Third Eye Blind Trolls Conservatives With Pro-LGBT, Pro-Science Rhetoric at RNC Gig
90’s alternative hit-makers Third Eye Blind are dealing with controversy this week after a Republican National Convention-area concert.
On Tuesday, the band played a charity show for musicians at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the this week’s RNC.
Due to the convention, a majority of the invitation-only crowd was made up of conservatives. Instead of playing to that the audience, the band intentionally antagonized them. Instead of playing their hits, they went with obscure album tracks. On top of that, Stephan Jenkins, the band’s lead singer, spoke out in favor of gay rights, and made comments about science much to the annoyance of some in the audience.
According to Yahoo News, a Twitter user by the name of Liza White wrote, “I have never been more disappointed,” to which the band replied, “good.”
Yahoo News also reported that Snapchat’s Peter Hamby said there was “So much booing,” after Jenkins asked, “Who here believes in science?”
The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly posted a video of Jenkins telling the crowd after boos rang out, “You can boo all you want, but I’m the motherf**king artist up here.”
.@ThirdEyeBlind trolls #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/zXIKWdO5Hj
— follow @ryanjreilly on bluesky, signal in bio (@ryanjreilly) July 20, 2016
News of the show spread quickly on social media, leading the band to release a statement Wednesday afternoon explaining their actions:
“To clarify:
“We did not play an RNC event. We performed at a benefit for Musicians on Call because we support their mission in bringing music to the bedsides of patients in hospitals.
“Given that the benefit was held in Cleveland, we suspected that convention types might show up and we let it be known we were there to support Musicians on Call and that we in fact repudiate every last stitch of the RNC platform and the grotesque that is their nominee.
“–Science is science.
“–Coal is not clean.
“–Black Lives Matter.
“–LGBTQ = equal.
“–Separation of church and state (still a good idea)
“We could go on.
“We have Republican friends, family members, and fans, and we love them all. What we reject is what their party has come to stand for. But in keeping with Musicians on Call’s message, we believe in the gathering power of music. With that spirit we don’t step back from our audience wherever or whomever they are.
“Warmly, your friends in 3eb.”
