Do you remember the 90’s modern rock hitmakers Third Eye Blind? The band behind songs like “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper” have been on the comeback trail in recent years. This week, they got a gig playing at an event sponsored by the Recording Industry Association of America that was hosted next door to the Republican National Convention.
Events like these usually come and go without much attention. But Third Eye Blind singer Stephan Jenkins must feel like it’s 1996 all over again as his name is suddenly everywhere. That’s because he used the concert to brilliantly troll the Republicans in Cleveland and has the internet laughing and applauding his antics.
Throughout the show, Jenkins stressed his band’s support for progressive issues, asking the those in the crowd to, “Raise your hand if you believe in science,” vocalizing support for LGBT rights and other issues, often earning jeers and boos from the conservative audience.
“You can boo all you want but I am the motherf**ing artist up here,” Jenkins said in a video from the show posted on Twitter.
He also reportedly refused to play any of the bands classic hits, with the exception of “Jumper,” which he noted is about a former gay friend who committed suicide over anti-LGBT prejudice. “To love this song is to take into your heart the message and to actually, actually have a feeling to arrive and move forward, and not live your life in fear and imposing that fear on other people,” Jenkins said.
Afterward, the band released a statement clarifying that it did not in fact play the RNC, but was there as part of its efforts to support the RIAA’s program Musicians on Call, which puts on concerts for bedside patients.