California rap-rock trio the Fever 333 have shared "Trigger," a ferocious new song penned in response to America's continuing struggles with gun violence. The track, which is available now as a free download via the band's website, arrives accompanied by a lo-fi video filmed outside the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA). It finds the band's vocalist Jason Aaron Butler hoisting up hand-painted signs featuring the song's lyrics with a bag over his head — a jarring allusion to the dire issues at hand.
Butler details "Trigger" and its politically-prescient subject matter in the statement below. The singer stresses that the band's mission lays not in provocation or preaching, but in fostering frank, open discussion.
"I'm not here to tilt anyone towards my side of a complicated and ideological argument with biases," he writes. "I'm not here to add more fuel to the fire that burns between those divided on this issue. I'm not even here to talk about where I stand.
"I'm just here to ask our country to be honest with ourselves and understand it would be remiss, ignorant, and blatantly irresponsible if we didn't acknowledge that we have developed a problem when it comes to gun violence in America."
"This statement alone seems to upset some, but please know that I am not saying I want to take away your rights granted in the constitution and I'm not saying anything about any individual that bears a firearm as I don't venture to know each and every one of you.
"But I do know we are leading the planet in gun related deaths and now we are seeing a disturbing frequency in what they consider mass shootings. We have children taking the lives of other children with these weapons. We have people using weapons designed to efficiently kill as many people as possible to do just that. We are the only country in the world facing this issue the way we do.
"I understand there are a collection of factors at play when dealing with shooters; mental health, education, misinformation to name a few, and I am not mitigating or pushing those aside, but today — RIGHT NOW — I'm talking about the acquisition of firearms. I'm talking about the protocol by which we obtain firearms and the statistical problem we are fostering every day we do not ask for some sort of reform, solution, or acknowledgement regarding this matter.
"I understand how we got here, rebellion got us here and rebellion will keep us here – but when the things that we want to protect ourselves with are killing us, we need to have that conversation and it needs to happen now," Butler concludes.
The Fever 333 are currently on the road behind last March's debut EP, Made An America. Check out a full list of upcoming dates below. And if you haven't already, read our recent in-depth profile of the Fever 333.
The Fever 333 tour dates:
May 23 — Lincoln, NE — Bourbon Theatre
May 24 — Omaha, NE — Sokol Auditorium
May 26 — Colorado Springs, CO — Black Sheep
May 27 — Denver, CO — The Moon Room @ Summit Music Hall
May 29 — Boise, ID — Knitting Factory
May 31 — Reno, NV — Jub Jub's Thirst Parlor
Jun. 01 — Fresno, CA — Fulton 55
Aug. 26 — Brooklyn, NY — Afropunk Festival
Oct. 06 — Camden, NJ — Monster Energy Rock Allegiance Festival
Oct. 13-14 — Sacramento, CA — Monster Energy Aftershock Festival
