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Pirates Press Records is proud to release “What We Gonna Do Now?” / “Pick and Choose,” the brand new 12” single by the ever-prolific NYC ska-reggae legends The Slackers. It is the latest in their series of 12” singles with UV printed artwork, as well as their latest single released to coincide with a US presidential election. It is currently available for pre-order and will be available everywhere on September 20th.
The Slackers have a long history of speaking their minds with socially conscious lyrics, dating back to their earliest recordings. “As musicians, we are storytellers and collectors of memories. We need to tell stories about freedom, liberation, and justice,” explains saxophonist Dave Hillyard. “This is a long tradition, and our inspirations are artists like Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, and Joe Strummer.”
And just as The Clash opened their 1979 anthem “Clampdown” with the line “What are we gonna do now?!”, the landscape of 2024 finds The Slackers pondering this question on the new single “What We Gonna Do Now?”
“There are a lot of people who have become vocally anti-democracy and pro-authoritarian over the last 10 years” states Hillyard. From MAGA to anti-vaxxers to January 6 insurrectionists, the song asks these individuals if they had “a psychotic break,” and whether or not they are ready to rejoin the human race. At the same time, the song addresses the rest of us, wondering where we go from here to reckon with these deep divisions. Lead vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Vic Ruggiero encourages people to vote as part of the solution. He states, "People often say that 'voting doesn't matter,' but if that were true, the far right wouldn't be putting so much time and resources into undermining democracy."
As for “Pick and Choose,” it is a song whose message is both personal and the political. It is about the power of words, and how sometimes they can fall short of their intent: words like “love” spoken to a partner, or words like “freedom” & “justice” in the political sphere. “We have a lot of unfinished work to do in our society,” says Hillyard. “Hopefully we can find the right words to use, and the right deeds to follow up on the promises in the words.”
Both songs are featured on a 12” single with UV printed artwork by the band’s longtime in-house artist, Catt Gould, who designed the record so that as it spins, you will see the motion of hands putting ballots into the box. The record also includes a sticker with a QR code that links to a number of voter registration groups and know your rights organizations.
Hillyard says “Democracy backed by universal citizenship as a form of government is at stake. We are at a point where we can either vote to continue democracy and try to work on society's problems, or we could vote to give up our power to a demagogue. Don’t give up on hope. Things often look grim and hopeless because we are fed propaganda that tells us this. The saviors are all of us, the citizens of the USA. We have the power. Use it.”
The band plans to debut both new songs from the single during their set at Supernova International Ska Festival in Hampton, VA. Following this, they will be on tour throughout the rest of 2024, including a tour of the UK & Europe, multi-night SlackFest stands in Chicago, IL and Austin, TX, and runs on both the West Coast and East Coast of the USA with fellow Pirates Press Records artist Jesse Wagner of The Aggrolites, who will be playing solo on this tour, backed by The Bandulus.
