Photo: Lori Abel

Pizza! the band (Tyler, Rand, Duncan, Alex, & SEANCARNAGE.COM contributor Geoff Geis) makes rad music, and they are stand up guys to boot.

How decent are they?

Well, the group very bravely told Best Buy stores—the sponsor of a summer concert series that Pizza! was to play next week—to take their crummy appliances and SHOVE IT.

Why? Because Best Buy recently gave $100,000 to an anti-gay state senator from Minnesota (who has been publicly associated with an organization that calls for “imprisoning and executing homosexuals”).

Pizza! wasn’t satisfied with Best Buy’s rationale for supporting this dirtbag, so they pulled out of the concert.

I say: BRAVO, MY DUDES.

Image: Honk if you love Pizza!

Here’s the complete statement, direct from Pizza!’s web site:

Pizza! has removed itself from the bill of performers playing the West Los Angeles Bandshell on Wednesday, August 11. This is our first cancellation in over five years as a band.

We have chosen not to perform on Wednesday as a result of Best Buy’s involvement as a sponsor of the performance. Human Rights Campaign has reported that Best Buy has donated $100,000 to MN Forward, a political action committee that is working to elect State Representative Tom Emmer to be governor of Minnesota. Representative Emmer is on record as a vehement opponent of equal rights for homosexuals, and has stated his support of at least one group that advocates violence against gays. Human Rights Campaign has asked Best Buy to compensate for their action by donating an equal or greater amount to a candidate who is supportive of civil rights, and the company has declined to do so. In an emailed response to a Best Buy shopper who expressed his dismay about the company’s donations, a representative of the company said the following:

“The reality is candidates across the political spectrum have a lot of different positions on a lot of different issues – and Best Buy may not necessarily agree with all those positions – but from a jobs and economic perspective, Best Buy joined other MN businesses in supporting the objectives of MN Forward.”

In other words, Best Buy’s policy in regards to political donations is to act only in its economic self-interest, even if doing so means supporting candidates who are opposed to civil rights.

We believe that the duties of our state and federal governments are to protect citizens from harm and to create policies that encourage the well-being of society. A legal denial of rights based on any arbitrary distinction runs contrary to these duties. Those who support the codification of bigotry undermine the fabric of our society, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment of our Constitution. Anti-gay public officials, moreover, send a message that hatred and intolerance are somehow reasonable viewpoints. We unequivocally oppose those with such irresponsible ideals, and we furthermore oppose those who choose to ignore their vitriol in pursuit of profit. Thus, we cannot implicitly endorse Best Buy by performing at a concert that is sponsored by the company.

We apologize to our friends and fans who were planning on attending the performance, but we trust that they will understand and respect the reasoning behind our decision.

Needless to say I fully and totally support Pizza!

In fact I’d love to see the other bands and local co-sponsors pull out too. In the wake of the Prop 8 defeat, it’s high time to strike back at the bigots and hit them hard.