Exposing the Lies Nationwide


PETA2 kicked things into high gear this summer, dispatching activists, Street Teamers, volunteers, and staffers far and wide to spread the good AR word. We tabled and sponsored everything from the Warped Tour, Lollapalooza, Phish, Hellfest, Siren Music Fest, and Furnace Fest to shows such as AFI/Most Precious Blood, Shai Hulud/Rise Against, and Stretch Armstrong. Our summer warriors even managed to fill their days (and even mornings!) off with KFC demos. In a summer spent stickering, stenciling, leafleting, protesting, and explaining ourselves, we managed to take in some newbies and take on some challengers.

Thanks to everyone’s undying passion to speak up for the voiceless, PETA2 signed on more than 15,000 new minds. What’s even cooler is that this was our first summer jettisoning our people to events nationwide and we couldn’t have hoped for a better turnout. It’ll only get stronger from here! All in all, we managed to hit nearly 50 festivals and we’re still keeping up the mad pace throughout the upcoming cooler months (find us at the Take Action Tour, World Fest, and CMJ!).

Although we worked several events, it’s a given that our two largest and most beneficial tours were the Warped Tour and Lollapalooza. PETA2’s summer staffers, Angela and Lance, took to the road for Lollapalooza and did interviews with Cave In, Bellydance Superstars, and Boy Sets Fire and scored autographed goodies, too, including PETA2 vegetarian starter kits signed by Bert McKracken of The Used. We also learned a very valuable lesson: Spray-painting can be legal if it’s consensual (and it can show up in the darndest places!).

Jason, PETA2’s youth outreach coordinator, managed to score interviews with Rise Against, Stretch Armstrong, The Suicide Machines, Story of the Year, and S.T.U.N. He saw things he’ll never forget (or tell) and was kind enough to share portions of the past three months of his on-the-road, behind-the-scenes, on-the-bus lifestyle in the form of photographs. Jason taught us important lessons, as well. For instance, when bands like The Used, Simple Plan, Goldfinger, The Suicide Machines, Mest, and Sum 41 all decide to sit at your booth to sign a bunch of animal rights literature, people—lots and lots of people—gravitate toward you. Check out that craziness by watching the video below.

One of the the saddest moments of the Warped Tour was when UniverSoul Circus parked its menagerie of abuses on the same grounds as the festival in Milwaukee, causing some serious backlash. With the help of video cameras, mini-demos, creative language, and thinly disguised threats—as well as a front page story on the Warped Tour’s official site—we’re pretty sure that these carnies felt a tiny amount of the same frustration that the animals who are chained up for the duration of their miserable lives feel.

We apologize if this read made you feel nothing but green (except for that last bit there, of course). Our intention was not to say, “Hey, guys, look at how cool our summer was! Bet ours was better than yours!” Although it may have felt that way, we actually just wanted to point out that the dedication of our activists was highlighted full force this summer and that people everywhere can get in on the action and make a difference in not only their own lives, but the lives of animals everywhere. Animals can only rely on us. Thankfully, enough of you have realized that the time to act is now. If you want to get in on the action, please sign up for our Street Team.

In the meantime, check out our photos and the video montage below, and be sure to visit us in the coming weeks for new interviews from the Warped Tour and Lollapalooza, as well as contests galore and more!

Exposing the Lies Nationwide We managed to cause quite the commotion this summer when members of The Used, Simple Plan, Goldfinger, The Suicide Machines, Mest, and Sum 41 sat down for a moment at our Warped Tour booth to sign some literature and spread the vegetarian word.

Click here for photos.