McAllen, Texas label Edgar’s Friends‘ motto is “be excellent to each other”—wise words, though not necessarily the ones you’d expect to be coming from the Lone Star State. In the wake of the deaths of Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, and, the nail in the proverbial coffin for label founder Edgar Gonzalez, 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Gonzalez was moved to do something that extended beyond his label’s community. This past summer he reached out to bands across the country in the hopes of creating a benefit compilation with a message of “spreading positive vibes in light of recent negativity.” The result, No Ruido No Noise, features an all-star studded cast of musicians, featuring Downtown Boys, Priests, Perfect Pussy, Frankie Rose, Sadie Dupuis (of Speedy Ortiz), Fred Thomas, Radiator Hospital, and Texas’ Pinky Swear, among others.
In an interview with Houston Press, Gonzalez cited the death of Rice as his personal cause for action, saying, “The murder of a child is never, ever, justified… I have a little brother Tamir’s age and to think of the pain losing him, my favorite person, broke my heart.”
The physical compilation was released last month, and while the original intent was to donate profits to the Tamir Rice Memorial Fund, it closed before the tape was completed. The proceeds now will be donated to Hands Up United and Sandy Speaks, organizations founded after the deaths of Brown and Bland dedicated to fight racial injustice.
In America in 2015 there’s a war on Freedom of Religion; armed terrorists are walking our streets shooting people at will with no recourse; we’re denying immigrants and starving, displaced refugees; leading GOP candidates are quoting lies from neo-Nazi websites. While considering your donation, may we suggest asking yourself: which side of history do you want to be on?
You can stream No Ruido No Noise below.
