Rage Against the Machine front man Zach De La Rocha has organized a protest called Sound Strike that calls for artists to boycott playing in the state of Arizona. This of course is in retaliation to the recent immigration bill in Arizona that makes it a misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents.
Zach has put together a serious group of artists including Kanye West, Sonic Youth, Conor Oberst, Massive Attack, Spank Rock and Rage side groups One Day as a Lion and Street Sweeper Social Club. Other than maybe Kanye, Rage Against the Machine would be the biggest deal of all these artists protesting the state but unfortunately they aren't touring!
On the Sound Strike website Zach writes:
"Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to. People who are poor like some of us used to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive. This law opens the door for them to be shaked down, or even worse, detained and deported while just trying to travel home from school, from home to work, or when they just roll out with their friends."
Followed by
"When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said we are not going to ride the bus until they change the law. It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, 'we're not going to ride the bus,' saying we are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona?!"
You can also sign a petition against the immigration law on the site as well. This is a serious "f*ck you" from the music community to the state of Arizona. Sadly, it probably won't have much financial impact on the state since none of these bands had any intention of playing Arizona in the near future. However, when you have such a wide array of musicians teaming against your state, your state is probably doing something wrong.