Tag: Pghantifa

Death in June, the musical project of British white supremacist Douglas Pearce, is scheduled to perform at the Rex Theater in the South Side of Pittsburgh on May 29th as part of a US tour. Playing a mix of experimental neofolk and post-industrial music, Death in June has a long history of using fascist symbolism and of supporting and raising money for white supremacist groups. Their shows have been shut down in cities across the United States through call-in campaigns and demonstrations. Some venues, including in San Francisco and Los Angeles, have had their locks glued, windows smashed, and facades spraypainted before, during, or after recent Death in June tour dates.We are opposed to Douglas Pearce and his project for both his use of fascist symbolism and for his concrete, prolonged support of white supremacist organizing:

•  In 1992 during Yugoslavia’s civil war, Douglas Pearce visited the front lines to meet with and show support to Croatian fascist militants and later contributed music recordings to compilation records that helped raise money for fascist military efforts.

• That same year, Death in June canceled their appearance at the Dark X-mas festival in Hamburg after organizers issued a statement condemning recent white supremacist attacks on immigrants in Germany. DIJ also refused to play the Festival of Darkness in 1994 because the show was promoted as being against racism and neo-Nazism.

• Death in June songs were included in a tribute to Leni Riefenstahl, a director behind some of the most well known propaganda films in Nazi Germany.

• Douglas Pearce has repeatedly expressed support for white nationalist and white supremacist Euro-centric movements in interviews.

To disrupt the ability of Death in June and the fascist elements of their fan base to support ongoing white supremacist organizing we are planning a call-in and online campaign to pressure the Rex Theater/Grey Area Productions to shut down this show.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

The Rex Theater is managed by Grey Area Productions. We are unsure if Grey Area is aware of the white supremacist politics of Death in June, and we are encouraging people to call, email, post to their Facebook page and reach out to them on Twitter with this information and to convince them to do the right thing by canceling this show.

The Rex Theater and Grey Area Productions can both be reached by phone at:

412-381-6811

Email contacts for Grey Area:

Ben Penigar (founder): ben@greyareaprod.com

Scott Forsyth (booking): scott@greyareaprod.com

Xander Hendrickson (promotion): xander@greyareaprod.com

General: contact@greyareaprod.com

Grey Area Productions can be found on Facebook: facebook.com/GreyAreaPGH
And on Twitter: @GreyAreaPGH

The Rex Theater can be found on Facebook: facebook.com/RexTheater
And on Twitter: @RexTheater

Sample E-mail:

“I am e-mailing you to inform you that Death in June, a white supremacist band, is scheduled to play at the Rex Theater on May 29th. This band uses fascist imagery as a part of their shows and has a history of supporting white supremacist movements.

Death in June has been included on various white supremacist music compilations, has backed out of festivals that were raising money to combat neo-Nazism, and has repeatedly expressed support for white nationalist and supremacist movements.

Death in June shows have been protested, sabotaged, and even banned in certain regions for decades. Especially in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, where they have particularly strong neo-Nazi followings.

I have no reason to believe that anyone at the Rex or at Grey Area Productions supports these kinds of politics and actions. However, I hope that Grey Area will do the right thing by canceling this show that will undoubtedly draw white supremacists from around the region as well as anti-racist activists. The Rex Theater has a long history and doesn’t deserve to let one night and one band tarnish its image.

More detailed information on Death in June’s support of white supremacist movements can be found by following these links:

http://www.whomakesthenazis.com/2012/11/james-cavanagh-death-in-june-coming-to.html

http://libcom.org/library/death-in-june-a-nazi-band

http://nycantifa.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/why-we-dont-like-death-in-june/

Thank you for your time.”

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In addition to calling the Roxy to voice their opposition to Death in June playing there, we have learned that the person responsible for bringing the show to Pittsburgh, Manny Theiner, can be reached at 412-361-2262.  In addition to booking DIJ, Theiner recently took down flyers at local businesses in the city advertising a letter writing event for Antifascist POW’s the Tinley Park 5 and then slandered the TP5 to the business owners.