The Sound Strike is back on the attack with another press release drawing attention to the growing list of artists signing on to boycott Arizona in response to the passage of SB 1070.
"The legalization of racial profiling within Arizona has drawn fierce opposition from people all over the world," it reads. "Over 20 cities throughout the U.S., along with universities, professional associations, and civil rights organizations have all approved boycotts as part of an international strategy to defeat this unjust law. It is in the spirit of these popular actions that the Sound Strike is proud to announce the newest list of artists who are taking action to defend civil and human rights."
Those names include Nine Inch Nails, comedian Chris Rock, Maroon 5, My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper, Ry Cooder, Pitbull, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Anti-Flag and Throwing Muses.
The initial list, released in May, included Conor Oberst, Kanye West, Rage Against the Machine, Rise Against, Cypress Hill, Serj Tankian, Joe Satriani, Sonic Youth, Tenacious D, Street Sweeper Social Club and Michael Moore.
The release goes on to say, "For musicians and artists, the choice to boycott is not a simple one. But the reality has become clear that to perform in Arizona, with this divisive and unjust law on the books, is no longer a neutral act. It is Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona state legislature that has created the climate under which the normal commercial interaction between fans and artists can be converted into the means to apply racist legislation like SB 1070. For artists of The Sound Strike, the boycott is the most effective form of non-compliance with a law that threatens the civil and human rights of everyday people living within the state, including the fans of our music, whom we cherish and respect."
SB 1070 states that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.
The Sound Strike also released three public service announcements Monday - one by Zack de la Rocha, one by Oberst and one by Ozomatli. And de la Rocha told Billboard they're putting a series of protest concerts together.
"In the coming weeks," he said, "we are going to be organizing a series of concerts that are respectful of the nature of the boycott in its attempts to isolate the Arizona government but not isolate the people, and especially the organizations that are fighting this on the ground. Many of us have begun to plan concerts that include bands that have signed on the Sound Strike, and make tickets available so that people within Arizona can come and see these concerts as they roll out. These are things that are being set into motion right now - a series of concerts or maybe even one giant concert in late July."
He also said there was a strong chance that his own group, Rage Against the Machine, would take part in one of more of those concerts.
The Billboard story also quoted from an open letter by Charlie Levy of Stateside Presents, which was published in The Arizona Republic.
"By not performing in Arizona," Levy argued, "artists are harming the very people and places that foster free speech and the open exchange of ideas that serve to counter the closed-mindedness recently displayed by the new law."
Public Enemy's Chuck D and Cooder have recorded songs inspired by the law, while Los Lobos, Hall and Oates, Conjunto Primavera, Cypress Hill and Pitbull are among the artists that have canceled Arizona shows in protest.
Artists speaking out against the law include Belinda Carlisle, Shakira, Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana and Jenny Lewis.
