Band Bills Military $666K for Using Its Song at Gitmo

Some bands are "proud" when their music is used to interrogate Guantanamo Bay detainees; other bands, not so much. You can count Skinny Puppy among the latter group. The Canadian industrial rock band says it has invoiced the US military for $666,000 after finding out its music was used at the naval base prison without permission. Gitmo "used our music without our knowledge and used it as an actual weapon against somebody," keyboardist Cevin Key tells CTV. "I wouldn’t want to be subjected to any overly loud music for six to 12 hours at a time without a break."

He says the band learned its music was used from a Skinny Puppy fan who used to work as a guard at the prison. The Defense Department tells Politico it has not received the invoice. "I’m not even sure how, functionally, such a process of billing based on a hunch might work," says a spokesperson. "To be sure, the United States is committed to ensuring that individuals detained in any armed conflict are treated humanely in all circumstances, consistent with US treaty obligations, domestic law, and policy." Key says the band has been "coached" on potentially suing the Defense Department, and learned that a lawsuit is possible. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)