Krist Novoselic JAMPAC speeches
Address to Washington state Young Democrats '96
Thank you Washington Young Democrats. I am excited to be here. I don't know how many of you are familiar with my back ground so I'll take a moment to fill you in. I am formerly of the internationally successful rock band Nirvana. Our band started out in Aberdeen, back in 1987. One day the band set out on Hwy. 8 east and I've been told that the world hasn't been the same since. Nirvana, along with bands like Pearl Jam, Sound Garden and Alice In Chains were the first crop of bands that made up the original "Seattle Sound" explosion. In the spring of 1992, Seattle bands turned the music world upside down. We made flannel cool. Who would have thought Aberdeen would have inspired top New York designers? Yes Seattle bands changed the face of music but the change was even deeper. If you can recall the big "Hair spray" bands of the eighties and their phony packaged rebellion; they would cruise around on motorcycles, swigging Jack Daniel's and espouse the virtue of buxom babes. We NW musicians didn't buy that shtick. Music was more than posturing to us, it was an expression. We reached inside ourselves and let out a roar heard around the world. In these impersonal times of demographic marketing and cathode ray isolation, people noticed. I feel people more than noticed, they were affected. This was a renaissance in popular music. Not only did the "new regime" change musical tastes, it changed perspectives. Kids were now listening to artists whose concern for human rights, the environment and free expression, to name a few, spilled out beyond the music into an ethic. Never did I see a PETA booth at an Ozzy Osbourne concert. These days tabling is par for the course at musical events. We in the Seattle music community have had our triumphs; over 200 million records sold world wide, to say the least. And we've had our tragedies. After all of this we have survived as a community and 1996 & 1997 are sure to be banner years for us. It's really no big deal anymore for a Seattle band to be in the Top Ten.
In January of 1995 my colleague Richard White and I started the Joint Artists & Music Promotions Political Action Committee. It grew out of a need for more comprehensive representation on behalf of the music community. JAMPAC views our community as three interrelated segments. There are the artists, the fans and the business aspect. JAMPAC was formed out of the Washington Music Industry Coalition, who have been fighting regressive Harmful to Minors legislation for the past four years. Both these organizations believe that Artists and their music must not be hampered by government regulations. We believe that music fans know best what is appropriate for their households. I say let's keep government out of the parenting business. We believe that the North West music community is a valuable industry that should be encouraged. Most of us all still live up here. We're building homes and business. We are creating an infrastructure around entertainment. Don't buy the myth of the lazy bum musician, our savvy is blossoming and our achievements are a testimony to it.
When you consider the musical impact born out of the west side of Lake Washington and the technological impact of the East side, the potential boggles the mind. Here is a green and clean resource; music-the content-, and software and internet development, -the technology-. Washington music and technology literally are having a global impact. Do we want to discourage this by poorly conceived social engineering?
Ever since my involvement with JAMPAC I have been making public addresses. A large part of my message revolves around the first amendment. With the passing of the "Telecommunications Decency Act", the V-Chip and Harmful To minors legislation popping up around the country, these are busy days for those of us advocating the freedom of expression. Another issue I always address is the current anti-government rhetoric spewed by those who have an interest in less government. This angers me. What is government? In the Soviet Union, sure, they had a government that deserved contempt. S. Africa, China you know what I mean. Here in the United States the government is you and I. The government consists of those who wish to participate. I tell young people that if we don't have a responsible, comprehensive government then we're stuck with big business and big religion. Of course we need a healthy business community but there's no reason why we can't have a responsible one also.
I tell young people that government is accessible. You have every right to attend a hearing at your state legislature, city council, school or library board. Our representatives do respond when we call, write or fax. If young people do feel left out it is because they left themselves out. Youth have the numbers but lack the initiative. I feel this initiative is lost because candidates don't court youth enough.
This is where I'm talking to all of the candidates here tonight. If candidates want to capture this crucial voting block they have to enter the world of youth culture. Most young people don't read the Times or the P-I, they read papers like the Rocket or the Stranger. Their information comes through magazines like Rolling Stone or Spin. Of course we all have seen the potential of MTV. So if the capsule of youth culture is penetrated, what then is the message? To define a message, you have to understand the community. Many young people live two or three per apartment. They get by on minimum wages. Young people have active social lives and congregate usually at music events. Many young people tend to express their sexual orientation more openly these days. Youth are physically active and enjoy recreation in natural settings. Where I'm getting at is that the State Democratic platform is a natural for young people. Polls are saying young people are concerned about the environment, human rights, minimum wage and the freedom of expression. JAMPAC sees the value of this constituency and the issues it's concerned about. WMIC and JAMPAC see the potential of grass roots organizing. In the past we haven't only contributed financially to campaigns, we've lent resources like phone banks and press exposure. So far we've registered over 6500 mostly first time voters in our states, and we keep that data so we can have a constituency to call upon, when needed.
JAMPAC is committed to cultivating a health environment for the music community. We need to foster artists, encourage music business and give fans (People of all ages) the respect and responsibility to choose what kind of music and more importantly what kind of representation that best reflects the values of this constituency
Thank you.
A lot of people today are turned off by politics, and I don't blame them. There is so much rhetoric, often nasty. It's easy to feel excluded when you have to channel surf through the rip tide of pundits, candidates, representatives, lobbyists and issue groups and their seemingly endless stream of political psycho-babble. In this election year we are never far from the blare and bray of campaigns trumpeting a string of issues and isim's, each one scientifically researched and designed to "target" our attention, support and loyalty. It is easy to feel frustrated and resigned to an undetermined fate. I myself was very frustrated. In my frustration, I looked around and took inventory of my resources. I recognized that there was a core constituency of people who shared my frustrations. I recognized that I was part of this constituency.
Young people do feel disenfranchised. Their alienation from American society and politics is not imagined, it is reality. You have to remember that politicians don't really care what people think, per se, they really only care about what voters think. Politically that makes perfect sense. I've been told by elected officials that young people and music fans, don't matter because we don't vote or contribute to campaigns. It's not so much that the system doesn't work, it's that the system isn't working. The apathy of the American people is reaching critical mass. Only thirty percent of the general population even bothered to vote for the 104th Congress. So much for landslides, earthquakes, revolutions and mandates. Voter participation in this country has to be a national embarrassment.
There is so much rhetoric, from all sides, that it's hard to keep on top of things and try to make sense out of it all. Much of that rhetoric is negative. Negative campaign ads, negative telemarketing, and political dirty tricks are the pinnacle of down and dirty politics currently gripping our nation. We've all seen the advertisement for a sport utility vehicle sloshing through a massive mud hole with the caption reading "Better in the mud than a politician". That ad made a strong point. It was a negative but it was a point that people are relating to. Are people flocking to buy that vehicle based on the premise of that advertisement? I don't know. But people are not getting involved in the system, for sure.
I know that this is beginning to sound like a civics lecture but I feel that America today is too apolitical and there just isn't enough information about the basics. You don't have to do much. Just look around you and see what your resources are. Look here at us in this room. We're here because of our involvement and passion for music. If there is enough interest in, or enough fear of artistic and music censorship, the leaders among us will emerge to help guide us out of this problem. Be there for them because they are there for you. Don't be intimidated by government. It was designed to be accessible.
Let me tell you about JAMPAC, the Joint Artists and Music Promotions Political Action Committee. JAMPAC was formed in the face of a growing national climate of censorship. Since 1992 a group called the Washington Music Industry Coalition has been fighting music censorship in my home state of Washington. JAMPAC is an outgrowth of WMIC's efforts. So many calls, from all over the country, began coming in at WMIC about attempts to censor music that it became very apparent this was a bigger problem than the one we had in Washington state.
Let me give you some examples. In Washington State, the WMIC, along with the RIAA and ACLU, successfully challenged the "Erotic Music Law" in the state supreme court. WMIC has also been instrumental in gaining the governors veto on two successive "Harmful Materials Bills that if passed into law, would have effected film, books, music, telecommunications, health education and live performance. Condoms would have to be placed in a special "adults only" section. CD's and tapes would be in the "adult section" of the record store.
It shouldn't take much more than a glance through your local paper or a few industry trades to find other efforts to restrict musicians and the publics access to music. Let me offer you a few snapshots. In the wake Washington states' legislation 17 other states introduced "erotic music" bills. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey there are active legislative attempts to criminalize the RIAA's "parental advisory" stickers, so it's buy a record, go to jail. In Massachusetts, Louisiana, and South Carolina college radio stations have been shut down, their play lists and staff terminated for playing Rap and Alternative music. In New York a 10 year old fourth grader was expelled for wearing a Green Day T-shirt. His teacher didn't want the other children learning about "rock n' roll sexual bondage." And if these anecdotes aren't enough no one in this room can stand ignorant of the federal governments "tele-communications bill." Congress has passed and President Clinton has signed into law the Tele-communications bill with its attached "decency provision," a clear and gross violation of our first amendment rights. And to complete the process of dependency and pacification Television will soon be rated. Can our records be far behind?
So JAMPAC was formed to export the model of grass roots organizing used by WMIC. The way WMIC dealt with the problem started just like what we are doing here right now in this room. We got together as a community. The music community. We started talking about it, learning about it then we came up with ideas and tried to implement them. We need a strategy now on a national level to keep the censors at bay. I think that the solution lays in the time proven mechanism of grass roots politics. Grass roots is about coming together as a community and as individuals and participating in our system of government. JAMPAC is hoping to create a network of organizations dedicated to protecting their music communities. If there is censorship legislation brewing in your state, you're going to have to take it on because it is your community and your state. Those are your representatives that are considering this stuff.
I feel that one of the most important things that we are exporting and encouraging is a positive attitude. We don't want to be so much against censorship as we want to be for freedom of speech. We are for your first amendment rights. We are not so much against the display of harmful materials to minors as we are for positive parenting. We feel that if a child does come across some mature materials, as is all to often in this world, that should be a parenting opportunity. We want dialogue within the family. The way we want to keep people interested is through community involvement. Seattle has a strong and positive music community and I feel that is why we are so successful in our neck of the woods.
The reason why we stress the positive note so much is because we confront a lot of apathy and cynicism. In fact these attributes are so much even defining a whole generation of people. Earlier this year a product called OK soda was marketed in our area. The main premise of the campaign and image of the product was that it was just OK. It wasn't great or fantastic like all of the claims made by the "other" COLA's. It was just OK. The advertisers figured that this generation had seen it all, and they're probably right. So the advertisers tried to "get in" with this "Doom Generation" by being cynical themselves. The products image was dark and hip cartoons with a bland, straightforward style decorated the can. Cynicism is an affliction. They were selling boredom to the bored and the campaign was a failure. They were selling laxatives to someone with the runs.
The OK soda people believed that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em In a way that's my approach with the PAC. No so much by co-opting an attitude with music fans, it's about joining the political system and getting results. Grass roots politics is hands on politics. We try to "turn on" young people and music fans. We are a constituency. We congregate at music halls. We have the numbers, especially in these low turnout elections, to make a difference. Since March of last year, we have registered about 6500 new voters in our state. We've found that if you can get a person to phone or fax their legislator about an issue, and that issue gets turned around in our favor, you've got that person turned on to the system because they've seen first hand that they've made a difference.
Some of you might have read the interview that I recently did with Rolling Stone magazine. In the interview I talk about censorship and current issues along with a little personal stuff. There is one part in particular where I talk about a city council meeting and the profound effect it had on me. This was back in 1994 and the city council meeting was held in Hoquiam, Washington. Hoquiam is the city right next to Aberdeen the town I grew up in. Anyhow, the reason that I attended this particular council meeting was that there was the possibility of Lollapalooza coming to town. You've got to understand me when I tell you that Hoquiam is basically on the edge of the world. It's the last stop until China. It's an isolated area. The population of both Aberdeen and Hoquiam is about 25,000. The average Lollapalooza event hosts up to 30,000 people. So when the possibility of hosting this event was considered, these were serious considerations. The areas population would double for a day. And this wasn't a Shriners' convention, it was a large counter culture gathering, to borrow a standard media term for any gathering of people under the age of thirty. When it came time to consider this it wasn't like the city could say no and that's the end of that. As with the passing of any ordinance or law, there had to be a public hearing. The community had to speak it's mind. This wasn't exclusive to Lollapalooza, this is the way our system is designed to work. The meeting attracted such a crowd that it was moved from the council chambers into an old theater down town. It was a neat old building and the setting combined with the atmosphere of civic activity gave a vibe of real Americana. The meeting was called to order and the council proceeded to do business. The first item was about a yield sign at an intersection. A leather clad biker stood up before his representatives on the council and explained to them how he was concerned for his children and that he approved of the yield sign. There were a few more minor items, then came the big item, the concert. Business people testified that the concert would bring money into the area. The police chief and other public safety officials expressed their concern about the potential problems that this 24 hour population boom would bring. There was pro and con from a variety of citizens. What really reached me though was seeing young people standing in front of their representatives and speaking their mind. I know from experience that these young people had never, ever participated in our political system even in the slightest way but this was so important to them that they actually stood in front of their community and spoke their mind. I remember when this tough looking guy with long hair and a black leather jacket stood up. He was shaking in his boots. He was so obviously nervous that he had trouble articulating. There were around three hundred people in there all silent, all watching and waiting for this young man to speak. After a few stutters and stumbles, he raised up his head and looked at the council. With the most genuine sincerity he said, "You've got to give us kids a chance, man". This struck a deep chord in me. I was in his shoes once. I was a young person in an economically depressed community and I too felt like I had few chances. He reached the council too. In all of his fear he reached deep inside himself and pulled out this sincere plea. The council did vote to do a comprehensive review of the whole concert. How could they not after such an evening of civic dialogue. I actually walked out of there choked up. I turned to a friend and with heartfelt sincerity I told him, "God bless America". Lollapalooza didn't come to Hoquiam because it realistically didn't make sense. Still the people had their say. What a wonderful democracy we live in and what a shame it is that we are wasting it.
For the past year, politics have attracted my heart and soul. Well maybe I shouldn't say politics. Politics are a kind of game that involves personal and ideological agenda's revolving around an individuals career. What compels me is an awareness of some kind of civic consciousness. I want to live in a civilization. Forget all of the hunter, gatherer, Darwinist survival of the fittest stuff. I want both the cultivation of agriculture and the cultivation of meaningful human experience. I want culture. I need art and expression. Human kind develops science and intellectual pursuit, but the true human experience is that of spiritual fulfillment. Once we become aware of some kind of higher meaning to our existence we become aware of life's possibilities and the moral responsibilities of living in a free, spiritually liberated society. The foundation for any kind of perception of morality is based in the notion of doing good. We all want to do good. We greet new acquaintances with a smile and an open hand. Most people enjoy asserting their positive good selves. This is rewarding and very fundamental to the whole notion of human nature. Censors believe that they are doing good. They believe that subjecting us to their idea of what is good and proper will ultimately serve to our benefit. I appreciate their concern but I fear and resent their reckless condescension. When they censor, they basically turn off the light.. They kill ideas. They terminate expression that violates their narrow parameters. Remember that the dark is a void, a realm of spiritual vacancy and folklore paints darkness as evil. Let's look at the light now. We've all heard the saying, "I've seen the light". This old phrase is the ultimate expression for experiencing a revelation. In near death experiences, there is always the description of "moving toward the light". We all know the spiritual connotations of that scene. What about flipping a rock over and watching all of the icky bugs scurry from the light? What I'm saying is, that if some material is so heinous or so dangerous, then let's shine the light on it. Let's come to an understanding of what it really is. Pornography is usually referred to as smut or filth but that's as far as the definition goes. The attitude is more stigma than understanding. We have to recognize the effect these materials have on women and the obsessions it seizes over men. Putting a sticker reading BAD on certain materials will never hope to address these questions. Awareness is the key to rising above any situation. And where does this awareness start. Can we mandate awareness? Do we carry it around, be-grudgingly like a chore because we were told to? Awareness starts when you see the light, when you have understanding. Who has the ultimate responsibility to give awareness to young people? Parents do. To just shut things away is like shutting out painful memories and emotions. Not dealing with or expressing these emotions is the basis for a dysfunctional life. That's why I am here today. That's why I advocate freedom of speech. Prohibitions are dysfunction's. Dysfunction's are confining and really tap your sprit. The prohibition of expression is a spiritual garrote. Anthony Burgess summed it up nicely in the book, "A Clockwork Orange". You might recall the Stanley Kubrick film by the same name. In the story, a violent criminal is given a medical treatment that repels him from violence, sex and music. Whenever the character named "Alex" even thought of these things he became severely ill. Alex still desired to commit nasty crimes but was impeded by the treatment. He didn't have the revelation that violence was wrong. He very much wanted to continue in his old wicked ways. Anyway, the title implies a machine wrapped in skin. We are not clockwork oranges, a gizmo covered with flesh. A persons will cannot be regulated. If someone wants pornography or drugs or guns or to commit a crime it's going to happen. Drugs are illegal but we still have a supposed "drug problem" in this country. Everybody knows that if you commit a crime and get caught, you go to jail. And if it's a serious crime, with today's criminal science, you'll more than likely get caught. Yet serious crimes are committed every day in this country. Now, I must be coming across as some kind of Utopian un-realist? I assure you that I understand the concept of having rules and laws for I believe that our culture is not yet arrived to the point where we can handle the responsibilities of a completely ungoverned society. Who knows if we ever will?
So maybe that's where the conflict is? At what point are we granted these responsibilities? The censor approaches situations with an absolutist perspective. They want to absolutely obliterate material that they consider unfit for society, society meaning you and me. They think they know what's best for us. At this point in our culture, and I believe rightly so, it is prohibited to sell a minor any "Adult Material". I'm talking about skin mags, porno films; any material showing nudity and real or simulated sex. This material, for the most part, fits the standard definition of pornography. To the censors this isn't enough. They want to broaden these definitions. They want to broaden these definitions not because they want to protect minors from harmful materials, as they claim over and over, they want to implement the mechanisms of social engineering. They have a mandate for our personal lifestyles. I thought that centralized bureaucracies were out. I was under the impression that they were advocating getting government off our backs. They say this in one sentence but in the next one, they want the government to be in the parenting business. Maybe that's acceptable now? The role of "baby sitter" has been foisted upon the entertainment industry by absentee parents and a social system to willing to abdicate all responsibility for its youth. This is bound to happen with the dual income family. Real wages haven't risen in fifteen years. I say let's put the light on these problems. Naked ladies are not the problem. The problem is our economy, the economy meaning high taxes and low wages. Both parents are working harder to make ends meet these days. Let's put the light on these problems. Let's put the light on our deteriorating inner cities. Gangsta Rap is the symptom not the problem. So much rap music is an alarm sounding on mostly deaf ears. Let's put the light on companies that invest in other countries instead of our own inner cities. Most importantly, let's put the light on in our heads. Let us as young people take up the responsibility of participating in democracy. Let us contribute our fresh perspectives to a multi-generational dialogue and ultimately, consensus. A consensus that advocates justice, tolerance, inclusiveness and finally the freedom of expression.
So here we are this morning. Of course, were here to enjoy and get off on the great music that is being played this week, but we're also here to come together as a constituency, as a congregation and show our feelings about protecting our right to say what ever, whenever, how ever we want! I am talking about the first amendment. You can feel excluded, but let me tell you that there is power in numbers. Music is spiritual nourishment. Young people need music. We need passion and music reflects those passions. Music is our unifier and concert halls make us a bonafied congregation. I challenge you to go to a bank or anywhere else and mosh around uninhibited and see what happens? All of us here in this room have a stake in our local music communities, in our national music community. If you're an artist, manager, retailer, promoter, booking agent or most importantly a music fan, you have to do something to get this legislation out of here, because if you don't who else will? And if you don't, when the shit comes down, our community, the music community, is going to suffer culturally, spiritually and financially.
To rap things up I pose an observation, question and a challenge. I say, who would have thought that the music industry would be called upon to protect the first amendment?
Creditors to the speech go to the Joint Artists and
Music Promontions Political Action Committee and Krist Novoselic.
Related links: Krist Novoselic Interview
JAMPAC Website