One of the Outer Bank’s most prominent musical groups, Too Drunk to Fail, has announced that they will continue to cover Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like a Lady” and the Kink’s “Lola” despite the songs being banned in March of this year with the passage of HB 2. The bill requires bathroom patrons use the bathroom corresponding with their birth gender and outlaws the public performance of songs which “encourage, celebrate or confuse lawmakers” about transgender identity issues.
“We’re paid up with ASCAP, SESAC and BMI so we’ll cover any damn song we want,” said the band’s lead singer and triangle player Lana Martini.
Other local groups have had mixed reactions to the musical ban. Luz Cassettes, Vulcan lute player for Island Keys noted that “nobody has requested those songs since the 90’s” so he didn’t see where there would be much of a conflict.
Celebrity transgender persons have weighed in on the debate from afar and have presented conflicting positions. Caitlyn Jenner given the law a “3B” rating: “bigoted, backwards and belittling” while Chaz Bono has embraced the ban.
“Do you know how many times people hum those songs or play them around me and think they are being funny?” Bono said. “Good riddance.”
In related news, Schoolhouse Rock has agreed to stop broadcasting its latest educational piece “I’m just a Bill (Except When I’m Jill)” on PBS stations in North Carolina until the Supreme Court weighs in on the constitutionality of HB 2 and the ban on transgender-themed music.