The pages on the ole calendar are moving WAY too fast this summer, don’t you think? I gotta comment on the new Asbury Park, NJ and what an incredible job the new residents of that beach town community have done in bringing the luster back to that degenerating city. It looks AMAZING! The beach/boardwalk area is back, the old Paramount Theater and the arcade is great, the whole vibe is a community full of pride for the way they’ve reshaped this area. So happy and had a great time just sitting on the beach on Saturday with friends. I’ll be back!…..Now this is disturbing, no pun intended! According to a report from our sister company, Pulse of Radio, Disturbed and Device frontman David Draiman has condemned former Pink Floyd bassist/singer Roger Waters for allegedly using the Jewish Star of David as one of the symbols on a giant inflatable pig that is part of the The Wall concert that Waters has been taking on the road. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Waters, long known for his anti-Israel views and his support of the Palestinian people, has used the pig balloon in his show for years as a symbol of greed, fascism and oppression. Draiman’s lengthy statement, posted at Twitlonger.com, read in part: “Whether or not you agree with the policies of the Israeli government (and there are times where I myself, a half Israeli Jew, with a large number of relatives still living in Israel, including my brother and grandmother; do not agree with some of their policies), nothing excuses the usage of the Star of David (the symbol of the Jewish people as a whole, not Israel or its government) emblazoned on a flying pig/zeppelin during his performances for The Wall. It is uncalled for, abhorrent, and blatantly Anti-Semitic.” Draiman continued, “If the pig is in fact a symbol of greed and tyranny as described in the song from The Wall called ‘In the Flesh’, then affixing the symbol of the Jewish people to it, is an attempt at reinforcing an age old anti-Semitic stereotype that is unwarranted and beyond offensive.” He added, “If he wanted to make a political statement against the policies of the Israeli government (which I would not be in agreement with either, but would be political and not religious/racial, and therefore understandable), he should have had an image of the Israeli flag on it, the symbol of the government, and not the lone star of David, the symbol of the Jewish people as a whole.” Draiman noted that this was not a free speech issue, saying, “Mr. Waters is well within his rights to say and display anything he chooses, even if it does incite hatred, but it does NOT mean that we as responsible individuals against hatred and anti-Semitic imagery, have to sit back and just take it.” He concluded, “I therefore urge all of my followers, friends, and colleagues, and certainly the Jewish people within the entertainment community to take issue with this anti-Semitic symbolism, and to demand that the Star of David be stricken from the flying pig, and that a formal apology/explanation be given from Mr. Waters himself.” Draiman is not the only one taking aim at Waters. Ultimate Classic Rock reported that the Simon Wiesenthal Center has taken umbrage with his use of the Star of David on the pig. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center, told the Jewish newspaper The Algemeiner: “With this disgusting display Roger Waters has made it crystal clear. Forget Israel, never mind ‘limited boycotts promoting Middle East Peace.’ Waters is an open hater of Jews.” Let us know what you think. Email via the email link on the home page…..In another item that is really wrong, Pulse Content also reports a group of 35 to 40 residents of Jackson, Michigan attempted unsuccessfully to have a show featuring Godsmack and Pop Evil at the Jackson County Fair on August 5th canceled, according to MLive.com. But fair organizers have said that the show will go on, despite the group of residents, many affiliated with a local church, attending a July 23rd board meeting for the event and asking that the rock acts be removed. Jackson resident Billie Buda, who showed up at the meeting, said she will be taking her grandchildren to the fair but won’t visit on the 5th, explaining, “I don’t want them to be at the fair when this concert is going on and they are not going to the concert, I know that . . . Their (fair board) mission statement says it is a family oriented venue. This goes against their own mission statement. There are a lot of bands that are good and some that are into witchcraft and the devil.” Ironically, Godsmack frontman Sully Erna is a follower of Wicca, a nature-based religion that has been associated with paganism and witchcraft. But he told us a while back he prefers to keep his religion private: “When people found out that I practiced witchcraft, every interview became about that. And I’m like, I just don’t want to be the poster boy for the Wiccan religion because it’s not about that, it’s about the music, and not something I do in my personal life. Why don’t people ask Cher if she’s a practicing Catholic? I think it’s because it’s not as common as some of the other modern-day religions are.” The fair’s operations director, Denise Owens, said organizers had surveyed residents over the past five years about which musical acts they would to see at the fair, revealing, “We had a lot of input on the different types of music they wanted to hear,” adding that ticket sales for Godsmack have been “really good.” But Buda insisted she’s not just concerned about her grandchildren, but the area in general, saying, “It’s moral decay in the community and we don’t need it, there is enough going on here.” She added that Godsmack is “completely unacceptable. The lyrics threaten women, children and the weak. It’s ridiculous. It’s obscene and it’s not something we need.” (Editor’s comment: This is why Alice In Chains named their album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, for just this reason. These religious zealots who know NOTHING about pop culture should just SHUT UP and go away!) I mean, it makes them look more stupid when comments like this are published:Local pastor Timothy Nelson said, “If you look at the name Godsmack, what does that mean? Do you smack God? The name is irreverent and when you look at the lyrics it’s less than edifying.” Nelson said he will pray for both bands as well as the fair’s organizers. (You do that, sir. Ugh, gimme a break! Here’s one for ya, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!”).. Speaking of Alice In Chains, they released a new lyric video for “Voices,” the latest single from the group’s new album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. “Voices” follows up the first two tracks issued as singles, “Hollow” and “Stone,” the former of which catapulted to Number One on the rock radio chart. The clip opens up with enigmatic images of a faceless person wearing a hoodie as the lyrics drift across the screen around him. Alice In Chains songs have always been filled with dark imagery and guitarist Jerry Cantrell told us he just naturally writes that way: “It’s never been my intention to be dark. I guess I just maybe talk about stuff that’s more real, you know what I mean? There’s plenty of stuff out there to distract you from stuff. I’m not really trying to distract anybody from anything, and I’m trying not to look away from myself or somebody else that’s either scary, disturbing, something that I don’t like about somebody or myself. I’m trying to look at those things without looking away.”….Very Happy 60th today to Rush and singer Geddy Lee!
