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Howlin Rain Responds to Cheney’s Use of Song

Right wing conventioneers were plenty surprised last week when former Vice President Dick Cheney spoke unannounced at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. But they couldn’t have been as surprised as San Francisco psychedelic rock band Howlin Rain; Cheney took the stage to the tune of “Dancers at the End of Time,” from their 2008 record Magnificent Fiend.

What the message could have been remains a mystery, but Howlin Rain frontman Ethan Miller was philosophical.

“Everyone deserves music, the heroes and villains,” he said via email. “I am glad those folks enjoyed the tune. If it were being used as a campaign song or as part of their political agenda that would be a different thing, but it was used in a celebratory fashion, and that struck me as very unusual — surreal, even. You don’t hear the GOP and its offshoot organizations associating their political image with psychedelic rock music very often. Ripples in the fabric of the ‘norm’ are always welcome and interesting.”

Miller and a new, four-piece lineup are hard at work on their next album with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The group is featured as part of the cover story of the April/May issue of Relix that explore the current psychedelic music scene. Please click here to pre-order the issue.