Band Name: Aiden
Members (and what you do):
William Control - Vocals
Angel Ibarra - Guitar
Nick Wiggins - Bass
Jake Davison - Drums
Hometown: Seattle, WA
MySpace/website: http://www.myspace.com/aiden

Who are you, what do you do, and how do you identify?

William Control, I sing for the heartless, who walk the earth in
search of reason. I identify with the birds and the bees.

Do you consider yourself a role model? If yes, how seriously do
you take that responsibility? If no, why don’t you consider yourself
one?

I don’t consider myself a role model. That would be very presumptuous and arrogant. I am just a man lucky enough to get a chance to travel the world and sing about my transgressions, failures, and things of different importance…

We always hear about crazy hijinks that go on during Warped! Have you had any good pranks or adventures this summer? What’s the best one you’ve pulled off or had pulled on you?

I have a mini bike painted all black that I use to get around the grounds. The guys in Bad Religion decided that it would look better if
it was painted pink and had tassels. I thought that was the best prank anyone had ever pulled on me. It’s okay though I got them back by covering their bikes in Vaseline from top to bottom. Hahaha Touche.

How can youth get more involved in their communities?

I would say try to figure out what interest in your community you have and find different ways to better it and yourself. Find an outreach program or a homeless youth shelter that you can volunteer your time at.

Do you have any sage advice?
Visit France at least once in your life.

Band Members (and what you do):
Alana Grace: Singer
Jon Ketchum: Guitar
Bryan Brophy: Bass
Fernando Torreblanca: Drums

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

MySpace/website: www.alanagrace.com
www.myspace.com/alanagrace

Who are you, what do you do, and how do you identify?

I’m Alana Grace! I’m a 21 year old singer-songwriter on this year’s warped tour. I always tell people that my music is a mix of Alanis Morissette, Evanescence, and Tori Amos.

How’s the tour going? What’s your favorite moment so far? On the flip side, have you had any major catastrophes?

The tour has been going great! It’s actually my first nationwide tour
so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s a blast. I don’t really have
a favorite moment to be honest! My favorite performance was probably in Montreal; it was pouring rain so water was everywhere. It was just fun because the crowd got really into the show and every time anyone took a step or hit the drums water would fly. It was pretty epic! I would say the worst moment I’ve had was when the kick drum broke in the middle of the set. I just remember looking back and seeing that the entire drum kit was all over the back of the stage with like three people working on it. We ended up finishing the show acoustically and it was fine, but it’s definitely something I’ll remember!

Do you consider yourself a role model? If yes, how seriously do
you take that responsibility? If no, why don’t you consider yourself
one?

I do consider myself a role model, and I take it pretty seriously.
Honestly, I don’t really factor that into my personal decisions though
I try not to make decisions that I can’t tell my parents about! I
think it’s important for anyone in the public eye, at any level, to
consider themselves role models. The fact is people look up to those
that entertain and perform for them so don’t be stupid.

We want to know what it’s like behind the scenes on tour, especially at Warped. Our campaign this summer is to get people to
think before using homophobic or transphobic language as insults, such as saying, “That’s so gay,” or “You’re a fag.” Do you hear a lot of people making remarks like that on Warped? And if so, what do you do to stop them?

I’m afraid to say that tons of people make remarks like that behind
the scenes. Mainly it’s because as bands there are lot of guys living
together under one roof and spending every second of everyday
together. Because of these two facts people are continually touching
others in inappropriate ways and saying homophobic remarks. There’s
not much you can do other than say “don’t do that” or “that’s rude” to people but I think it’s always worth saying! It makes people do it
less in front of you at least!

We always hear about crazy hijinks that go on during Warped! Have you had any good pranks or adventures this summer? What’s the best one you’ve pulled off or had pulled on you?

I haven’t pulled any pranks on people this year I’m afraid to say, but
I have had one pulled on me! I was sitting with my band at dinner and Madina Lake was at another table behind us. At the end of the meal we were all debating on which desert to get and when we turned to Madina Lake they already had this one ice cream and berry desert at their table. So we asked how it was and they said they didn’t want to eat it and put it on our table. We were all so excited about a free desert that we just dug right in not taking the time to notice that the ice cream wasn’t melting at all in the room temperature restaurant. When we put the spoons in our mouths the berries were real but the ice cream was made of Crisco!! It was disgusting!!

As a musician, how does activism play a role in your life?

I think it’s important to have a few causes that you support as a
musician. I’ve been supporting the Children’s Miracle Network for a
really long time as well as transplant awareness. Because musicians
are capable of bringing a lot of people together it’s our duty to
bring awareness to as many causes as possible.

What was your most memorable concert when you were growing up?

My most memorable concert growing up was actually Elton John and Billy Joel. It wasn’t my first concert or anything like that but it was just an entire concert of hits, and it made me think to myself that I  wanted to get to that point! They are both just such amazing performers!

Hey EQs! It’s time for a CONTEST! Need something to do this weekend? How about going to Musicfest NW for FREE?!

That’s right, kiddos! I’ve got one shiny yellow wristband ready to be given away to the first person to accomplish one of these two things:

A.) Get 5 people to add us to a #followfriday list on Twitter.

or for those of you with less-particapatory friends,

B.) Get us 20 new followers!

Send an email to info@equalizeit.com with proof (screenshots or Twitter usernames) and it’s ALL YOURS! Go see Sunny Day Real Estate, The Get Up Kids, Modest Mouse, and MORE!

The first band to take the stage was called Chester French. I missed the majority of their set, and thank goodness. I wonder who they’re friends with to get on a tour like this, because they were mediocre at best compared to the bands to follow them. Obviously, most opening bands are paltry compared to what you’re actually there to see, but these guys were definitely not made for this kind of a show. They’d barely register on my musical Richter scale on a small stage, but on the big stage, it was snooze-inducing. The singer tried his best to rile up the crowd, but with his generic music and half-dead backup band, there was no hope.

Taking Back Sunday was a complete 180 from Chester French, as always. This was my fourth time seeing them this year, and they never disappoint. Even though I was disappointed at their short set (about 30 minutes), they chose a good setlist that pulled from their entire catalogue. Adam Lazarra, the frontman, was as charming as ever, strutting around the stage in his pointy boots and swinging his mic around like Michaelangelo and his nunchucks. Even though it might be considered ‘uncool’ in this town to engage in audience participation, I can’t help but to hold both hands in the air and, “bring them together in a syncopated fashion,” as Adam always instructs before New Again, the song that shares a title with their latest album.

As for the rest of the band, they’re always fantastic. Matt Rubano, the bassist, must live off of energy drinks because I’ve never seen anyone take to the stage like him. He doesn’t stand still for a second (Chester French, take note), always at least headbanging, if not doing jumps that would make a cheerleader envious or running through the audience. One of the best things I noticed during their set, however, was guitarist Matt Fazzi’s instrument having an HRC sticker on it! Way to show your support for equality, guys!

Unfortunately, TBS’s set was too short for the high to tide me over until Blink’s set started, so my friend and I spent a good 15 minutes tittering with anticipation, watching the stage and trying to catch glimpses of what promised to be an epic stage setup hidden behind a black curtain. Finally, the curtain dropped, the stage filled with smoke, and the band came running out playing the opening bars to Dumpweed! It’s entirely possible that I squealed like a 13-year-old girl before running out into the photo pit to start capturing pics, but I will neither confirm nor deny.

They played a long set and started out very strong. They played most of their hits, sprinkled throughout a lot of songs from the self-titled album. Wah-wah. I started losing interest about halfway through the set because I just can’t handle the Blink emo phase. Guys, you’re not pop-punk’s answer to the Cure, I’m sorry. However, they did manage to keep my interest with their usual tawdry stage banter. A lot of it was a turn to the homoerotic, but not in an offensive way. When Tom, the guitarist, declared, “I want to suck Brad Pitt’s d***,” I laughed pretty hard. Knowing that Mark Hoppus, the band’s other frontman, is a strong supporter for the repeal of Proposition 8 also made me like any comments like that weren’t meant to offend. Tom later told us that he wanted to have sex with everyone in the room, and their moms…and their dads. I’m all for equal opportunity lewd jokes.

The show finished off with a stellar encore. Travis Barker, the drummer, came out on a drum platform and started playing a crazy drum solo. That was cool enough as it was, because he’s one of the best drummers in the biz, but it didn’t stop there. The platform rose up into the air, then started swinging back and forth over the stage! With the crazy light show going on behind him, it looked like a drumset spaceship. I was thoroughly awed and impressed, and I recommend that you all hit up YouTube and find a clip of this to see it for yourself. My words will never do it justice.

After the drum solo, the rest of the band came out to join Travis for the song “Carousel”, off the band’s second release, Cheshire Cat. Five other old guys in back and I all started freaking out, screaming along all of the words, while the rest of the audience stared at us in confusion. …well, maybe it wasn’t *quite* that bad, but it was a little strange that most of the audience there was the same age I was when I went to my first Blink show. Either way, “Carousel” rocked my socks off, and they finished off the night with the requisite “Dammit”.

All in all, a great show! If it hasn’t hit your town yet, go see these legends on stage! It’s worth the exhoribitant ticket price, I promise.

Band Name: TAT
Members (and what you do):
Tatiana DeMaria - Lead Vocals, Guitar.
Nick Kent - Bass, Backing Vocals.
Jake Reed - Drums, Backing Vocals.
Hometown: London, UK
MySpace/website: www.myspace.com/tat

Who are you, what do you do, and how do you identify?
Tatiana DeMaria, I write songs, play guitar and sing in a band called TAT

How’s the tour going? What’s your favorite moment so far? On the flip side, have you had any major catastrophes?
The tour is going great, thanks. We’re loving every minute of it and having favourite moments daily. As far as major catastrophes, I’d have to go with stage diving in Buffalo at the end of our set and landing knee first on the barrier! Ouch! My knee cap has since fallen out of place and I’m in a knee brace taking it easy.

We always hear about crazy hijinks that go on during Warped! Have you had any good pranks or adventures this summer? What’s the best one you’ve pulled off or had pulled on you?
This wasn’t a prank or deliberate on anyone’s part, but whilst doing a number 2 in a porta potty, a forklift picked me up mid shit and drove off with me in it! I was stuck inside as the forklift itself had jammed the door. I managed to get a crack of the door open and shout out. Someone heard me so the driver put me down. I stepped out to find I was in the middle of the production pathway and still needed to finish. So I stepped back in, finished up and then let him have his way with it.

What was your most memorable concert when you were growing up?
Probably watching Green Day in 1998 in Paris. It was an awesome show! I was younger, impressionable, and NOFX were never in town ;)

How can youth get more involved in their communities? Do you have any sage advice?
Get off fucking Twitter and Facebook for 5 minutes and read a book! Learn some history, learn some respect, gain some strength. Look around for a change.

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Hey EQties! Welcome to EQHQ, Warped Edition, where you can scope all our Warped happenings! Keep checking back here for more info, and make sure you’ve added our MySpace and our Twitter to get breaking updates!

We’ve got tons of goodies in store for you at our booth! First of all, we’ll have a sweet IRL version of our pledge for you to sign. We even have handy-dandy cards for you to carry in your wallet to show your commitment to ending homophobic and transphobic language. We also have stickers to give away, as well as bracelets and t-shirts for sale. The shirts are pretty much the best thing ever, so be sure to save out $10 for one!

We’ll also have some free stuff and giveaways from some great bands! Speaking of…

We’ll be doing signings at our booth with some of our favorite bands, including but not limited to: Aiden, TV/TV, Big D and the Kids Table, Left Alone, and Single File!

While you’re waiting patiently for your Warped date to happen, scope these great bands that were kind enough to sit down and chat with us for a few minutes! As our dates get closer, we’ll be posting up more interviews.

	Single File - Since we found this pop-tastic trio on the Warped Tour band list, we haven’t been able to stop listening to them. Not only do they play good, fun music, they’re cute (see pic at left), really nice guys, and witty to boot.  Check out what they have to say and give them a listen!  (We recommend “Zombies ate my Neighbors”.)
	TAT - The other day, I was flipping radio stations and a song caught my attention. It sounded like Rancid, almost, but with a Brit girl singer. It turns out the band was TAT, and they’re playing every date of the Warped Tour this summer.
	Alana Grace - This Nashville-bred girl’s got a set of pipes, and she sure knows how to use them! She’s been singing since she was a little girl, and it shows. Check out the interview we did with Alana to find out about tour pranks, what it’s like “behind the scenes,” and more!
	Aiden - Aiden might look like some spooky guys, but they’re a lot nicer than they let on. They managed to squeeze in time in their busy schedule to hang out with us at our booth for a couple of days on Warped to do signings with us! It was all smiles, all around, and not just from us and the fans ;) We discovered there’s more to frontman William Control than just nightmares and hellfire.

Band Name: Single File
Members (and what you do):
Sloan Anderson- vocals, guitar, bass
Joe Ginsberg- bass, guitar, keyboards
Chris Depew- drums, backing vocals
Hometown: Denver, CO
MySpace/website:
www.singlefilerock.com, www.myspace.com/singlefile

Who are you, what do you do, and how do you identify? We’re just three normal dudes who love to play music. So we’re doing everything we can do to just…play music and have a good time.

Who are your heroes? Tom Petty… Hands down, that guy is amazing! He has always stood up for what he believes in, and treats music as art (as it should be) and not something to capitalize on. Plus, he’s an incredible song writer.

As a musician, how does activism play a role in your life? I haven’t really gotten into that much and this point, but I feel strongly about equality and treating our earth properly (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!) And, given the right cause, I’m definitely interested in becoming more active. After all, we have a rare opportunity as musicians to make a lasting impression.

How can youth get more involved in their communities?  Do you have any sage advice? Put on local shows!! Great way to get the community together in a positive way.

What was your most memorable concert when you were growing up? Goodness, there were so many. I remember seeing Less Than Jake when I was about 15. The bass player broke a string, and while he was changing the strings the singer started making up a song about some dude in the audience. Hilarious!

One silly question.  We’ve heard horror stories about the trials and tribulations of being on tour.  With that said, what’s the longest you’ve gone without showering this summer? Haha. This summer I’ve showered pretty much everyday. But we were being pirates playing the MySpace tent all summer on Warped ‘06, and I think we went 10 days without a shower… Ewww!

-Joe Single File

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The Matthew Shepard Act updates a federal hate-crime law from 1969. As it stands, the current federal protection recognizes race, religion, and nationality as the motivating factors behind “hate crimes”, which occur when someone is targeted because of a social difference, real or perceived. The Matthew Shepard Act adds gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability to the list of recognized factors behind hate crimes.

Hate crimes are of particular interest to law enforcement because of the way they effect entire communities. The Act’s namesake, Matthew Shepard, was tortured and murdered in 1998 outside Laramie, Wyoming when he was a college student. His attackers were tried without special circumstances, although many considered their attacks unequivocally homophobic in nature. Hate crime legislation is a proposed adjustment to the way crimes are prosecuted that attempts to address the larger arc of damage that occurs as a result of targeting minorities specifically.

The Act has a long history of debate in the US Congress. Its oldest form dates back to 1999, when it was introduced by Rep. John Conyers and died after submission to the Subcommittee on Crime. Five different Congressional conventions have addressed the updated hate crime legislation in one form or another and four have seen it fail under controversy about the restriction of free speech.

In 2007, after undergoing a revision that added gender identity to the list of “suspect classes” (groups identified as targets in hate crimes), the Act picked up speed through the House and was passed to the Senate. After much debate, it was tacked on to the Defense Reauthorization Bill with the intended effect of rocketing the Act straight to the executive level for approval—literally. This piggybacked it onto mandates for national defense funding for items like missiles and wartime intelligence, thought to be a vitally urgent cause for the administration. President Bush stated that he would veto the Bill if it came to him with the hate crime language attached and it eventually petered out.

The Act’s struggles to become part of Federal law are based largely in fears that it will quash First Amendment Rights to free speech and religion. Many conservative opponents state that religious leaders will no longer have freedom to express their views on homosexuality and will be unconstitutionally prosecuted. Other opponents, including the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) claim that justice would be served unequally and point to the difficulty in objectively determining hate motivation for any crime of assault.

Finally, in April 2009, Representative Conyers brought the Act back into the House under our most recent Congress (the 111th). Continuing on the momentum of 2007, the Act cleared the House and continued to the Senate, where it was again attached as an amendment to a larger legislative piece, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2010. The most recent Act includes a more thorough delineation of what does and does not constitute a hate crime and a provision to protect free speech:

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual’s expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual’s membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs.

It also includes constitutional protections: (Check out that last sentence, it’s a doozy.)

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any constitutionally protected speech, expressive conduct or activities (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), including the exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment and peaceful picketing or demonstration. The Constitution does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence.

Most recently, Senator Jeff Sessions has introduced three amendments to the Act that change its scope and range. It is believed that Sessions, who was an opponent of the Act in prior voting history), pushed for these modifications to scuttle the Act by making it unpalatable even its supporters. The amendments were successfully attached to the language of the Bill and include suspect class protection for service members and their families, an order to reestablish the guidelines for hate crimes, and a provision to allow the death penalty for certain circumstances.

Under these terms, supporters of the Matthew Shepard Act are made to indirectly support the death penalty and give the same legal consideration to veterans and families that they would a queer victim of a violent crime. Despite these compromises, President Obama has come out in tentative support for the death penalty in certain cases. It’s a mixed bag, but the Matthew Shepard Act has been a long time coming.

by Dree Millar

Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/faceme/ / CC BY 2.0

However, even fully defining the modern western definition of a ‘typical marriage’ is difficult, not least because it varies from country to country and even region to region. It actually refers to two things, the civil marriage, which is the type of marriage recognized by the state and for legal purposes, and the religious marriage. Though the two are notionally separate institutions, in the United States and a number of other places, the civil and religious ceremonies can be held together.

Marriage provides a couple with a number of legal rights and, equally, with legal responsibilities, to one another, to any children they may have, and in some cases, to one another’s families. Importantly, these include things like giving either partner visitation rights to the other while one is hospitalised or incarcerated, giving either partner right of control over the other’s affairs if they are incapacitated, and establishing legal guardianship over a child.

Beginning with Denmark in 1989, a new legal marriage-like partnership option has emerged in a number of countries, and allows same-sex couples similar rights and responsibilities to married opposite-sex couples. In the United States, these contracts are known as civil unions or domestic partnerships. Depending on where you are globally, these phrases are synonymous with the following: civil partnership, registered partnership, life partnership, significant relationship, reciprocal beneficiary relationship, adult interdependent relationship, stable union, civil solidarity pact, and common law marriage. This is not a definitive list.

In the United States, six states (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont) offer same-sex marriage. A further five (California, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada) offer civil unions with most of the legal rights and responsibilities of marriage, and four states (Hawaii, DC, Maryland, and New York) offer statuses that grant some of the rights of marriage.

The Defense of Marriage Act, passed by the Clinton administration in 1996, has ensured to this point that no same-sex married or civilly united couple has been granted a federally recognized marriage. According to the Humanities Research Center, there are 1,138 federal rights, protections and responsibilities with marital status as a factor. Furthermore, it means that no American state is obligated to recognize unions granted in other states or countries. Finally, it defines marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and states that “the word ’spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife”.

It is worth noting that, with only a handful of exceptions, including Quaker, The Uniting Church of Canada, and the reform Jewish congregations among a few others, most religions worldwide see marriage as between a man and a woman exclusively.

by Em

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