Texas Protest Rock Band At Factory
From the SLIGO CHAMPION
June 21, 2004
While most bands try for a record deal, the Dallas Texas based Halliburton(s) try instead to elect a new leader of the Free World. Fronted by Nathan Berg, a former professional jazz bassist and current infant-terrible of the American economics scene, Halliburton(s) is at the forefront of contemporary protest rock. With lyrics on Iraq, corporate sleaze, tax cuts, health care, joblessness, and corruption, Halliburton(s) latest collection of songs combines edgy, funky, finger-popping grooves with a provocative and inspiring brand of patriotism that doesn't hesitate to confront real-world problems. Halliburton(s) plays Whelans in Dublin on Tuesday June 15th, The Factory Performance Space in Sligo on Thursday June 17th, and The Moving Stairs in Boyle, Roscommon, June 18th. All three gigs anticipate the controversial visit to Ireland by US President George Bush in June 2004.
Halliburton(s) takes its name from the Halliburton Corporation, the Dallas-based oil-business company formerly run by Dick Cheney, the Vice-President of the United States. The Halliburton Corporation is the business that won all of the big-budget sub-contracts to rebuild Iraq after George W. Bush's war. As the band's frontman Nathan Berg says of their choice in name:
"The Halliburton Company has stolen so much from the American taxpayer the least we could do was steal their name!"
Halliburton(s) message against corporate sleaze and political corruption is a counter-point to the big-business antics of the company from whom they took their name. Halliburton(s) music celebrates liberty by questioning the rules that shape the lives of contemporary Americans.
Halliburton(s) have gained major recognition and following in their hometown of Dallas Texas; despite it being the heartland of Bush Neo-Conservatism. They are a regular feature at Democratic peace rallies and were recently covered by US television playing a protest rally in front of the headquarters of Halliburton Corporation. Halliburton(s) represent the new, young, edgy, and articulate face of political protest music. The band is clear about their objective to effect political chance in America. They are calling this international tour Lick Bush in ‘04 and they implore listeners to "throw that Bush crew out the back door!"
A blend of critique and beat, both "in your brain" and "in your booty," Halliburton(s) sound impassions music fans, aiming to help get out the vote in the 2004 elections and beyond. They are coming to Ireland to draw international attention to the length to which George Bush will go to gain votes.
Halliburton(s) lead singer and songwriter Nathan Berg gained international recognition as the bassist with Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau and has played with many of the greats in the American jazz scene. His recordings have been cited in the Penguin Guide to Jazz and he currently works as an Economics Professor at the University of Texas, Dallas where he is known as the professor who "lectures economics, sings politics". Berg turned to economics as a way to understand and argue convincingly about foreign affairs and the global economy. His knowledge of how our everyday lives are guided by the "invisible hand" of the market economy gives his music an edgy intelligence in dealing with contemporary socio-economic issues.
Halliburton(s) are a part of the current U.S. political revolution, which sees Democrats, artists, musicians, and other left-leaning groups pooling their energies in an aggressive media push to motivate the liberal voice in America ahead of the upcoming 2004 presidential election.
Their CD Gravity's In is available from their own "Corporate Sleaze Productions" label or through their website.