ACTION ALERT

The Ottobar silences musical dissent!

- The Ottobar, a popular alternative music venue, cancelled a show featuring Arab American hip hop artists and spoken word poets. The show was cancelled without informing either the artists or the organizers.

- The show was a fundraiser for the International Solidarity Movement, and the Ottobar greatly reduced its effectiveness.

- The owners of the Ottobar explained that the cancellation was for entirely political reasons.

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WE CALL ON THE OTTOBAR TO:

* Print an apology in the letters to the editor section of the City
Paper;

* Schedule a show as a fundraiser for the International Solidarity Movement, preferably to cooincide with the Iron Sheik's next East Coast Tour.

PLEASE ACT

* call the Ottobar at 410 662 0069 and tell them what you think

* write a letter to the City Paper (letters-AT-citypaper.com) and the Baltimore Sun ( letters-AT-baltsun.com ) and tell them what you think.

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THE EVENTS

May 16: a performance of the Iron Sheik (a Palestinian-American hip hop artist from California), David Rovics (a progressive folk singer from Boston), and Tarek the Excentrik (a Palestinian-American spoken word artist from California) was scheduled at the Ottobar. The show was scheduled for June 8 at 8pm, and planned as a fundraiser for the International Solidarity Movement. The show was scheduled with one of the Ottobar owners, Michael Bowan.

June 8: The show organizers and the artists arrive at the Ottobar for the 8pm show, and find the doors locked. At 8:45, one of the Ottobar owners (Craig Borman) arrives to tell us they had decided to cancel the show because "they did not want the club to be seen as taking sides" and they wanted the club to be "neutral." They said they had not informed the organizers because they had lost our phone number, and could not find any contact information on the internet.

THE RESPONSE

We are deeply disappointed and angered by the actions of the Ottobar.

Tarek the Excentrik's reponse to Craig Borman was "How can you expect us to be neutral? This is about our experience and our artistic expression. There is no way you can be neutral about your life!"

The Iron Sheik's flyer proudly proclaims himself in the tradition of "hip-hop as a mode of expression for voices that are often ignored or silenced." On June 8 the Ottobar joined those who want to silence the controversional things that real hip-hop artists have to say.

The Ottobar also showed an complete lack of respect for the music and politics of young Arab-Americans, and the Arab-American community as a whole.

It is embarassing for Baltimore's music scene that one of the most popular venues in the city should act in such a small-minded and gutless way to artists who had travelled from California and Boston to play here.


FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

David Rovics: www.davidrovics.com/ www.davidrovics.com

The Iron Sheik: www.ironsheik.biz/ www.ironsheik.biz

The International Solidarity Movement: www.palsolidarity.org

If you have more questions for the show organizers, Baltimore SUSTAIN,
please contact baltimoresustain-AT-yahoo.com


International Soldarity Movement

When the show was booked, we explained clearly that it was benefit for the International Solidairty Movement, and even gave the Ottobar the ISM's website.

The ISM is a completly non-violent social justice organization that has been doing amazing humanitarian work in the Occupied Territories since 2001. The ISM is also in a time of crisis, because two volunteers have recently been killed, including Rachael Corrie, a student at Evergreen State College in Washington State, who was run over by an army bulldozer.

Our local connection to the ISM is Joshua Brown. Joshua works as a carpentry instructor in an Americorps neighbourhood revitalization and job training program in East Baltimore, and also spent the month of August 2002 as an ISM volunteer in the Balata Refugee Camp in the West Bank. Upon his return, numerous peace and justice groups and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee sponsored public slide shows about his trip and the work of the ISM at Johns Hopkins, Goucher, Towson University, Towson Public Library, University of Baltimore Law School, and UMBC. He was even invited to speak at a teachers' workshop hosted by the Harford County middle school social studies curriculum committee.

At no time did anyone from the Ottobar contact te organizers to ask for more information about the ISM after the initial information provided when booking the show.

Thank you for your support!