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In the “old days”, a.k.a. “a few years ago,” multiple obstacles of various size and difficulty stood between your music/message and your potential audience. In order to make any real headway, you had to be signed to a major label that was interested in promoting you heavily. Someone made sure you had the right clothes, the right hair and the right sound. If, however, you had the Right point of view (outside of the country music scene), keeping it to yourself was probably the right thing to do. Oh, how the times are changing.
As we now know, the term “New Media” doesn’t just apply to journalism. YouTube and other video sites have provided a platform for all points of view. It’s the artist’s job to attract traffic and bump that view count. The advent of social networking sites has made connecting easier. So easy, in fact, that even non-professional protest types can manage to connect for the occasional event, shindig or soiree.
It used to be a one-way street. Only the major artists could get their message out in any effective way. Not long ago, President Obama sailed into office on the pleasant breeze of Will.I.Am’s viral video campaign. The Left dominated the entertainment world and that’s all there was to it. In many ways, that’s still true. They have the money, the access and a willing and compliant media. That’s changing, too.
Contrary to the talking points of our political rivals, The Tea Party movement has always been D.I.Y. It’s always had a bit of a punk feel to it. Any pissed off kid that could save up enough dough for a used electric guitar and a battered amp could learn three chords and start a punk band. Hell, the punk movement started as a reaction to the self-indulgent wankery of the seven-minute guitar solo and the elitism of the disco crowd only fueled it. Swap out the kid with the guitar for a taxpayer with a hand-made sign; swap out the seven-minute solo for a stimulus package and you’ve got something brewing (or is that “steeping”?).
Time and again, they’ve failed to counter the Tea Party. The Coffee Party? Please.
One of the more recent attempts to rally the progressive base was Erica Payne’s ill fated “F*ck Tea” campaign. Before founding Agenda Project, Ms. Payne was a co-founder of the Democracy Alliance, an organization financed by the likes of billionaire George Soros and others. So, these folks have all the money in the world at their disposal and they came up with “F*ck Tea.” That’s all they came up with.
What about that catchy little video, though? That cute Lily Allen song? Yeah, that already existed. They just re-purposed it for their ingenious “F*ck Tea” idea. Why bother writing something original laying out your great progressive vision for America when you can just borrow a song? Well, I guess if you can’t put a fellow American to work, you can at least make sure they get some royalties, right? What’s that? Lily Allen is British? Oh. Way to outsource, Erica!
So, in order to combat the well-heeled Ms. Payne, the vast amounts of capital at her disposal and her obvious abundance of talent and creativity, Gary wrote “See You in November.” As he tells it:
Coming up with a title for a response to the ‘F*ck Tea’ campaign wasn’t hard. Watching the video and reading about their campaign, the four words that kept popping into my head were ‘See You In November.’ Four words my wife, bassist/vocalist Shelli Eaton, spit out as a throw away at the end of ‘Bon Bon.’
But I didn’t want to write a Lee Greenwood anthem. That horse has been beaten to death. The response had to throw their words and failed attempts to discredit the Tea Party movement right back in their faces.
I think he hit the mark squarely. “See You in November” takes all the sugary sweetness of Allen’s song and packs it with a punch reminiscent of The Clash’s “London Calling.”
What it all boiled down to was Erica Payne, Lily Allen (peripherally) and tons o’ cash versus a few friends, Gary Eaton’s garage and a guy with a camera. We’ll leave it up to the viewer to declare a victor.
“The Army You Have” started out as just Gary Eaton. Shelli joined up, then Michael, then Boris and, later, ‘Zo jumped in to help with the video. Now, we need you. You are “The Army You Have.” No, strike that. You can be a part of “The Army You Have.” We don’t draft. You enlist.
Join us on Facebook. Visit the website and please hit the tip jar. 100% of the proceeds go to help our wounded warriors at UCLA Operation Mend.
Spread the video. Spread the message. See you in November.
TAYH
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