Reverend Billy

Lawyers and Activists Arrested in Brooklyn Courtroom While Stopping Foreclosures with Song (VIDEO)

Updated below: the singers have been released. Organizing for Occupation co-sponsored the first Occupy Wall Street action in Brooklyn today, and it didn't disappoint in terms of adding some Brooklyn flair to the once Manhattan bound scene. About a hundred people rallied outside Brooklyn Supreme Co ... More >>

"Fuck The Police": Hundreds Protest Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata's Acquittal

​A few of us Voice women headed down to the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse yesterday to join hundreds of New Yorkers protesting the acquittal of Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, the two NYPD cops accused of raping a woman in her apartment in 2009. There was chanting, sign-waving, speechifying; ... More >>

This Weekend! Kaki King, Jesse Murphy In The Woods, Real Estate, The Hold Steady, Telepathe, Trans Am, Liars, Ho-Ag, And Reverend Billy & The Life After Shopping Gospel Choir

Kaki King all tied up​ It was no small feat when Kaki King became the first woman to make Rolling Stone's "Guitar God" list in 2006 -- so don't pass up a chance to bask in her fret-tapping, slap-bass glory at the Bowery Ballroom. Then, Webster Hall wards off pervs and creeps with Jesse Murphy ... More >>

Reverend Billy & the Life After Shopping Gospel Choir

Reverend Billy Holds an "UnMarriage Until Gay Marriage" Ceremony on Valentine's Day (VIDEO)

​Central Park's Bethesda Angel looked out at scores of brides wreathed in crowns of fake white hydrangea and grooms in thrift-store formalwear. "Enjoy the last two minutes of your marriage," Rev. Billy Talen of the Church of Life After Shopping yelled, as on the most romantic day of the yea ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

After the parade. Twitpic by Mzthicknflychic. Theeeee Yankees won! Doooooouuug Hoffman lost! The week was a mixed bag -- half fire, half dog poo. How 'bout them Yanks? They won one in Philly, then another, and were back home at the climax. Local merchants didn't get much out of it -- nor, Tom R ... More >>

Reverend Billy's Last Stand (of the Campaign)

By Kate Rose.With a huge Ed McMahon-style check worth $100 million and 99 cents and a bullhorn, Reverend Billy Talen of The Church of Life After Shopping stood in Washington Square Park and announced his miraculous news: "Politics is serious business, and you need $100 million dollars. I won the lo ... More >>

Election Day 2009: 6 Losers to Watch!

It's Election Day and, this being New York, no surprises are expected. As Runnin' Scared has no influence to peddle, we can afford to be brutally honest about this. The Mayor's reelection is treated as a foregone conclusion and, down-ticket, the Democrats are expected to romp (except in Staten Islan ... More >>

Election 2009: Down-Ticket, What Has Become of Our Beautiful Losers?

In city races the favorites are getting treated as such, with very few deviations. Some of the city council races are downright ridiculous. Bronx incumbent Joel Rivera has defeated his Conservative Party challenger Steven Stern 97 to 3 percent. What an election night party Stern must be having. ... More >>

Home Stretch Interview with Reverend Billy, Candidate for Mayor of New York

Photos by Brennan Cavanaugh. (This is our third conversation of the campaign with Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York, Reverend Billy.) How's the campaign going? Are you confident? I'm confident that an accelerated evolution is now taking place. Could you elaborate? This government ... More >>

ARTS & REVOLUTION

Bringing about social change one artwork at a time

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Twitpic via DanaBoscorelli. Up, Up and Awry! The Balloon Boy and his wacky father helped keep our minds off the real world, which sucked even more than usual. In national news, the Nobel Peace Prize continued its deadly rampage across America. But don't despair, rightbloggers: President O ... More >>

Rev. Billy, Local Pols Protest Stella D'oro Closing, Want Govt. to Act

​ At right, Reverend Billy (in white) and New York Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini at Stella D'oro Rally. Photos by Candice M. Giove. The now-unemployed bakers of the septuagenarian cookie company Stella D'oro , various union representatives and cause sympathizers spewed vitriol at the priv ... More >>

Primary Culler: Incumbents Stay Strong in Council Districts 2 and 3

​In City Council Districts 2 and 3, incumbents have much more of a lock than Alan Gerson does in District 1. In the former, first-termer Rosie Mendez built the right connections as a district leader, makes meetings, and has all the big endorsements. Her challenger Juan Pagan (pictured) is ass ... More >>

Naked Cowboy Holds First Mayoral Campaign Event: Underwear Run

Having just announced his candidacy for Mayor of New York City, Times Square entertainer The Naked Cowboy is not wasting any time getting his campaign off the ground. He will serve as Grand Marshall of an underwear run in Central Park tonight. The 1.7 mile event, which is apparently an annual trad ... More >>

Naked Cowboy to Announce for Mayor's Race Today

We have done more than most to let you know about the New York mayoral candidates from minor parties such as the Green Party (Reverend Billy), the Rent Is Too Damn High Party (Jimmy McMillan), and the Democrats (Bill Thompson, Tony Avella). We hope to provide coverage in the near future of Libertari ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

The Sotomayor hearings commenced with protesters. Chuck Schumer did his bit. Lindsey Graham copped out, or so the rightwingers said -- so he hassled Sonia on her temperament. Jeff Sessions tried to get cute. A rightwing Representative and a "flaming liberal" discussed the case amicably. Finally ... More >>

Reverend Billy Campaign Update: Recuperates from "Palpitations," As Mayor Will Fire Ray Kelly

Photo by Brennan Cavanaugh We caught up with Reverend Billy, the Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York we interviewed in April, and asked how the campaign was going. We're in the third act of this drama. The opening act was orientation -- the whole world of politics, a steep learning cur ... More >>

Bloomberg, Avella and Thompson at WFP Mayoral Forum: Some Highlights

Last night three candidates for Mayor of New York -- Michael Bloomberg, councilmember Tony Avella, and comptroller Bill Thompson -- attended the Working Families Party Mayoral Forum at the Hotel Trades Council on West 44th Street. (We should mention that Green Party candidate Reverend Billy wanted ... More >>

Quick Hits

Twitpic from GiGi_NYC. Welcome the new bus ad campaign for atheism! Though we think that, as a market for this product, New York is pretty well fished out. This weekend, the Pride Parade -- by which we of course mean the Immigrant's Pride Parade on Sixth Avenue between West 37th and 57th Streets ... More >>

Board Approves 3 and 6 Percent Rent Hikes

Despite public pressure, the Rent Guidelines Board approved rent hikes of three and six percent for one- and two-year leases, respectively. At least one board member, Ronald Languedoc (a tenant activist! How'd he get on there?) moved for a rent freeze instead, which the board declined to consider. ... More >>

Protesters Warm Up Before Rent Guidelines Meeting at Cooper Union

As we said earlier, there's a Rent Guidelines Board meeting tonight where they're expected to approve our new rent hikes. The only humanizing touch in the whole Soviet-style deal is the protests that took place earlier this evening outside Cooper Union, where the vote is to be held. The 60 or so pr ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

President Obama came down on the credit card companies. They're still trying to hang the socialist and elitist raps on him, but they don't seem to be sticking. Mayor Bloomberg got mad as hell about the MTA fare hike -- but didn't bother to tell his friends in Albany. His "Puppets for Educational ... More >>

Rev. Billy on a Roll in WSJ, at NYU and New Campaign HQ

Photo by Brennan Cavanaugh. People are starting to refer to Reverend Billy -- Mayoral candidate and longtime anti-corporatist advocate -- by his full name, Billy Talen, which may be a sign that they're taking him more seriously. The Wall Street Journal gave him a surprisingly supportive profile o ... More >>

Noobs Flood the City; We Propose a Screening Process

For years we had this place all to ourselves, it seemed; feebs and hayseeds hated New York and, as the old saying went, wouldn't want to live here. Now the Times finds that between July 2007 and July 2008, our population grew by nearly 54,000 -- a "stunning" reversal, say demographers. 76,000 citiz ... More >>

Quick Hits

We noticed freenapkin.com; now here's the Craigslist freebie Twitter feed, Free_NewYork. There you can get a free four-person hot tub -- but "please take it only if you need it." Since Paterson's "hiring freeze," Albany's payroll gained more than 8,000 salaries, says the Buffalo News. BuffNews ... More >>

Reverend Billy Running for Mayor

Bloomberg, Weiner, Thompson, Avella, quake in your boots: Reverend Billy has joined the 2009 mayoral race. The charismatic preacher against consumerism and related social ills, whose Buy Nothing Day service we attended last Black Friday in Union Square, announced his candidacy at his MySpace page ... More >>

Maybe Reverend Billy Was Right All Along...

Reverend Billy Leads Buy Nothing Day Service in Union Square

The Union Square Pavilion Picnic Protest

ATTACK OF THE MERFOLK!

Feelin’ fishy? Walk it off

Leading Reverend Billy Into Sin

Lord, he is consumed. Forgive him those great sweaters and pants he hath bought

What Would Jesus Buy?

Victoria's Secret Goes Green, Sort of

Rev. Billy Tells Victoria's Dirty Secrets

Be Your Own Pundit: Skills for Combating Corporate Media

Screed is Good: NYC Docs Examine Two Kinds of Markets

No More Coffee Talk

A California court bans performance activist Reverend Billy from preaching at Starbucks

Stand Up and Be Counted: Marching to Defend Democracy

Theater

The Art of Party Crashing

Artists and activists stockpile Dick Cheney jokes, Dubya drag, and phalluses in preparation for the Republican invasion

Dollars and sense: Finally, a day for those who are flat broke

Election-Week Docs Profile Anti-Globalist Cleric, Deliver Civics Lesson

Music

Theater

The Red Meat Moment

Rage Against the Caffeine

Reverend Billy Preaches the Anticorporate Gospel to Starbucks

Never Can Say Good Buy

Reverend Billy’s Consumer Rejection Act

Welcome to Show World

Fringe '99— It's my penis and I'll cry if I want to

Of Mice and Men