Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot
Getty Images for ABARussian punk band/activists Pussy Riot have teamed with several cryptocurrency groups to mint an NFT that will be sold this weekend to raise funds for Ukrainian civilian groups.
UkraineDAO will launch Saturday at noon EST with the release of a 1/1 NFT of the Ukrainian flag, the sale of which will benefit Ukraine’s Come Back Alive, “one of the most effective and transparent Ukrainian charitable and volunteer initiatives.”
“Our goal is to use what we’re good at, web3, to assist Ukrainians as they cope with the Russian invasion of their country,” Pussy Riot tweeted of UkraineDAO. “We’ll be buying an NFT of the Ukrainian flag.”
In a statement, the group’s co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova added, “We purposefully avoided adding our own art to this release, in a way it’s our strong conceptual artistic statement. People can have different aesthetics, but it’s not about what color we prefer, it’s about uniting to save lives. The Ukrainian flag unites us.”
The NFT sale also allows for people to donate any amount of money to participate, with those people receiving a digital souvenir for their contribution.
The Defiant reports that within 12 hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than $400,000 in Bitcoin was donated to Come Back Alive, as the nation’s banking institutions were rocked by the invasion and the subsequent declaration of martial law.
“Crypto is borderless, permitless and it’s so much easier and faster than fiat,” Tolokonnikova told Bloomberg.
Check out the UkraineDAO site for more information on the NFT sale as well as to donate. UkraineDao was created in partnership with Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO; the latter is also the crypto group that secretly purchased the one-copy-only Wu-Tang Clan album previously owned by Martin Shkreli.
Perry Farrell has released another public apology following an on-stage confrontation involving his bandmate Dave Navarro.
The Jane's Addiction frontman was involved in a physical altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro last year during a live performance, an incident that prompted the band to cancel their reunion tour and eventually led to their split.
“I'd like to address what happened on stage last year,” Perry, 66, said in a statement shared across both his personal Instagram account and Jane's Addiction’s official page. “I've reflected on it and know I didn't handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.”
He went on to admit that he did not meet fan expectations and described himself as deeply remorseful toward everyone impacted by the incident.
“Jane's Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons, and the impact that we've had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down,” he shared.
“My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I'm truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.”
Jane's Addiction also issued its own statement regarding the altercation, which ultimately led to the group’s remaining members filing a lawsuit against Perry alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
“Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together,” the band wrote, signaling that the group would not move forward with Perry. “We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors.”
