Text of the First Amendment above door in Flying Dog Brewery
The beer was flowing / the crowd was roaring/ the free-speech lawyers were showing / as the First Amendment Society (Erin Weston, Executive Director) brought The Slants to the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, MD. for a performance during the band’s East Coast tour. Flying Dog’s CEO Jim Caruso introduced The Slants.
Recall, this is the Asian rock-dance band whose case (Lee v. Tam) was argued before the Court on January 18, 2017. The issue is whether the disparagement provision of the Lanham Act, which provides that no trademark shall be refused registration on account of its nature unless, inter alia, it “[c]onsists of . . . matter which may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute” is facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
The band, the amicus lawyer (Ilya Shapiro) & the brewer (Jim Caruso)
The Slants were in fine fighting form as they filtered their message through melodic modes mixed with razor-cut messages in Fight Back, one of the songs from their latest EP — The Band Who Must not be Named (In Music We Trust Records, 2017).
The Portland, Oregon synth-pop group melodiously veered through such free-speech anthems as their From the Heart:
Sorry if our note’s too sharp
Sorry if our voice’s too raw
Don’t make the pen a weapon
And censor our intelligence
Until our thoughts mean nothing at all
lead singer Ken Shima
Sorry if you take offense
You made up rules and played pretend
We know you fear change
It’s something so strange
But nothing’s gonna get in our way
There’s no room
For your backwards feelings
And backyard dealings
We’re never gonna settle
We’re never gonna settle
No, we won’t remain silent
Know it’s our defining moment
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heart
No we won’t be complacent
Know it’s a rock n roll nation
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heart
Sorry if we try too hard
To take some power back for ours
The language of oppression
Will lose to education
Until the words can’t hurt us again
First Amendment guys Bob Corn-Revere & Ilya Shapiro
So sorry if you take offense
But silence will not make make amends
The system’s all wrong
And it won’t be long
Before the kids are singing our song
There’s no room
For your backwards feelings
And your backyard dealings
We’re never gonna settle
We’re never gonna settle
No, we won’t remain silent
Know it’s our defining moment
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heart
No we won’t be complacent
know it’s a rock n roll nation
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heart