Junkyard Empire added to the list of organizations supporting the March on the RNC!

September 1, 2008: March on the RNC to Stop the War

endorse today!

March on the RNC to Stop the War
Demonstrate at the Republican National Convention – September 1, 2008 – St Paul, MN

· U.S. Out of Iraq Now!
· Money for human needs, not for war
· Say no to the Republican Agenda
· Demand peace, justice and equality

On September 1, 2008, we have a unique opportunity to step onto the stage of history. The whole world will be watching as the Republicans meet to nominate their next candidate for president. We must take to the streets of St. Paul to raise our voices against the war and the occupation of Iraq. The politicians who brought us this war for oil and control of the Middle East represent an elite that will stop at nothing to build up U.S. empire. Theft, torture and murder are part and parcel of the war in Iraq. These politicians do not represent us. They have cut programs that serve our needs at home, and blame the most exploited for our hardships.

The government’s response to hurricane Katrina spoke volumes about its vision and values, its policies and plans. Racism, discrimination, and inequality placed African American families on New Orleans freeway overpasses, surrounded by floodwaters. This is one of many terrible examples of what’s wrong with this country. They attack our democratic rights, our rights to organize and our economic well being – from immigrants and the labor movement, to abortion rights and gay marriage – the Republican agenda is an anti-people agenda.

Too many times, Democratic politicians in congress have served as accomplices to this reactionary agenda of racism, poverty and war. In 2008, it’s up to us - anyone committed to peace, justice, and equality - to stand up and say no. We are building for a broad nationwide mobilization that will challenge the 2008 Republican Convention and put forward our vision for this country. We are united by a progressive, pro-people agenda, and our insistence that the U.S. leave Iraq now.

During the four-day Republican National Convention, we expect to see every progressive movement raising demands in protests on the streets of St. Paul. Whether you are building the Labor movement in Peoria, Illinois, building solidarity with Palestine, or are speaking out against the many injustices that face people at home and abroad, you should come to St. Paul for the March on the RNC to Stop the War, on Monday, September 1, 2008. Together we can have an incredible impact.

The Republicans picked Minnesota for 2008, betting that activists from around the country would just stay home. Politicians who support the continuing war in Iraq hope that we will stay quiet. Let’s prove them wrong in the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota. Together, we can change the world.

We, the undersigned, endorse the call for the March on the RNC to Stop the War, in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 1, 2008 We demand that U.S. troops get out of Iraq. We want money for human needs, not for war. We say no to this agenda. We demand peace, justice and equality.

Anti-War Committee; AFSCME Local 3800; SDS - Univ. of Minnesota; Twin Cities Peace Campaign – Focus on Iraq (MN); Welfare Rights Committee (MN); Women Against Military Madness (MN); Action Center for Justice (NC); Action LA Coalition; Al Awda Right to Return Coalition - Chicago Chapter; Al Awda Right to Return Coalition - Omaha Chapter; Alliance for Global Justice; AlliantAction (MN); American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council; ANSWER Coalition; Arlington (MA) United for Justice with Peace and the Lexington (MA) Peace and Justice Committee; BAYAN USA Bolivarian Circle - Cincinnati; Call 'Em Out Coalition (Detroit); Campus Antiwar Network; Centro CSO (Los Angeles); Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism; Chicago Progressive Alliance; Coalition for Palestinian Rights (MN); Coalition to Protect Public Housing (Chicago); CODEPINK; Colombia Action Network; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES); Communist Party-USA (MN); Communities United Against Police Brutality (MN); Dekalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice; Democratic Socialists of America, Twin Cities; Evanston Neighbors for Peace (IL); Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST); FIST (Raleigh, NC); FMLN of Minnesota; Freedom Road Socialist Organization; General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions of Iraq; George W. Bush Marrionette Puppet Show (GA); Green Party, 4th Congressional District/St. Paul; Green Party, 5th Congressional District; Gus Hall Action Club (MN); International Action Center; International Socialist Organization; International Solidarity Movement, Chicago Chapter; Iraq Peace Action Coalition (MN); IWW, Twin Cities General Membership Branch; Junkyard Empire (; Latin America Solidarity Coalition; Latinos Against War (Los Angeles); Lexington Peace and Justice Committee (MA); LIBERTY TREE Foundation for the Democratic Revolution; 49. Living Wage Avengers (MN); Low Income People Organized for Power (LIPOP) - Duluth, MN; Madison Infoshop; Madison Raging Grannies; March 10th Committee; March 25 Coalition - Los Angeles; May 1 Movement for Worker and Immigrant Rights; Mexico-US Solidarity Network; Military Families Speak Out - Minnesota; MN Cuba Cmte ; MN Immigrant Rights Action Coalition; MN Women's Earth Brigade; Montevideo Area Peace Seekers(MN); National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera; National Immigrant Solidarity Network; National Network On Cuba; Neighbors for Peace (Evanston, IL); Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines (NISPOP); Neverwood Collective; New England United (MA); New Jersey Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine; Nicaragua Solidarity Committee - Chicago; Northland Anti-War Coalition; Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago; Pan-African Roots; Peace Action Wisconsin; Peace and War in the Heartland; Peoples Republic of the North Star (ML); Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign; Potluck Democracy; Progressive Students of Milwaukee; Radio Free Maine; Rainbow Affinity Tribe; 82. Reno World Can’t Wait; Revolting Queers; RNC Welcoming Committee; School of the Americas Watch; Seeds of Peace (MT); Socialist Alternative; Southsiders Together Organized for Power (Chicago); Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) - National; SDS - Macalester College; SDS – Ohio State; SDS - Tuscarora High School; SDS - Univ. of Alabama-Tuscaloosa; SDS - UCLA; SDS - UIC; SDS - UNC-Asheville; SDS - UNC-Chapel Hill; SDS - UNC-Charlotte; SDS - Univ. of North Dakota; Students for Peace - University of Minnesota, Duluth; Students for Social Justice - Oakton Community College, Des Plains, IL; Students for Workers' Rights at SUNY Albany; SWEEPMN; Teamster Local 743; Troops Out Now Coalition; Twin Cities TransMarch Collective (MN); Unconventional Action Chicago; United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ); Veterans for Peace Chapter 80; Veterans for Peace, Chapter 115 (MN); Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27 (MN); Voices for Creative Nonviolence; War Resisters League; We The People United Bangla Desh; Welfare Warriors; Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice; Youth Against War and Racism; 8th Day Center for Justice; 1000 Grandmothers… Individuals: John Dear, S.J.; Marlys Fox; Jonathan Hutto; Mark Lynch; Cindy Sheehan; Lynne Stewart; Dr. Cornel West

September 1st Protest March and an Update on Rise of the Wretched!

Well, first things first:
MARCH ON THE RNC with Junkyard Empire!

As many of you already know, there is going to be a giant march on the RNC on September 1st, starting at the Capital steps and ending up at the Excel Energy Center, the place where all the fascists will be enjoying their orgy of tyranny, corruption and "free market" capitalistic hegemony.

We are - as a band - going to join the march with all our brothers and sitsters who believe in speaking truth to power and doing our duty as citizens, which is to question authority at all times, making sure our basic human and otherwise rights are not being snatched up from under our noses. This has unfortunately been the case since about the mid-1980s. Well, really since the industrialization, but nothing compares to the last twenty or so years. Point is, we want you to come and march with us in solidarity.

This march is going to be so big that it will have "contingents", which is what all the big marches had in the 1960s as well. This means that certain groups, who are advocating on behalf of particular issues, or want to voice opposition to a particular policy or whatnot, join the protest as a group. Junkyard Empire will be joining the "poor people's contingent".

The Poor People's Contingent will gather on the West side of the Capitol Mall...Look for the yellow balloons!

Here is a link where you can find all the information you need, including downloadable flyers and so on:
http://marchonrnc.org/blog/1

Update on Rise of the Wretched, our new EP:

As many of you probably already know, we originally had our EP mixed at Fur Seal Studio by Joe Johnson, the same guy who recorded and mixed the RECLAIM FREEDOM album. We were pretty happy with the mixes, but due to time and money constraints, there were some details that we would have liked to pay more attention to, as well as put some time into the production of the overall sound of the EP. Eneter Brian Susco: Brian is a veteran mixing engineer from LA who just happens to be hanging out for a while here in Minneapolis with Jaime Paul Lamb, the wonderful organist and band leader of Northern Cargo, a kick ass free improvisation ensemble that I (Christopher) play with frequently. When I met Brian, it was in Neil Wadhawan's (fantastic drummer from the band Samosa and Northern Cargo) basement, where we were to record some tracks for the upcoming full length debut. I knew Brian was fantastic from the care and creative energy he displayed when placing mics and tracking. The sound that this guy got from a six piece fully improvised ensemble in the basement of an Uptown house is utterly fantastic! So at the time I told him that we were working on an EP, and that the goal of the EP was to get people interested in possibly wanting to really back Junkyard Empire for a full length album; to put us in a situation in which we could take our time and record a fantastic full length CD without the added stress of a tiny little budget and only a few days of recording time. I said we'd love to work with him when we are ready to do a full length album. His response, after listening to some of our other material (from Reclaim Freedom) was, "who do you have mixing the EP? Because I'd love to mix it." At that point it was kind of already decided that we were going to go to Joe at Fur Seal, because we all knew him, etc. and Brian was really new to everyone. He then offered to mix a track for free, just so we could see what he can do. I wish I would have given him a track then.

What we ended up doing was having Joe mix the EP, for a killer price mind you, and we were pretty happy with it, but like I said, there were still a number of things we wish we could have spent some more dedicated time on. Here's what happened: Brian still wanted to mix one track, just so that we were aware of what his skills are, and also because I think he really just liked the music and thought he could do it a little more justice. So, I gave Brian the track Progression, which is one of our new ones. It was the track we were all the least happy with, and at the same time was one of the most challenging tracks to mix overall. He gave me a CD of the newly mixed track a day later and it simply BLEW MY MIND. It then blew the mind of the rest of the guys too, even though it still needed a little more work.

In the end, we decided that he is just too talented not mix the rest of the album. So, Brian is hard at work mixing the rest of the three tracks. From what we have heard so far, this little 4-song EP is going to be absolutely world class. The sound takes us from a jazzy hip-hop group that doesn't stand a chance at breaking through to the commercial world - as fucked up as it is - to actually maybe getting some real air play. That's how good it sounds. To say that we are excited is the understatement of the year.

Lesson learned: Before you pay to have someone mix your CD, give a track to a few different engineers to have them do a bit of an audition. Then, pay the going rate to the one who realizes the sound the best. In our case, we are paying a little more than we wanted, because we didn't give Brian the audition when he first asked for it. However, now we really know what to look for in an engineer. Brian Susco will most likely be tracking and mixing our next full length album, even if we get label support. And when you hear the final product, you will know why.

-Christopher

Junkyard Empire Looks to Partner up with Other Progressive Organizations

Hello out there fellow revolutionaries and future heroes of the new world. We here in the Junkyard Empire have decided to take our thang to another level. That is, we want to start directly partnering up with progressive organizations and their activists to push the issues we feel are important. Those issue include, but are not limited to:

Net Neutrality
Livable Wage - not "minimum wage"
Universal Single-payer non-profit Health Care
Fighting the Corporate Domination of Mainstream Media
Fighting the Limitations of Corporate Radio
Human Rights
Legalization of Hemp
Progressive Taxation
Access to the Internet in Economically Depressed Areas of the World
(otherwise known as "closing the digital divide")
Rural Broadband Access
Public Interest Broadcasting
Instant Run-off Voting
Impeachment of President Bush and all his Aides
Lifting the Travel and Economic Embargoes on Cuba

The list can obviously go on for miles, because there are miles of problems that have to be dealt with in the world, mostly stemming from right here in the USA.

So, if you or someone you know works with organizations that fight for these causes, please hip them to our music and our message. We would like to partner up with at least two or three of these organizations, and we can do that in a number of ways. The simplest way at first is that we will provide stage time for people from these organizations to speak during our shows, and we will also allow for tabling at every show we play. All we ask is that you contact us ahead of time, so we can work it into our set.

If interested, send us an email to junkyardempire@gmail.com

Let's do this!