hey andrew, appreciate your thoughts. it has been quite interesting everything that has been coming into our inbox.

and very cool you dig some of the tunes.

and believe me i am not trying to destroy this relief effort. i was very much looking forward to being part of something to help. and so you know we still may be.

but did you also know that both another found self and these final words had no intention on playing this show. nothing at all to do with the n word band. neither band knew anything about that. terry just added them to the bill before they agreed. actually that is what happened to us too. but i figured it is for a could cause so we would do it and not give him too much shit for that.

and clemency won't reply to any messages as to whether or not they are playing.

anyway, as far as this band and it's members. a simple question was asked to each member. do you think tripfuse should play sunday with a band called the n word. it was simple. yes=fired. no=good man.

as far as the black people of new orleans i can assure you no money is worth the disrespect and humiliation of that name being used to raise money for them. or just that name being used as a band name period. now i have not spoken to any blacks from new orleans but i soon will and try to get some real thoughts from people. but i have spoken to many blacks in our area and was on the phone with the naacp for about 20 minutes monday. everyone i have spoke to is outraged. using that word as a band name is setting race relations back by years. it is just plain hurtful. it may not seem hurtful to yourself and some others but you should start asking black friends you have or bring it up in a class at school (i assume you are in HS or college, sorry if i assumed wrong). these are real issues that need to be discussed. a lot of people prefer just to ignore the problems and avoid the subject. this is a big part of the problem. nothing is solved or fixed if ignored and swept under the carpet. if you do bring it up in class i would love to hear how it goes down.

i would have a problem with a band using that name no matter what. but here is something that really set me off. there is nothing on their myspace site that says anything about the subject. this is a very very bad sign.

hang with me for a minute.

so let's just say you are surfing myspace and you run across this band name on someone's site. do you click on it? and why? maybe just to see what it is. ok. maybe but realize that most people are not going to do that. they are simply going to be offended. yuk. can you believe that. how awful. i guess racism is alive and well. things of that sort.

now, for the person that wants to look further. they get to the site. nothing. just a bunch of white people leaving comments. completely and utterly ignoring the name. what is someone to think? to me and most of the people i have talked to they believe it is a racist band and a racist site. they are now even more offended then when they first read the name. things heat up. not good. more racial tension. which has been growing like crazy since katrina. the 15 year old kid shot dead right here in cleveland by 2 white cops in his own bedroom. the beating caught on tape of a 64 year old black guy by white police in new orleans just last saturday night.

and i believe most of the people asking to become their friends probably are racist and believe it is a racist band. and again whether that is true is still to be seen but that is what it looks like on the surface to most people. and what it looks like on the surface is what it is because if there is nothing else being said, what are people to think?

now that band may not even be aware of this. they may very well want to do good. but they are not. the truth is they are doing nothing but damage every time that name appears. they need to be aware of this.

and i am not trying to shit on them, if they really are not racist than they need to be convinced what they are doing is not only not right but completely doing the opposite of what it is they want to do. again providing they really do feel passionate about the issue. i at this point am not convinced they really do want to help. i think it is about shock value to them.

because if they did want to help don't you think the site would say something? anything?

most of the people visiting their site probably are racist and are thinking, yeah hey, look at these fuckers, how cool is that. way to go. let me be your friend.

it is very sad to me andrew. i have have many close black friends and have for years. i took a bunch of black history classes in college. one of my best black female friends married one of my best white male friends and now have 3 bi-racial children. the last band i was in was made up of 2 blacks, 1 japanese and myself.

it isn't like i just have this thing out for this band. it isn't like that at all.

what ya think? did i bring some clarity?

i really think it is great you asked the questions you asked and want to learn more. that is where it starts.

as far as the details of tripfuse at the moment. one of the guys who answered the question wrong has been following all of this and is starting to see that ...dang maybe teague is right about this. maybe it is way more serious than i thought. so he may very well be back apart of this outfit. the other...don't know. have not heard from him since it went down.

terry did what was right and took them off the bill and now i will do my best to get a band ready to play. but it is hard to say being this is now wednesday.

but again please realize i was not trying to destroy this show. it is for a great cause and i hope to maybe somehow be a part of it but i could not and would not allow a band with that name to play a katrina benefit.

and so you know. they won't be playing anymore shows. until they change their name, they can look forward to hearing from me and many others every single day. i'm not going to do it by threatening to beat them up or anything. just educate them enough to see that it isn't right. if they really are not racist and want to help they have got to understand that word is nothing but evil and needs to disappear from the english language.

alright gotta run, lot more of these to write.

if all goes well i will see you sunday.

thanks again andrew.

teague