Prussian Blue (duo)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Prussian Blue


Img_capt = Lynx and Lamb Gaede at the age of eleven.
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Bakersfield, California
Genre = White Nationalist Folk
Years_active = 2003–present
Label = Resistance
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://prussianbluestore.com/ Prussian Blue Official Site]
Current_members = Lynx Gaede
Lamb Gaede
Past_members =

Prussian Blue is a controversial white supremacist folk teen duo formed in early 2003 by Lynx Gaede [ [http://www.nndb.com/people/053/000113711/ Lynx at NNDB.com] ] and Lamb Gaede, [ [http://www.nndb.com/people/052/000113710/ Lamb at NNDB.com] ] fraternal twin girls born on June 30, 1992 in Bakersfield, California [http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=1231684&page=1] .

History

Lynx and Lamb Gaede first performed together by singing at a white nationalist festival called "Eurofest" in 2001. [ [http://www.prussianbluestore.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=6 Prussian Blue - Content ] ] They began learning how to play instruments in 2002 (Lamb plays the guitar and Lynx plays the violin). In the same year they appeared on a VH1 special called "Inside Hate Rock". In 2003, they were featured in a Louis Theroux BBC documentary, entitled "Louis and the Nazis", on racism and white supremacy in the United States. Lamb, Lynx, and their mother April also appeared in the low-budget 2003 horror film called "Dark Walker". [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373782/fullcredits http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373782/fullcredits] "IMDb.com"]

They recorded and released a debut CD at the end of 2004 called "Fragment of the Future" (Resistance Records) which had both an acoustic folk-rock and a bubblegum pop sound. A year later, they recorded their second album, "The Path We Chose", which has a more traditional rock sound including both acoustic and electric guitar. Most of the songs on the second album lack the racial and nationalist overtones of "Fragment of the Future" and are about more mainstream subject matter, like boys, crushes, and dating. On October 20, 2005, Prussian Blue was featured in a critical segment on ABC's "Primetime". [http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1231684&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1231684&page=1] ] A DVD, "Blonde Hair Blue Eyes", featuring three music videos and some live performances, was released in 2005. The duo toured the United States in 2005. On August 22, 2006, they were again featured in a critical segment on ABC's "Primetime".

The duo moved with their mother (April Gaede), their stepfather (Mark Harrington) and their younger half-sister, Dresden from Bakersfield, California to Kalispell, Montana in 2006 because, in their mother's words, Bakersfield was "not white enough." Some of their new neighbors did not welcome them; many city residents passed out fliers warning of the duo's views, and signs proclaiming "No Hate Here" appeared on a few windows around the town. Some of the people who passed out flyers received threatening letters from members of out-of-state white supremacist organizations.cite web | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=2449483&page=1 | title=Town Tells White Separatist Singers 'No Hate Here" | publisher=ABCnews.com | author=Bill Redeker | date=2006-09-15 | accessdate=2007-11-12] The Montana Human Rights Network planned a rally in Kalispell to protest the family's white nationalist views. [cite web | url=http://www.kxly.com/index.php?story_id=6348&view=text | title=Montana dealing with new influx of white supremacists | author=Karina Shagren | publisher=KXLY4 | date=2006-11-17 | accessdate=2007-11-12]

Ideology

The group has strong ties to the National Vanguard organization, a white nationalist group formed by disaffected former members of the National Alliance. Their ideology has been described as racist and white supremacist in nature by many organizations.cite news
first = Catherine
last = Elsworth
url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/25/wnazi25.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/25/ixportal.html
title = Twin pop stars with angelic looks are new face of racism
work = The Daily Telegraph
date = 2005-10-25
accessdate = 2006-06-12] [ [http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=30523 Yale Daily News - The bittersweet melody of racist tunes ] ] "The Daily Telegraph" reports that, on stage, the twins execute Nazi salutes.

However, Lynx and Lamb, as well as representatives from National Vanguard, claim not to be supremacists, but separatists, saying they want a homeland for white people and that being supremacist contradicts the ideology of separatism.

According to ABC News, the girls were homeschooled by their mother, April Gaede, an activist and writer for the white nationalist organization National Vanguard. The twins' grandfather, who lives in Squaw Valley, California, wears a swastika belt buckle, uses the Nazi symbol on his truck, and registered it as a cattle brand. During their ABC interview, the twins said they believe Adolf Hitler was a great man with good ideas and they described the Holocaust as being exaggerated. They have also been criticized for stipulating that goods they donated to Hurricane Katrina victims should go only to white people; "After a day of trying, the supplies ended up with few takers, dumped at a local shop that sells Confederate memorabilia."

Name

The band was named after the color Prussian blue. In an interview with Vice Magazine, the twins stated, "Part of our heritage is Prussian German. Also our eyes are blue, and Prussian Blue is just a really pretty color." They also mentioned that, "There is also the discussion of the lack of 'Prussian Blue' coloring (Zyklon B residue) in the so-called gas chambers in the concentration camps. We think it might make people question some of the inaccuracies of the 'Holocaust' myth." [ [http://www.viceland.com/issues/v11n10/htdocs/hello.php Viceland - HELLO, WHITE PEOPLE! - Prussian Blue Look to the Future ] ] This is a reference to the claims [ [http://www.holocaust-history.org/auschwitz/chemistry/ http://www.holocaust-history.org/auschwitz/chemistry/] ] often made by many Holocaust deniers that the Holocaust either could not have happened as commonly believed, or that the number of slain must have been far lower.

Lyrics and influences

Most of the songs on Prussian Blue's first album are covers of white nationalist songs. The majority of those were written by David Lane, Ian Stuart, and Ken McLellan. Two of Prussian Blue's songs on their first album are dedicated to famous Nazis and neo-Nazi activists, including Rudolf Hess and Robert Jay Mathews. One of those songs, which was written by Lamb, is "Sacrifice".

Another song, "Gone With the Breeze," is dedicated to Robert Mathews. The cover songs on their album invoke ideas like Valhalla and Vinland, taken from Norse mythology and sagas. Several songs, including "Victory Day," refer to a race war which they believe to be coming soon.

The debut single for their second album, "The Stranger," is adapted from a poem by Rudyard Kipling which is popular with white supremacists and nationalists.Fact|date=February 2007

Prussian Blue also released a cover of a song called "Ocean of Warriors" in mp3 format, dedicated to white participants in the 2005 Sydney, Australia race rioting. [ [http://prussianbluefan.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_prussianbluefan_archive.html http://prussianbluefan.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_prussianbluefan_archive.html] "Prussianblue.fan.blogspot.com" ]

In 2006, a compilation album was released through the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) titled "For The Fatherland". [ [http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/12368879 http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/12368879] From the free daily newspaper "20 Minuten": "Nazi-Twins-Album: NPD vertreibt «For the Fatherland»" = "Nazi-Twins-Album: NPD distributes «For the Fatherland»"]

On September 23, 2006, Prussian Blue released a new single entitled 'Stand Up' as their contribution to the 'Free Matt Hale' (of the Creativity Movement) CD being produced by Condemned Records.Fact|date=February 2007

The girls have been active in the white nationalist movement from a very early age. Lynx had a poem published in "Vice Magazine" in 2003 entitled 'What Must Be Done' at the age of ten.Fact|date=February 2007

References in the media

Prussian Blue was the inspiration for Ryan J. Davis and Joe Drymala's musical, White Noise. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/102133.html White Noise On Playbill.com] ] The show received rave reviews and was featured on Good Morning America [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFF7hVlqUeA White Noise On Good Morning America(Video)] ] and ABC Primetime Live [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daHKMld1_Ic White Noise On ABC Primetime Live (Video)] ] . The show has been optioned for a major New York run. [ [http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=12560 White Noise Ends Run Sept. 30; Off-Broadway Transfer? (BroadwayWorld.com) ] ]

The twins were also indirectly referenced in an episode of "Law & Order", in which an anti-Semite's (played by Chevy Chase) teenage son has a band poster on his bedroom door featuring the fictional duo "Dresden Angels", a pair of blonde Caucasian girls wearing dirndls and holding guitars over a "Reichskriegsflagge". [ [http://prussianbluefan.blogspot.com/2006/11/they-say-imitation-is-sincerest-form.html They say "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"] on the duo's blog.]

"Boston Legal" aired an episode December 5, 2006 in which Alan Shore is involved in a case concerning a white nationalist father of twin girls who sing in a white pride band.

Prussian Blue has appeared in two British television documentaries. The first, 2003's "Louis and the Nazis" by documentary maker Louis Theroux, was an account of white nationalists, including Prussian Blue. The second, "Nazi Pop Twins", by James Quinn, was first aired in 2007. This documentary stressed the tension that existed between the twins and their mother, April. Louis Theroux would later revisit the duo and their mother to collect material for his book, Call of the Weird.

The duo were also featured in a 2006 issue of the book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

Discography

Albums

*"Fragment of the Future" (2004)
*"The Path We Chose" (2005)
*"For the Fatherland" (compilation, 2006)

ingles

*"Your Daddy"
*"Keepers of the Light"

References

ee also

*Prussian blue (color)

External links

*" [http://www.archive.org/details/MichielSmit.comPrussionBlueMichielSmit.com Nazi Pop Twins] " at Ourmedia (Documentary on Prussian Blue. In streaming Flash format.)
* [http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=539 Southern Poverty Law Center on Prussian Blue]
* [http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/prussian_blue.htm Anti-Defamation League article]
* [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Hitler-II-He-s-Back-And-He-s-Blue Tiny Mix Tapes parody article]
* [http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/pressethic/node/594 NYU Journalism report on Teen People's decision not to feature Prussian Blue]
* [http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1231684&page=1 ABC News article]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060428100430/http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/368373p-313337c.html New York Daily News article]
* [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3sd8vwnwa9tk Prussian Blue] at Allmusic
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/25/wnazi25.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/25/ixportal.html Daily Telegraph article]
* [http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_4207 Interview with GQ Magazine]
* [http://cousincreep.com/Prussian%20Blue%20Talk%20Back%20KERN%201410.mp3 MP3 of a call to Inga Barks Show on KERN Newstalk 1410(Bakersfield) from Lamb Gaede]
* [http://www.viceland.com/issues/v11n10/htdocs/hello.php Interview with Vice Magazine on viceland.com]
* [http://www.prussianblue.net Prussian Blue Band Website]
* [http://prussianbluefan.blogspot.com/ Prussian Blue Blog]