On Tyranny: Ratboys Blast Trump Administration as a ‘Fucking Psychotic Regime’
An aspiring authoritarian regime typically silences dissent gradually over the course of its rule over a country and its populace. But the inverse appears to be occurring with the Trump administration. In yet another sign that the autocratic ambitions of the president and his goons – particularly White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance – are backfiring, more and more artists are publicly denouncing them and their sociopathic ambitions.
In doing so, artists are challenging not only the federal government’s threats of Soviet-style retribution (blacklists, harassment, even imprisonment) but contemporary music fans who bemoan entertainers for voicing their political opinions; a corporate music industry that profits from encouraging their clients to remain politically agnostic, anodyne and antiseptic; and supplicating media moguls, editors and publishers in a shrinking and increasingly conservative-dominated field.
The Bad Penny continues to prop up and praise anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist musicians through its On Tyranny series, despite resistance and retribution from publicists and other industry infrastructure. After all, if artists aren’t heralded for defending free speech, civil liberties and other Constitutional protections – particularly for Americans and residents who are marginalized – why bother engaging with art at all? The latest band that appears to be on the same page with this website are Ratboys, who are selling out shows left and right as they tour in support of their universally lauded new album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair.
In a feature story this writer penned earlier this year for FLOOD, bassist Sean Neumann and lyricist/vocalist/lead guitarist Julia Steiner blasted the Trump administration by speaking openly about speaking out.
“We have a microphone, we have a pedestal, and we have a voice,” Neumann said. “What are we to do with a voice if we’re not raising each other and others up? We value that. With our new record … we’ll play more shows for charity. It’s important to us that we retain that aspect of the band.” Steiner chimed in: “America can use a dose of collectivism. We’ve moved so far in the individualist mindset, with [Elon Musk’s nihilistic, government-funding wrecking ball] DOGE, cutting [funding for] nonprofits, destroying USAID, slashing education budgets.”
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“I don’t know of a single artist who is on the side of fascism.
I don’t see how any compassionate person could stand by while this is happening.”
-Ratboys’ Sean Neumann
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The two Ratboys went even further in additional comments that didn’t make the cut in the feature article.
Amid the horrific, illegal and unpopular ICE invasions that ripped the country apart months ago in cities including Minneapolis, Los Angeles and the Ratboys’ home city of Chicago, they talked about the effect of the raids on all citizens and residents, not only “the bad guys,” as Trump infamously claimed during his reelection campaign. The so-called “crackdowns” spread banana republic-style fear across metropolitan areas in order to, as a litany of historians and Trump critics have publicly opined, depress turnout for the November midterm elections and potentially impose martial law.
“I’m walking with my eyes more peeled, looking for things and making sure I’m looking out for my neighbors,” Neumann said. “Friends that are undocumented are living with this fear every day, of simple things like going to the grocery store or going to work. I have friends that are having a really difficult time. They have to go to the office for their job, but they also don’t feel safe because they’re going to get kidnapped by this fucking psychotic regime.”
He continued: “It is important that you keep your eyes open and look out for each other. That’s fucked up, that we have to live that way, where we’re always in fear. But our role is at least to support [our neighbors] and help out.
“I remember last fall, trying to be a bit more proactive, like not having the radio up as loud or having the windows cracked a little bit, listening for whistles [alerting neighbors and passersby to ICE agents]. That’s a big thing here,” Neumann further commented. “Hearing whistles made me want to like recoil into my turtle shell. And I’m white. Like, I’m at very little risk. I can only imagine how someone who is undocumented or who is brown or a minority would feel [an even greater] amount of fear and constant dread in our society.
“It’s really unhealthy and inhumane. I don’t see how any compassionate person could stand by while this is happening. I can’t see how anyone could just ignore this. The folks who originally thought, ‘This isn’t my problem’ … I think they’re starting to see the writing on the wall, because they’re being affected either directly or indirectly. Because of that, there’s a great sense of unity and obstructing this [terror].”
Neumann concluded: “I see artist communities in Chicago and Minneapolis and the other cities like L.A., where ICE was over the summer, [and] I don’t know of a single artist who is on the side of fucking fascism. We’re definitely all banding together. And you can tell that because the right has to use A.I. art. They don’t have artists on their side.”
Don’t miss the previous edition of On Tyranny, in which we spoke about fascist America and the resistance to its spread with legendary producer and Jawbox frontman J. Robbins.
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