The LGBT community got Carly Rae Jepsen and Train to back out of performing at the Boy Scouts’ national jamboree.
Now comes word that members of a popular fiddler group (at least temporarily) split rather than perform at an anti-marriage-equality rally planned for Washington, DC.
NOM is staging a demonstration in the Nation’s Capitol on March 26, when the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in two marriage equality cases.
Last week, the organization announced they’d booked two bands to serenade its legion of haters during the “March For Marriage”: The Celtic fiddle group Ultramontane and the “sacred steel” band the Lee Boys.
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But when Good as You’s Jeremy Hooper informed the Lee Boys what NOM was all about they dropped out of the show, telling Hooper that “music is about love.”
Yer darn tootin’.
Then Hooper did some more digging and discovered Ultramontane was a new name for the established act Scythian. In fact, their band photos are nearly identical. The only difference? Two members of Scythian—drummer Andrew Toy and Josef Crosby—refused to do the NOM show.
So remaining members Ben-David Warner, Alexander Fedoryka and Danylo Fedoryka quickly re-branded their act as, ta-dah, Ultramontane.
Ironically, the historical Scythians were a polytheististic culture from ancient Iran. “Ultramontane” means to strongly support the supreme authority of the Pope.
A rep for the band explained the departure thusly:
“Like this country, the members of Scythian are divided on the definition of marriage, but, remaining great friends, they have the utmost respect for each other’s’ freedoms of speech and assembly.”
This really hasn’t been NOM’s week when it comes to music: The group used Katie Herzig’s “Lost and Found” to accompany a promotional video for it’s upcoming hate-a-rama, even though Herzig never gave them permission and is personally a supporter of same-sex marriage. (She’s demanded they remove her music.)
Boy, for an organization so obsessed with biblical law, NOM doesn’t really seem to get the whole “Thou shalt not steal” thing.
Hunter
You don’t understand — “Christian” morality is all about what other people do with their genitals. Lying, stealing — those are OK if you’re doing it for Jesus — or money.
Cam
““Like this country, the members of Scythian are divided on the definition of marriage, but, remaining great friends, they have the utmost respect for each other’s’ freedoms of speech and assembly.”
________________________
So then if there were people in the band who thought that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote or own property, or that Blacks should be allowed to be fired from their job they would still be just so respectful of those opinions?
Marco
The three who will march with NOM are all untra-right wing Christian extremists who claim to have personallly spoken to God. The two Fedoryka brothers have their psychobable here:
http://www.crossroadswalk.org/walkers/index.asp?id=314
Cee
Didn’t know Carly Rae Jepsen could afford to turn down paying gigs, or was it not paying?
Hunter
I was just down at a local used music store and ran across a copy of the Scythian “Live” CD for $1.00. Autographed. For what it’s worth.
queerty1958
@Hunter: I guess it was worth a dollar. 🙂
MuscleModelBlog.com
It’s good to hear that some of the members of the band are making a stand for equality…but it’s also sad that this issue is tearing the band apart.
BTW: I also liked the quote “‘they have the utmost respect for each other’s’ freedoms of speech and assembly.'” I wonder how many people said something similar during other fights for human rights…
1EqualityUSA
NOMsters are such a pack of geeks I’m surprised they can scrape together anyone to follow their hate brigade. Embarrassingly wadified. I hope nobody will play music for their bigoted ears. The musicians playing for NOM will never be seen in the same light afterwards. Maybe that self-hating closet case from Yoshi’s rant could use a new back-up. God, I forgot her name! Dip-wad smile and Wizard of Oz witch face…what the Hell was her name?
Renton
Does anyone know if they ended up playing the march?