It's been a week since we asked Arizonans angry about SB 1070 -- the law that essentially mandates law enforcement agents racially profile Hispanics and requires those Hispanics to prove their citizenship or risk deportation -- to send us their protest songs.
The response has been amazing. We've already recieved tracks from Andrew Jackson Jihad, Joey Arroyo Band and rapper Rich Rico. We've also had inquiries from across the country. The track below, for example, came from a Washington State electronic musicians named Marianne. She says she lived in the Phoenix area in the mid-'80s for a little under two years after growing up in rural Wisconsin.
"The physical and cultural differences between the two states are pretty profound, to say the least, and my time there made a great impression upon me," she says. "So many people are feeling so frustrated and hurt and angry over SB 1070, but don't know what to do. Music is such a powerful ally and a really effective way to deliver a message. When 'Ohio' came over the radio so quickly after Kent State, it galvanized people to action, gave them a focus, and a place to pour their grief."
Amen, sister. Here's the thing: While we love Marianne's song, we're hoping not to include it on this compilation. Why? Well, this is about Arizona-bred musicians standing up to a bad Arizona law. Do we want to let Shakira, Ricky Martin or Fucked Up fight this battle for us, or are we gonna do our own part? More details on the compilation on the jump.
Some other details:
-We are planning to press this into an actual CD and also have it available for download. The CD will likely be available for sale in local record stores.
-If you're sending us a track we'd prefer it be an mp3 mastered to 256 kbs.
-The track needs to be specifically about this law, SB 1070, and its effects. Generalized "fuck the government" songs from your last album are not acceptable, sorry.
-Preference will be given to Arizona musicians. That is the point, after all. However, if we're short on AZ bands we will fill the rest of the 74 minute CD with songs from other states or countries.
-Send any files to [email protected]. Not actually my.name -- fill it in with the name at the top of this post, putting a dot between the first and last names. You can also tweet at me, @phxmusicdotcom.
-All proceeds, minus production costs, will be donated to Puente and No More Deaths. We're doing everything we can to keep the production costs low so we can give them as much as possible.
-There will likely be a release show/rally before the law goes into effect in late July. We'll be asking some of the bands who contribute a track to play the show and admission will include a copy of the record. We're still deciding on a venue. Stay tuned.
