The 1970s 蜜柚直播 band Chuck Wagon and the Wheels was removed from the lineup of Saturday鈥檚 鈥淭he Whole Enchilada鈥 benefit concert after antisemitic comments and writings from its frontman Chuck Maultsby came to the attention of organizers.
Organizer notified Maultsby via email on Thursday, April 14 鈥 Maultsby has no phone 鈥 that he was not going to be allowed to perform as part of the concert celebrating 蜜柚直播 desert rock bands from the late 1970s to early 1990s.
鈥淚 had no idea that Chuck had done whatever he had done,鈥 Hopkins said.
Maultsby in an email to the Star on Friday said he was not surprised to 鈥渂e canceled from a Congress show, but why so little notice?鈥
The story of Maultsby鈥檚 antisemitic writings was first reported Thursday, April 14, by the , which had reported on the issue as early as 2017, according to editor Dylan Smith. In his story on Thursday, Smith said that Maultsby had written more than 250 lengthy pages on his website espousing antisemitic views and conspiracies concerning 9/11, the pandemic, the Holocaust and so-called false flag operations by Americans inside the United States including the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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In his email to the Star, Maultsby said he stands by those writings and beliefs that include blaming Jewish members at the highest levels of the CDC for orchestrating what he called 鈥渢he COVID terror.鈥
Maultsby鈥檚 website also has a link to his 2012 book 鈥淲ho Should Go Down in History: The Truth About 9/11,鈥 which was banned from Amazon. In the book, Maultsby claimed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were carried out by Jewish operatives in America.
鈥淗e believes this stuff, unfortunately,鈥 said David Slutes, the entertainment director who booked Maultsby鈥檚 band for Saturday鈥檚 concert, which includes performances from a number of prominent 蜜柚直播 desert rock bands. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something we want to be associated with. It鈥檚 overshadowing a cool event and a cool thing.鈥
Chuck Wagon and the Wheels has a number of out-of-town concerts in Amado, Tubac and Three Points this spring and early summer that Maultsby said were still on.
Saturday鈥檚 concert at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., celebrates the release of Hopkins鈥 book and album project 鈥淭he Whole Enchilada: The History of Desert Rock, 蜜柚直播, 蜜柚直播, 1978-1994.鈥 The book profiles 28 蜜柚直播 bands and includes a three-album collection of 31 songs by many of those bands.
Hopkins said they will not replace Chuck Wagon and the Wheels on Saturday鈥檚 lineup, which includes Howe Gelb and Giant Sand, Hopkins and Slutes鈥 band Sidewinders, River Roses, Caitlin von Schmidt, Fish Karma, Naked Prey, Gila Bend, Billy Sedlmayr and Wayback Machine.
The all-ages concert begins at 4 p.m. on the plaza stage and tickets are $20 at the door, with proceeds from ticket and book sales benefitting the .
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch