suffer severely from Arizona's decision to go the police state route are tourism and sports. Frommers has already warned tourists to think twice before traveling to Arizona because of the self-righteous and violent nature of many of the inhabitants.
Conventions are pulling out of Phoenix, which has invested very heavily in that business. The Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association said six organizations had already canceled conventions. And now major league baseball is the next front in a growing war which is asking people who believe in American values to stay away from Arizona Diamondbacks games.
We're still working on Bud Selig behind the scenes, and I'll let you know when more actions are coming.
