Stray From the Path to Pedophiles and Abusers: “D.I.E.P.I.G.”

Who’s ready for some more blatant Rage Against the Machine worship? Me me me me me!

Today’s new Stray From the Path track is called “D.I.E.P.I.G.,” although it’s not targeted at cops but those in the music scene who use their positions of power to take advantage of young women. Explains guitarist Thomas Williams:

To me, there is nothing more sacred than a person who supports music. When you come to see a Stray From The Path show at, let’s say, the Gramercy Theater in NYC, and you purchase a record, a ticket, a t-shirt, a beer and check your coat. Whatever it may be, that stimulates the industry. That means that my band makes more records which gives vinyl and CD plants more work, gives our producer and engineers more work, gives our record label more work, gives a PR company more work. It means that my band goes on tour, which gives a promoter work, our booking agent more work, a venue work, security more work, our merch guy is working, our sound guy is working, our merch company is working, all the way down to the bartenders and the coat check. That’s a hugechain reaction stemming from one person thinking “I love this band” and it gives a lot of people very special to us a life doing what they love to do.

When you fuck with that, you fuck with Stray. There are quite a few people that took it all for granted, and used their fortunate positions to take advantage of young females. I think this all came to light with us when Ian Watkins of Lostprophets committed unbelievable acts on infants.

If you can be a musician for a living, that’s the lottery. I think that when you take advantage of the people that support the music, you should lose your privilege to play. People can apologize (or not even apologize if you’re Front Porch Step) and to me, that is a step in the right direction. However, you should lose your privilege to have this life that people would literally kill for. I appreciate all supporters of music, even if it’s a person who hates Stray, but loves Mastodon or Silverstein or whatever, and those bands are playing El Corazon in Seattle, a venue that Stray loves, you are important to us also. It is all connected.

If people want to accept you and bring you back, fine, it wouldn’t be the first time. But you will always be on the team with people who do not deserve being back in fortunate lifestyles, captained by Michael Vick and Jonny Craig.

I love how overtly outspoken this band has become on sociopolitical issues. It was always there in their music, for sure, it just seems way more out front now — between this track, the previously released “First World Problem Child” rant against entitled rich kids and the Edward Snowden name-dropping “Eavesdropper,” Stray’s new album Subliminal Criminals is gonna be one angry beast of a record indeed. And that’s a good thing: we need more bands like this! I never understood the argument some people make for “keeping politics out of music.” Fuck that. Except when it’s Varg.

Stream the new track “D.I.E.P.I.G.” at Alt Press. Subliminal Criminals comes out on August 14th via Sumerian.