Panzerfaust Records
Encyclopedia
Panzerfaust Records was a Minnesota
-based white power record label
founded in September 1998
by Anthony Pierpont, Ed Wolbank and Eric Davidson (who had previously worked at Resistance Records
). In 2000, Davidson returned to California
and by 2003, Wolbank was focusing more on music production than distribution. That same year, Bryant Cecchini, alias Byron Calvert, joined the company and was instrumental in increasing the company's Internet
presence. Panzerfaust Records, named after a German anti-tank rocket
, distributed the music of several white power bands and organized concerts across the United States
.
Anthony Pierpont was one of the most notable promoters in the white power music business, and he earned the respect of most members of the extremely violent Hammerskins
, in part by supporting white power skinhead inmates in United States prison
s.
Pierpont was reportedly approached in 1998 about purchasing Resistance Records but he refused, leaving it to the National Alliance to pay the $250,000 price tag. At the label's peak around 2000, it was the main competitor of Resistance Record, and they had grown close to the neo-Nazi
White Revolution
group, which mostly involves people who have left the troubled National Alliance.
Pierpont's relatively dark skin
and vaguely Hispanic
looks have caused him problems. Pierpont has repeatedly sworn that he is white
, but detractors have pointed to his dark skin as evidence that he is not.
In 1995, when he attended the Aryan Nations
Youth Fest, he was accused behind his back of being Mexican
. In early 2004 at the annual Aryan Fest rally in Arizona
, Pierpont was manning a Panzerfaust booth as security guards kicked out a cinnamon
-skinned teenager for "not being white." Several white power skinheads pointed out that the boy's skin was obviously lighter than Pierpont's. Later White Revolution leader Billy Roper took the stage and stated: "I'm here to say that's a white man!" while pointing to Pierpont, who fervently sieg-heiled
from behind his stacks of merchandise. Some neo-Nazis returned Pierpont's salute and others pointly refused to do so.
In 2004, the label launched Project Schoolyard, a United States-wide campaign to distribute free Panzerfaust sampler CDs to middle and high school students. In response, police were under pressure to silence the headline-grabbing record label. On Nov. 30, 2004, the Minnesota Gang Strike Force raided Pierpont's home and arrested him after finding marijuana and traces of cocaine
. Also in response to Project Schoolyard, the anti-fascist
record label Insurgence Records
offered a free downloadable compilation called Project Boneyard.
In January 2005, Cecchini claimed to have found Pierpont's birth certificate, which shows that Pierpont's mother is a Mexican-born woman named Maria Marcola del Prado. Cecchini also mentioned tawdry messages that Pierpont had posted on the Internet, detailing a sex tour he took in Thailand
in October 2004. The messages indicated that Pierpont has had sex with non-white prostitutes
and transsexuals. This, combined with the Southern Poverty Law Center
's evidence of a photo of Pierpont in a prison yard in California
, where he was serving time for a drug offense. He is posing with two Hispanic men who were apparently his friends.
Within days of these revelations, Panzerfaust had shut down. Cecchini says Pierpont refused to take a DNA
test to establish his whiteness. On January 22, 2005, Cecchini posted on the Internet that he quit the record label, as did its webmaster.
Hammerskin Nation and Volksfront
, two notable neo-Nazi groups that supported Panzerfaust Records, denounced Pierpont and withdrew all support. By the end of the month, the label and website were gone.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based white power record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
founded in September 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
by Anthony Pierpont, Ed Wolbank and Eric Davidson (who had previously worked at Resistance Records
Resistance Records
Resistance Records is a record label owned by Resistance LLC, a society closely connected to the National Alliance. It produces and sells music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website...
). In 2000, Davidson returned to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and by 2003, Wolbank was focusing more on music production than distribution. That same year, Bryant Cecchini, alias Byron Calvert, joined the company and was instrumental in increasing the company's Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
presence. Panzerfaust Records, named after a German anti-tank rocket
Panzerfaust
The Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier...
, distributed the music of several white power bands and organized concerts across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Anthony Pierpont was one of the most notable promoters in the white power music business, and he earned the respect of most members of the extremely violent Hammerskins
Hammerskins
The Hammerskins, are a white supremacist group formed in 1988 in Dallas, Texas.The Hammerskins' primary focus is the production and promotion of white power rock music, and many white power bands were affiliated with the group. The Hammerskins were affiliated with the record label 9% Productions...
, in part by supporting white power skinhead inmates in United States prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s.
Pierpont was reportedly approached in 1998 about purchasing Resistance Records but he refused, leaving it to the National Alliance to pay the $250,000 price tag. At the label's peak around 2000, it was the main competitor of Resistance Record, and they had grown close to the neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
White Revolution
White Revolution
The White Revolution was a far-reaching series of reforms in Iran launched in 1963 by the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Mohammad Reza Shah’s reform program was built especially to strengthen those classes that supported the traditional system...
group, which mostly involves people who have left the troubled National Alliance.
Pierpont's relatively dark skin
Human skin color
Human skin color is primarily due to the presence of melanin in the skin. Skin color ranges from almost black to white with a pinkish tinge due to blood vessels underneath. Variation in natural skin color is mainly due to genetics, although the evolutionary causes are not completely certain...
and vaguely Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
looks have caused him problems. Pierpont has repeatedly sworn that he is white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, but detractors have pointed to his dark skin as evidence that he is not.
In 1995, when he attended the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
Youth Fest, he was accused behind his back of being Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In early 2004 at the annual Aryan Fest rally in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Pierpont was manning a Panzerfaust booth as security guards kicked out a cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
-skinned teenager for "not being white." Several white power skinheads pointed out that the boy's skin was obviously lighter than Pierpont's. Later White Revolution leader Billy Roper took the stage and stated: "I'm here to say that's a white man!" while pointing to Pierpont, who fervently sieg-heiled
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
from behind his stacks of merchandise. Some neo-Nazis returned Pierpont's salute and others pointly refused to do so.
In 2004, the label launched Project Schoolyard, a United States-wide campaign to distribute free Panzerfaust sampler CDs to middle and high school students. In response, police were under pressure to silence the headline-grabbing record label. On Nov. 30, 2004, the Minnesota Gang Strike Force raided Pierpont's home and arrested him after finding marijuana and traces of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. Also in response to Project Schoolyard, the anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
record label Insurgence Records
Insurgence Records
Insurgence Records is a Toronto-based independent record label specializing in anti-fascist and anti-racist hardcore, Oi! and punk rock. The label is associated with the anti-racist skinhead subculture, including redskins...
offered a free downloadable compilation called Project Boneyard.
In January 2005, Cecchini claimed to have found Pierpont's birth certificate, which shows that Pierpont's mother is a Mexican-born woman named Maria Marcola del Prado. Cecchini also mentioned tawdry messages that Pierpont had posted on the Internet, detailing a sex tour he took in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in October 2004. The messages indicated that Pierpont has had sex with non-white prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and transsexuals. This, combined with the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
's evidence of a photo of Pierpont in a prison yard in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he was serving time for a drug offense. He is posing with two Hispanic men who were apparently his friends.
Within days of these revelations, Panzerfaust had shut down. Cecchini says Pierpont refused to take a DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
test to establish his whiteness. On January 22, 2005, Cecchini posted on the Internet that he quit the record label, as did its webmaster.
Hammerskin Nation and Volksfront
Volksfront
Volksfront describes itself as an international fraternal organization for persons of European descent. It has been called "neo-Nazi" and a "racist-skinhead group" in press reports...
, two notable neo-Nazi groups that supported Panzerfaust Records, denounced Pierpont and withdrew all support. By the end of the month, the label and website were gone.