Viet Cong No More

Polarizing group changes their name after controversy

By almost any account, indie rock band Viet Cong have achieved quite a bit of success since forming in 2012. They’ve toured across Canada, signed a record deal with Flemish Eye, a national label, and released a critically celebrated self-titled album that was recently shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Few bands in Canada can boast such success.

Few bands in Canada could also generate as much controversy as Viet Cong have in their short existence. They are a remarkably polarizing group and a talking point for a number of key players in the Canadian indie rock scene—all because of their choice of name.

For those who aren’t aware of why a band named Viet Cong is so controversial, here’s a brief retrospective. The Viet Cong was an infamous guerilla group who wreaked havoc among South Vietnamese citizens during their peak in the Vietnam War. They were especially notorious for a massive assault of over 100 South Vietnamese urban centres in 1968, even going as far as to attack the American embassy that was established in Saigon. Furthermore, many innocent Vietnamese citizens were forced into Viet Cong internment camps, in which they were abused in unimaginable ways and extremely malnourished.

This group, though now gone, leaves a stain on Vietnamese history. This is why the controversy over a band referencing the Viet Cong in their name has caused such an outrage within the Canadian-Vietnamese community, among other groups.

So why did the band choose that name for themselves? In an interview with The Guardian, they revealed that, while they were rehearsing, bassist Matt Flegel was playing his bass in a way that evoked the sound of a gun, prompting Mike Wallace, the drummer, to remark, “all you need is a rice paddy hat and it would be so Viet Cong.”

It’s clear they were not all aware of the ignorance of such a decision. Not only is it culturally insensitive, it was borderline racist. And now it has caused hundreds of people to be rightfully upset.

To say that that Viet Cong has felt the heat is an understatement. Various gigs, including one they were supposed to perform at Oberlin College in March, have cancelled their appearance due to the offensive band name. The outpour of negativity reached the boiling point close to the time the Polaris Music Gala rolled in on Sept. 21. An outpour of tweets from Vietnamese people, and others who were aware of the insensitive band name, expressed their displeasure for the band to be nominated for such a coveted prize.

Interestingly enough, Viet Cong didn’t win, as Buffy St. Marie took home the Polaris that night. Two days prior to the Polaris Music Gala, however, Viet Cong declared on their official Facebook page that “We are a band who want to make music and play our music for our fans. We are not here to cause pain or remind people of atrocities of the past.” While the band itself aren’t exactly sure of which name they should carry on with, it is a change welcomed by most.

Nonetheless, the realization that Viet Cong should change their name should have occurred years ago, as the backlash against the name should have been anticipated. Hopefully the band can shake off this rough patch so early in their career, continue to make music, and hopefully find success under a new name. This should be a lesson for all musical acts: cultural insensitivity is not accepted with the musical society, and the criticism received is justified.