If artflourishes in times of tension, the Donald Trump presidency should give rise tomasterpieces. Trump’s regressive policies, including stripping healthcarerights, defunding Planned Parenthood, closing borders and “reforming” theAffordable Care Act, have catalyzed protesters and performers alike.
Milwaukeemusicians DJ Hostettler and Anthony Weber responded by curating Unpresidented, an anti-Trump compilationthat allies Midwest bands against discrimination and political corruption. Theheated compilation is the pumped-up sequel to last year’s Unintimidated: Wisconsin Musicians Against Scott Walker. The album features a wide range of music from noise rock to power pop and from hip hop tofolk.
“We’revery supportive and excited about the idea of documenting discontent,”Hostettler says. “You know, letting listeners know that there are people outthere that are just as fed up as them and have elected to make a difference insome small way.”
Unintimidated isnot only meant to rally around but also to give immediate aid to Milwaukeelocals who are directly affected by Trump’s policies. All proceeds go toPlanned Parenthood of Wisconsin and soup kitchens in Milwaukee. Hostettler andWeber raised about $3,000 for these organizations with last year’s compilationand aim to outdo that number this year.
Withhelp from Howl Street Recordings in Milwaukee, 16 bands recorded tracks for thecompilation over the course of one jam-packed weekend. Each band had a mere twohours of studio time in order to give the compilation extra urgency.Additionally, 11 other bands submitted tracks they had previously recorded. Thefinished product showcases 27 original compositions by Ahab’s Ghost, PaperHolland, Sex Scenes and Joshua Wayne Hensley of TheRutabega, among others. “We were actuallykind of adamant about making sure that [the songs] were all originals,”Hostettler said. “We wanted the bands expressing themselves with their ownunique voices.”
Theidea for a protest compilation came from Hostettler and Weber’s frustrationwith the concept of internet slacktivism—where rants, article shares and otherexpressions of discontent garner “likes” but ultimately make no realdifference. “We felt like the best way to take our anger about the status quoand do something constructive with it was to recruit all of our friends andbands to record protest music, which is something that we feel has kind offaded to the wayside over the past few decades,” Hostettler says.
Ofcourse, a wide range of national artists have been pushing back againstAmerica’s defective political climate through song, from hip-hop outfit A TribeCalled Quest with “We the People” to pop icon Katy Perry with “Chained to theRhythm.” Unpresidented doesn’t justwant to soundtrack history, though; it wants to make a tangible difference inpeople’s lives. “Ultimately, with a musical compilation full of protest musicthat hopefully raises maybe a couple grand for Planned Parenthood or whoever,we understand that amounts to a small drop in the bucket as far as making adifference goes,” Hostettler says. “But I hope that, if anything, [Unpresidented inspires people] to addtheir own drop into that bucket, because one small person can’t make adifference, but a large number of people who band together can. This is ourlittle piece of that.”
Youcan stream and download Unpresidented at unintimidatedscottwalker.bandcamp.com.
