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MINTAMANIA - Grimsby Band protest against Syrian Air Strikes



Grimbsy indie band MINT have launched a charity campaign in protest of the of Air Strikes in Syria. 

After claiming that Hulk Hogan had tweeted about their latest single, the band announced that it was all an hoax . The group wanted to illustrate how easy it is to create Fake News and to coerce the public into believing a skewed message. 

The band have since announced that they have created two 'Mintamania' t-shirts. All the profit made from the shirts will be donated to Save the children.

I caught up with their front man Zak Rashid to find out more.




Now you've caused a bit of a stir on social media recently. Talk us through the whole Hulk Hogan tweet scenario.

 Basically, the idea stemmed  from us being so sick of seeing fake news. We assumed that if people saw it was a joke, its comical and harmless. And if they believed it then point proven. So we were scratching our head thinking how we could make it relevant and useful.




You're not a particularly political band, so what made you decide to do it? 

 It wasn't going to be political originally, but the news that we was going to send strikes to Syria made me cry.

I just couldn't stand there and do nothing anymore, spoke to the guys and they all were just as upset!
So we read into it and we understand that mainstream media has clarified its "precise" and "calculated" but I've also seen Syrian news stories on these same strikes from the US and they're not precise at all. We're also not so convinced that Asaad is actually doing everything we are told he is.

I just don't believe everything they're telling us. Its typically British to invade a country (with a few other nations) that has no central banking, oil reserves and a leader that won't accept US dollar.

Then the leader dies and before you know it, the country has central banking and has got rid of a large amount of oil... Come on, I'm not a paranoid guy but the deaths of innocent people should not be the price you pay for that kind of business. 

 But aside from all of that, we felt that some kind of charity work needs to be done. We have an amazing fan base so we want to use our power and influence for good!  




Was there any significance to Hulk or Wrestlemania, or was that just some comic relief?

There was a few drafted ideas but that one was the best purely because its ever so slightly believable. And come on, Hulk is a boss.



What sort of reaction have you received so far?

We've had the typical patriarchy and brash comments questioning our intelligence by people that believe everything they see on the news. Other than that, we've had a lot of support from people you get that we are literally just trying to do some good!





 Apart from buying one of your snazzy t-shirts, what can people do to help?

Give to independent charities. Fuck the big ones, I'm not paying for some nob-head's new Audi. Find a small and hardworking charity and give a little back.

 If you give to a big organisation your money is just diluted across a big team of people, the government will have a share in their income and the CEO of the company will have a brand new sports car.

Don't limit yourself to this crisis either. There's so many indie charities out there that support good causes! Like Women's Refuge places for ladies victimised of domestic violence? Independent animal shelters? Just give a bit back!


 Issues like Brexit have left a lot of people either really disheartened or frustrated with politics. Do you think that alternative, unconventional methods; like this campaign; is an effective way to get more people involved with politics? Should musicians and other pop culture figures get involved with politics?

We never thought music and politics should ever cross. Music is uplifting and politics is sometimes pretty demanding. But the deaths of a nation just really hit us.

So we dressed it in comedy to make it a little more approachable for people who just simply aren't too clued up on it! We think we live in a modern world of young people that generally have a strong opinion on politics though which is great!

If you are standing up for selflessness, peace and love, every public figure should support that. It's about humanity, not votes. We. need. to. stick. together. 

Have you registered to vote in your local election? 

Of course!

Any final words?

VOTE LABOUR. FUCK WAR. 


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