Dan Carlson

Dan Carlson
Dan Carlson
Home Base	Cadillac, MI

On Dan Carlson’s profile for the now-defunct National Socialist Movement’s (NSM) Facebook ripoff called New Saxon, he touted the purpose of his neo-Nazi band Total War as to “motivate people to get off their asses and do something,” but he said a little something about himself as well: “I am not content with just surviving to pass the fight on to the next generation and am disgusted by those who are. Because of this I have very few friends and people generally think of me as an asshole. Especially in Detroit and Pennsylvania. But whats (sic) the point of kissing ass to make friends with people who won’t be there when you need them anyway.” We submit that it is not because he wants to fight that makes him an asshole, but rather what he is fighting for, which is quite apparent with his affiliation with the National Socialist Movement (NSM). Carlson is trying to play his game on both fronts however. He has Total War, which for the past few years has been putting out records and playing white power events like “Uprise 2008” and NSM concerts in Michigan and South Carolina. He has also been playing bass recently for another well-known white power band called Empire Falls, which in the past has played similar or the same shows. But then comes word that he is trying to go mainstream and hooked up with an aptly named outlet called Major Disappointment. They are pretty much doing the scene in Carlson’s hometown of Cadillac, MI, and word has it they are slated for the New Year’s Eve show at a club in nearby Traverse City, MI called the Terminal (formerly Streeters). That’s hardly the best way in the world to start the New Year, and it is the simple principle of the thing: If Carlson has a problem with Jews and people of color, not to mention, as he did on his New Saxon profile, listing among his hobbies “…guns, making enemies, praying (sic) for war…” he should have a problem if folks tell him to go away and raise all kinds of hell if he doesn’t.

Total War

Total War playing an NSM event in South Carolina. Dan Carlson is to the right on bass.

At the time Total War started in 2006, Carlson was with the NSM. He was particularly known when he and another NSM member attempted to approach former Nazi T.J. Leyden when he went to speak at Central Michigan University in 2005. He attempted in a student newspaper interview to challenge Leyden to a campus-sponsored debate, saying, “The educational environment is the perfect environment because students are still forming their opinions and looking for political direction.” A university rep however made it very clear where she stood: “”I have no desire to do it,” she said. “There isn’t anything left to be said.”

Carlson was also with then NSM member Bill White as he was being interviewed for a website prior to a rally in Lansing, Michigan on April 20 (Hitler’s Birthday) of that year. That rally, much like many of NSM rallies, resulted in a lot of people trying their damnedest to make the Nazis lives hell while they were in town. A number of people were arrested for throwing bottles, smashing police car windows, and various other misdemeanors.

Dan Carlson Jeff Schoep Ken Mathews

Dan Carlson stands to Jeff Scheop’s right as he reads (yes, Jeff can read) a speech. Michigan NSM leader Ken Matthews is to his left. Note the Keystone State “Skinheads” banner in the background.

Carlson will be a mainstay with the NSM for other rallies but it wasn’t even a year after this rally that Carlson ended up listed as “resigned” on a list of former NSM members. Carlson still keeps up his connections with the NSM to this day with not only his NSM-owned New Saxon profile, but also through Total War who has played shows sponsored by NSM. It is on NSM Records that you will find a few of Total War’s releases. But alas, that is not the kind of thing you will find being sold at respectable outlets. In fact. Total War isn’t anything one should expect to see anywhere with any type of respectability. Enter Major Disappointment.

With this new, more “mainstream” (i.e. no neo-Nazi connections that are obvious to the most unschooled) act, Carlson is able to saunter through and play spots that were closed to him with his other gigs. The others in the band are not all that known, there had not been any racist messages on their MySpace page when we first posted this, and not much has been said about them anywhere else on the net. They have played the aforementioned Terminal on Dec. 2, and on Jan 9, they are due to play a gig at Sally’s Lounge in Cadillac. One problem though: Dan Carlson sticks out like a sore thumb, and there are people out there who know him and are none too forgiving about his past exploits, especially since they are also current ones.

Since this guy wants to stink up the punk scene, we think it would be wise to break out the disinfectant on this clown.