Corporate Avenger – Interview

How do these Christian groups find out about you before even the public? Is it a publicity stunt?

Groups find out about you a number of ways. The Corporate Avenger project has been in motion for about five years. The first batch of shirts we made had the song titles “Jesus Christ Homosexual” and “The Bible Is Bullshit” on the back of them and many people wore those shirts. Our website, www.taxesarestealing.com, has been around for a while as well. Someone might have seen a shirt or bought a cd or downloaded our music online and burned a cd for their friend, and a parent or member of a group might have heard it there. We are not aware of any group who has had a problem with the Corporate Avenger. We have a very positive message for people. Life is a gift from the universe and every moment is a gift. As far as a publicity stunt, the band hasn’t done anything like that up to this point, not to say we wouldn’t if it was done in the context of a performance art piece. However, it’s not our style to go out and draw attention to ourselves. We are expressing the viewpoints we feel passionately about through our music, video, web programming, writing, spoken word, things like that. Some people have a problem with the way we speak, our use of language. However, this is how we talk every day, it is our way of communicating with each other, so our songs are written in that language.

Is music today full of wusses?

No. It is an exciting time to be an artist. There are so many styles of music out there to draw inspiration from, and on a commercial level there are so many options. You have so much ability to effect your future with some hard work and determination. With the incredible advances on the internet, artists are free to share their expression on a worldwide basis with many other humans. It is up to the artist as to how they decide to pursue the evolution of their following. We as artists can directly affect our own destinies and have some success at it as well. It is incredible.

What made you go to Koch and were there problems getting them or other labels to sign you? Better yet, were you ever asked to tone it down and that is what made you choose Koch?

We met with several labels. After touring with Kottonmouth Kings and all the groundwork we did beforehand, along with the evolution of the recorded version of the Corporate Avenger which was apparent with Freedom Is A State Of Mind, we had interest from several companies. They all had problems with the songs “The Bible Is Bullshit” and “Jesus Christ Homosexual”, and they asked us to tone it down. Of course, we said no way. Koch never asked us to do this and were perfectly willing to support all aspects of our project in as far as they could market it. For example, if a major chain would not carry the record with certain songs, they would not get the record. However, if they asked us to change the title on the song listing on the back, then we say no problem and use this as an opportunity to express something about freedom of speech. Koch agreed to support us either way, but we are all interested in getting as many records into as many hands as possible. It is a business venture for them and, on some level, for us as well. We keep everything going through Kottonmouth’s label, Suburban Noize Records. Koch distributes and manufactures the cd, Suburban Noize Records helps in a big way with the marketing of the cd.

I recently read a book entitled You’ve Been Lied To. It’s very good, and it’s all about how the government, press, schools, etc., have lied to us. Do you remember what it was that first made you question everything you’ve been fed?

Yes, basically it was when I read the bible. I was raised Catholic and got into Christianity. As I got older, in my late teens I began to question the validity of many of the doctrines of the church and the teachings of the bible. I hadn’t actually read the entire bible at that time. Like most Christians, I read it a book, verse, or chapter at a time. When I sat down to read the entire thing cover to cover, it changed my life. I would pray, then read, and for me it seemed to be bullshit as far as being taken as the word of God. This revelation rocked the foundation of my belief system, and I began to look for answers. When you are raised Christian, one of the doctrines of the faith is that the only way to heaven is through Christ. If you don’t have him as your personal savior, you are going to hell. It’s as simple as that. So I never considered anything else. Once I believed that to be bullshit, I felt lost. I read everything regarding spirituality I could get my hands on and asked the creator to help me. All the so-called scriptures gave me the same feeling. They were books written by men, and that was that. They were not the word of God to me. So I came across some books, Lame Deer, Seeker Of Visions, Black Elk Speaks, and it changed my life. I realized that the spirituality of Native Americans was the only thing I had come across that felt true. I began to search deeper, and that’s when I learned about the history of this continent and the atrocities which were committed here by, guess who, bible believing Christian people. I am not Native American, and I didn’t want to take one more thing from the Indians, so I began to look to my ancestors and their spirituality. I found that the same thing happened to them that happened here. The spirituality of all our ancestors has been oppressed, outlawed, and practically destroyed by members of the organized religions. In their infinite insecurity, they stole our God/Gods from us. I am still in the process of trying to ascertain the value system and ways of worship of my ancestors, which is a complicated process as verifiably accurate information is difficult to come by due to the great job Christianity did of wiping out these religions. I pray and read and ask my ancestors to guide me. I am looking to strike a balance between these ancient tribal values and the modern world. I embrace the ideas they offer as far as everything being connected and effecting everything else, for we exist in energy. I believe we are connected to the earth and that we need to take care of her and all her creatures to the best of our abilities. And we have tremendous abilities. The universe sends life into this reality with infinite potential every day. It is up to us, the recipients of this gift, to maximize this potential for the good of creation and create an environment which encourages spiritual growth for all our brothers and sisters to develop in an environment of love and understanding. These are the foundations from which to build a society.

Getting into a few of the songs, is “Fault The Police (I Don’t)” a response to the NWA anthem?

No, “Fault The Police” is an expression of how one feels when subjected to the use of fear and violence as a means of enforcing a political, religious, or other behavior. It is pointing out common thread of some of the people or groups that use these tools to get their way. It is an expression of the response to being on the receiving end of these tactics. ‘I don’t cry when the police die because they probably deserved it’ is a reference to this feeling. When police are asked to enforce insane laws with the use of violence and fear, the people who are victims of this lose their compassion for the police as human beings, which they are. And the police lose their connection to the people they are abusing as human beings, which allows them to participate in the oppression. It is a spiral of bad energy, which results in perspectives which are unhealthy at best.

“Taxes Are Stealing”, I don’t think it would take a lot to convince people of this.

Yes, we get a lot of support on this one. I have been in line at a bank or restaurant and had my shoulder tapped only to turn around and have some older guy tell me, ‘Goddamned right taxes are stealing. They took everything from me after serving for years in the service and barely staying above water, all over some bullshit mistake some accountant made.’ We get this all the time. We are not of course suggesting that we can operate in our current system without taxation. However, what they use our money for and how much they take and the tax code are ridiculous, and the fact that we are forced into a choice of contributing to the war on drugs, which we consider a crime against humanity, or jail time for tax evasion, is bullshit.

“FBI Files” talks about the war on drugs and I just recently read something about the CIA bringing as much drugs into the US as any cartel. Thoughts?

The war on drugs is a crime against humanity. I don’t know anyone who uses or doesn’t use drugs based on their legality. Addiction to substances is a health problem. The sale and distribution and trafficking of drugs is an economic problem. If there was no demand, there would be no profits and there would be no dealers or traffickers. It is the behavior and violence which results when these businesses must remain underground which are the real threats to society. We would be better off by treating addiction with programs which are proven effective, legalizing weed, taxing it, allow for medical use of substances, and educate people on the dangers of drug abuse. We should stick to the truth. Crack will turn you into a fucking zombie, weed will not. However, you should respect the power of the plant and realize that it has a purpose and that if you misuse it you will suffer its attempts at communicating to you that you are misusing it. Nature lets us know what to do when we listen to her. I am not familiar with the situation you are referring to as far as the CIA bringing drugs into the country. I would not be surprised to hear that if you look into the details of an allegation like that, you might find that someone who at one time or another was under the employ of the CIA for an unrelated project or mission might have been involved in something illicit. They are an intelligence agency and by the nature of their job they must interact with people involved in illegal activities. I am not saying that the CIA hasn’t had a bad apple or two in its history, but as far as full time employees of the CIA, I believe that their hiring practices probably filter out large drug traffickers. I don’t really worry about who is bringing in the drugs. I would just encourage people not to use them and to choose a humane way of treating those people who make the unfortunate decision to fuck up their lives and help them escape the horrors of addiction.

“The Bible Is Bullshit” and “Jesus Christ Homosexual” seem to be two songs that will really push people’s buttons. Why in this day and age is it still the most stigmatized of subjects?

Because they invalidate the God clause, and a lot of bad things happen in under the curtain of the God clause. If we are to look at each other as human beings and not as Christians, Muslims, Hindus etc., if we are to first see each other as recipients of the gift of life from the universe and balance our behaviors, policies, laws, general treatment of each other from this perspective, then the God clause is no longer valid. And people have to look at their attitudes and behaviors for what they are: their attitudes and behaviors. Homosexuality is a natural phenomenon. Most gay people are born that way. It is not a choice. Homosexuality has existed in a small percentage of the human population for all of recorded history. Homosexual behaviors exist in nature as well. Some Christians have fervor towards their mistreatment and insensitivity to gay people and their struggles in this society. Homophobia is rampant. The song points out the simple fact that Christianity says that God created man in his own image and that God created all. Therefore it’s possible by that reasoning that God might be gay. Naturally we believe that God’s sexual preference, if there is one, is God’s business, but the song is an artistic and comical response to situations which are not so funny. When Christians see “The Bible Is Bullshit”, they immediately see an absence of values. When we sing it, we are expressing the opposite. When we see Christianity, we see an absence of values. We see a doctrine in which you don’t have any responsibility for your actions. Christ already paid the price. In the song “The Bible Is Bullshit”, we are expressing a call to love one another, care for each other, and our earth. We need to see each other as brothers and sisters in this physical reality together. How will the Catholic church look if they come out and say, ‘It’s all bullshit. We just wanted the power and the money. It’s not true.’ Or how would your religious neighbor who keeps preaching the bible feel if it were revealed that the bible is bullshit and fake? They would feel very dumb. So I think when you challenge those things, some people have a lot invested in those belief systems and they defend them. We are not attacking those belief systems for others, we are expressing the fact that they don’t work for us and pointing out the history of atrocities which have occurred as a result of people believing that way. If someone is a Christian or Muslim or Hindu, that is their choice. We are simply expressing the idea that if you are a Christian, fine, I am not, therefore I will not adjust my behaviors to fit within your chosen religion anymore than I expect you to change yours for mine. But I want the right to practice and believe in the spirituality of my ancestors, and the God clause is out. If you think you have the right to the land of my ancestors for the simple reason that your bible says that you do and it’s God’s will, fuck off, the bible is bullshit. That’s not a valid argument for land theft and atrocities.

Is there anything people can do since the old adage that it only takes one person to change the world couldn’t be further from the truth?

It is up to each individual to affect those things in their reality that they can. It starts within. One needs to recognize the amazing gift they have been given in the gift of life. We are not here by accident. We have been given an immeasurable opportunity when we are born. We have unlimited potential which we begin to develop over time. When you recognize this gift and opportunity, hopefully you also feel a tremendous obligation to maximize your potential as a human being and contribute in a positive manner to your family, community, and world. Spend time with your family. They are your gifts as well. Turn off the tv, the cd, the computer, and spend time with your parents. The universe has given us something so special that it is all we can do to listen to creation and our ancestors, learn from our mistakes as a human race and work towards building a better tomorrow for our children and our children’s children. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Get yourself a skill which you enjoy doing and can make a living at in this world of money. It is the first step towards some kind of real freedom. Don’t waste time on negative bullshit. Laugh, enjoy all the amazing things technology allows you to enjoy, but never forget that we come from the earth and she is our mother. Without the environment and plants and animals, we cease to exist. Every person changes their own world, which are all put together to make our world.

Has your family heard the album?

My family helped make the album. My brother produced it with Kumagai and wrote most of the music.

You seem to have an ability to write good hooks. What made you decide not to just do everyday punk songs and take a stance that not many would otherwise?

Thank you. We do write punk songs in the band The Humble Gods. Daddy X (my brother) and Mike Kumagai had the vision of putting the tracks you hear on the record to the Corporate Avenger concepts. I never would have written music like that in a million years. It was very exciting as an artist to work from this perspective. The only live song on the record Freedom Is A State Of Mind is “Pig Is A Pig”, which is the kind of songs I write musically.

Why Corporate Avenger and not something like People’s Avenger or something like that?

Because it was a concept which was a superhero for the truth set out to reawaken the light of life in the creations of the world which had been dulled by a society built on the illusion of ownership and controlled with fear, the corporate world.

Is there a message you think people should get from you that may not come across is song?

Every moment is a gift. Do not waste them on negativity.

Is there something about you as people that you think may get skewed by the album?

We are human, we are non-violent by nature. We do not have the answers, it’s up to you to find the answers that work for you. We are like a road sign that says, ‘Hey, your might be going the wrong way.’ Corporate Avenger is a group, which is like a dye injected into the body to highlight the cancer. It’s up to all of us to choose a treatment or to just let it grow.

+ charlie craine