Godsmack are a millionaire hard rock band who have sold millions of records in the last eight years. Their fourth album, “IV,” was released on April 25, 2006. It sold 211,000 copies in its first week in the USA to debut at Number One on the Billboard chart.
Several weeks previous, I had been solicited by Godsmack’s record label and publicist for press coverage. Ken Phillips, the band’s publicist told me on May 3, after the interview had been conducted, that he had “assumed that it would be a feature about the new cd, tour and what the band has been doing since the last release.” The latter is all that I was able to discuss with Godsmack frontman/lyricist/producer Sully Erna on Monday, May 1 by telephone before he hung up on me mid-sentence, and refused to answer any further questions over the following days.
Here is the full transcript of our conversation. — Jay Babcock (Editor, ARTHUR Magazine)
Feature article published in Arthur No. 23 (July 2006)
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW.
(Initial audio digitizing courtesy Bobby Tamkin!)
JAY BABCOCK of Arthur Magazine: Alright let me get the tape rolling here. How you doing?
SULLY ERNA of Godsmack: I’m good!
JAY: How was the Jimmy Kimmel show on Friday? You were outside playing, right?
SULLY: Yeah it’s always cool to do that because it’s so set up for musicians, you know. Big stage, live crowd. It’s not so like indoors with a camera rehearsals. It’s a lot easier.
JAY: Yeah. So you got to be back out in front of your fans.
SULLY: Yeah. It was good. It was fun.
JAY: What kind of people listen to your music, do you think?
SULLY: Ummm, I’ve seen ’em range as young as 8 and as old as 68. [chuckles]
JAY: Yup.
SULLY: So it’s…
JAY: Well, you’ve seen a lot more of ’em than I have, and I’m trying to get an idea of what it feels like when you’re out there–to you, on the stage. Do you think there’s a lot of teenagers in the audience? A lot of guys in their 20s? Chicks?
SULLY: Ah you know…
JAY: Is it a dude audience?
SULLY: I would say, if I had to guess what our age group is, it’s probably between 18 and 40.
JAY: Oh yeah?
SULLY: I would have to say that’s kind of where we’re at, maybe more, majority would be 18-30? But I, we definitely, we recruited a lot of new fans off of that acoustic record…
JAY: That did it, huh?
SULLY: …an older audience. And this record seems to be drawing in a different kind of audience as well, so. You know we’re just trying to continue to expand and not have a ceiling over our heads.
JAY: Right. You guys are still having a good time making music after all these years?
SULLY: Of course. We’re musicians, that’s what we do. It may not always be great music, but we love making it! [laughs]
JAY: Cuz music has a power…?
SULLY: Mmm hmm. It’s a universal language.
JAY: So what you say with it, and what you do with it, has an effect…?
SULLY: Of course.
JAY: Right?
SULLY: [emphatically] Of course.
JAY: So I notice you guys have been really involved with promoting the military. [1]
SULLY: Well, they actually came to us, believe it or not. Somebody in the Navy loves this band, because they used “Awake” for three years and then they came to us and re-upped the contract for another three years for “Sick of Life.” So, I don’t know. They just feel like that music, [laughs] someone in that place thinks that the music is very motivating for recruit commercials I guess. And hey, I’m an American boy so it’s not… I’m proud of it.
JAY: You’re proud of recruiting your fans into the military?
SULLY: Well, no. [laughs, then playfully] Don’t be turning my fucking words around, you!
JAY: Well, tell me what you mean. You said your music is powerful, it’s got an effect, like you said, and you’re letting the military use it. The military, who are they recruiting? 18-to-30-year-olds, right?
SULLY: I guess. I don’t know what their recruit age is. I know it’s at least 18.
JAY: Yeah, they do down in the high schools now.
SULLY: My thing is… Listen, here’s my thing with the military. I’m not saying our government is perfect. Because I know that we make some mistakes and we do shitty things BUT, BUT. You wouldn’t have your job, and we wouldn’t have our lives, if we weren’t out there protecting this country so we could lead a free life. So there’s kind of a ying and a yang to that. Sometimes it’s not always the best choices that we make, or we stick our noses in other people’s shit, but at the same time, we protect this place enough that we’re able to like pursue careers and do what a lot of people in other countries aren’t able to do. They’re kind of picked and they’re chosen to be whatever they become. I’m proud to be an American, I’ll tell you that.
JAY: So your country, right or wrong?
SULLY: Uh, no. Not right or wrong. But I’m proud to be an American. I love my country. I’ve seen the depressions and how people live in other countries and how they’re told what to be, and they don’t have the choices that we have. I do love that about our country. So, you know… And I actually sympathize with a lot of the soliders, and the military in general, that are trained to go out and protect FOR us, and what they have to go through, it’s really kind of shitty in a sense that these young kids have to go over there and die, sometimes, for something that isn’t our fucking problem. And that kind of sucks. So what I have to do is at least support them, because they don’t have the choice that we do.
JAY: They don’t have the choice because…?
SULLY: Because they’ve decided to fight for our country.
JAY: And they decided to do that because…?
SULLY: [laughs]…
JAY: Of your song…?
SULLY: Aw, come on. It’s not like that.
JAY: Well I have a quote from you here: “We’ve always been supportive of our country and our president, whereas a lot of people I thought” — and you said this in 2003, to MTV News, you said — “a lot of people I thought lashed out pretty quickly at what we did and I thought the government did everything pretty cleanly and publicly as possible.” [2]
SULLY: Yeah?
JAY: Well, what are you talking about?
SULLY: That was my opinion at the time. The whole war thing, and trying to keep us up to date like… If you remember, back in other wars, we didn’t have the opportunity to follow it through the media, and CNN, and the news, live updates and that kind of thing. And I thought that for the most part you know we were allowed to follow it as best we could through the media sources that were feeding us information.
JAY: [incredulous] You didn’t think the media was being controlled by the military?
SULLY: Well, it could be. I don’t know.
JAY: You didn’t look into it?
SULLY: Listen. Are you a fucking government expert?
JAY: I’m not telling people to go join the military and then not knowing what the military is doing.
SULLY: I don’t tell people to go join the military!!
JAY: You don’t think using your songs—the POWER of your music, which you were talking about—has an effect on the people that hear it when it goes with the visuals that the best P.R. people in the world use?
SULLY: Oh man, are you like one of those guys that agrees with some kid that fuckin’ tied a noose around his neck because Judas Priest lyrics told him to?
JAY: You were telling me how powerful your music was, and what age the people are that listen to it, and you must have thought, ‘Well the Navy sure thought it was useful,’ so you tell me.
SULLY: Hey, listen. The Navy thought… It’s the same reason why wrestlers work out to the music, and extreme motorcross riders listen to the music and do what they do. It’s ENERGETIC music. It’s very ATHLETIC. People feel that they get an adrenaline rush out of it or whatever, so, it goes with whatever’s an extreme situation. But I doubt very seriously that a kid is going to join the Marines or the US Navy because he heard Godsmack as the underlying bed music in the commercial. They’re gonna go and join the Navy because they want to jump out of helicopters and fuckin’ shoot people! Or protect the country or whatever it is, and look at the cool infra-red goggles.
JAY: You said to MTV, “We’re not a very political band but we’re supportive of the U.S. military and how they approach things.” [2]
SULLY: Listen. Someone turned that around. I never said “and how they approach things.”
JAY: Okay. So that’s a misquote. Or something–
SULLY [interrupting]: Wow, what?
JAY: What about this? In 2003 you did a show that started with video footage of Apache helicopters”honing in on a desert target interspersed with the words ‘We will prevail…Stronger than them all.”
SULLY: Say that again?
JAY: I’m reading from a Boston Globe review of a show you did at the Tweeter Center.
SULLY: Yeah.
JAY: In front of 13,000 people on May 22, 2003.
SULLY: Yeah, but tell me what it said again.
JAY: Yes sir. It said “Godsmack’s ferociously high energy 90-minute set started with video footage of Apache helicopters honing in on a desert target, interspersed with the words ‘We will prevail…Stronger than them all.” [3]
SULLY: Yeah…?
JAY: So you’re using military imagery with your music at your concerts?
SULLY: First of all, it was a COMPUTER image, a computer-animated helicopter that didn’t… There was no scene of a desert in there. It was a helicopter that rose up from the screen and scanned the audience. It was an EFFECT. And then it shot out missiles that hit the stage.
JAY: Uh huh…
SULLY: Because the intro to “Straight Out of Line” has the sounds of like, a war thing going on.
JAY [trying to decide if Sully is dissembling or just obtuse]: Oh I see. So it’s just sort of a concept thing. [pause] Well, you’ve done a lot to help out the guys who are in the military, who are stuck there now, whether they chose to be there or they got hoodwinked into being there. For whatever reason, they’re in the military. And they’re doing their job. You guys did a show for them at Camp Pendleton–
SULLY: Yup.
JAY: –called “Rockin’ the Corps.” And so you’ve been doing a lot of benefit shows…
SULLY: [interrupting] Well, like I said, Listen you know, there’s a lot of young kids that die for our country, man, and they don’t have the choice once they’re in there.
JAY: That’s right.
SULLY: So I just feel well you know whatever we can do to say “thank you for protecting our country” is what we try to do. I’m not trying to make this a big political issue.
JAY: Okay. Have you done anything to prevent people from joining the military?
SULLY: No.
JAY: To maybe educate them as to what’s in store for them?
SULLY: I don’t have enough education in the military to educate them in anything.
JAY: Would you let your music be used for anti-military recruiting advertisements?
SULLY: I don’t know, I’d have to see what that was about.
JAY: But you’d be open to it?
SULLY: We’re open to whatever, as long as it’s not a Maybelline commercial.
JAY: [laughs] Maybelline’s more offensive than the military…?
SULLY: No. That doesn’t quite go with what we do.
JAY: But the military does?
SULLY: Listen. Where are we going with this thing? Is this interview about the government–
JAY: Well, I’ve never seen such a pro-military–
SULLY: Sounds like this is a personal attack or whatever.
JAY: Well I’ve never seen such a pro-military band as you guys. [4]
SULLY: But we’re not! I think [chuckling] you’re making us out to be a little bit more. When we’re asked about something, we just answer the question. We don’t go spend 23 hours out of our day supporting the military and what they do.
JAY: Um hmm.
SULLY: We just simply, an opportunity came up, they wanted to use some music for a recruit commercial. What are we gonna say, no?
JAY: Yeah. How hard is it to say ‘no’?
SULLY: Why would we, though?!?
JAY: Because…
SULLY [interrupting]: Is it because you don’t feel the same way about the government that we do, makes you right and us wrong?
JAY: Yeah. What do you feel about the government? Tell me what–
SULLY: Aw, that’s crazy, man! That’s just an OPINION.
JAY: I can back my opinion up from here to tomorrow if you would like to talk to me all day long.
SULLY: Well obviously you’ve done a lot of research and you’ve–
JAY [interrupting]: That’s right, because–
SULLY: –got a different opinion. We don’t know that stuff that you know, so–
JAY [impatient]: Why don’t you do some research before you get involved with these sorts of things? You’re talking about young kids’ lives. You’re talking about kids–
SULLY: [yelling] Would you rather not have us be protected so they can come and overrun our country?!?
JAY: Do you know what a “fool’s errand” is?
SULLY: I’m asking you a question!
JAY: No one is threatening–
SULLY [interrupting]: Would you rather us not be protected?!?
JAY: You know what I’d like, Sully? A Department of Defense, not a Department of Offense that attacks other countries — sovereign nations — who do things in a different way than us, who we have no right to go over and invade and change their governments. Would we want someone else to do that to us?
SULLY: I’m not saying —
JAY [interrupting]: How hard is that to think about?
SULLY: I’m not saying that we were right on every war that we’ve created. I know that we’ve been damn wrong at times about stuff–
JAY [interrupting]: When have we been wrong?
SULLY: [yelling] but they have also been wrong too!
JAY: When have —
SULLY [interrupting]: I don’t trust someone like fuckin’ Sadaam and Osama to come in here and try to control–
JAY: [interrupting, incredulous] When did Sadaam try to come in here and control our country?
SULLY: Dude, [yelling] WHY DON’T YOU GO LIVE IN IRAQ THEN IF YOU HAVE SUCH A PROBLEM WITH AMERICA? Why are you here?
JAY: Why am I here?!? This is the top country in the world, my friend!
SULLY: Well, why do you think so? Because it’s PROTECTED.
JAY: No, it’s not because it’s–
SULLY [interrupting]: –ruled our country.
JAY: No one is attacking us, my friend. Certainly not Iraq. Every first world nation suffers terrorist attacks. Get used to it.
SULLY: I am used to it. I don’t have a problem–
JAY: Get used to it.
SULLY: [laughs] Sounds like you do.
JAY: You’re the one that’s saying it’s alright to not know about stuff and then to send other people to die in our name.
SULLY: I never said that! Don’t put fuckin’ words in my mouth.
JAY: I’ve got it on tape, bro.
SULLY: You’ve “got it on tape, bro”?!?
JAY: Yeah.
SULLY: You got me saying it’s okay for us to attack other countries?
JAY: I got you on tape saying they’re protecting us by attacking, by going over there and taking out people.
SULLY: Listen, don’t fuckin’ turn my words around to make it to what you want it to be! That’s not what I meant and you know that.
JAY: Okay I’m sorry. Then tell me what you meant.
SULLY: Listen, I’m not gonna get into a political fuckin’ conversation with you. This was supposed to be an interview about the band. Where is this going?
JAY: We’re talking about the power of your music and what you’re using it for.
SULLY: What is this for anyway? Who are you working with?
JAY: I’m working for my own magazine, my friend.
SULLY: What’s it called?
JAY: [laughing in disbelief] What do you mean, what’s it called? Are you serious?
SULLY: Yeah, what’s the magazine called?
JAY: It’s called Arthur Magazine. You guys are the ones that set this up.
SULLY: Hey I was just told to do press today, man.
JAY: Hey man, you guys–
SULLY: I got a checklist in front of me, and I don’t have time for a lot of this bullshit.
JAY: Oh yeah?
SULLY: So write whatever the fuck you wanna write, because your magazine obviously is that popular.
JAY: It’s doing pretty good…
SULLY [interrupting]: Yeah I’m sure it is. All three thousand copies of it… [5]
JAY: On our own, without any corporate support.
SULLY: I wish you the best of– Why would you waste your time calling a band like us when you don’t even give a fuck?!?
JAY: I certainly do “give a fuck.” Cuz you know what?
SULLY: What is this about?!?
JAY: Because listen man! You know there’s 2,800 people, my brothers and sisters, have died over in Iraq?
SULLY: Yeah?
JAY: You know 30,000 Iraqi humans WHO NEVER DID SHIT TO US have died because of the attacks we’ve made over there? [6]
SULLY: [in disbelief] And that’s Godsmack’s fault?
JAY: Did you know that 78% of women in the military report cases of sexual harassment? [7]
SULLY: [sarcastic] And that’s Godsmack’s fault.
JAY: No, man–
SULLY [interrupting, sarcastic]: That has to do with our new record.
JAY: Okay, let’s talk about your new record.
SULLY: I can’t believe this. This is [inaud]
JAY: Let’s talk about that new record, my friend.
SULLY: Get a life. [hangs up]
JAY: Let’s talk about the new album…
AN AFTERWORD FROM JAY BABCOCK, SATURDAY MAY 6, REGARDING THIS INTERVIEW
Regarding the nature of the questions that were put to Sully: it was determined by what’s unique about this band, which is their public pro-military, pro-war stance and the extent of their involvement with US military recruiting campaigns. They’ve spoken about this stuff in public before, so there was no reason for me to think that they wouldn’t be willing to speak about it again. Thus, the interview.
After Sully hung up on me, I called back. The band’s publicist, Ken Phillips, told me that Sully had emerged from the room shouting at the top of his lungs, and he wasn’t sure if he could get him back on the phone with me so that we could talk about the album, Wicca, karma — all interests of Sully’s — that I had hoped to explore. Two days later I was told by Phillips that there would be no further interviewing and the band would rather the feature not run.
Why?
Who knows? Perhaps it’s the way Sully characterizes people who join the military as guys who want to jump out of helicopters and shoot people and use infrared goggles. That doesn’t really jibe well with them being “brave souls” or honorable freedom-protecting people, does it?
Perhaps it has to do with Sully’s attitude towards the Navy’s recruiting efforts. Essentially he is saying that the Navy wasted their money by licensing Godsmack music for their advertisements, since the music has no influence/impact — none, zero — on the viewers.
And so on.
I suppose to a degree it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, but… lives are on the line. People need to be held accountable. I’ve been trying to interview this band since 2003. I finally got my chance. It’s stimulated a ton of discussion — check out blabbermouth.net’s various threads, or the number of blogs and rock news sites that are now picking this up, or the comments below, or the endless barrage of juvenile hatemail we’ve been receiving — and it’s embarrassed the band into silence on the issue, which is better than the jingoism they’d been spouting previously.
Finally: Please keep in mind that Sully is a MILLIONAIRE living in a comfortable life. His band is using their music to help recruit poor, under-educated, foolish, impressionable kids into the military at a time of worthless, pointless war, the consequences of which we — all of us — will be feeling for the rest of our lives. If he doesn’t care to discuss this — all of this — he shouldn’t do interviews… especially with anti-war publications.
ENDNOTES
1. from MARCH 7 – 13, 2003 LA WEEKLY:
“Selling War: How the military’s ad campaign gets inside the heads of recruits” by Greg Goldin
The Navy’s tweaking of this theme is “Accelerate Your Life,” which promises
“adventure, travel, career, patriotism, technology, education, honor.” Set to
music from the band Godsmack, a voice-over intones, “If someone wrote a book
about your life, would anyone want to read it?”
2. from06.19.2003 – MTV.COM–<
While Metallica, Ozzy, Audioslave and others travel America, the Boston band will head oversees where the touring circuit isn’t quite as crowded. “We zig when they zag,” frontman Sully Erna said at Saturday’s KROQ Weenie Roast.
…They’ll return to the States for a headlining tour in the fall, which like the current outing will offer $10 tickets to U.S. soldiers.
…”We’ve always been supportive of our country and our president and stuff like
that, whereas a lot of people, I thought, lashed out pretty quickly at what we
did, and I thought the government did everything pretty cleanly and publicly as
possible,” Erna explained. “We have a lot of respect for the military and stuff
like that, and we just wanted to give them something back for what they did for
us, letting us live in a free country and that kind of thing. We’re not a very
political band, but we are supportive of the U.S. military and how they approach
things.”
3. from http://archive.unearthed.com/?news,2003,05,0000018118 – May 26, 2003
Steve Morse of the Boston Globe reviewed Godsmack’s homecoming concert at theTweeter Center on Thursday (May 22) before a crowd of 13,000. A large part of that crowd – 2,000 to be exact – were members of the military who had bought $10 tickets in the reserved section on the lawn. Godsmack have taken a pro-military stance this spring, and they loaned their song “Awake” for use in a Navy recruitment ad. Godsmack’s ferociously high-energy, 90-minute show started with video footage of Apache helicopters honing in on a desert target, interspersed with the words, ”We will prevail … stronger than them all.
From Godsmack fan:
“The show was May 23, 2003. I know, I was there. The video did have a military theme. Besides the helicopter there was images of fighter jets, stealths, and troops. Also not only did the words ‘WE WILL PREVAIL./STRONGER THAN THEM ALL.’ appear on the screen so did ‘UNITED WE STAND.’ “
From another Godsmack fan:
“Here is the EXACT way I saw the show start in 2003:
[digital video text starts]
[something about being in this time]
We, as Americans citizens, need to unite
Supporting our troops, our country, our freedom.
And, in the end, we will prevail and remain….
Stronger than all!!!!
[end digital text]
[pictures of a tank, jet fighters, troops jumping out of transports & out of helicopters fully armed, another fighter dropping bombs, bomb exploding on the ground, more bombs exploding, helicopters taking off]
[Shannon starts drum intro to Straight Out of Line]
[Helicopter in video shoots missles and pyro explodes on stage like the missles hit there]
[song starts]”
4. MTV News – Fat Joe, 3 Doors Down, Godsmack Speak Out About War In Iraq – JANUARY 22, 2003
“Unfortunately, there were some really bad things that happened [involving the Middle East], and I think if we don’t cut out the cancer while it’s still young, then it’s gonna grow to be this entity that we may not be able to defend ourselves against,” Godsmack frontman Sully Erna said. “I applaud the government and President Bush for doing what they’re doing, and I think our military are some of the bravest souls, much braver than I could ever be.”
5. Actually, it’s 50,000.
6. Although they have been criticized for grossly under-reporting civilian deaths caused by the initial U.S. bombing campaigns, Iraqbodycount.org is probably the best current source on how many Iraqis have been killed during the invasion and US occupation.
7. Source: Department of Defense 1995 Sexual Harassment Survey (Arlington, VA: Defense Manpower Data Center, December 1996) Available online in PDF.
THINKING ABOUT ENLISTING?
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE IN THE U.S. MILITARY IN IRAQ?
Arthur Magazine 
I am another vet who thinks this was a fantastic interview. Celebrities that endorse products for money should be held accountable for those products, whether it be Kathy Lee Gifford ten years ago for sweatshop labour or some metal band that doesn’t, at least once a year, read a newspaper and think.
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Jay Babcock apparently believes that we live in a world in which we can all love each other unconditionally. This is a nice thought, but the fact is, we don’t live in that world now, nor will we ever live in that world. Unfortunatly, somewhere around 1967 or so, we decided to ignore the fact that we are basically a violent species that has been killing itself off since the dawn of man. This leads to men like Babcock who feel perfectly comfortable doing a little research and then making value judgements. Worse, he tries to impose his own morality onto his interviewees. I notice that some people are saying that Sully Erna and Godsmack should be held accountable, and to a certain degree I feel the same way. However, was Erna given any time to research his answers? Was he able to dig up stats and statistics like Babcock? No, and guess what, neither can Babcock answer questions about every issue that he supports off the cuff. Then, too imply that the media was controlled by the military… fat chance. Sure, the military might control the flow of information, but journalists control the spin on that information. Erna says, right at the very beginning of this interview, for Babcock not to twist his words, yet Babcock does just that. This is a very poor excuse for journalism, and a very good example of a military tactic: It was an ambush, pure and simple.
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What ever get over it .. .This guy Aurthur needs a slap in his fucking mouth.. trying to twist words and antagonize people like that.. Fuck you Aurthur and your fucking stupid as shit magazine.. making a story out of nothing trying to make Godsmack look bad for letting thier music out.. Get fucked.
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Loved your interview Jay, but the one point you are misssing is that a lot of rock musicians aren’t very smart. I’m sure Sully saw dollar signs and said, “go for it!” I’m sure he’s fed more information than he’s absorbed.
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I think you are a total jerk. You should be in the government you bleedig liberal. I was in the military and went in to protect my country knowing that when you join you prepare for war. You really should move to another country and try this type of interview over in the Mid-East.
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I’m no fan of Godsmack–I don’t even know what they sound like–or of the war in Iraq, but, simply, that was a bad interview. The questions were leading. It seems like questions that he half-heartedly said ‘yes’ to were turned around on him. “You were telling me how powerful your music was…” does not logically follow from this exchange: “Cuz music has a powerĶ?” “Mmm hmm. ItÄôs a universal language.” In fact he wasn’t even agreeing that his band’s music has power, just that music has power. I also see no evidence in the interview that Godsmack is “telling people to go join the military.”
In interviews, one learns something about the subject of the interview. I didn’t learn anything about Godsmack here. These were not inciteful questions; in fact, half of these weren’t even questions. The point of this “interview” seems to be to attack Godsmack. The interviewer has every right to do so and the magazine has every right to publish it, but I’d suggest you call it something like “My attack on Godsmack.”
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It’s really a shame that people like “Arthur” are afforded the protections and the benefits of the United States. With any luck, Arthur doesn’t live here. What a slime.
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The question isn’t whether the interview was fair, it’s whether it was hilarious. There’s nothing funnier than a professional Layne Staley imitator warning of Saddam’s plans to control the United States.
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that was hilarious. well done!
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Fucking liberal hippies, go jump off a bridge.
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If this Godsmack dude was smart he’d simply say that he supports the military but not the idiot chickenhawks that send us into quagmire after quagmire. There were plenty of generals in the military that knew invading Iraq was a bad idea. The military is a necassary thing, every major government has one. It’s ok to sell out to military recruiters if you just own up to it. This Sully guy just pussed out and used the tired old “Why do you hate America?” argument.
This interview is what real journalism is about. Would you rather read this intense debate or some fluff piece with questions like “What makes Godsmack so awesome?”. The White House press corpse could take some cues from this interview…
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I see your point of view with the Sully interview and I think individuals with an audience like yourself should expand this topic further. For instance, approach other popular bands and musicians with this same point of view for anti-military promotional commercials geered towards the 18-30 age demographic. If Sully and Godsmack have the power to recruit, folks like you can have the power to non-recruit. Imagine it. The power of voices like yours will prevent enlistments. No longer will we have to sit back and watch our brothers and sisters sign-up and be sent off across this planet to possibly be killed. We can all get together, hand-in-hand, singing “Kum-by-yah my Lord…” and watch as our undefended borders are crossed by millions of those individuals intent on Jihad and kill as many of us as they can. And maybe when one of these individuals has you sitting on your knees in front of a video camera making you denounce everything that you are before they cut your fucking head off in your own hometown, maybe then you’ll understand just why we depend on these brave souls for our safety and our way of life. I may be paraphrasing you here from your interview with Sully, but did YOU think about that??? People like you are more dangerous than any government could possibly be. You have a voice…a podium if you will, that has the ability to make people believe in your idiocy. And if they believe any of this bullshit that you believe, it makes us all vulnerable. So sleep well under that blanket of freedom you have now. For someday, if things work the way you want them to, you’ll realize just how much of an idiot you really are.
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Wow, Adam… Well put.
Awesome interview – Got ’em good!
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Way to go Jay! Godsmack, you can’t have it both ways- either yr songs have power of they don’t, don’t try to say “its not our fault” after the money comes in. There are lots of ways to make a living without pimping yr fan’s to the military.
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conservative wankers, its easy to promote war when you dont have to face the results. godsmack is a horrible shit band to start with, and they ARE war profiteers.
and the military is here to protect us, but we give them a job. we give them somethin to protect. the military is not the bedrock of any nation, but simply an inconvenience to keep other nations armies from bothering them. i respect anyone who serves our country but im not going to think that the nation exists to serve the military. it is completely the other way around.
if you dont like this interview fine, but i think some of you conservatives could sure use some time in the middle east, sounds like youd love it just fine.
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I didn’t see this interview as a trap at all. The interviewer was giving Sully an opportunity to explain his position and to explain his thinking on how the band’s music is being used and what that means to the band. Unfortunately, Sully had done no thinking about these issues, and is clearly not very fast on his feet. His confusion was simply a reflection of the confusion in his own mind, not the result of the interviewer doing anything other than quoting back to him things that he had said.
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NO ONE IS ATTACKING US, MY FRIEND, CERTAINLY NOT IRAQ.
You are clearly an IDIOT…Your parents need to be severely beaten for both allowing you to live and
to be born on American soil. Here are a few examples of “no one attacking us”
Douchebag.
1979
Nov. 4, Tehran, Iran: Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of President Reagan’s inauguration.
1982Äì1991
Lebanon: Thirty US and other Western hostages kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released. Terry Anderson was held for 2,454 days.
1983
April 18, Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Oct. 23, Beirut, Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 Marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
Dec. 12, Kuwait City, Kuwait Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80.
1984
Sept. 20, east Beirut, Lebanon: truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing 24, including 2 U.S. military.
Dec. 3, Beirut, Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed.
1985
April 12, Madrid, Spain: Bombing at restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82.
June 14, Beirut, Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver executed.
Oct. 7, Mediterranean Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya.
Dec. 18, Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya.
1986
April 2, Athens, Greece:A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9.
April 5, West Berlin, Germany: Libyans bombed a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 and injuring hundreds.
1988
Dec. 21, Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims’ families.
1993
Feb. 26, New York City: bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995, militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected.
1995
Nov. 13, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen.
1996
June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001.
1998
Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large.
2000
Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Linked to Osama bin Laden, or members of al-Qaeda terrorist network.
2001
Sept. 11, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead and missing numbered 2,9921: 2,749 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, 40 in Pa., and 19 hijackers. Islamic al-Qaeda terrorist group blamed. (See September 11, 2001: Timeline of Terrorism.)
2002
June 14, Karachi, Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
2003
May 12, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected.
2004
May 29Äì31, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
June 11Äì19, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
Dec. 6, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate killing 5 consulate employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
2005
Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt and Days Inn, in Amman Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
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wow. whether or not i agree with your interview tactic or not, at least your practicing journalism with interesting questions and bringing to the forefront what’s wrong with the music biz (and most importantly, the world) these days. i’m glad you had the balls to hold that type of interview. that’s respectable. godsmack not knowing how to deal with it but laughing to the band – not respectable.
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I meant “godsmack not knowing hot to deal with it but laughing to the BANK”. i need to proofread.
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What the hell is your problem. Godsmack agrees to come and talk to you, and you ream them for being pro miltary? You state that you love our nation because it is the best. And that terisum is a fact of life. So that means after 9/11…we shoudl have done nothing, not tried to go find Osama or any of the things we did, becasue it is a fact of life?? You are the biggest fucking joke in the world. Godsmack the the miltary stuff for the money, nothing more…get over it!
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I’d just like to point out that the USA stayed pretty steadfastly neutral until two years into WWII. Even then, we mostly just offered equipment and money to the European Allied forces. We didn’t go fight until we got bombed by the Japanese. We didn’t (officially) know/care about the Holocaust until our troops got over there, and it wasn’t until the war was over that we started to concern ourselves with being the world’s cop.
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In responding I’m only sorry this idiot is getting attention for his 2nd grade interview skills.
I AM a vet. 142d ECB (HVY) out of North Dakota. It’s obvious this moron’s goals are for no one to sign up for the military–I wonder how long he thinks this country would last without a military force to back it up? I’d give it about fifty-three seconds before high-powered missiles started coming in, wouldn’t you?
Someone else made the great point: Should we have left Hitler alone? Should we have minded our business then?
I don’t mind if people our against the war. People should have their own opinions. But this interviewer acts like supporting the military is some hate crime against humanity (how DARE HE lend a song to military recruitment!!). Look, when I was in Iraq we built all sorts of things to help people out. I talked to kids and had them tell me how glad they were that Saddam was gone.
It’s a war. Bad stuff happens, and that sucks. I wish no one would die. But, when we can go to Iraq in ten years and see a free country–when we can go there and thank our lucky stars that it didn’t turn into another Germany we’ll be grateful.
I will be.
Won’t you?
Have a good night. Don’t worry. I got your back.
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“and watch as our undefended borders are crossed by millions of those individuals intent on Jihad and kill as many of us as they can.”
Be nice if we had more of our troops and resources devoted to defending our borders from this horde of MILLIONS, instead of having shipped them out to be shot at and bombed while trying to rearrange and hold together somebody else’s country.
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excellent interview. aparrently, this band is VERY unaccustomed to fielding REAL questions. human life is worth a lot more than the many they make for sending young poor folks to catch bullets and gulf war syndrome. they are involved in life and death, and you asked them about their involvement. that’s real journalism.
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“You ambushed Sully! YOU AMBUSHED HIM!”
Yeah, with an IED. Intensive care and everything. Hey, big nuts – if Sully’s so incredibly good and humble and full of integrity, he can say “no” to a paycheck everyone once in a while. Otherwise, if he can’t back up his position, he’s going to take it in the shorts from interviewers who aren’t afraid to ask questions about his involvement with being a shill for military recruiters. You say he doesn’t have a position? Oh, but he does – assprone, nutcocker. Assprone.
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I just stumbled into this and I a amazed. I wonder if the age of most of the above contributors is not about the same as the brave people that we have sent off to die and be mamed in Iraq? I hope that some of the thoughtful attention given this issue might be directed toward understanding how we as a country could have allowed this criminal war to happen. I don’t know any thing about the band in question. As a 60+ year old artist (painter) I have been faced many times with the temptation to “sell out”. I can not bring my self to damn the group, only hope that they re-examine what they have allowed their art to be used for. Finally I have only admiration for the remarkable young people who have volunteered for duty. Such a shame that they have been told one of the biggest lies in history about their mission. We all I suspect “support our troops” to some degree or another even if we hate the war. Perhaps there is a reason why the suicide rate amongst our troops in Iraq is at a signifcantly all time high. Fight for your artistic validity but also look to the larger fight we have as human beings.
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Frank Zappa once said
“Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read.”
Thanks for proving him wrong.
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Good ol’ sully! He was an uneducated prick back in the days of STRIPMIND(SEKA)and sounds like he still is now! Right on!!!!
Anyway, funny fuckin interview, that’s entertainment.
Im against the war and many other things but really, what did this change? sounds like the same ol, in-fighting to me. Everyone allready new Godsmack is a generic fuckin band(radio metal sucks!!! All Hail the true underground!!!!)This was inflamitory and solved nothing! WE NEED CHANGE IN THIS NATION AND OUR WORLD!!! Support our troops, like some of you said here they ARE your brothers and sisters, but our government is dishonest and unjust nad because of that we will all know loss of some kind or someone. They use tacticts for recruting like using Godsmack’s music cause they know it will attract the angry, ailienated, disenfranchised youth(not unlike the American Nazi party with their brand of “metal” or “oi” wich it’s neither.
You want to use the examples for “saving” the middle east from themselves? Well how about using the CRUSADES as an example? Anyone here remember that from history in school? THEY FUCKIN FAILED MISERABLY AND THE SAME VIOLENCE THAT OCCOURS NOW OCCOURED THEN!!! It came down to children fighting a losing war, just as it will now and what will it have changed? We removed a wretched dictator from office? For how long? Lets see who comes along next shall we?
We seem doomed to replay history. Does no one remember we trained Osama with our own military? And what are we doing in Afghanatan now? SAME FUCKIN THING!!!!!!
FUCK, YOU CUNTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS FENCE WAKE UP!!!
Have we all become so damn polerized but current “events”(if you actually belive what you hear and see on t.v.) that we dont releize the real problem? its not about HUMAN rights but instead about CORPERATE and RELIGIOUS rights that the current regime in the USA fights for. Make a vote of non-confidence and force out the true war profitiers, Bush, Chaney and Rumsfeld. Who owns the corperations that produce the fuckin weapons?!?!?! DO YOUR OWN FUCKIN RESEARCH ASSHOLES!!!
HALIBURTON???? COME ON DOUCHEBAGS….WAKE THE FUCK UP!!! AND THATS JUST THE TIP O’ THE PROVERBIAL ICEBURG!
Yes, I agree, Godsmack sucks, generic freakin ripoff metal and YES Sully really is a jackass, Im sure if you ask most people from the old New England scene in the 90’s theyll tell you the same thing. ( still have the old Stripmind disk from back then by the way Sully, You were a better drummer.)Besides King Hell, Slaughtershack, Sam Blackchurch and Tree were far better!!!
who ever compared this Author to the dickheads on Fox wasnt to far off the mark.
We need to stop sensationalizing things like this and concentrate on the real problem and thats how are we going to find the nust to stand up as a group and mobilze against an unjust war and a VERY unjust president and his cabinet, I am not advicating violence here, Just the fact we are in grave need of change here in this nation!!!
I now pass my soapbox onto the next jerkoff with an opinion!
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Very well conducted interview. I’m surprised he didn’t hang up earlier, though. Whoever says Arthur turned around Sully’s words is wrong. What he did was trying to bring out Sully’s opinion about a simple question: is he pro-military or not and why and does he think his position is okay. Turned out Sully hadn’t wasted many thoughts about it. Arthur tried to get out answers by asking simple questions. When Sully’s answers were either not very concrete he asked for more detail. And he gave him some food for thought. In the end Sully had every opportunity for stating his opinion and backing it up. He fell short. If he thinks his position is okay why didn’t he defend it to a satisfactory end? And if he hadn’t thought about what he is doing well enough, why not admit it and say “well, I guess we will have to do research about it. Our exposed position may create some kind of responsibility for what we are doing.” If he is not well-educated enough for an argument like this maybe he can not be blamed for it but he could at least be man enough to admit it. And maybe rethink his actions. And in general discussing opinions is what democracy is all about.
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You should be a political journalist. I’d pay money to see you in the Washington Press Corps. If every pro-war, starry eyed, fool was forced to actually talk thorugh his support I think we’d see a better informed, more active, and more anti-war electorate in no time.
aimai
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You fuckers that run this website and interview are fucked up. From an American that is overseas right now, I’m incredibly sick of this. If someone enlists in the military because of a song, that person is fucked up. You fucks aren’t the reason the admendment for free speech is around, it’s us making Iraq a better fucking country. You have NO FUCKING CLUE to what is happening around here unless you are here. Fuck this website and fuck Jay Babcock. AND NO, THE MILITARY DOES NOT CONTROL THE FUCKING MEDIA. Fuck everyone that doesn’t support me and the other soldiers, marines, airmen, and seamen. You fucks make me sick.
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Although I didnÄôt like the interview tactics of Mr. Babcock, he did accomplish to expose the ignorance of most Americans regarding the war. The pro-godsmack comments surely were a resounding testament to this.
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it’s about time someone clued Sully into the fact that when the military pays you, that makes you a part of the military industrial complex. i can’t believe that these guys have never even considered the implications of their actions before. they don’t understand that music is an essential part of propaganda? that that ‘adrenaline rush’ they create is the exact reason why the Navy likes their music — because it encourages people to make decisions based on exhiliration and emotion rather than rational thought?
come on dude. you gotta fucking think about this shit. quit this contract, stand up to the military, tell them you’re not going to help them brainwash the nation’s youth anymore. this is some fucking bullshit.
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You live free because of people like us.
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Dude the interviewer should be shot in the head. He’s a fucking asshole and it suppossed to be talking about the album. Completely unprofessional. FUCK YOU AND YOUR MAGAZINE TOO!!!
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Listen all,
Everyone should just chill out. This type of talking back and forth is what created America. And that’s pretty awesome. In celebration of this American freedom celebration I say repost the mp3 for all to decide. Plus, I’d like to have a copy.
your pal,
Sully 🙂
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Wow, You military types should have avoided the brainwash. And Godsmacker fans, you guys should all go to Iraq with no guns or body armor. Just sayin’
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How to put words into someone’s mouth:
JAY: Cuz music has a powerĶ?
SULLY: Mmm hmm. ItÄôs a universal language.
JAY: So what you say with it, and what you do with it, has an effectĶ?
SULLY: Of course.
(later)
JAY: Well, tell me what you mean. You said your music is powerful, itÄôs got an effect, like you said, and youÄôre letting the military use it. The military, who are they recruiting? 18-to-30-year-olds, right?
(I don’t remember Sully saying “my music is powerful,” but I guess since he didn’t feel like arguing the statement it’s the same as him saying it?)
(again)
JAY: You donÄôt think using your songsÄîthe POWER of your music, which you were talking aboutÄîhas an effect on the people that hear it when it goes with the visuals that the best P.R. people in the world use?
(When was Sully talking about the power of his music? I remember jay talking about it, but not Sully.)
(one more time)
JAY: YOUÄôRE THE ONE THATÄôS SAYING ITÄôS ALRIGHT TO NOT KNOW ABOUT STUFF AND THEN TO SEND OTHER PEOPLE TO DIE IN OUR NAME.
SULLY: I never said that! DonÄôt put fuckinÄô words in my mouth.
JAY: IÄôVE GOT IT ON TAPE, BRO.
(Jay didn’t have it on tape because Sully never said that.)
Jay is trying to force Sully into a preconceived stance. Sully clearly states that he stands on middle ground with this debate, but Jay was only using his selective hearing.
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Bob Kerr: The problem is strictly from hunger
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Iraq war has been the war fought on the cheap — not enough body armor, not enough armor on vehicles, not enough night vision equipment. It has been the war in which packages from back home have had to fill some crucial needs.
Now, we have chow call at the Greenwood Credit Union in Warwick. It’s the latest in home-front intervention. It’s partially in response to the unthinkable image of U.S. Marines approaching Iraqi citizens and asking for food because they do not have enough.
There’s a big barrel in the lobby of the credit union on Post Road in Warwick. It’s decorated with ribbons and it’s there because Karen Boucher-Andoscia’s son, Nick Andoscia, called and asked his mother to send food.
Nick’s a Marine corporal. He was in Afghanistan last year where there was enough to eat. He’s in Iraq now even though his enlistment was up last year.
He’s one of those Marines who can’t walk away. His unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marines, was headed for Iraq and he just couldn’t head for civilian life while those he had served with were heading to their second war.
“He extended,” says Karen. “He told me, ‘I really have to go. I can’t let my guys go alone.’ ”
There are a lot of stories like that. We don’t hear them much. They’re kind of personal.
So Nick Andoscia went to Iraq. And hunger soon followed.
“I got a letter,” says Karen. “And he had called me before that. He said ‘send lots of tuna.’ ”
Nick told his mother that he and the men in his unit were all about 10 pounds lighter in their first few weeks in Iraq. They were pulling 22-hour patrol shifts. They were getting two meals a day and they were not meals to remember.
“He told me the two meals just weren’t cutting it. He said the Iraqi food was usually better. They were going to the Iraqis and basically saying ‘feed me.’ ”
Karen started packing in that wartime tradition as old as mothers and sons. She packed a lot of the packaged tuna, not the canned.
She happened to mention her hungry son to people she works with at Greenwood Credit Union, where she is a teller and has worked for 30 years.
Pounds and pounds of food started showing up amid the daily business of loans and deposits and withdrawals. Marianne Barao, the branch manager, said it could be done, the credit union could become the place where people help feed hungry Marines who are risking their lives on a skimpy diet.
“We sent out 51 pounds this week,” says Karen. “There are customers coming in saying, ‘What do you need?’ ”
The credit union is paying the cost of packing and shipping.
Any packaged food is welcome. So are baby wipes because showers are even rarer than a full meal. And foot powder.
Nick Andoscia, who is 22, is due to come home later this year. He wants to study criminal justice, his mother says, then go to work for a fire or police department.
But for the next few months he will be on patrol in western Iraq, dealing with the heat and the dirt and the danger.
The last thing he should have to worry about is an empty stomach. The last thing he should have to do is approach Iraqis and ask for food.
You have to wonder what the gracious hosts must think when a fighting man from the richest country on earth comes to their door in search of something to eat.
So get on down to the Greenwood Credit Union at 2669 Post Rd. Bring food and put it in the barrel and help keep a Marine from going hungry on the job.
bkerr@projo.com / (401) 277-7252
http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/projo_20060426_wedco26.a4cf005.html
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All these “shoot the interviewer” comments really reinforce America’s image as a nation where freedom of speech and open debate is encouraged, don’t they?
I thought it was only in the old Communist states like North Korea or the Islamofascist countries where you could be killed for simply asking a question. Looks like you people have proved me wrong. What was that stuff about “the home of freedom” again?
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Jay~
I at this current time am enlisted in the United States Navy. I think first and foremost I would like to give a big THANK YOU to Sully and the guys of Godsmack for supporting our troops. You dont have to agree with everything in this world, but atleast support us and our fellow service members!!! You have no idea how we feel when we wake up in the morning look at the news and see abunch of ppl saying what we do is wrong!! Second of all….Godsmacks music keeps us going, and the last time I checked I signed the contract on my own free will. Not because I listened to some music…and if you talk to anyother service member they will tell you the same thing. All I got to say is SUPPORT YOUR TROOPS AMERICA!!! I would do anything to protect my family and many others.
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This is sad. Sully and Godsmack are getting rich selling their music to the Pentagon, advocating for a war that they’re unwilling to fight themselves, and “enlisted” people like Ashley above think that’s supporting the troops. Meanwhile, troops in Iraq don’t have enough food to eat. Maybe Godsmack should give more “support.”
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Why are you people trying to turn GODSMACK into a political group. They are artists, who sing from the heart. How dare you bash these talented artists!?! The people who are away, fighting for our country(thank you!) are there because that was their CHOICE. I’m sure nobody heard a Godsmack song and rushed right out to join the military! The group supports our country. I don’t know wheather they believe that the government is right, I don’t care! I don’t agree with a lot that this government does, but i’m still an American, and VERY proud to be. I think that is how the guys in Godsmack feel. Their music is energetic and positive, anyone should want to use it for a comercial! They never said that they were unwilling to fight..why are you putting words into his mouth?
With that…I agree with your name clap shitty, but it should just be pieceoshit!
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i was so completely freaked when i checked my e-mail the other night to see an arthur e-mail bulletin with “godsmack” in the title but i should have known better. thanks jay for ths inspiring interview and for calling sully to the carpet for the selling of their music to th navy (and the implications thereof). if he/they are so fuckin’ patriotic them why didn’t they GIVE their music to the navy to use and allow those enlisted in the armed services free entry to their concerts?
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Wow, someone currently enlisted in the Navy tells us that they appreciate the support from the band and someone else immediatly shoots them down saying that person doesn’t know what support is. Anyone in the country can donate supplies, but only Godsmack can give a Godsmack show and there is a hell of a lot more effort that goes into putting on a show like they do then there is throwing a packet of Top Ramen in a barrel at the bank.
You do not appreciate America’s soldiers. You feel sorry for them, but you do not appreciate them.
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Article about “Rockin’ the Corps”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050402/news_2m2concert.html
The concert was free to Marines and their families. Later on procedes from the Pay Per View and DVD sales will go to benefeit Marine families.
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They never said that they were unwilling to fight..why are you putting words into his mouth?
Sully is 37 or 38. The maximum age for enlistment is 42. He could enlist in any branch, or the reserves or National Guard. He doesn’t need to say that he’s unwilling to fight because his actions speak loud enough. Right now he’s selling his music to enlist young men to fight and die in a war that he claims he believes in, but he won’t fight himself. How can you believe in a war that you won’t fight in? How can you send others to die in your place?
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Nice lissssssssssspppppp Jay you homo! I bet you got your lisp from sucking dick!
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Sully Erna made a career move when he signed on to the War Against Iraq. To him it’s not “politics.” It’s just a way to make money.
The sole purpose of this war is to funnel taxpayer money into dirty hands. Why should Sully turn his nose up at opportunity? Why shouldn’t he get a piece of the action by selling his muzak to the military?
So what if Iraq is to the United States as Afghanistan was to the Soviet Union. So what if his muzak is being used to destroy America. Sully wants fame and money. Now.
These comments were great to read. So many dittoheads crying with fear…
-dwvr
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