Charley Crockett, an alt-country artist from San Benito, Texas, has deleted nearly all of his Instagram posts after getting intense backlash for booting Twin Temple, a self-styled Satanic doo wop duo, from two West Coast dates they were scheduled to open.
“Today we were informed that Charley Crockett has decided to remove Twin Temple from his upcoming shows next week due to our Satanic imagery,” the duo said in a statement late last week. “We’re grateful for your support, not only of Twin Temple, but more importantly of artistic freedom. HAIL SATAN!″
Supporters of the husband-wife duo were mystified, considering that Satanic imagery and subject matter isn’t exactly hidden from view on the band’s Instagram. Indeed, it’s front and center.
“Homie should have done just a teeniest bit of research,” Nick Aguilar, drummer for LA band Frankie and the Witch Fingers posted in the comments of the Twin Temple announcement.
In response to the sudden cancelation, former White Stripes frontman Jack White invited Twin Temple to open for him in California this fall instead.
“Twin Temple, would you like to open my show in L.A. on September 29th at the Hollywood Palladium? Let me know. Get in front of me Satan!” White stated on Instagram, alluding to the White Stripes’ 2005 album title Get Behind Me Satan, a phrase borrowed from Matthew 16:23.
Even so, Crockett has been unapologetic for canceling the act.
“I won’t conform and I’m not sorry,” the South Texas troubadour wrote in an Instagram post. “There are many things I’ve done in my life to apologize for but this ain’t one of them.”
In a lengthy post — now deleted — Crockett waxed philosophical and turned it into an opportunity to self-mythologize, as he often does.
“I might wake up at 1 p.m. on the back of that bus and find out that the opener ain’t working for me that night. Tough luck. Life is hard. This ain’t no temp agency,” he wrote. “Get to stepping. Shit you might get you a life changing gig just by standing next to me. That’s magic. I’m not gonna advertise my charity out here because as soon as you do, it ain’t nothing but self promotion.”
Music fans criticized the post online as boastful, especially the parts in which Crockett suggested a person’s life could hinge on his whims and whether he felt like barking out “get to stepping.”
The incident also appears to be the first time Crockett has publicly declared any kind of religious affiliation.
“I’m not on the left. I’m not on the right,” Crockett continued. “I’m on the road, and that’s a hard way to go. Believe me, the pace would kill you, bronc. I don’t give a damn whether you think I’m right or wrong. They say love your struggle. I say love the strength the creator gave you to overcome your struggle. Don’t believe in any kind of spiritual power? I’m sorry to hear that. God is the fabric that ties all life together. No need to even define or institutionalize it. The entertainment business is chock full of shameless exhibitionists possessed by the desire to be famous and have the public’s adoration. I swear they’d kill a relative. I see them everywhere. Been betrayed by many. Always stricken by the crack smoke and just dying to get ahead. I love what I do and I’m grateful for the privilege every minute, and if everybody disappears I’ll go back to the street corner where I started. Hell, sometimes I dream about it. Shout out to Angel in New Orleans who told me that if you wanna get high boy you got to start down low. I’ve found that about the only help you get out here in this business is when they lower the box.”
The lengthy word salad prompted a bunch of videos and posts mocking his stylized social media rants, many laden with brand reenforcement in the form of cowboy imagery, southern slang and a hard-luck world view.
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