Chip Away...Chip Away at the Stone...(Or, Censorship Sucks)

Buckcherry is apparently playing a G-rated concert tonight in Mobile, Alabama. In fact, the band is apparently contractually-bound to keep their rock antics "Disney" appropriate. The show is part of  BayFest 2008.

I think this is a load of crap.

How can a band - that has gotten famous off songs like "Crazy Bitch" and "...Too Drunk to Fuck" - play a G-rated show? Moreover, how can this same band even agree to such a proposition? Oh yeah. Money.

Money rules all. How silly of me to think a band's creative expression might be important these days. Buckcherry can just go out, stifle their live show, change up the lyrics to their songs and Josh Todd can say "Golly gee, Mobile! How 'ya 'doin tonight?!"

Not Glam, people. Not Glam at all.

To Buckcherry's defense, Josh Todd did sort of say something like the band likes to do the same show every night. Translation: they like to swear and talk about sex. Quite frankly, it's also easier to do the same show over and over. Tours are highly scripted events, despite what any of us want to believe. So, on top of the censorship - the band is going to have to actually think a little more tomorrow night. Oh, the drama.

My thought is this: if you are promoting a festival or concert of any type, you better 1) consider your audience and 2) consider the bands that fit that audience. If the two don't gel - circle back and figure out a lineup that works. There's a reason most music festivals are geared toward adults: shows are rowdy, music is loud, tickets are expensive. Plus, you might hear an F-bomb. Or seven. When lawyers get in the way and start censoring live shows - and don't even get me started on the "clean" versus "explicit" lyrics on CDs - we've got a major problem. Live shows are the last place a musician can truly express their art. Sure, you hear some raunchy stuff on CDs - but when you get a band live - they are in their element. Litigate the hell out of a live show and you start chipping away at our already eroding civil liberties. 

I wish Buckcherry had refused to perform the G-rated show. Of course, I wish I didn't have to do half the crap my employer says is part of my job description. At the end of the day we've all got bills. It just plain sucks.

Thoughts?

Comments

[crüe düde]

Buckcherry is one of my favorite bands and the idea of them doin a "disney" show pisses me off like you said on stage is the last place an artist can express themselves and censoring that is like putting monitoring cameras in every home in the world its a stupid idea but that is just me

[Xavier]

Agree 100% with you !!
This country got into such a paranoia, its ridiculous, they censor any words related to sex, dont let people see any nude, but they let kids see the most brutal violence on TV, that sucks, whats wrong with those people ?

[Lucifer]

have to agree with you completely, I love Buckcherry, and to censor them is redicularse.
To censor anything is rediculous, if you dont like swearing or talking about sex, either get over it or dont listen to it.

[JT]

Sorry, I don't agree. Buckcherry had every right to say no to the show. They chose to play it. If they don't want to play by the festival's rules, they shouldn't play at all.

[Rob Rockitt, Hard Rock Hideout]

If you don't want a rock show, and the antics that go with it. Hire Hanna Montana or the Jonas Brothers to do a show....I am sure they would be a better fit for the Disney mold.

I guess Buckcherry wont do Crazy Bitch, Porno Star, Too Drunk, or countless other songs that people love. None of those songs would be G Rated.

[Michael]

I remember when I first wanted to buy the "15" album, i was at a Meijer's to be exact, and i grabbed the album and was about to pay 15 bucks to get it, when, luckily, my friend stopped me. He noticed that this was the "clean" version. I was utterly disgusted and put the album back. A part of me felt like buying it, just to see what "Crazy Bitch" would sound like censored. Of course, this feeling lasted mere seconds. What got me even madder was that, in that same record store, there was NO explicit, uncut version. They were all edited. Of course, I didn't buy it. I did get it 9 days ago though, and I'm glad I can hear the dirty sleaze in it that we have all come to love.

[kari]

I was at this show this past weekend and they still sang the songs just like they were written. The only thing Josh laid low about was talking in b/w songs and giving us all our sex education lesson for the day. This show was EASY MONEY and great exposure for the band, it was PACKED!

[don]

okay, why disney would want an act that is known to be vulgar is a headscratcher. but if the band agrees to the terms then what's the problem? they agreed to it. is it a sellout move? yeah. but the band has the right to decide if that's the move they want. i've stated my views on buckcherry her many times before so i won't get into that but i see no problem with an organization that is putting on a concert for kids to make the bands playing abide by some rules for what they say. of course most people wouldn't book a band like buckcherry to play for kids. something interesting to watch is if disney helps the band become bigger than they are by making a few "changes" to their sound and their image so that they can put them on their shows. if that happens then i agree that it's wrong but again, the band chooses how much or if they sellout.

[Valentine]

Years ago, TYR were contractually bound to play a gig that turned out to be for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers... We played our "typical" show to an audience of about 300 after being cautioned to not used explicit language as it was an all ages show, (kind of difficult when one of your lyrics is "I'd rather fuck than fight")... And even though the "kids" were getting into the show, they must have been instructed to politely sit on their hands cause they'd cheer and scream but would not get out of their seats... Pissed me off to the point that I walked off stage midway through what was supposed to be our second to last song... OOPS, guess it became our last song...

One cool thing was our guitar player altered a M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) bumpersticker so it read Drunk Drivers Against Mothers and put it on the back of his guitar, flashing it every chance he got... oh, the rebelliousness.

Bottom line: Money talks...

Ofcourse it probably

[devin]

fuck that, they are one of my newer favorite bands for a reason, they are dirty, nasty, talk about drugs, sex, women, and all that, we havent had a band like this in a while, fuck censorship