Gasoline Lollipops stand up to fascists, fearmongers, Fox News and more in their rabble-rousing new protest anthem Freedom Don’t Come Easy — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
In typical fashion, the Colorado roots-rockers’ latest release pulls no punches and minces no words, as outspoken frontman Clay Rose defiantly draws a line in the sand between the American ideal he believes and the dystopian darkness that threatens it. And while his bandmates crank out incongruously upbeat boom-chikka country-rock complete with chicken-pickin’ guitar licks, Rose delivers his pointed, passionate and patriotic message:
“I was raised to have respect for every colour and creed
And I was taught that everyone should at least get what they need
And if that meant the 1% had to cap their greed
That was good enough for my daddy, and it’s good enough for me
“Here’s Woody Guthrie singing This Land Was Made For You And Me
Here’s to old Woody Guthrie’s fascist-killing machine
Here’s to outlaws’ righteous cause, fighting for the right to breathe
If you’re kneeling on my brother’s neck, brother you kneel on me
“Freedom don’t come easy
And fear it always comes down hard
Like a streaming silver bullet, or a bully on the schoolyard
But the freedom that we’re standing for will be for everyone
We’ll fight the fight for human rights and win without a gun
“I was taught the fascists and the Nazis were all gone
But now I know that some things that I was taught were just plain wrong
’Cause all they was change their clothes, their country and their song
I’ll be damned if I’m gonna stand hat in hand and sing along
“Fuck that noise
Fuck the Proud Boys
And fuck the KKK
Fuck Donald Trump
Fuck Fox News
And fuck the NRA
And fuck all the Christians standin’ by condonin’ what they do
’Cause let’s be clear, if Christ were here, he’d say fuck them too.”
For those who miss the days when musicians spoke truth to power, Rose’s fire-breathing lyrics are a welcome breath of fresh air. But the truth is, it’s nothing new for him. For years now, he and Gasoline Lollipops have been stitching scraps of American roots music to patches of their own tattered hearts to form an all-new tapestry of bleeding rock ’n’ roll.
Rose was raised between an outlaw, truck-driving father in the mountains of Colorado and a country song-writing mama in the sticks outside of Nashville. Clay’s penchant for open roads and troublemaking are the backbone of the Gas Pops’ sound. The rest of the band consists of Don Ambory, Scott Coulter, “Bad” Brad Morse and Kevin Matthews, who all come equipped with music degrees from Chicago, Boston, Jacksonville, and Denver, respectively. They each add flavors of their own background and heritage, further diversifying the band’s signature sound.
Gasoline Lollipops are three-time winners of Colorado Daily’s Best Local Band award, and two-time winners of Denver Westword’s Best Country Band award. Over the last four years, they have toured throughout the U.S., Belgium, Holland and Belize. In 2018 they made Billboard’s Top 10 Spotify chart, as well as Pandora’s Top 10 Trend Setters list. Today, the Gas Pops continue to bend genres and electrify live audiences with ferocious sincerity.
Check out Freedom Don’t Come Easy above, hear more from Gasoline Lollipops below, and join them on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
