Corporate Avenger
| Corporate Avenger | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Huntington Beach, CA |
| Genres | Industrial hip hop |
| Years active | 1998–2005 |
| Labels | Massive Sound, Suburban Noize |
| Associated acts | Mind Over Four, Uniform Choice |
| Members |
Corporate (Spike Xavier, Vocals) Adawee (Patrick Dubar, Vocals) |
| Past members |
Taxman Pakelika |
Corporate Avenger was a Native American band from Southern California. The style of their music has varied over time, ranging from industrial and hip hop to punk rock. With each change, the subject matter has always remained the same: political matter, knowledge, and spirituality.
History
The idea for the band Corporate Avenger was born some time between 1995 and 1996 when brothers, Spike and Brad Xavier were on tour in the band Humble Gods. Years later, Spike met with Marco of 1605 Studio in Huntington Beach, California and recorded some songs. In 1999 these songs were released on Suburban Noize records as the 'Taxes are Stealing' EP. This EP featured the first song ever recorded by the group, 'Evolve', a song questioning the origins of the native peoples of the Americas.
Judging by the cover of the 'Taxes are Stealing' EP, at this time the band consisted of eight members, including Pakelika of The Kottonmouth Kings, nameless members of 20 Dead Flower Children & No Doubt. During this phase of the band's history, the group had an ever-changing line up and no two shows would be alike. Some times the band would show up to a location unannounced, play a few songs, and then leave.
In 2000 the group released another CD titled 'The New Testament'. This CD featured new songs as well as three songs from the previous EP. It also featured a new line up including the first appearance of vocalist Adawee the Wind. The sound on 'The New Testament', while still electronic in nature, is much more aggressive and not only pushes the band's views further but also pushes the envelope with songs such as 'The Bible is Bullshit', 'Jesus Christ Homosexual', and 'Enemy of the Gospel'. The CD was seen as a way to bridge the gap between the previous EP and the full length album they were working on at the time.
In July 2001, the band finally released its first full length album, Freedom Is a State of Mind, released on Suburban Noize Records via Koch Entertainment. The new album had songs from both previous releases, including a few remixes of some of the oldest songs, and several new songs that again evolved the band's sound and message. Songs like 'Christians Murdered Indians', 'FBI File', and 'Voting Doesn't Work' had a hard, aggressive rap sound with Adawee providing sung vocals (a stark change of pace from Spike's angry spoken word vocals).
2005 saw the release of 'Born Again', Corporate Avenger's newest CD and newest line up. Spike and Adawee were still the core of the band, but this time around the music had taken on a more metal sound with songs like 'Jihad Schmihad' and 'Gay Muslims for Christ'. This album was not put out through Suburban Noize Records but rather through Massive Sound Records and sold via Merch.com, a first for the group. 'Born Again' also saw the departure of The Taxman, who claimed to leave the band to work on a solo record.
Currently the band is seeing a second printing of its newest album, this time with new artwork, and have plans to return to the studio to begin work on their next release.
Face paint
Corporate Avenger are a band with a very distinct visual aesthetic. Its core members - Spike 'Corporate' Xavier and Adawee the Wind - both wear black and white face paint. Spike, donning a white face with a black cross, paints his face to "symbolize the suffering that his ancestors had received at the hands of Christianity." Adawee wears various kinds of paint, all meant to "remind him of his ancestors (the Cherokee Indians) who would paint their face when they went to war, and says that they are also fighting a war; a war of ideas."[1]
Beliefs
Spike and Adawee have stated in the past that they do not attempt to speak for all Native American people and only speak for themselves, but the band uses their music to reveal their truth about America's past.[2] Songs like '20 Dollar Bill' and 'Christians Murdered Indians' provide historical analysis about what was done to the Native Americans at the hands of both early English settlers and Spanish Christian invaders. The group also sings about political awareness in songs like '(I Don't) Fault the Police' and 'Taxes are Stealing'. Another major facet of the band's message is a belief in the evil of the major organized religions. In the song 'The Bible is Bullshit' the band claims that the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita are responsible for a large portion of the world's pain, suffering, and bloodshed. They also believe that evil entities should not be mourned after death, as shown in '(I Don't) Fault the Police' with the line "I don't cry when a (police, gangsta, terrorist) dies, 'cause they probably deserved it" They then went on to sing about what they perceive to be wrong about each group.
Discography
- Taxes Are Stealing EP (2000)
- The New Testament (2000)
- Freedom Is a State of Mind (2001)
- Born Again (2005)
Corporate Avenger discography at MusicBrainz